Once again the Super Nintendo community made sure that this was yet another Christmas to remember if you are still playing around with Nintendo's 16-bit wonder. Three major projects were completed and released in time for the Holidays, including a complete English translation for one major Nintendo franchise.
It is true we are currently utterly spoiled with the recent release of TINY METAL, but the fourth game of Nintendo's War franchise (Super Famicom Wars) remains something fans will surely not want to miss. With several individual maps released on the Satellaview broadcast service, the complete game was eventually released on May 1, 1998 via a Nintendo Power rewritable cartridge.
Containing everything one would expect from such a late generation release, this game made the series' 10th anniversary proud by injecting 16-bit graphics, sound and even more humorous animations to the already solid Famicom and Game Boy entries. It is on the cusp of the series' 30th anniversary that Optiroc released the complete English translation patch that at long last brings down the language barrier that held this entry hostage to Western players for almost two decades. If you're a fan of the series be prepared to watch those hours vanish as you do your very best strategical thinking to move your infantry into enemy controlled territory.
A curious little JRPG gem that began life on the PC-88 and PC Engine CD (a version with exceedingly more fan service), Princess Minerva sees you in control of the titular royal lead along with her eight very distinct female bodyguards. Enter antagonist Dynastar and her own squad of eight all female (notice a pattern?) generals with the nefarious desire to turn every female in the kingdom into monster girls; with that you have the zany plot all setup and ready to go.
The core gameplay mechanics are interesting and the script is filled with humorous dialogue between Minerva and her crew. The series was popular enough to warrant both a OVA and manga series, and in the middle of the golden age of the 1990s it is easy to understand why: it could appeal to a broad group with the added bonus of actually being a good RPG underneath all the fan service. Veteran translation group Dinamyc-Designs released the complete English translation patch on Christmas Eve.
This project is dedicated to the memory of Bo Bankson AKA Postman77, an active member of the community who sadly passed away due to life-long illness. So make sure you raise your Joy-Pad in his memory when you're playing this one.
Last but certainly not least PepilloPEV returns with the second SNES shmup MSU-1 audio enhancement patch, giving Capcom's phenomenal and timeless classic U.N. Squadron (Area 88 in Japan) a well deserved digital audio option. Kurrono and Relikk have already provided a couple of complete PCM sets, with arrangements of the soundtrack and the original CPS1 arcade game soundtrack respectively already up for grabs at the Zeldix forum. But like all MSU1 audio projects, the real fun begins when you realise the possibility of replacing the whole thing with the Top Gun soundtrack by way of just a few technical steps. Kick the tires and light the fires indeed.
Solid evidence that even decades later the Super Nintendo keeps passionate fans working hard, in a particularly epic year for Nintendo's world conquering 16-bit home console. Did Santa perhaps leave you a SNES Classic Mini under your Christmas tree? Do you have such traditions as hooking up your old SNES and giving Konami's Batman Returns a spin like this NL retro contributor? The comments section below is open for business so light it up with your finest SNES Christmas memories.
Comments 51
I'd love to try out that Wars game. But I dislike playing on emulators, so, oh well. :/
Noice, I'll be sure to get the Super Famicom Wars translation. The game is kind of slow paced by todays standards but I think it's worth playing for the soundtrack alone.
I wonder if these games would work on the SNES Classic once the translation patches are done?
@-DG Santa told me yes.
@Shiryu Santa is a good man...
I loved U.N. Squadron/Area 88. The arcade version especially. It was the second arcade game I was able to 1CC. Lots of great times. And hearing the soundtrack again really takes me back! We need U.N. Squadron, or at least Carrier Airwing/U.S. Navy, on the Switch! Make it happen, Capcom and HAMSTER!
What is a MSU 1 audio patch?
@SimplyCinnamon53 The MSU-1 custom chip was developed by byuu and using it on a Super Nintendo cartridge allows the game able to stream up to 4 gigabytes of both audio and video data. On this case it is a audio enhancement patch, it allows the game to stream PCM red book audio quality soundtrack instead of the in-game soundtrack.
@Shiryu So it basically updates the audio a bit?
