==========================JESUS======================== =============Tale of the Dreadful Bio-Monster========== =====================3 Days Later Edition============== ==========================Rev 2======================== Genre: Visual Novel/Adventure Source language: Japanese Platform: Famicom Patch language: English Author: Pennywise/Niahak E-mail: yojimbogarrett@gmail.com http://yojimbo.eludevisibility.org/ ====================================================== About JESUS ====================================================== Background: From Trickless' Site: "JESUS is an adventure game first released back in 1987 by Enix (Now Square-Enix). It was released for the PC88, and was also available on other home computers such as the FM7 and MSX2. In 1989 the game was ported to the extremely popular Famicom (NES) courtesy of King's Record and ChunSoft, with the additional sub-title Kyoufu no Bio Monster (trans: Dreadful Bio Monster). None of these versions were ever released outside of Japan, but it sometimes gets a mention on English gaming forums thanks to its name. The game is a cult favourite amongst many Japanese retro gamers, and if you can look past its name and give it a chance, you might be surprised by what this adventure has to offer." So obviously this patch is for the Famicom port, which had been translated previously by Niahak. While reading up on his patch, I saw that he had to cut down his translation significantly due to space restrictions. For a text-heavy game like JESUS, you kinda need as much space you can get. So I contacted Niahak, sometime in late 2009 I think, about doing another patch and he was down for it and so the project began. The game script and pointer storage turned out be pretty simple with only hiragana/katakana switches and sequential text being the only thing of note. Since there was extra space to spare in the hard-wired bank I ended up doing my usual DTE routine to compress the text which was spread across 3 16KB banks. So we worked on the translation on and off for a while until sometime around late 2011/early 2012 things started coming together. It wasn't until the script was finished that I realized my compression routine just wasn't enough for a full script. So I expanded the PRG-ROM and hacked the pointer load routines to split the text between banks thus giving more us than 2X the space for the translation. Since the pointer load routines were reused for all 3 banks, I had to write a little extra code to determine which bank was being used, but it was simple enough. The final 2 aspects of the hacking was probably the most difficult/pain in the ass to implement. The sweet title screen we have courtesy of sin_batsu first had to be recompressed back into the ROM from the decompressed data. It didn't use the standard NES compression format of RLE, but instead something else that was a bit more complicated. I was able to locate the decompression routine, but I left the reverse-engineering to rveach and who graciously provided me with decompression/recompression tools and all free of charge. Next time I might not be so lucky or fortunate. The last hack was a double line hack for the option/command. One of the things I didn't like about the original patch was that that text was heavily abbreviated into 1 line in 7 or less characters. Getting that text to display as 2 lines was way harder than it should have been, but I finally got it to where I wanted it. I also wanted to have 8 characters per line instead of 7, but there wasn't enough room in the internal RAM buffer. Now as for the game itself, I usually don't go for text adventures, but this game was kinda unique and not half bad. You kinda get the impression that the game is open in design based on the choices to pick from, but in reality it is really quite linear with very little variation on what you can actually do. That seems to be a detracting point for some, but I find this to be a benefit for the game. Having worked on Akira, which oddly enough was translated by Niahak, any variation of the main path resulted in game over thus making it possible to go in circles. It's possible to breeze right through Jesus not having to worry about making a mistake and starting over again. You are able to enjoy the game, its world, its character freely. Even though the story and premise is obviously based on some classic sources, it's still pretty good in its own right and deserves to be played and enjoyed. Continuing on the subject of linearity, I estimate that between 10-15% of the text is unused by the game. When the game was ported from the various Japanese PC systems, various sections and content was removed from the Famicom port. However, the unused text in the ROM seems to suggest that there were going to be more things to do, a different way to do things. Basically the game would still be go from Point A -> B, but you had more options to get to B. A few of the more noteworthy things include on the Nebula the text suggests that it is possible for FOJY to run out of juice while wandering around. There's also an alternate way of detaching the Storehouse by reading instructions. Also you could trigger the scene with Helene on the Nebula without the Bio-Sensor. On the Corona, FOJY and Hayao make fun of each of other on several occasions. I have been unable to trigger any of these events. Perhaps where the game falters most is that occasionally the text won't match the situation or option chosen and will be out place. Never having played the original versions, I have to assume this was a problem the port introduced. The effect is essentially was sloppy/poor event programming that was either caused by a bad programmer or the development was kinda rushed making the game unfinished. If I could compare the Famicom port with one of the other versions, I might be interested in restoring the content if everything's pretty much the same and I know what is supposed to go where. The only catch is a