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Visual Novel Translation Status (31/10/2015)

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The big news this week is MangaGamer’s release of “Kara no Shojo – The Second Episode” (Link) and Sekai’s release of “Sound of Drop – fall into poison” (link). Click those hyperlinks to take a look at the games. Remember that there were five releases last week (and I’ll put links to them down at the bottom of the post in my comment section). So… yeah! Lots to play these days.

Anyway! Welcome to our weekly VNTS (Visual Novel Translation Status) series, in which we track visual novel translation updates in-house (we don’t rely on /jp/ posts on 4ch, for example) and post it for your enlightenment and enjoyment each Saturday. If you find any errors, or you think a project is missing from this list, please let me know in the comments. Any new updates are marked by orange text.

The Short Version:
Only the New Stuff

  • AstralAir – TL bump: 32,765 / 64,574 (50.74%) (The page wasn’t updated when this week’s VNTS was updated, so they’re likely even farther)
  • Kono Oozora Retranslation Troject – Amane and Ageha’s routes partially translated, rest 100% translated and edited.
  • Kara no Shoujo – Second Episode (MangaGamer)- Released! Get it over on MangaGamer.
  • Narcissu Trilogy Remake (Sekai Project) – Narcissu 0 TL: 13.4%; Narcissu 3rd TL: 62.29%
  • Ne no Kami: The Two Princess Knights of Kyoto (Sekai Project) – TL: 37.79%
  • Noble Works – Great to see a bump! TL is now 93.9% (54,169/57,690)
  • Rance Quest Magnum – TL jumped a percent up to 48%
  • Shiny Days (JAST) – Checking fix for Data replay, making new ending credit
  • Sound of Drop – fall into poison – (Sekai Project) – Released! Get it on Steam!
  • Starless (JAST) – Script check 5%, added new mosaic to fix list.
  • Uchi no Koneko-chan – Picked up by Sekai
  • Utawarerumono Portable – Found the real progress page and inputted all the details into the table. Here they are, as well: Graphics: 99.9%; Translation: [158 / 616 files]; Script Check: [92 / 616 files]; [10700/~37500 lines]; Misc. hacking: 99%
  • White Album 2 – Very slight bump up to TL: 30.51%;
  • Witch’s Garden – Another slight bump up to TL: 60.17%

MangaGamer Fall Sale ends today (10/31). Here are the titles and prices:

  • Cartagra – Affliction of the Soul ($24.47) (Link)
  • Kara no Shojo ($24.47) (Link)
  • Cartagra + Kara no Shojo Bundle ($41.97) (Link)
  • Kara no Shojo Regular Edition (Hardcopy) ($29.96) (Link)
  • ef – the first tale ($20.97) (Link)
  • ef – the latter tale ($24.47) (Link)
  • Cho Dengeki Stryker ($29.22) (Link)
  • Go! Go! Nippon! 2015 Bundle ($11.24) (Link)
  • Go! Go! Nippon! 2015 (DLC) ($5.99) (Link)
  • Guilty The Sin ($20.97) (Link)
  • Guilty The Sin (Hardcopy) ($26.21) (Link)
  • Harem Party ($17.47) (Link)
  • Harem Party (Hardcopy) ($26.21) (Link)
  • Koihime Musou ($34.97) (Link)
  • Suika A.S.+ ($20.97) (Link)
  • Valkyrie Svia (Hardcopy) ($18.71) (Link)

 