It's awesome that Super Famicom Wars is in English, now a repro is possible. Can't believe it's actually 10 years since the last time we got a new Advance Wars (Advance Wars: Days of Ruin was released in 2008). Nintendo is really slacking on its IPs as of late, 3DS and Wii U went through their entire generation without ever getting a Nintendo Wars game.
@SimplyCinnamon53 Quite a bit. if you look up other MSU1 news on the site you will see massive differences in stuff like "ActRaiser" or "Super Turrican".
@Shiryu Ok, thank you very much!
I presume Super Famicon Wars is an earlier entry of basically Advance Wars . Love that series, though I liked 1 and 2 on GBA the best (thought the Advance Wars DS art style wasn't as good, too much to keep track of with Dual Screens). Would love to see Virtual Console release of the first 2 on Switch! Loved the cartoony surprise expressions on the intro ;p
Princess Minerva looks interestly/typical anime off the wall per story (which I generally enjoy as long if they keep it tactful enough), but I like that they try to change up the turn based RPG formula.
I had my nephew and niece over my house this Xmas and I wanted to show them my Switch, maybe play some Mario Kart 8, but they were suddenly disinterested when they saw that I had a SNES and almost 100 games for it. I hooked it up, fired up the old CRT, and we were having a blast. This new memory may be my finest 'SNES Christmas' memory yet.
I had been waiting for both of these translations, so Merry Christmas to me!
I've always thought of the * insert Nintendo system * Wars series as boring Fire Emblem, but the second seems neat, so I'll add it to my 16-Bit Translation Mini - I mean, SNES Mini.
@Shiryu Speaking of patches, did you see the SML2 coloration patch that was released recently? Not sure if it's article-worthy by itself, but still.
Super Famicom Wars is definitely an essential translation; never heard of Princess Minvera, but it looks like a somewhat interesting take on JRPGs.
Personally I don't really care about MSU1 upgrades, but UN Squadron is a classic, regardless of its background music.
That Wars game looks good. But I feel I’m overhyping it to Fire Emblem 4
@MarcelRguez Great stuff. I would article it, but I'm not sure the editorial would like me spending time on what could be considered a rather niche project.
@-DG I think it's a bit tricky to do fan hacks/translations, but yeah it's possible.
Super Famicom Wars is the one that has a playable character based on Hitler, safe to say that would be removed if this ever got an official translation.
Wow, this whole time I had no idea that Advance Wars was a sequel.
I thought that this was an official translation pending release, and got excited. But it's just some fan job.
Please be more clear in future headlines. Nintendo Life gets worse every week.
@Heavyarms55 You could always install it on your NES or SNES Classic Mini...
@ThanosReXXX Don't think that thought hasn't crossed my mind. But for similar reasons I don't like hacking official devices.
However, if for some reason Nintendo decides we will be getting no virtual console or similar service on the Switch I will be throwing that hesitation away as soon as someone jail breaks the Switch and will buy a second on and install all the emulators on it.
the second translation sucked after 25 seconds
@SKTTR The patch already has been updated to fix that wrap text bug.
@BornInNorway81 "just" a fan patch!? You must be new here... fortunately I will still "just" be here 24/7 bringing you retro news as they happen.
@JayJ There was the original Famicom game, 2 Gameboy games, this Super Famicom wars and another 2 Game Boy Color games. "Advance Wars" is the 7th game of the series.
@Shiryu
“"just" a fan patch!? You must be new here... fortunately I will still "just" be here 24/7 bringing you retro news as they happen.”
Is it not a fan job? You must be new here.
@BornInNorway81 a "job" means you get paid to do it. Trust me, you're out of your league here so I wish you good fortune in life and let me do my "job".
@Shiryu Crazy considering how beloved it is since they localized it outside of Japan.
@Shiryu
"a "job" means you get paid to do it. Trust me, you're out of your league here so I wish you good fortune in life and let me do my "job"."
Hahahaha! Who do you think you are?
@BornInNorway81 Relax mon ami. There's a large community of fans who enjoy fan translations of classic games. I for one appreciate the reporting that NintendoLife and similar sites give to this corner of gaming.
@FinalFrog Lunar IPS only works with .ips files. This patch didn't include one because of an "integrity checking" problem. I won't pretend to understand what that means.
