Sukenban Deka II (Sega Master System) English Translation by enigmaopoeia Hacking by Stephen Seehorn _______________________________________________________________________________ -From Stephen- This is a strange hybrid of a digital comic (complete with requisite 3D maze segment) and a rudimentary brawler. It's all based on some terrible looking Japanese series of movies about a girl who fights crime with a yo-yo (supposedly what Quentin Tarantino based some character in Kill Bill on) along with her 2 friends. While I wouldn't be caught dead watching the movies, the game has a bit of charm if for no other reason than its novelty factor. How many other brawler/digital comics can you think of? The actual game mechanics prove to be diluted in both respects (only one move for fighting and very easy and limited puzzles in the digital comic sections), but together they make for an entertaining way to spend an afternoon. -Hacking Notes- Hacking involved expanding the rom to make room for the text, changing the routine to use the new space, decompressing & recompressing the title screen, and adding some ASM that gives you triple the amount of health. Originally the game was incredibly frustrating because you would die in seconds on some bosses, but with 3x the health I believe they still present somewhat of a challenge without making the player feel invincible. Also, despite this being enigmaopoeia's first translation job, I feel she did some amazing work. She literally turned a completed and edited script in to me 5 days after I sent it to her, that has to be some kind of record in the romhacking community! _______________________________________________________________________________ -From enigmaopoeia- This was quite an experience for me being this is my first translation work for a rom and this project could not have come at a better time. Before meeting Stephen, I was writing a walkthrough for Loretta's Portrait -Sherlock Holmes- a game only released in Japan, for the SEGA Master System to be posted at GameFAQs. As I've finished up this walkthrough, I was interesting in taking a jab at Sukeban Deka II next, but I was already exhausted from the Japanese I had to translate. No more than 18 days later after showing interest in Sukeban Deka II, I come across a help wanted ad for this game at Romhacking.net. It was a blessing in disguise, it gave me the motivation to not only finish my walkthrough for this game, but to also provide an English translation for others to enjoy! In Sukeban Deka II, you play the role of Yoko Godai, a schoolgirl who was given the codename "Saki Asamiya". The government took her in and forced her to fight crime to redeem herself with her only weapon being a metal yo-yo. What you can expect from this game is that it combines a lot of genres to give the player an unique experience such as interfaces associated with graphical text adventures, beat 'em ups, and dungeon crawlers. Although this game was made mainly to cater toward fans of the live action version of Sukeban Deka II, gamers unfamiliar with this series may enjoy the art style and cheesiness that this game has to offer. This game features a lot of cameos from SEGA games such as Alex Kidd, Ashura, Teddy Boy Blues, and Fantasy Zone. It also makes reference to pop culture stuff like a bromide of Yoko Minamino, the actress who plays as the 2nd Saki Asamiya; and the mangas of Pygmalio and Sukeban Deka by Shinji Wada, the creator of Sukeban Deka. In order to fully enjoy this game, make sure to always abuse the "Examine" and "Hit" commands! -Translation Notes- I'd done some research on the Sukeban Deka series before translating this game, I tried to not present the game as being too Japanese, but I wanted to stay true to the heart of the series. This game gave distinct personalities for the characters and I tried to show that through their dialogue such as Okyo being assertive, Yukino being polite, and Kyoshirou being stoic to name a few. Also some cultural things to note that is a fukusa is a silk cloth often used in tea ceremonies, a bromide is a commercial photograph of a celebrity, and a sakazuki is a flat saucer-like cup usually used to pour sake into. _______________________________________________________________________________ -Patching Instructions- Your rom should be exactly 131,072 bytes (128k). I haven't come across any dumps that weren't that size, but if you have patching issues check that first and try a different version of the rom. Simply apply the patch with any .ips patcher.