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 Seiken Densetsu 3 English Translation Patch
 Version 1.01

 Created by:

  Neill Corlett  - ROM patch design, script editing
  Lina`chan      - Script translation
  Nuku-nuku      - Script translation
  SoM2Freak      - Misc. translation

 With special thanks to Richard Bush.

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 For further information and patch updates, visit the
 Seiken Densetsu 3 Translation home page:

 http://lfx.org/~corlett/sd3/

 To see other projects by the same translators, visit
 Lina`Chan, Nuku-Nuku, and Filia's Translation Domain:

 http://translations.animangarpg.org/

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 The patch may not be distributed unless accompanied by
 this documentation.  See the Legal section for details.

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 CONTENTS
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 0.  What's new
 1.  Project history
 2.  How to install
 3.  About the game
 4.  Greetings
 5.  A word from Lina`chan
 6.  Legal / disclaimer
 7.  Before you contact us...
 8.  Contacting us

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 0.  What's new
------------------------------------------------------------

 Version 1.01 (August 27, 2000) fixes several typographical
 errors in the script.  It will work with the original ROM
 image, or an image previously patched with version 1.00.

 Version 1.00 (July 27, 1999) was the first public release.

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 1.  Project history
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 Some call it "the best Super Famicom game ever", some
 dismiss it as just another boring action game.  But most
 people agree that Square made a grave mistake when they
 decided not to market Seiken Densetsu 3 overseas -
 especially after the success of its predecessor, Secret of
 Mana.

 Around 1996 and 1997, the growth of the internet, combined
 with the increasing popularity of video game emulators,
 sparked a number of unofficial game translation projects.
 Several of these came into fruition; most notably the RPGe
 translation of Final Fantasy 5, and Neo Demiforce's Final
 Fantasy 2 project.  These groups proved that such projects
 were not only possible, but feasible as well.

 Some of the more complex games, however, have proven too
 big a challenge for the fan translation community.  Seiken
 Densetsu 3 obscures its text behind numerous layers of
 compression, putting it well out of reach of the casual
 hex editor.

 In April of 1998, the RPGe web site announced that Richard
 Bush had quit his Seiken Densetsu 3 translation project.
 I (Neill Corlett) decided that my effort would be well-
 spent in seeing this project through, overcoming all the
 technical obstacles, bringing to the English-speaking
 world a game we should have had in the first place.

 With technical issues out of the way, translator SoM2Freak
 went to work.  He finished the enemy names, item names,
 spell names, menu selections, and a small portion of the
 script itself, before leaving for Japan in spring of 1999.
 Translators Lina`chan (whose work includes the unofficial
 Magic Knight Rayearth translation) and Nuku-nuku finished
 the remainder of the script.

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 2.  How to install
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 Included in this archive is a patch file, "sd3en101.ips".
 When applied to an original ROM image from a Seiken
 Densetsu 3 game cartridge, this patch converts all text in
 the game from Japanese to English.  The size of the ROM
 image will not change.

 (Obtaining the ROM image is up to you, and beyond the
 scope of this documentation.)

 Version 1.01 of the patch may be applied to an original
 ROM image, or an image previously patched with version
 1.00.

 * If you're using Windows 95, 98, NT, or 2000:

   Run the "Install" program, also included in this archive.
   This will apply the patch to a ROM image of your choice,
   and optionally back up the original.

 * If you're using anything else:

   You'll need an IPS patching utility for your operating
   system.  Several are included on the Seiken Densetsu 3
   Translation home page:

   http://lfx.org/~corlett/sd3/

 SRAM images from the Japanese version are compatible with
 the English version.  However, the characters' names will
 appear garbled.  You can use the included SRAM Name Fix
 utility (NAMEFIX.EXE) to convert all the character names
 into their English defaults.  This is a command-line based
 DOS program which will work with either raw SRAM images
 (.SRM) or SWC Battery Backup images (.BBD).

 Saved states (.ZST, .RTS, etc.) from the Japanese version
 will not work properly with the English version, and are
 neither supported nor reccommended.

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 3.  About the game
------------------------------------------------------------

 Seiken Densetsu 3 is a prequel to Secret of Mana.  That
 is, the events in the game supposedly take place centuries
 before Secret of Mana.

 Six young heroes are caught in the crossfire of a global
 struggle to revive the God-Beasts and control the world.
 They are:

      Duran      Kevin      Hawk
      Angela     Carlie     Lise

 You will choose one of them as the main character, and two
 more as partners.  The other three will appear elsewhere
 in the game as NPCs.

 Your character choice is permanent.  The three characters
 you choose are with you until the end of the game.

 Each of the six characters has his own introductory
 scenario; you'll begin the game by playing the main
 character's scenario before moving on with the rest of the
 game.  There are also significant differences in the plot,
 based on who you pick as your main character.  These plot
 differences can be organized into three "quests":

   Duran and Angela   - quest #1 (easiest)
   Kevin and Carlie   - quest #2
   Hawk and Lise      - quest #3 (hardest)

 Up to three players can play the game simultaneously, each
 controlling a different character.  If there are fewer
 than three players, the remaining characters will be
 controlled automatically by AI.

 The default controller button assignments are as follows:

  A      - Talk to another character (normally),
           swing weapon (during battle)

  B      - Run (normally), use special tech (during battle)

  X      - Bring up the ring menu.  This lets you use an
           item or cast a spell.

