-- Go for it, Goemon! Depose the Odd Shogun McGuinness! -- (Beta version)

Original Video Game
by Konami

Released
December 22, 1993


Translation, Graphics, and Programming
by Avi Morgan

Released
September 7, 2020


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HISTORY
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This translation aims to faithfully localize the original game from Japanese to English by preserving the goofy humor of the dialogue while implementing original artwork that retains the appearance and style of the hand-drawn aesthetic exhibited by the game's many visuals. I invested thousands of hours over the course of many years in order to make this translation a reality.

There's an awful lot to say about the project, and at some point I'll find the time to do so. The development notes alone run for hundreds of pages, the project's complicated backstory spans decades, and the effort made to realize the most natural and visually faithful rendition is vast. There's a lot of ink brush artwork to share from the production leg of the project, many drafts of the script, and extensive notes about the game's cultural and historical content.

Working on this game greatly improved my Japanese, heightened my cultural and geographical awareness of Japan, prompted me to become a pixel artist, and finally required me to learn Assembly Language at an advanced level.

The programming occured during a six month span of time and was done manually in a hex editor, one byte at a time. The only resource that I used was a list of opcodes. All other knowledge was obtained from observing the game's own compiled code, the analysis of which equated to a major course in ASM. Research and development began very slowly, as I had no previous experience with or exposure to Assembly Language. Extensive and continuous reverse engineering and reprogramming experimentation was vital to quickly gaining an understanding of everything that the original programmers did.


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THE GAME
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Immerse yourself in gorgeous 16-bit sights and sounds as you travel back in time to the Edo Period and take part in a Kabuki play about a foreigner who invades Japan and usurps the Shogunate! Play the role of philosophical bandit Goemon, hedonistic thief Ebisumaru, or mechanical ninja Sasuke as you defend your country from the overzealous rule of a man whose love for Japanese culture has taken him several steps too far!

Hear the koto, shakuhachi, and shamisen unite with the saxophone, trumpet, and bass guitar as you are treated to both traditional melodies and Japanese style Doo-wop during your crazy romp through a Feudal Japan that is undergoing Westernization by a fanatical marauder!

See flickering paper lanterns illuminating night festivities, a Japanese amusement park containing enormous CRT monitors, and hula hooping demons that love tabletop bazooka!

Stop in town to stock up, grab a bite, stay at the inn, soak in a hot bath, gamble with friends, game with strangers, or even harass the innocent passerby!

Drive honking parade floats that can hop and blow bubbles, and engage in giant robot battles as you pilot Japan's very first Giant Karakuri against the mechanized barbarian hordes!

During this interactive trek across the Islands of Japan, you will make your own path along country roads, through surreal fortresses, over snowy peaks, and finally up to the skies on the journey to intercept an airborne Edo Castle!

Take the stage and "Go for it"!


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NOTES
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This is a bug-free Beta release. Graphics are a work in progress and will be completely overhauled for Version 1. Some are quite rough, such as the hand-drawn font used on the Journal Screen. Others, such as the Title Screen, are very close to being complete. Some of the fonts and graphics were created many years ago, such as the in-game 8x16 font, the cutscene 16x16 font, various town signage, and the Game Over screen which is the first pixel art image that I ever made. I think they're all worth seeing for the sake of curiosity before eventual replacement.

Some of the Attract Mode demo sequences feature dialogue, and since they're timed for the original version, the inputs don't line up with the English translation and timing falls out of sync. Pretty minor issue that's last on the list of things to do.

There are an assortment of legacy bugs under investigation, most of which are minor graphical issues. All bugs that exist in the original game are being fixed on the way to a Version 1.0 release. Some of those fixes are in this version. For example check out the dragon on the Map of Japan during Act 3. In the original game he's nearly obscured behind the HUD, whereas this version makes him visible and turns him around so that's not facing the edge of the screen.


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INFO
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mail:
avi@twiceread.city

site:
www.avimorgan.com