Fan Translation

Fan TL Project Team Brief Status Summary
Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino
(VNDB)
AkaAka TL
(Updates)
  • TL: 98%;
  • Editing: 15%; 2/3 of common proofread; Demo being tested
Amagami
(VNDB)
Ni Shi Shi TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 61.1% (1410/2308)
Amairo Islenauts
(VNDB)
Sakura Subs
(Progress)
  • Prologue TL: 100%; Edit: 100%
  • Common TL: 100%; Edit: 99%
  • Airi: TL: 0%; Edit: 0%
  • Masaki TL: 40%; TLC: 25%
  • Shirley TL: 20%; TLC: 10%
  • Yune TL: 0%; Edit: 0%
  • Konoka TL: 40%; TLC: 20%
  • Bonus TL: 20%; Edit: 0%
Anniversary no Kuni no Alice
(VNDB)
Märchen TL (Progress)
  • TL: 55%;
  • Edit: 39%;
  • Proofread: 28%
Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm (Aokana)
(VNDB)
OriginalRen
(Progress)
  • Common Route – Complete! (TL/Edits)
  • Asuka’s Route – Complete! (TL/Edits)
  • Misaki’s Route – Complete! (TL/Edits)
  • Mashiro’s Route – Translating
  • Rika’s Route – TBA
  • Extra Material – TBA
AstralAir
(VNDB)
AstralAir TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 32,765 / 64,574 (50.74%)
Ayakashi Gohan!
(VNDB)
Hanataba TL
(Progress)
  • Ayakashi common route: 100%
  • Asagi’s route: 1846/5631 lines (33%)
  • Haginosuke’s route: 3798/4634 lines (82%)
  • Manatsu: 2041/4358 lines (47%)
  • Suou’s route: 2588/5246 lines (49%)
  • Uta: 100%!
  • Yomi: 1429/5349 lines (27%)
  • Trial is translated and patch is available! (link)
Black Wolves Saga -Bloody Nightmare-
(VNDB)
Golden Spirit
(Progress)
  • TL: 55/65 scripts
  • Edit: 51/65 scripts
  • TLC: 28/65 scripts
Brother Conflict PSP
(VNDB)
PassionAndBrilliance
(Progress)
  • Passion Pink: TL – 100%
  • Brilliant Blue: TL – : 5%
  • Note: Despite JP Vita release, the team is continuing the project (link)
Bunny Black 2
(VNDB)
Seiha TL
(Progress)
  • Aroduc put together the to-do list and project plan. (Update topic)
Clover Day’s
(VNDB)
Yakusoku TL
(Progress)
  • Common TL: 100%;
  • Anzu TL: 49%;
  • Anri TL: 16%;
  • Hekiru TL: 10.25%;
  • Tsubame TL: 40%;
  • Izumi: 12%;
Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient
(VNDB)
Hysteric 4 U
  • New Goal: Late ’15/ Early ’16
  • (Counter on site isn’t accurate)
  • Decided to continue TL project, despite the alternate release two weeks ago
DSP #3
(Denwatls’ Secret Project)
Denwatls
(Progress)
  • TL: 10% (Project began on 20 July 2015)
Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Voice Porting Project
Progress
  • Ongoing
Gore Screaming Show
(VNDB)
Crying TL
(Progress)
  • TL – 29%
  • TLC- 0%
  • Editing – 12% (Re-editing)
  • Image Editing – 11%
  • Temporarily on Hold: “*At this current time, I’m unable to get in-contact with the translators. So whether they are too busy at the moment is unknown. I will probably know more later. This project has stopped until I can find more or and get in-contact with the others.*” (Link)
HaraKano
(VNDB)
Loe Quality TL
(Progress) (Twitter)
  • Common Route – Done
  • Marina Route – Complete
  • Ayana´s route – Complete
  • Ren’s Route – (Next)
  • Patch Release (Link)
Haruka Na Sora
(VNDB)
trjr
(Progress)
  • The team is currently focusing on Yosuga no Sora before working on this one.
Hatsukoi 1/1
(VNDB)
Kousetsu Translations
(Progress)
  • TL: 11,409 lines
