Cleopatra no Mahou - The last RPG that Square made before Final Fantasy is fully translated

We haven't featured many translation hacks for a while now because of being so busy with other articles but now is the time to tune in RPG retro gamers, as we've just learnt that the full English translation of Cleopatra no Mahou has been released and is not to be missed. Yes indeed, Cursed Treasure of Cleopatra ( English name ), published by Square in 1987 for the Family Computer Disk System is regarded as the RPG that made Square call their next RPG Final Fantasy now can be played and understood by all!

Mr. Ghost - Late 80's MSX2 game gets a full English translation

What a lovely wake up call as we've recently found out thanks to a heads up via Facebook, that the MSX2 game of MrGhost by System Sacom which was released way back in 1989, has been fully translated into English by 232 & Max Iwamoto and is available to download as version 1.0. According to a post in 2004 via the MSX website this game was voted the most underrated MSX game of all time, with 180 votes counted.

The Abbey of Crime Extensum - Full English translation of the Amstrad game La Abadía del Crimen

In 1987, Opera Soft released ' The abbey of crime ' also known as ' La abadía del crimen ', which was regarded as one of the best video games for the 8bit system such as the Amstrad, ZX Spectrum, and MSX.  It had a high level of detail, a decent plot, good mapping, sound and much more which made it a worth while game to collect even if it was never released outside of Spain. Thankfully things have changed since then as not only was there a PC remake (link) released not long ago, but as of today if you have an Amstrad, you can now check out the fully English translated version which has since been released by khaz and the help of the cpcwiki community.

Star Cruiser II The Odysseus Project - Action role playing game for the PC-98 is fully translated

Another awesome heads up by our translation source Romhacking as they have said the action role playing game 'Star Cruiser II: The Odysseus Project ' published by Arsys for the PC-98, has been fully English translated by Nebulous Translations! First released in the mid 90's, Star Cruiser II was only ever released in Japan and is the sequel to Star Cruiser, which came out initially for PC-88 and was later ported to many other systems.

Wrecking Crew ‘98 - A rare Mario Puzzler on the SNES, English translated!

Mario is in the news again and no this isn't a replay on the SNES Mini OR a quick bash on the Switch, but he's coming at you via a rare game called ' Wrecking Crew '98 ',  which has since been English translated by ShadowOne333 and team! Yes indeed this Mario game, a game I haven't heard of before due to Nintendo’s International Division shutting down sales of all SNES games in ‘97, is classed as a Puzzle game that never came out from Japan and as such was only ever playable in Japanese, either through import or a rom.

A Life M36 Planet - A complete English translation for an MSX Action Adventure

Usually I'm here talking about English translations for NES games or SNES games, but this one isn't either of those but a full English translation of an Action Adventure game called ' A Life M36 Planet ' on the MSX. Now I'm going to be truthful and say I've never heard of this game before which is a shame as it looks pretty decent, especially as described by Msx.org. According to them "this game was released for the MSX system in 1987 where the player has to find out if the planet M36 is suitable for a human colony. While the game was obviously inspired by Metroid, it does deepen its formula with a lot more RPG elements added on top of it "

CRW: Metal Jacket - PC-98 tactics game featuring mechs gets a full English translation

As a retro based site with the odd bit of Indie we do love to feature Rom hacks and English translations, but CRW: Metal Jacket, which got its own English translation today, stood out by a mile. This game which was released way back in 1994 for the PC-98, is a rather interesting looking tactics game featuring mecha pilots battling against criminals and insurgents in a futuristic Japan after World War III. As the main site says "It plays a bit like X-COM or Front Mission, and came out in late 1994, between the original release of those two series."

Aigiina no Yogen: Balubalouk no Densetsu Yori - Charming NES platformer is now in full 100% English

The Hacker wasn't the only NES game to get an English translation this week, as we've just learnt that Aigiina no Yogen: Balubalouk no Densetsu Yori (From The Legend of Balubalouk, also known as Aighina’s Prophecy) has now been 100% translated into English by Psyklax, which is far beyond the previous translation released some time ago. The game puts you in control of Jason, and it is down to you as the main hero to collect and re-unite the Aura Stars and finally rescue Princess Laira,  the daughter of Aighina, as only she knows to use them.

Rusty - Castlevania homage on the PC-98 gets a full English translation

In 1993 C-Lab released the Castlevania style game ' Rusty ' for the NEC PC-9800 in Japan; An action side scrolling platformer that put you in control of the female whip-wielding vampire hunter character Rusty and sometimes her owl companion. She is on a quest to defeat a variety of evil monsters, the main villain Marquis Monte-Carlo and finally to find the missing girls in the cursed land of Transylvania. A game that was only ever released in Japan has now been given the once over by 46 OkuMen and is now in full English!

Energy - Flawed PC Engine game gets improvements and an English translation

VizionGamer is on the ball again as he has once again informed us of a new English translation and game improvement that has been released via the Romhacking website. Today however isn't one of the best games we've ever mentioned on the PC Engine, nor is it particularly loved as it is the rather flawed game ' Energy ', which was released way back in 1988 by Quasar Soft that has a character that fights mutants released all over Tokyo. The game featured a long intro, poor graphics, very slow speed scrolling and not the best of controls.Thankfully this has been improved some what by cabbage and onionzoo to make it a far more enjoyable game.

Animetic Story Game 1: Cardcaptor Sakura - A Fully Playable English Translated Release!

