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Author Topic: Maniac Mansion Famicom version English translation  (Read 2 times)
marioxb
Guest
« on: November 27, 2008, 10:42:27 am »
Apparantly there was a Famicom Manaic Mansion two years before there was an NES version. And the game is totally different! I mean it's the same layout and storyline, but the presentation is different. It doesn't even use the SCUMM engine like all other versions do, Jaleco Japan re-wrote it. The characters are all done in anime style and the stuff that was censored in the US version was not in Japan. Here is some more info about the Famicom version, and here's a scan of the manual.

Anyway, I am attempting to translate it into English, with help from people that can read Japanese, by comparing the Japanese with the original uncensored PC edition, since the NES version was censored, and also uses different graphics than the Famicom one.

What I did was opened up the rom in tile molester and replaced all of the Japanese characters with English characters. There already was some English, but I copied and pasted it over the Japanese so that it would show on the screen. I then used Thingy as well as a regular hex editor to re-arrange the text as needed. There are actually separate font sets for everything. One for the intro text where you choose characters. One for the opening credits (already in English except for the "20 YEARS AGO..." screen, one for the password input, one for the show your current password, one for the title screen stuff (already in English), and one for the main game text. I later found out that UglyJoe was also working on this game, and thanks to him, I now have all of the menu commands translated. Here's what I have so far...

PROGRESS:
Title screen----------------------------------------------------100%
Select character----------------------------------------------100%
Intro------------------------------------------------------------100%
Commands (Read, Go, New Kid, etc)---------------------100%
Passwords (display current & entry screen)------------100%
Main game text--------------------------------------------------1% (at least it now uses English letters)

Before


After


Here are all of the phrases I had them say:

DAVE:
Before choosing any kids:
PICK 2 KIDS TO HELP ME OUT!!

After choosing one kid:
PLEASE CHOOSE ONE MORE KID.

Selecting Dave himself:
LET'S GO RESCUE MY GIRLFRIEND SANDY!!!

SYD:
I'D LOVE TO HAVE MY OWN BAND ONE DAY.

MICHAEL:
THEY CALL ME "ACE" AT THE PHOTO LAB.

WENDY:
WHEN CAN I BECOME A NOVELIST?

BERNARD:
I'M 1987 "GEEK AWARD" WINNER & I'M IN THE SEQUEL.

JEFF:
"SURFER DUDE" IS MY NAME, MAN.

RAZOR:
HEAR MY BAND "RAZOR & THE SCUMMETTES"!

Before


After


Before


After (thanks to UglyJoe)


Before


After


Before


After


I've tested my modified passwords and they still work!

If anyone would like to help out, that would be great. I can supply everything I have so far (modified rom, multiple tbl files for Thingy). Let me know what you think!
« Last Edit: December 01, 2008, 08:55:06 am by marioxb »
UglyJoe
Guest
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2008, 11:27:51 am »
I already did some work on this:
http://www.ximwix.net/boneyard/design19/xb/mm.htm
marioxb
Guest
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2008, 02:47:47 pm »
Hmm, looks like you did kinda the same thing as me.. Maybe we can combine our efforts? What method did you use to get the "New Kid", "GO" etc in there? For the two commands I originally replaced, there were, for example 19 instances of the hex that represents the icons for "New kid". I did a "search and replace" for them all, and it worked, for testing purposes. I have since done that section from scratch, starting with your changes, UglyJoe, as a base, adding my other changes to that.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2008, 09:26:42 am by marioxb »
UglyJoe
Guest
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2008, 07:56:59 pm »
I used squishy tiles for the menu.  Since the game has a full hiragana character set, putting in an English alphabet left me plenty of tiles to use just for the menu.  I was able to locate where the menu text is stored, so I only replaced the text that needed to be replaced.  The way you did it (replace all) is really not a good idea (except for testing purposes).

I made a dumper for the items in the game, and have those partially translated.  We can combine efforts if you'd like, but I'm presently too busy with work to do much of anything. 