  • Edit: ~10,200 lines
Hiiro no Kakera
(VNDB)
Otome Game TL
(Progress)
Hoka no Onna no Ko to H wo Shiteiru Ore wo Mite Koufun Suru Kanojo
(VNDB)
Washi TL (Progress)
NSFW
  • TL: 5,882 lines
  • Edit: 2,024 lines
Iinazuke wa Imouto-sama!
(VNDB)
Imouto TL
(Progress)
Immoral Little
(VNDB)
Tiny Lily
(Progress)
  • TL: 500/11,626
  • Release Goal: February 30th
Irotoridori no Sekai
(VNDB)
SakuSaku TL
(Progress)
  • PICKED UP. Some progress already reported (link). Pretty sure the main project is still Koisaku atm, tho.
  • Needs 1 Editor (critical) and 1 translator.
Ken ga Kimi
(VNDB)
Golden Spirit
(Progress)
  • TL: 112/122 scripts
  • Edit: 93/122
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
(VNDB)
Alternative Projects
(Progress)
  • First chapter’s translation completed (link)
  • All the common routes for KGNE have now been completed! (Link)
Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki (Koisaku)
(VNDB)
SakuSaku TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 49257/49257 (100%)
  • Edit: 35847/49257 (73%)
  • QC: 31858/49257 (65%)
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate (Koichoco)
(VNDB)
Basic TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 100%
  • Edit: 100%
  • QC: 85.6%% (340/397)
Koiken Otome
(VNDB)
Flying Pantsu
(Progress)
  • TL: 96.55% (39,304 lines);
  • TLC: 91.85% (37,392 lines);
  • Edit: 83.93% (34,166 lines);
  • QC: 81.53% (33,192/ 40,710 lines); Prologue patch released.
KoiTate
(VNDB)
Magicflier
(Progress)
  • TL: 89% (34139/38001);
  • Edit: 58% (22248/38001)
  • Not dead (Link)
Kono Oozora Retranslation Project
(VNDB)
(Progress in this thread)
  • Amane’s and Ageha’s routes are partially translated, all other routes are 100% TL-ed and edited. Patch won’t be finished this year, but early~ish 2016 might be possible, unless we encounter some unexpected issues again. (link)
Kud Wafter
(VNDB)
Project Wafuu
(Progress)
  • TL: 39.12%
Kurukuru Fanatic
(VNDB)
Dark Eye
(Progress)
  • TL: 87.5%
Little Busters EX/ME
(VNDB)
Doki & Fuzzy
(Updates: Page, Doc)
  • Total TL: 98.5% (29712);
  • Total Edit: 58.27% (17576)
  • Total QC: 0%
Lovely x Cation
(VNDB)
Elevator TL
(Progress)
  • Overall: 26%
Lover Able
(VNDB)
EvilObject
(Progress)
  • Temporarily stalled
  • TL: 6.84%
Mahou Tsukai no Yoru
(VNDB)
Commie Fansubs
(Progress – outdated)
  • Fully translated, undergoing editing.
Mahou Tsukai no Yoru
(VNDB)
Loe Quality
(Progress)
  • 2.2/200+ scripts translated
Mahou Tsukai no Yoru
(VNDB)
nrvnqsr Team (Progress)
  • Ongoing
Majikoi A-1
(VNDB)
Maji TL
(Progress)
  • Overall: 11.4%
Monster Girl Quest Paradox
(VNDB)
DargothTL
(Blog) (MGQP-Related Posts)
  • “Progress: Not as much as I’d like”
  • MGQ Paradox English Patch v1.21a released (see this post).
Muv-Luv Altered Fable
(VNDB)
Jutsuki Sen
(Progress)
  • 3rd patch released in 2014: with Sumika, Meiya, Kashiwagi routes
Muv-Luv Alternative – Total Eclipse
(VNDB)
Alternative Projects
(Progress)
Noble Works
(VNDB)
Oxford Comma
(Progress)
  • TL: 93.9% (54,169/57,690)
Nursery Rhyme
(VNDB)
Kururu
(Progress)
  • TL: 25.9% (8543/32977)
  • Edit: 2% (805 / 32977)
  • Back! (Link)
Oreimo Tsuzuku (Disc 2)
(VNDB)
Rinjinbu
(Progress)
  • TL:: 99.3%;
  • TLC: 82.1%;
  • Edit: 73.1%
  • Needs more volunteers!
