I don't remember whether I was on that game's credits or not - but I was in close contact with TDOMMX back then.
But the lead translator was Boco.
So, "Zero died in vain [like a dog]" became "You'll soon be reunited with your DEAR ZERO!". Whoddathunk eh?
I think that wasn't in the patched ROM itself, since before the ROM was released someone who knew more Japanese came in and debunked that and some other fanon unproperly labelled as such.
Wily paranoia was in full rage with "recent" gamebook info concering Serges and Isoc, so everybody was like "IT WAS SOMEBODY ELSE PULLING SIGMA'S STRINGS BEGINNING WITH X1!".
Editing-wise [altering the ROM structure to accomodate the different chunks of text], though, I think he did a good job. For what's written in the translation I can't vouch since I don't even remember the retranslated script and because of what I said above, but it was an honest effort. Both Xtremes were in the "ToDo" list, but then Boco quit the Community and TDOMMX got that thing we all need to get sooner or later: a life.
Heyya, Rodrigo. It's been a long time. I haven't heard from you in ages. Ever since I reformatted my old PC and didn't get around to reinstalling ICQ, as a matter of fact... Lame excuse, I know. But you're right about me getting a life... sorta. I now have two Computer Science degrees and hold a minor in Human Relations. Well, that, I became a diehard anime fan for a good decade, started programming professionally, and had some semblance of a social life...
In any event,
Darkside Translations is back, and I've posted a little writeup about what happened back then on our About page. I'll give you the non-abridged version here since I know you and think marshmallow man and the others deserve to know the full story:
When I was playing through the Megaman X series, I often found myself thinking I could do a better localization. This was especially true in X2 and X3, where characters were arbitrarily renamed (the most annoying being changing "X" to "Mega Man", which confirmed to me that the marketing department at Capcom USA couldn't tell the characters apart - and they still can't, if you check the back of the X8 box...). I didn't know Japanese, so I tried to see if I could find someone who was willing to translate the game for me. I was a pretty good writer in high school, so my plan was to recruit a fellow Megaman fan, have them do the translation, and handle the editing and hacking myself (incidentally, my SNES hacking skills are self-taught, and as Rodrigo noted, I was pretty good at it).
As you already know, Boco was the one who answered my call. To this day, I don't know his/her gender, but ended up using "she" for convenience because I kept getting the image of an anime fangirl from him/her. S/he didn't mind (or at least didn't object). Anyway, she was very enthusiastic about it and offered to help for the entire series up to X6. She only ended up doing the first two scripts before we ended up getting out of touch, not unlike how I unceremoniously fell out of contact with Rodrigo.
Boco was in the process of learning Japanese and begged me repeatedly for a translation checker to verify her work. Of course, she was the only person who responded to my request, so I had little luck granting hers. I don't recall if I was aware of places like Romhacking.net or if they even existed back then. Either way, no one got back to me, so I decided to do the best I could with what I had.
I recall having very odd arguments with Boco, such as whether Protoman was genuinely evil to begin with (she insisted he was and even wrote a fanfic where he branded Dr. Light as something akin to a brainwashing bastard). In any case, when Boco posted her script on The Megaman Network, I made a point of finishing up my hacking & editing and releasing the retranslation to the masses, dubbed "Megaman X Complete". My plan was to collect feedback, integrate them into the rom, and re-release it alongside a purist version, "Rockman X Special", which retained the original Japanese names to satisfy what I perceived as a purist streak in her.
This was not to be. Though people were initially enthusiastic about the retranslation, that sentiment quickly soured, and everyone began to pan the release - Boco included. Boco was not happy with how I modified her translation, and everyone else was unhappy since some parts read like a yaoi fanfic (which I tried to curb, but Boco insisted was accurate - I distinctly recall her stressing that Sigma actually hit on X before the final battle, and I gave her the benefit of the doubt...). I eventually retracted the release and made a promise, both to Boco and to myself: "Megaman X2 Complete" (or whatever I decided to call it) would never see the light of day until I had done the original game justice and released a "Rockman X Special" we could both be proud of. And I have not forgotten.
Over the past seven years, I have worked with a variety of translation groups on several projects to learn what it really takes to do a good localization job. I have worked on game translations: Ys II Complete and Ys -The Oath in Felghana- for Falcom Fan Translations; as well as visual novels: Haru no Ashioto, Wind -a breath of heart-, and ef -the first tale- for No Name Losers. In fact, the ef project was what led me to meet Darkside's current lead translator. Last summer, I finally thought I was finally ready to spearhead another translation project. I was an administrative assistant at the time and occupied my downtime translating documents from French into English (oui, je parle le français couramment).
Let's skip ahead to the present day. I mean that literally - this morning, Darkside Translations released its localization of the trial version of Rosenkreuzstilette, a Megaman-like game that I quickly came to love early last year. I refused to release a translation that relied on a single translator, however skilled s/he may have been, and last December, I got more help than I could have ever asked for. And I have Romhacking.net and a few extremely talented individuals to thank (all of which are credited on our staff page). The English localization (penned by yours truly) is based on the full-pass interpretations of two Japanese translators and was edited round-table style to ensure its accuracy. Additionally, I had four German-speakers on the team to guarantee the quality of the game's German flavor text (which was originally "Germish", as our resident German native called it...).
So, I submit this for your approval: the
Rosenkreuzstilette English Trial. I'll let you decide if we - referring to both Darkside Translations and to myself personally - truly learned anything these past few years. Feel free to check it out and let us know what you think.
It feels good to finally tell that story in its entirety... And it feels even better to be back. I hope you'll all be happy to have me.
And before I go: Rodrigo, you were credited as a Playtester, as I recall. The first in the list, if memory serves. Either way, it's great to hear from you again.