=================The Samurai Lord Musashi================ ==================Gimmicks on the Run!!!================= =========================V 1.00========================== Genre: Action-RPG Source language: Japanese Platform: Famicom Patch language: English Author: aishsha/Pennywise E-mail: yojimbogarrett@gmail.com http://yojimbo.eludevisibility.org/ ====================================================== About The Samurai Lord Musashi ====================================================== Background: This is a licensed game from the anime series of the same name by Studio Pierrot, the same folks who created Yu Yu Hakusho. This game along with another GB game were released during the time the series was being aired in Japan. The series never really left Japan and even on the internet there doesn't seem to be much of a following in English. To our knowledge there isn't even any fansubs or episode rips floating around the internet. The entire series was released on DVD, but it's incredibly expensive. This is most likely the first time anything substantial relating to the series is available in English, which is not suprising given that the series is incredibly Japanese. Most of the mythology/backstory etc is rooted in Japanese history and pop culture. The story is essentially a retelling of the popular novel, Musashi Miyamoto, which was a fictional retelling of said historical figures life. It's basically Japan's Le Morte D'Arthur, but more recent. Although in reality, the series was more likely inspired by the movie trilogy adaption of the book from the 50's. Often referred to as the Samurai Trilogy starring the iconic Toshiro Mifune. The series also borrows various elements and plotlines from other classic Japanese films including Yojimbo and its sequel Sanjuro, starring, you guessed it, Toshiro Mifune. The only thing missing is a blind samurai like Zatochi. If for some reason whoever is reading this doesn't know what I'm talking about, you owe it to yourself to look up them up and watch the films and even buy them, they're worth adding to your collection. http://www.criterion.com/ As for how this translation got started, it was mostly done on a whim looking for another game to hack. aishsha did most of the hacking with some assistance from myself and DvD and when I took over I did a bunch of additional hacks to improve the quality of the translation with the highlight being redoing the menu interface system. The game itself reminds me of a Zelda/Ys clone split up into four scenarios with various playable characters. It's an action-RPG with basic RPG elements, standard fare, but some of the graphics and magic system are pretty cool. The game does feel kinda rushed/unfinished as the last few scenarios have a nice chunk of unused text that should have been in the game, but was not for whatever reason. Some of it has been added back by yours truly. ====================================================== Game Tips ====================================================== * There is a fifth scenario that is unlocked once you clear the first four scenarios * Despite looking useless, the search function does work despite the fact that your searches usually don't find anything. The problem is that it appears to be very specific and it is difficult to find anything even in the obvious areas. I have only been able to find one thing, but it works... ====================================================== Patching Instructions ====================================================== The patch is in the BPS format and needs to be applied with byuu's patcher, beat. These are some of the links where you can download it. The patching process is the same as IPS. http://byuu.org/programming/beat/ http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/893/ http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=5917 Apparently beat has issues working on XP, but I've been told the third link works on XP. Apply the patch to the Japanese version of the game: Karakuri Kengou Den - Musashi Road - Karakuri Nin Hashiru!(J).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. I would like to point out that some of the text relating to searching and finding stuff might not work properly. I would love for someone to help confirm this for me. 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: aishsha - translation, hacking, title screen design Pennywise - hacking, editing DvD - expansion help FlashPV - title screen refinements All those who contributed into this process. ====================================================== Compiled by Pennywise. November 2013.