PersonA
(VNDB)
(Progress)
  • TL: 43%
  • Edit: 33%
  • NOT DEAD! Dealing with lots of errors. “So far I have all of Raoul’s and Fantome’s routes translated. I am working on Philip sand would say I’m about half done with them.”
Princess Maker 5
(VNDB)
(Updates: Page, Doc)
  • TL (100 – unTLd): 86.06%;
  • Finalized TL: 32.91%
Rance 5D
(VNDB)
2.0 TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 100%,
  • Edit: 100%;
  • Now being revised
Rance Quest Magnum
(VNDB)
2.0 TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 48%
Rance VI
(VNDB)
Arunaru
(Progress)
Re:Birthday Song
(VNDB)
Otome Adventures
(Progress)
  • TL: 35%
  • Still looking for translators! (Link)
Rewrite Harvest Festa
(VNDB)
Amaterasu
(Progress)
  • Total Lines: 22,583/30,040 (75.18%)
  • Needs hackers
Sanarara R
(VNDB)
Gao Gao
(Progress)
  • TL: 14.5% (15/103 parts).
  • TL on hold, awaiting new tools.
Sayonara wo Oshiete
(VNDB)
TLWiki
(Progress)
  • TL: 29.8% (4269/14309);
  • Edit: 0%
Shin Koihime Musou
(VNDB)
SKM Team
(Progress)
  • Story: 100%
  • Character Events: 85.9%
  • H-Scenes: 17.2% (Everyone hates H-Scenes)
  • Battle: 34%
  • Comprehensive Total: 69.2% (Including Battles)
  • Non-weighted Total: 74.8% (Excluding Battles)
SonoHana 10
(VNDB)
Yuri Project
(Progress)
  • Some TL , some editing and QC done
SonoHana 11
(VNDB)
Yuri Project
(Progress)
  • Some TL done
Starry Sky ~in Summer~
(VNDB)
Golden Spirit
(Progress)
  • TL: 177/177 scripts
  • Edit: 165/177 scripts
  • TLC: 90/177
Subarashiki Hibi (SubaHibi)
(VNDB)
TLWiki
(Progress)
  • TL: 100%;
  • Edit: 98.4%;
Supreme Candy
(VNDB)
Habluka
(Progress)
  • TL: ~33.7% (~14573/43261)
Sweet Pool
(VNDB)
Aarin Community
(Progress)
  • Translation: 100%
  • Translation checking: 100%
  • Editing: 100%
  • Proofreading: 96%
  • Insertion: 96%
Tasogaredoki no Kyoukaisen
(VNDB)
Kohaku
(Progress)
  • TL, Edit & TLC : 100%;
  • To do:
    • 1) Fix technical stuff (95% done);
    • 2) Image Editing;
    • 2) QC
To Heart 2
(VNDB)
Ittaku Subs
(Progress)
  • TL: 100%;
  • Edit: 15%;
  • Follow here for the latest. (9/12: some update info here)
  • Got enough editors, STILL NEEDS TLC
Tsujidou-san no Jun’ai Road
(VNDB)
(Progress) (Repository Link)
  • Translated: 4.02%
  • Quality Checked: 2.17%
  • Play Tested: 2.17%
Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete
(VNDB)
Sharin-Sub
(Progress)
  • TL: 15.7%. Looking for TLCers, and editors (link)
  • Opened a Rizon group #WareMete
Utawarerumono Portable
(VNDB)
BLACKlabel translations
(Progress)
  • Graphics: 99.9%
  • Translation: [ 158 / 616 files* ] (updated 29.10.2015)
  • Script Check: [ 92 / 616 files ] [ 10700 / ~37500** lines ] (re)translated (updated 30.10.2015)
  • Misc. hacking: 99%
  • * all files (not all 616 contain text that need translation)
  • ** estimated count of lines that need a translation.
Wand of Fortune
(VNDB)
Otome Game TL
(Progress)
White Album 2
(VNDB)
Baka-Tsuki
(Updates: Page, Stats)
  • TL: 30.51%;
  • Rough patch released
  • Introductory Chapter has undergone editing.
Witch’s Garden
(VNDB)
WG TL
(Progress)
  • TL: 60.17
  • TLC: 4.63%; (3,113/67,201)
  • Edit: 3.31% (2,221/67,201);
  • QC: 3.11% (2,089/67,201);
Yosuga no Sora
(VNDB)
trjr
(Progress)
  • Overall TL: 84.07% (33109/39383)