Bit of a late one this and one we had to give a shout out to, is PsionBolt and NoOneee's fully playable English translated release of the PlayStation game Animetic Story Game 1: Cardcaptor Sakura. Mentioned earlier today by our good friend @VizionGamer. This game was released in Japan by Arika in 1999 for the Playstation 1, it featured beautiful 2D graphics, full voice acting, animated cutscenes from the TV show, and actually retells the story of the first season of the popular Anime that many people are still a fan of to this day. As RomHacking puts it  "this game recreates the world of Cardcaptor Sakura more accurately than any other CCS game before or since (and there have been quite a few other attempts)!"

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi : Meisou no Rinbukyoku aka Full Metal Alchemist - Gets a GBA English translation

Even though I'm in my 30's now, I still love watching Anime, more especially the ones with a great story and enough power to destroy the world itself! So it stands to reason why I was a huge fan of the Japanese Animation ' Full Metal Alchemist ', which Hagane no Renkinjutsushi : Meisou no Rinbukyoku on the GBA is based on. Sadly however, unlike the Animation which was able to be watched worldwide, the GBA version was only ever released in Japan and wasn't in English, at least until now.

3x3 Eyes : Juuma Houkan - Side-scrolling action adventure gets a full English translation

The gaming news just keeps on coming, as just moments ago @VizionGamer gave us the heads up of the English translation for the side scrolling action adventure game on the SNES ' 3x3 Eyes : Juuma Houkan '. Released only in Japan in the mid 90's and developed by Banpresto, this game is based on the 3×3 Eyes manga and OVA and puts you in control of Yakumo. You must travel around various parts of Hong Kong and other areas to prevent the resurrection of an evil beast!

Wizardry V : The Heart of the Maelstrom - SNES Dungeon Crawler released in English and Uncensored!

@VizionGamer contacted us recently about a new English translation and fully uncensored version of Wizardry V : The Heart of the Maelstrom that had been announced via the Romhacking website. This game which is a dungeon crawler and available to play on an SNES, was already released in North America but however decent it was, it didn't the better qualities of the version that was released in Japan. All references to nudity, alcohol, blood, violence, and religion were replaced in the North American version and this hack not only keeps the English intact but removes the censorship so players can experience the game as it was intended.

Railroad Baron Famicom Boardgame on the NES is now in English

As it's nearly Christmas most of you lucky ones have probably got a lot of people coming over for a family get together, or mates round for a quick booze up. So you'll probably need something fun to play that isn't just your usual online Call of Duty frenzy via your Xbox one. So here we have Tetsudou Ou: Famicom Boardgame, aka Railroad Baron for the NES, which is a 4 player game that has been fully translated into English by Jink640, MrRichard999 and Proveaux.

Whales Voyage 2 - The sequel to a great Amiga game gets an English translation [UPDATE]

And here we go again with yet more Amiga news, especially if you like a mix of adventuring, crawling and space travel all blended up into a lovely sci-fi mix. As thanks to the original translators and of course DamienD we now have a fully translated English release of the German game Whale's Voyage 2 available for download as an updated HDF file for Amiga users! This is the sequel to the fantastic game Whale's Voyage 1 developed by neo Software Productions.

Ace Combat 3 - A grand English translation released for a Playstation 1 game

Thanks to a heads up by our good friend VizionGamer via our twitter feed, we have learnt of the release of the English translation for Ace Combat 3 on the Playstation 1 by Team NEMO. You probably haven't heard of this game before, that's because the better version was released in Japan in 1999 as Ace Combat 3 : Electrosphere; an arcade air combat game by Namco. The problem was with the game and according to romhacking, the original story was altered and the characters were cut from the NTSC-U and PAL regions. Now thanks to Team Nemo the original Japanese game is back as it should be, but this time all 52+ missions are now in English!

BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets - An Obscure Zelda game gets a BIG translation and more!

What an incredible end to the week especially for Zelda fans across the globe, as BS Zelda no Densetsu, also known as 'BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets', has received a full English dub restoration. If you've never heard of the game, which until today included me, it was a score attack version of 'A Link to the Past', featuring high quality CD music and voices, but had to be played during a satellite broadcast. This rather jaw dropping release on the SNES according to Romhacking, is a full 4 hour English dub restoration available in both the original music arrangement and a custom orchestral arrangement. It also features a full voice cast including professional voice actress Kira Buckland (Danganronpa, Disgaia, Skullgirls) as Zelda, and is even playable on real hardware with a sd2snes.

Policenauts - Snatcher follow up on the Sega Saturn gets a full English translation patch

Another day another full English translation patch, and this time it's none other than Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher follow up but on the Sega Saturn as ' Policenauts '. Regarded as one of the finest iteration's on the Sega Saturn and released in Japan in 1996, Policenauts puts you in the shoes of a detective who travels to a space colony to investigate the circumstances surrounding his ex-wife's murder. It features high quality adventure gameplay with moments of combat, set in a first person perspective with a point and click interface.

Family Circuit - JP Famicom racer fully translated into English

Famicom owners will be pleased with the news today, as the Japanese 1988 racing game ' Family Circuit ' has been fully translated into English by Jink640 and team. Designed by Masanobu Endoh the same creator of Xevious and published by Namco, this is a top down F1 racing game which is accessible to players of all ages as they have to race to the top of the screen and come first place. Cars can be customised but you cannot crash into other racers, only into objects along the track such as barriers.