certain someone has to get off his lazy butt and starting hacking the game so I can play it in English:) The music is also one of the highlights for me and I enjoyed quite a bit of it. If it sounds familiar, that's because the composer is Koichi Sugiyama, who was a regular for Enix back in the day and did the soundtrack for at least the first Dragon Quest. In fact, they play the main DQ theme in the game. Anyway, a lot of work and time went into this patch, so we do hope you enjoy the game. I consider it to be one of my best releases and am extremely satisfied with it. If you want to find out more about the game I suggest you visit Trickless' site. http://pixelmenu.22web.org/ ====================================================== Niahak's Comments ====================================================== It has been almost seven years since I first saw a copy of JESUS on a shelf in Japan, and more than five since I released the original patch for JESUS. The first patch was a solo effort, and it was made by "constructing the Statue of Liberty by hand", as I'm told. This version is much improved, thanks to the effort of Pennywise and others in expanding the ROM, and to Jason and Pennywise both for their hard work in making my rough re-translation fit for human consumption. A couple of individuals not thanked below are responsible for my continuing interest in JESUS. One emailed me years ago with a message thanking me for my work on the initial patch, as it brought back many memories for them. Another emailed me more recently with suggestions for naming shortly before the re-translation effort started, which gave us a good starting point on the names (which were an aspect that needed fixing in particular). As a translation project, JESUS was more straightforward than other games I have worked with. The script may be kana-only, but the subject matter was already familiar (though it had been gathering dust for a few years), and there are few places where context is incredibly important. The tone of the original script is pretty ordinary anime style as well - with little in the way of slang and generally consistent structure. Most jokes come at Hayao's expense, so they end up being easily translatable. Only a few lines were particularly troublesome, and none of those were particularly important in any case. At times I am not sure that JESUS itself is worth the effort we have put into it. It's a relatively ordinary sci-fi adventure game with a touch of horror here and there, and often imposes a strict ordering of actions on the player's part. It does, however, occupy an interesting place in Enix history, and it has a decidedly 80's anime vibe which some players may find nostalgic. Perhaps the name of the game itself will also spark some interest in the game. If some people who hear about JESUS play and enjoy this translation, that is enough for me. ====================================================== Patch History ====================================================== 6/08/2012 3 Days Later Edition - Initial release 7/19/2012 Rev 1 - Minor script fixes, code hacks and bug fixes plus a bonus manual Rev 2 - Fixed some minor text bugs for a few commands ====================================================== Game Tips ====================================================== There are several secret passwords that let you access different things. They are: Credits WHOMA DENES JESUS GAME? Soundtrack Mode BLUEA LIENL OVEEM BRACE Keyboard Mode THISI SELTO NJOHN MODE! Soundtrack Mode IWANN AHEAR GREAT MUSIC Ending Scene WILLU BEMYB IOMON STER? ====================================================== Translation Notes ====================================================== While most terms in the game are quite straightforward, a couple terms and names that may recur in JESUS' sequel have been modified from the literal meaning for various reasons. (Ginga Senshi) literally a variant of "Milky Way Soldier" or "Galactic Warrior", rendered as Space Defense Force or SDF. This is the organization that Hayao and Captain Milakov both belong to. Their historical role, or why they were included in the Halley Mission are both unclear. (kometto), literally Comet, is the original name of the ship called the Nebula in this translation. It would not have been confusing for Japanese readers, as for Halley's Comet they used the Japanese word suisei. (Jiizasu), the space station for which the game is named, is consistently rendered in standard casing (Jesus). It does not appear to be an acronym of any kind. It is referred to as both a station and a skylab, but its size and function are not very clear. ====================================================== Patching Instructions ====================================================== The patch is in the BPS format and needs to be applied with byuu's patcher, beat. Or you can use Floating IPS which can be found here: http://smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=11474 Apply the patch to the original Japanese version of the ROM: Jesus - Kyoufu no Bio Monster (Japan).nes We would be highly grateful, if you find some time to contact us with proposals or corrections. Information on found bugs or corrections would be highly appreciated. P.S. Support the game industry by buying used games! Even if the money doesn't go to the developers directly, as the games become rare and harder to find, the price goes up, and people become more inclined to buy new releases "while they can!" ====================================================== Credits go to: Pennywise - hacking, testing, additional editing Niahak - translation, testing, additional editing jaysus - editing rveach - compression reverse engineer, decompression/recompression tools, consultant sin_batsu - title screen design, additional graphic design Trickless - additional testing All those who contributed into this process. ====================================================== Compiled by Pennywise. October 2013.