 

 

JAST USA (Updates; Archive)

Game Brief Status Summary
Bitch na Ichinichi
  • TL: 100%
  • Editing in Prog
  • Waiting on new test build
Django
  • Waiting on TL
Flowers
  • Translation finished!
  • In editing
  • Preparing for engine port.
  • Game site was updated
Seinarukana
  • Translation and coding finished
  • Waiting on LE materials
  • QA checking in progress
Sonicomi
  • TL is done
  • Editing in prog
  • Building launcher
  • Game site is up
Sumaga
  • TL is done
  • Editing in prog
Sweet Home
  • TL: 10%
Trample on Schatten
  • Main scenario 100% translated and edited
  • Extra content 33% done.
Other
  • Shiny Days (JAST) – Checking fix for Data replay, making new ending credit
  • Starless – Script check 5%, added new mosaic to fix list.

 

MangaGamer (Updates)

Mangagamer Brief Status Summary
Beat Blades Haruka
  • TL: 66%
  • Edit: 55%
Bokuten
  • TL: 66.5%
  • Edit: 30.05%
Da Capo 3
  • Translation: 60.6%
  • Editing: 16.1%
Euphoria
Free Friends 2
  • TL and Editing Complete
Gahkthun
  • TL: 100%;
  • Edit: 90%
Go Go Nippon 2015
  • Released!
  • Buy it here (~$6)
  • Buy the bundle version here (~$11)
  • (Both come with Steam keys)
Higurashi (Retranslation)
  • Second chapter – TL + Edit are done
  • In Scripting
Himawari -a pebble in the sky-!
  • TL: 100%;
  • Edit: 100%;
  • Side Stories: done!
House in Fata Morgana
  • TL: 84.04%;
  • Edit: 1.3%
Kara no Shoujo 2
  • Releases October 30th.
  • Pre-order here
  • Demo is up (link)
Kindred Spirits On The Roof
  • TL: 70%;
  • Edit: 60%
Kuroinu
  • TL: 18.13%;
  • Edit: 18.13%
Myth
  • TL: 52%
  • Edit: 45.8%
My Boss’ Wife is My Ex!
  • TL: 100%;
  • Edit: 100%
OZMAFIA!!
  • TL: 87%
Princess Evangile W Happiness
  • Announced at Otakon
The Shadows of Pygmalion
  • Announced at Otakon
Supipara (Ch 1)
  • TL: 100%;
  • Edit: 100%
Tokyo Babel
  • TL: 48%
Umineko When They Cry.
  • Announced

Other pre-orders on MangaGamer:

  • Divine Slice of Life – Adult Version – Link  RELEASED
  • No One But You – Link
  • Sekaiju – Yggdrasil – Link

 

 

Sekai Project (Release Call, Update Page)

Game Release Date / Status
Atom Grrrl
  • TL: 100%
CLANNAD
  • Q4 2015
  • Translation, Editing, and two QA passes complete.
Chrono Clock
  • TBD
Dizzy Hearts
  • TBD
G-Senjou no Maou
Human Reignition Project
  • TBD
Koenchu!
  • TBD
Kokonoe Kokoro
  • Engine Integration/QA
Memory’s Dogma
  • TBD
MMD
  • TBD
Moonshot
  • TBD
Narcissu Trilogy Remake
  • Narcissu 0 TL: 13.4%
  • Narcissu 3rd TL: 62.29%
Ne no Kami: The Two Princess Knights of Kyoto
  • TL: 37.79%
No One But You
  • Steam Page (Link);
  • Pre-order on MangaGamer (Link)
November Boy
  • TBD
PacaPlus
  • TBD
Planet Ruler
  • Engine debug + QA
RaidersSphere4th
  • Steam Early Access: Link
Resette
  • TBD
Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition
  • TBD
Rising Angels: Fates
  • TBD
Sacrament Sheep
  • Engine debug and QA
Shizuku no Oto
Sierra Ops
Starlight Vega
  • TBD
Sunrider: Liberation Day
  • AX PV released
WAS -The Hourglass of Lepidoptera-
  • Backers have access to private alpha
Witch boy Magical piece
  • Kickstarter launched! (Link)
WORLD END ECONOMiCA episode.03
  • TL: 7.39%

