Boktai 3 translation help.

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originalcracker
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Boktai 3 translation help.

Post by originalcracker »

As we can all assume, Konami of America won't release the 3rd Boktai game and complete the story arc. This sucks, but enough about that.

I need help translating the game. So far, me and a few others have been writing things down as we play the game, but that doesn't help much. Too slow, not too helpful.

I'd like to dump the text off of the rom, but I haven't been successful in my atempts. Now, I've also used text programs to look through the roms (like Notepad and others). I can locate text in both English and Japanese versions of Boktai games. I can fully read all English text. I can't read the Japanese text... it doesn't show up in Japanese.

That is where I need help. Is there a way I can extract or view the Japanese text? Is the Japanese text encripted (similar to the Japanese text in Policenauts?)?

Any help on the situation would be greatly apreciated.
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Post by Artemio »

I haven't dumped GBA games in a while, but the process should be quite similar. Unfortunately I don't have the rom, I could dump it but I left my cart at the office.

What you need to do, in order to figure out it the Japanese text is not coded in any way, is:

install CJK, configure it ti Japanese autodetect and then use a program like ultraedit or anyotehr binary editor to scroll through it. That way you will be able to see if it is "clear text" or encoded.

After that, it is a matter of coding a dumper or using any of the tools out there.
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originalcracker
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Post by originalcracker »

Cool, thanks Mr. U.

I'll try that maybe tonight. I really hope the text is not encoded. By the way, I now work for Bandai Namco games. Testing department, but it's a start. I'd like to get into the design department...that is what I went to school for.

Thanks again. I'll post back with the results.
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Post by originalcracker »

No luck on my end. I think the text be encripted Japanese. Darn, that makes it harder now. I don't know how to decode it. Well, I'll keep looking and trying to see what I can do about it.
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Post by Artemio »

What did you try? I might have to dump my cart and give it a quick try later on...
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Post by originalcracker »

My computer is already set up to display Japanese and type it (infact my file system uses the yen symbol instead of the backslash for file directory, I had to to run some Japanese programs that I have).

I used Ultra edit to view the image. I tried looking at it with all the different Japanese, Chinese, and Korean encodings. I also tried the different fonts, but that didn't help.

I came up with the same sequences I got using notepad, but it did change using some of the different encodings. It was still garbled, but seemed like it was getting closer.

The character names appear when their dialogue is supposed to appear on screen. Some of the names use the Japanese pronounciation, but are still in English. That is the only way to find them.

Some names: Rita, Otenko, Sabata.
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Post by Artemio »

Ultra edit doesn't support Japanese charecter display.. you need to install CJK and scroll the rom in hex with CJK enabled as Japanese, probably using different encodings (I'd try audto detect first).
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Post by originalcracker »

Would that be CJK from NTJapan or something? I'm not quite sure. I tried that CJK program, but the text was still a bit garbled. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. I'm still having trouble trying to rip GSF sets. I'm also trying to get the Boktai 3 GSF set ripped.
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Post by Made in DNA »

originalcracker wrote:Would that be CJK from NTJapan or something? I'm not quite sure. I tried that CJK program, but the text was still a bit garbled. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. I'm still having trouble trying to rip GSF sets. I'm also trying to get the Boktai 3 GSF set ripped.
Try installing IME instead. It's Microsoft, it's free, and it works.

I'm on a native Japanese machine myself, so if I can help, let me know.

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Post by Artemio »

Made in DNA wrote:
Try installing IME instead. It's Microsoft, it's free, and it works.

I'm on a native Japanese machine myself, so if I can help, let me know.

Made in DNA
With regards to input you are absolutely right.. but unfortunbately even in a native Japanese windows machine when using hexedit or binary programs that are not unicode aware, or Japanese aware i any encoding, there is not much to do. I don't know of any such programs, so I recommened the combo mentioned above for that kind of work.. maybe a Japanese aware hexeditor would be the solution...
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Post by mrgone »

hurray
i just found out, that there is a beta patch for boktai 3 ( shinbok)

http://z4.invisionfree.com/BoktaiOnline ... topic=2691
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Post by originalcracker »

Yep, that is the patch. I originally started this topic so we could get a patch started.
Then I lagged a bit (like always), and the rest of the Boktai comunity began there own.

Thanks for putting a link to that. I actually need to get back there to post some pictures of something else.
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