MSX translation · Complete · Started 2009
Ganbare Goemon
The completed English translation of Konami’s classic MSX2 action adventure.
The thread that started all the translations
From “impossible” to a complete localization.
I came back to MSX development in 2008. At the time, an MSX.org discussion was asking whether Konami’s Ganbare Goemon could ever be translated. Looking back, that thread contains many of the people and ideas that would shape my translation work for years to come.
Django initially concluded that the game was impossible to translate because its font only contained six Latin letters: K, O, N, A, M, and I. Hap replied that translation involved much more than swapping character values. Sama — Rieks Warendorp Torringa — added the other half of the answer: no game is “too Japanese” if the translator is willing to understand the culture and do the necessary research.
By March 2009, Django had found the character table, drawn the missing alphabet, and created a partial English experiment. It proved that the game could be changed, but it was still a very early, literal approach. Randam — also known as Tsunami/232 — pointed out incorrect labels, including “Life” and “Gold,” and had already begun translating the game with greater attention to meaning and context.
Scroll sideways to follow the conversation
That was the moment the project truly began. Randam explained that replacing the existing strings was straightforward, but fitting longer and more natural English sentences required a technical upgrade he could not implement himself. I replied that the best solution was a full translation, even if it meant changing the internals of the game. Randam would handle the Japanese translation; I would make the code and presentation support it.
This became the central idea behind all of my later translation projects: the goal is not simply to make Japanese text understandable. The English version should look intentional, polished, and natural — like a real localization made for the machine.
Historical sources: the original two-page MSX.org discussion, the June 2009 announcement of Django’s partial version, and the August 2009 release announcement.
Amiga compression on MSX
CBS Cruncher v3 powered the English build.
I used CBS Cruncher v3, the compressor I originally developed on the Amiga, to pack Ganbare Goemon’s translated game data. On the MSX, RAM page 3 held the additional data required by the expanded English version.
Read about CBS CruncherMore than translated text
Making English belong in the game.
Larger text windows
The original interface was expanded so longer, more fluent English dialogue could fit without being cut down to awkward fragments.
A recoded password system
The release went beyond dialogue: the password system was rewritten, small bugs were corrected, and a 60 Hz option was added for PAL computers.
A sprite-built English title
The main title is assembled from sprites. After translating it into English and rewriting its compression, the compressed English title data was exactly the same size as the original Japanese data.
Original project home
Continue to the project archive.
The translation and its existing files remain hosted at MSX Translations. This page will preserve the personal story behind creating it.
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