Here’s a handy link to sort Sekai Project’s Steam releases by release date: link

 

Other

Stuff from me/Decay/Zaka/helpful friends:

  • Muv-Luv kickstarter is live! (Link)
  • Magical Eyes – Red is for Anguish (vndb) to be released on Steam this winter.
  • Miu-path of “Dracu-Riot!” going on here.
  • Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ RELEASED! (Link)
  • Norn9: Var Commons Coming to PS Vita November 3rd (thanks, Lambda!)
  • Wish Tale of the Sixteenth Night – Kickstarter successfully funded.

Stuff from /jp/ poster VNTS (thank her/him, not me, if you find this helpful!):

  • Eiyuu Senki – Delayed until…. later this year?
  • Moenovel is working on another title
  • Lucky Dog – Possible iOS released based on the ongoing text only fanTL
  • Harvest December – 3DS ports being released

 

The Zakabox

— Commentary Section —

Zakabox™ Commentary

「Hello, cruel world.

I have recently been sleeping at approximately sane times for a Swede, which makes timely collaboration with y’all USians and occasional Canadians (m’apologies to anyone somewhere else in the relevant timezones) a bit difficult. Thus, I start writing this three hours after the post’s release. At least I added the KonoSora thing.

Decay will speak of Chinese things below, so I’ll just point out that Korean VNs are also a thing. Most of the ones making it over seem to be female-oriented, and the one Sekai Project picked up back in april, November Boy, is no exception as it’s in the BL genre.

Shizuku noahem, Sound of Drop – fall into poison – looks interesting. I may have to acquire it. That said, one of the pictures on the Steam page looks awfully spoilery, sigh. Also, Sound of Drop sounds incredibly stupid. The literal translation of Shizuku does appear to be (water) drop or dripping, but that’s no excuse for poor localization. Of course, it’s possible that the Japanese company demanded it, because >Japanese companies. Also, am I just out of the loop or did they barely hype it at all before just releasing it out of the blue? I basically woke up, saw Sekai Project’s mail about its release, and tweeted about it on fuwa official…

The innogrey bundle is probably the highlight of MG’s sale. Cartagra is set in same universe as Kara no Shoujo, and there is a (forgettable) major spoiler for Cartagra in Kara no Shoujo, Cartagra was the first to be released. That said, they aren’t linked very strongly, so you can pick up KnS first if you want. Or at least, so my internet friends say.

Flowers might take a while if porting is close to as difficult as what Doddler had to do for MG’s innogrey releases. You wonder whether they can actually keep whatever dates they promised innogrey, lol. Or if it will even be out quicker than MG could do it. Well, considering MG’s schedule, maybe – look how long some of their titles have been fully translated and edited.

Oh, and I’m too lazy to add it anywhere else, but I just head that LB!EX Perfect Edition – which is LB EX without the fucking – is going to be released by Fruitbat Factory or something. Who knows, maybe this was the actual reason for the delay!」

Decay’s Musings

Who’s excited for Kara no Shojo 2? I know I am. I’m not completely in love with Innocent Grey’s series of dark murder mysteries but I still like them a fair amount. KnS2 is supposedly even better than the previous games with the highest scores of any IG game on EGS and VNDB. I can’t wait to get my hands on it soon!

But first, I’ve been playing Gaokao.Love.100Days…. wait, really? Yes, really. This game fills me with curiosity for many reasons. It’s hails from China, how do the Chinese handle bishoujo high school dating sims? It turns out… actually pretty well. The art is actually pretty decent, it’s fully voiced (although people’s’ tastes for the chinese voices seems to vary), the music is a bit generic but not bad, and it’s actually a pretty lengthy read. They boast over fifty endings and there are several main heroines to choose from and some sub-heroines as well… even though you start the game in a relationship already. They do a lot of things right, and this could have actually been pretty decent…

… Except the translation is trash. Truly bad. Perhaps what made me most interested in this title is the developer’s reaction to the feedback. Here’s the thing, nobody on Steam seems to care that the translation is awful. This is unfortunate but par for the course there, and really, seemingly everywhere else. But a tiny handful of people did complain, and the Chinese developers actually took it to heart and immediately pledged to improve it. They recruited people from the community and they gave the whole script an editing pass. When they recently released some additional free new content for it, they gave the whole thing yet another editing pass. They didn’t have to do this, it was already selling surprisingly well on Steam.