Also, I'm looking to get an actual translation of this, and not simply copy/paste the script from the English version(s) overtop of the Japanese text.  If there were any differences/censorships, I want to reflect that in the translation.  (This is why the project has stalled for me, as my translator friend is too busy to work on it.)
« Last Edit: November 28, 2008, 12:07:01 am by UglyJoe »
Ryusui
Guest
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2008, 03:25:12 pm »
Quote from: UglyJoe on November 27, 2008, 07:56:59 pm
Also, I'm looking to get an actual translation of this, and not simply copy/paste the script from the English version(s) overtop of the Japanese text.  If there were any differences/censorships, I want to reflect that in the translation.  (This is why the project has stalled for me, as my translator friend is too busy to work on it.)

Why not base it on the original uncensored PC version?
Dwedit
Guest
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2008, 03:47:28 pm »
WHYYYYYYY?!

Why do this when there is also a perfectly good uncensored English NES version available?
And Dragon Quest 6 still isn't translated yet?
GenoBlast
Guest
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2008, 03:56:28 pm »
Quote from: Dwedit on November 28, 2008, 03:47:28 pm
Why do this when there is also a perfectly good uncensored English NES version available?
There isn't.
Kitsune Sniper
Guest
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2008, 05:00:45 pm »
Quote from: Killa B on November 28, 2008, 03:56:28 pm
Quote from: Dwedit on November 28, 2008, 03:47:28 pm
Why do this when there is also a perfectly good uncensored English NES version available?
There isn't.
I thought a proto with some uncensored stuff in it was floating in the interwebs. Or am I mistaken?
GenoBlast
Guest
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2008, 09:02:07 pm »
Quote from: Kitsune Sniper on November 28, 2008, 05:00:45 pm
I thought a proto with some uncensored stuff in it was floating in the interwebs. Or am I mistaken?
I have no idea. I had assumed Dwedit was talking about the official release. :angel:
InVerse
Guest
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2008, 10:43:59 pm »
There is an uncensored Maniac Mansion prototype ROM online. It's been quite awhile since I looked into it, but I believe it was completely free of all censorship.

As for translating the Japanese version, I support UglyJoe's plan to do a legitimate translation. I would suggest putting the Japanese script alongside the English script, thus allowing a translator to quickly judge if there were any major differences in the script. The game isn't all that text heavy and most of the text consists of single sentences, there aren't many dialogue blocks at all. (Referring to the English version, of course, though I doubt the Japanese version varies too much, if at all.)

I was actually thinking about this game a couple of weeks ago and contemplated looking into it as a potential project. I remember noting the different graphics several years ago but never got around to playing enough to notice the non-scrolling rooms. I doubt I'd be able to offer much in the hacking department, but I'd be glad to offer my assistance if there is anything I could do.
UglyJoe
Guest
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2008, 01:06:23 am »
Quote from: InVerse on November 28, 2008, 10:43:59 pm
As for translating the Japanese version, I support UglyJoe's plan to do a legitimate translation. I would suggest putting the Japanese script alongside the English script, thus allowing a translator to quickly judge if there were any major differences in the script.

Yeah, that's what I had in mind.

Here's a dump of the game's items.  This includes things you can pick up and things you can interact with (scenery, etc).  I have many of them translated, but I don't know Japanese so they might be wrong.  It's worth noting that the game only has a Hiragana font, but uses excessive amounts of words that should be written in Katakana.

http://www.ximwix.net/xb/files/items1fixed.htm
http://www.ximwix.net/xb/files/items2fixed.htm
marioxb
Guest
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2008, 10:56:46 am »
If you want to lend me the rom you added the menu commands into (that's all you added, correct?) I can paste my other changes into it. I have a friend that knows Japanese and maybe he can help with the rest.
UglyJoe
Guest
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2008, 04:48:42 pm »
Here's my menu hack:

http://ximwix.net/xb/files/MM_menuhack.ips
marioxb
Guest
« Reply #13 on: November 30, 2008, 07:52:31 am »
Thanks a lot! Works great, now we're a few steps closer.
Fei Wong
Guest
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2009, 10:37:20 pm »
Man this game brings a lot of memories from childhood, i have know this game from long time ago and to know that it will have a english patch! haha you have to look at the japan-ished faces of Dr. Ed and Weird Ed! thats awesome guys! keep up the good work!
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