  Y      - Switch to menu subscreen.  This lets you view
           character stats, change equipment, and configure
           various aspects of the game.

  Start  - Switch to storage subscreen.  This lets you put
           items in and out of "storage".  Items which are
           in storage don't show up on the ring menu.

           Also, press Start on controllers 2 or 3 to
           activate or deactivate them.

  Select - Toggle which character you're controlling (if
           there are fewer than three players).

  L, R   - Hold one of these down to control a different
           character temporarily.

 Also, try holding the L and R buttons while pressing RESET.
 (Consider it your reward for reading this text.)

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 4.  Greetings
------------------------------------------------------------

 Greetings, and thanks, to:

  * Lina`chan, Nuku-nuku, and SoM2Freak.  Couldn't have
    done it without you.
  * Dantares, loyal last-minute-bug-finder.
  * Dark Force, for many nice things.
  * Regulars of EFnet #rom and DALnet #romhack, THANKS FOR
    ALL THE WHISKEY.
  * Everyone who reported the typos in version 1.00.
  * Anyone I forgot.

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 5.  A word from Lina`chan
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 Hello emulation and translations fans!  This is Lina`chan
 and this is my section on the SD3 readme file.  It has
 been a year since I accidentally stumbled into a
 translation page, j2e's translation page, after surfing
 around it and reading their documents on translations I
 decided to give it a shot and help translating games.  At
 that point I knew nothing of translations projects,
 nothing at all.  But thanks to many people, mostly those
 in #romhack Efnet, I managed to learn a few things to dive
 into this "scene" fully.  After finishing my first
 translation for the SNES, Magic Knight Rayearth, I got in
 contact with Neill Corlett in an attempt of helping him
 and Som2Freak with the so desired Seiken Densetsu 3
 translation.  Neill was very kind and he openly accepted
 my proposition of help.  After 4 months of work here we
 are with a 100%, fully translated Seiken Densetsu 3!
 During those 4 months we had been doing our magic and
 working on this project for you, it has been a great
 experience working on this project with these wonderful
 people.  Also, I'd like to thank the different people that
 helped me on my translation assignment.

 -Neill Corlett: Thanks for being a great and understanding
   person and for working hard on this game.  Thanks for
   all the help you've given me in this last year. ^.^
 -Nuku-Nuku: My translation sidekick, thanks for your
   dedication, for all the excellent work and for enduring
   all my sillyness and crazy fits.
 -Francis Fortin for help on the french bits on the text ^^
 -The people of #romhack: Thanks for all the miscellaneous
   help you've given me and for the support.
 -My 2 beta testers, Dantares and Michael Won.  For playing
   the game torughly the 100+ times I asked you to do it,
   thanks! ^.^;;

 The translation community is growing and developing
 quickly, thanks to the efforts of many romhackers,
 utilities coders, document writers, translators and fans.
 However there are people who harm this community.  I'd
 like to remind you that, like you, we are people, most of
 us simply are teenagers with lots of free time (^.^) and
 we too get angry, sad, happy, etc. just like everybody
 else.  I get sad when I see people fight over things when
 they could simply accept the other person points of view
 and opinions.

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 6.  Legal / disclaimer
------------------------------------------------------------

 The Seiken Densetsu 3 English Translation patch ("the
 Patch") is UNOFFICIAL and is not supported in any way by
 Squaresoft.

 The Patch is freeware and may be redistributed freely as
 long as it is not modified, not applied to or distributed
 with any ROM image, and this documentation is included and
 not modified either.  No money, goods, or services may be
 charged or solicited for the Patch, in original or applied
 form.

 The Patch contains a significant amount of 65816 object
 code which is Copyrighted 1999 to Neill Corlett.

 Anyone using the Patch does so at their own risk.  Neither
 Neill Corlett, nor any of the other individuals mentioned
 in this documentation will be held liable for any loss or
 damage arising from its use.

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 7.  Before you contact us...
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 ATTENTION, EMULATOR USERS:

 If you encounter either of the following problems, they
 are emulator-related bugs:

 * The game will not start; it only shows the Sound Test
   screen.
 * The text is unreadable or garbled, or only every other
   letter is shown.

 I will ignore all bug reports unless you are playing the
 game on a real NTSC SNES system, by means of a backup
 device, EPROM cartridge, or similar.

 There is a known bug in the equipment exchange screen (top
 middle of the menu system) and another in the window style
 screen (top left).  Both of these bugs are minor, cosmetic,
 and the screens are rarely used.  I decided the bugs were
 not major enough to hold up a release.

 If you notice any other bugs or typographical errors in
 the English version of the game, and you are NOT using an
 emulator, please contact me.

 If you'd like to see Seiken Densetsu 3 translated into
 ___your_language_here___, visit the web page for more
 information.

 If you're stuck somewhere in the game, despite all the
 text being in plain English, there are walkthroughs
 available.  Try one of these sites:

   http://gamefaqs.com/
   http://www.rpgamer.com/

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 8.  Contacting us
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 Neill Corlett:
   email: corlett@lfx.org
   www:   http://lfx.org/~corlett/

 Lina`chan:
   email: abner@lfx.org

 Nuku-nuku:
   email: atsuko-natsume@geocities.com

 SoM2Freak:
   email: som2freak@lfx.org

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