The result? It reads better, but it’s still bad. Like, opening years of MangaGamer bad or MoeNovel bad. Granted, that’s an improvement over what it was before, but it still has a LONG way to go before it’s truly acceptable as a product being sold to english readers. The whole point of this rant isn’t necessarily about Gaokao, but translations in general. Seeing Gaokao go through multiple editing passes and still end up bad exposes a truth about translations. If the original translation is bad enough, no amount of editing can fix it. We’ve seen this in another title recently, Tales of Zestiria, which is in much better shape than GaoKao due to better editing but it still has a number of unfortunate issues such as random non-sequiturs that weren’t present in the original Japanese. There’s only so much an editor can do if the translation is just wrong or badly written to the point where guesses need to be made.

I’m not alone in thinking this, translator Futsuu had some words to say on this (part of a series of tweets), and It’s the main reason why Pabloc decided to retranslate If My Heart Had Wings from scratch rather than simply TLC/edit it. It also has heavy implications for fan translations as well. For example, if you’re an aspiring translator who isn’t fully confident in your english skills, for example, perhaps try to find other ways to be helpful other than being a translator. Many projects are in need of translation checkers, for example. Or maybe just… wait until you’ve improved? These VNs aren’t going anywhere. And due to how averse translators are to retranslations, your translation may be the only one that VN ever receives.

Going back to Gaokao, it’s unfortunate how much the translation can bring that experience down. If the english script would have been well-written, I truly believe that it could have been at least somewhat popular and liked throughout the VN community. The developers seem like good and honest folk who simply lacked the resources for an adequate translation. The Steam users might not care, but that’s all it takes for the rest of us to shun it. My only hope is that other companies don’t use cases like Gaokao as an excuse to skimp on translations in the future.

TAYsteful™ Thoughts

It’s been a long week for me. Real life has been quite tough, and as far as Fuwanovel goes, Rose and I have been drowning in applications for the Player Mentors program. I’ve got some behind the scenes fixes to do tonight, and then tomorrow I’ll be active on the forums and site getting stuff done.

Zaka hasn’t posted anything in the Zakabox in a long time. I’m curious to see if he’s perma-dead. Hearthstone can be dangerous, like that.

Reading update: I’ve been reading a bunch of textbooks (yuck!), but have had the chance to get ~40% into The Shining (Amazon) (Powell’s). I’ve really enjoyed the way King has interwoven supernatural stuff into his horror/thriller fiction. Oh, and if you didn’t hear, I did finish “It” (Powell’s) and I loved it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than a bit upset about that Bev scene, but otherwise I thought the book was fantastic. I was especially delighted to discover the reason why the characters had to return to Derry as adults. So! Just want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who gave me advice about which King books to read next! (What have all of you been reading this week? Anything good?)

As promised, here are links to last week’s five releases:

  • Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Otome) – Released on PS Vita! (Link)
  • Divine Slice of Life – Adult Version -Released! Get it here: Link.
  • HaraKano – Ayana Seno’s Route 100% English Patch (Link)
  • Muv-Luv Chronicles 02: TDA01 and Aspiration (Link)
  • The Men of Yoshiwara: Kikuya (Otome) (Link)

This week’s header image comes from Kara no Shojo – The Second Episode which is this week’s star release (take a look at it here). Sounds like people are enjoying it. If you’ve got and played the game, will you take a sec and share your thoughts in the comments? We’d really like to hear more about it from players.

Have a good week, everybody.

Tay

I'm the Fuwanovel community admin and a big fan of Visual Novels. The easiest way to get a hold of me is via a PM on the Fuwanovel Forums, by twitter (@ArchmageTay), or by email.

