Fan translations of The Legendary Starfy series
Fan translations of video games are unofficial translations of video games by fans which change the dialog/texts in the game from one language to another. This can include both the editing of the game script as well as images to translate or adjust the text within them.
Fan translation work often also involve more technical edits to the game, such as the addition of a new character set or font, or edits to the way text is displayed like (in the case of the first Densetsu no Starfy game) how many times the player has to scroll the text in a single conversation.
While the fifth game in the The Legendary Starfy series is the only one to have been officially translated by Nintendo, some fan translation work on other The Legendary Starfy games has been done, however no The Legendary Starfy game is known to have been fully translated by a fan.
The fan translation of video games is a legal gray area. While Nintendo own the copyright to the Game Scenario (which refers to the game's script) and the ROM images of the games, many fan translation projects choose to release a file such as an IPS patch of the game which requires already having a copy of the ROM to be patched. The downloading of ROMs from the Internet is illegal, however choosing to dump (a word which refers to extracting a digital copy of the game from an existing cartridge or other medium) an existing copy of the game for backup purposes is more of a gray area in US state.
Fan translation of Densetsu no Starfy
Fan translation work on Densetsu no Starfy had began in 2012 or earlier, with Normmatt's work on a variable width font (VWF) and text insertion tool based on a program called Atlas. Blackmage907 had also attempted to work with the game, but stopped working on it at a later date.
Fans of the The Legendary Starfy series Star_Light (Talk) and Torchickens (Talk) were also involved in covering the Japanese games in English for Starfy Wiki.
While a few videos have been uploaded on the Internet with live translation attempts of the game, actual translation of the script on a ROM had not been attempted until 2013 with Torchickens translating part of the intro and Normmatt applying it to see how it would look.[1]
Torchickens later uploaded a video of an English version of the game's opening on YouTube in November 2015.
After a delay in progress, Torchickens announced on Starfy Forum on May 1, 2016 that she had cancelled the project due to fear of legal action.
However at a later date on June 20, 2017 pablitox (game code) and Jamie (game text) would continue working on fan translating the game. Torchickens decided to join the team and resume work on the game again one week later on June 27, 2017 with updates on her "Torchickens" Youtube channel and Google Sites page.
The fan translation has slowly continued since then, and text translation is now complete with Higsby providing most of the translations. Graphic translation work however continues.
Fan translation of Densetsu no Starfy 2
In 2010, Autumchild uploaded gameplay videos of Densetsu no Starfy 2 covering what some of the text means. She also used annotations in a few episodes to directly translate text so that the viewers could read along. The parts she directly translated can be found below.
[Intro]
Naratior: There is a big land up in the sky, above the ocean, called Pufftop. Going back about a year... The clumsy Prince, Starfy was doing some cleaning in the castle... During that time, Ogura was resurrected when the jar he was sealed in fell into the ocean. Ogura then wreaked havoc on Pufftop by causing a huge storm... Starfy stopped Ogura's plans several times until he was sealed away once again... Peace returned to Pufftop and everyone lives returned to normal... As everything though, the peace never lasts long, the world will be threatened again... Not even Starfy and I knew what would happen... Ogura had been sealed away... Now that I think about it better, for a long time…
Ogura: Unnn... It's so empty... Ghaa! Dang it! I really hate that brat Starfy! How one person could seal my power... ...hmmm... Umm... Oh?! My children? Souda, konotega, attaka... Ghahahaha! Hoji... Hoji... Hoji... Yes! Haha, you get to see the Puchi Ogura group. You will again feel the despair in the world. Let's go! Break this seal! Create a storm that will draw me out of this place!
Ogura Group: Roger!
Ogura: Ghahaha! And now, I will see outside again! Starfy! Before long, I will take what matters to you the most. Yes! I will gratify this land and leave with the person you hold dear! Mortified as you are, I know you will truly come for her by any means possible. Ghahaha!