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Spiller
8 years ago

Damn, I have been waiting for Kara no Shoujo 2, but with Trails in the sky second chapter which just came out and the MuvLuv kickstarter, that’s nearly $200 already…
Does anyone know if the trial is different from the demo they released previously?

KnS Fan
KnS Fan
Reply to  Spiller
8 years ago

The trial and demo are indeed the same thing.

THERAPTOR
THERAPTOR
8 years ago

Uchi no Koneko-chan?
Never heard of it, tried searching it but found no result.

THERAPTOR
THERAPTOR
Reply to  THERAPTOR
8 years ago

Found it, https://vndb.org/v18185
For some reason google couldnt find it.

Zakamutt
Admin
8 years ago

Added commentary and Konosora update. Killed kittens. Kicked puppies. Was sued by Rooke for lifestyle infringement. Pled* guilty. Was sentenced to listening to him for more than thirty seconds.

Still alive, but barely.

*Apparently “pleaded” is advised, but fuck that.

User221
User221
8 years ago

You probably should put in there that Mahoyo has a partial patch now…

Decay
Reply to  User221
8 years ago

I believe that was mentioned the week it happened, perhaps we should make the status on the table more clear.

Decay
8 years ago

First of all: We missed something. Or rather, I forgot about it. Flowers no longer seems slated for fall 2015. This date has been removed from its website. JAST has not spoken about this but yeah, don’t expect it next month and probably not even this year. Turns out they can’t generate a game engine at the snap of their fingers.

Secondly: BIG NEWS! Key is bringing over both Little Busters Perfect Edition (enhanced version of Memorial Edition) and Tomoyo After (hopefully also Perfect Edition) to Steam! This happened a few hours ago so the timing was bad with our post.

Kud
Kud
Reply to  Decay
8 years ago

glad i’m not gonna see the 98% here again.
dawm…if i think that it takes 4 plus years just for 3 more routes…

RoziEll
RoziEll
Reply to  Decay
8 years ago

Btw, what about Ecstasy version? They plan to release it?

dorj
dorj
Reply to  RoziEll
8 years ago

Memorial is EX without the sex.

RoziEll
RoziEll
Reply to  dorj
8 years ago

I know, but…
Well, I guess I’m not losing too much

dilworks
8 years ago

And… I was thinking about buying Gaokao, because the history actually sounds good to me.

But you’re right – your average Steam buyer doesn’t care about quality more than about ePeen, er, backlog sizes and cute cards/emoticons. At least the devs do listen, but well, those are the risks of going all alone on the global market.

NeoAnkara
8 years ago

And this month KoiChoco update stated that it’s still not yet finished.

Decay
Reply to  NeoAnkara
8 years ago

Let’s be fair here. They announced that they are now working on implementation and seek to release the patch this month.

NeoAnkara
Reply to  Decay
8 years ago

Probably that is. At least it will be done before the year end.

Kud
Kud
Reply to  Decay
8 years ago

well…i did doubt them…..a lot (and i still do…),but i will be really gratefull when the project is done.but it’s not like a quick line “don’t worry we are still alive” will cost them so much?unless they are sadists…

Zakamutt
Admin
Reply to  Kud
8 years ago
Kud
Kud
Reply to  Zakamutt
8 years ago

my comment was a response to that one (should be clear if i posted in a topic which mentions a koichoco update).
and twitter…if that counts ok…

Josh
Josh
8 years ago

“Starless – Script check 5%, added new mosaic to fix list….”

What’s it means? I am already playing that eroge last May with a patch…

Decay
Reply to  Josh
8 years ago

JAST are trying to fix some issues with it, including a mosaic that was unintentionally left in. As for the script check specifically, I’m not 100% sure. They may be doing another QA pass on the english script? Don’t take my word for that.

Aria of Forbidden Magic
Aria of Forbidden Magic
8 years ago

I don’t know if you guys noticed because Mangagamer hasn’t updated their project status page, but chapter 2 of Higurashi releases on Steam on November 13th (Friday the 13th, ooh~). I just thought that in case you didn’t see that, it’d be nice if someone said something. Hope this was helpful!

trackback
8 years ago

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