Moe: You idiot! What do you think your doing? Hey! It's too dangerous! Pufftop's in the sky, if you go after him we'll return the ocean! Come on! Hey! Don't be reckless! We'll both probably fall! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Ouch… Owowow... You idiot! Both of us ended up falling from the sky! Ah! Already! Crying! Crying! How depressing... Look, I'm sorry. *sigh* How on earth can your crying be troublesome! Now what, and how do we get back to your pretty home... Hmm... So, for the moment, Lobber's close by! You're lucky the old man really like you kid!
Old Man Lobber: Ooh! It's nice to see you again! You are... The yellow Prince of Pufftop, all the way down here.
Moe: Oh! Then hold on! Well, immediately, smart one thought, "I'll go after them."
Old Man Lobber: Now, now. No need to bubble away! Now Starfy, this doesn't seem like you. Now, it seems that scoundrel's have been falling from the sky easily then…
Moe: What! Hey! Starfy! "I'm gonna take action, even if it means everything" Forget it, we're not doing that! You idiot! What were you thinking!
Old Man Lobber: Now, now... let's just calm down... Right now, we have to find the special jar, the Kanban...
[The rest of this dialog was left untranslated.]
[Area 1-1]
Old Man Lobber: Okay, alright. You've figured out the action button... Ahead of me is a treasure chest... Inside it is a "collectable" from a person in Pufftop. Now, Starfy, I saw your mother get carried away by Ogura... As they flew by, I saw things fly through the sky, then they left in a blur…
Ogura: Gahaha! Farwell! Starfy! More and more, we get farther away from that awful place! Gahaha!
Mama Star: S... Starfy... Help me... I... I need you! Take these... Please grab these "collectables" made especially for you! Starfy! Please... This is Mama saying she believes in you…
Old Man Lobber: Your mother left that especially for you. Those "collectibles" should come in handy... Now make sure not to let your mother down! To see what you got "look on the 'collectables' screen in the pause menu." You can also use the "pause menu" on the "stage map" to view your "collectables" as well. I know you can do it! I will wish you the best of luck…
[The rest of this dialog was left untranslated.]
[Area 2-1]
Ruby: Ah, Starfy, nice to see you…
Moe: Ruby ~swoon~ It's nice to see you again! You know it's Moe.
Ruby: T... Thank you...
Moe: Eh? What happened to your house Ruby-san? Noo! All your wonderful things! ...um.
Ruby: Thank you... but right... you see…
Moe: Wh, why are you? you seem sad! What? It worries me?
Ruby: You see... The other day... Kyaa! Kyaa!!!!!!
Puchi Ogura #2: Papa will be proud of the ruin and despair! Oraoraa!!!
Ruby: Kyaa!!!!!!! Aaa!!! My items are drifting away...
Puchi Ogura #2: Kyahahahahahahahahaha…
[The rest of this dialog was left untranslated.]
Fan translation of Densetsu no Starfy 3
In 2012, Autumchild uploaded gameplay videos of Densetsu no Starfy 3 covering what some of the text means. Unlike her previous set of gameplay videos, no text here was directly translated.
Fan translation of Densetsu no Starfy 4
On January 6, 2018 Autumchild began a series for a playthrough fan translating Densetsu no Starfy 4. These videos do not show the text as merely annotations on the screen, unlike her previous fan translation attempt for Densetsu no Starfy 2.
Fan translation of Densetsu no Stafy: Taiketsu! Daīru Kaizokudan
While it is not known whether there were any fan translation attempts for the fifth game before its official localization into The Legendary Starfy, as expected the game was covered by fans overseas. The game's title was translated by some as "Legend of Stafy"/"Legendary Stafy: Confrontation! Dire Kaizokudan". Like the translation of "Densetsu no Stafy", the romanization of ダイール (Daīru) is debatable, as it refers not to the word "dire" but the main antagonist (officially known as in the English versions as Mashtooth).