Applying the patch is simple enough by using "Floating IPS (Flips)" for Windows or "MultiPatch" for macOS. Just Google the name of the tool you can use. Flips works exactly like Lunar so if you're familiar with one you'll figure out the other.
@Heavyarms55 yeah, I mean I’m anti-piracy but in cases like this (a Japanese game that almost certainly will never be localized given it’s from over two decades ago and we don’t even get new entries to this series anymore) I make an exception. Like, if you ever want to experience this title, this is really the only option unless you wanna learn an entire language and import an old cartridge from a collector (Nintendo wouldn’t get a cent from such an endeavor either as they no longer produce any of the hardware necessary). Assuming Switch gets a VC it still wouldn’t get an English release of this, it’ll be the same games from VC on Wii and Wii U (with GameCube added in if we’re lucky). Not that I’m trying to convince others to begin justifying ROMs (in cases where it’s taking sales from developers, I’m completely against it), just saying if you are that disappointed that you can’t experience this then an emulator would be the only real option and it isn’t taking anything from Nintendo here.
And if Nintendo doesn’t have a VC for Switch (they probably will but I mean it’s 9 months and we don’t have confirmation yet, other than some sort of subscription service with certain classic games) then when would you decide it’s not coming? A year, two years? There’s always a chance they’ll just do it later in the Switch lifeline.
Also, in response to jail breaking your Switch, I’d sooner suggest just adding said ROMs onto a SNES Classic (if you have one or can find one), Nintendo gets $80 in return then, it doesn’t eat into a potential later Switch VC (Switch remains with the bonus feature of convenience and portability), it doesn’t risk locking your Switch out of online features or bricking it (it’s a pricier system than the SNES Classic), and it’s probably easier than hacking the Switch will ever be (I added a few obscure titles that would never be rereleased to my SNES Classic and, while I wouldn’t link instructions here for obvious reasons, it’s so simple there’s no real risks of doing it wrong and the games automatically are integrated into the UI like all the other games). Only disclaimer I feel necessary to add is I don’t recommend anyone ever pirate a game that they can buy from the developer or likely could in the near future (unless you already own or will be willing to rebuy the game if for some reason it does later release), as this takes money from the companies we love and negatively impacts them - if for some reason Nintendo actually give us a new Advance Wars (or rerelease this) and you decide to download this English translation, please support whatever they choose to release, otherwise the series will just die back down again due to poor sales.
@ShadJV Oh I wouldn't mess with my main Switch. I will wait until Nintendo gives us an official announcement of some sort. If it takes a while, so be it. But I would get a second Switch to jailbreak if I were going to do that. I don't want to. I would rather an official VC.
As to the SNES mini idea, I could do that. But the reason I want it on the Switch is because of the Switch's portable nature. I want to be able to take these games with me OR play them on the TV.
@JayJ It was a different time, it was perceived in the West the audience were children. As such games with adult themes like sex, religion and of course war where simply not even slightly considered for release.
@FinalFrog The Retron5 automaticity patches a game with a .ips file with the game name. However since "Super Famicom Wars" sadly never got a proper cartridge release the only way for that to work is if you get your hands on a Nintendo Power rewritable cartridge with the game in it.
Man, even the Famicom version of Wars looks ace. Can't believe Nintendo hasn't made another game in this series for ages.
It's time we had a Switch Wars, 4 player online thx very much.
Why would you want to replace Area 88 music with the arcade version? The SNES one is so much better!
how and where can i get advenced wars?!?!? on cart please but where and how give it to me now, please now.
fuken luv advanced wars. gimmie gimmie
@Heavyarms55 If you have a SNES Mini, then I'm all but sure it will be easier to hack than a Switch. And it's less expensive as well. I've done it to my SNES Mini, and it took me all of 10 minutes to do, including installing 185 extra games.
Hacking my Wii and installing all the emulators and so on that I wanted to have on there, took me much, much longer.
All I can say is just take a look at some of the YouTube videos that 8 Bit Flashback has done on the topic, and you'll see for yourself. The hack is safe, foolproof, and includes a reset to factory default option (which even locks Star Fox 2 again, so you'd have to unlock that again by playing the first game), in case you change your mind.
@Heavyarms55 I mean if there ends up being no VC all I meant is Nintendo likely wouldn’t ever officially announce that, companies often don’t announce what they won’t do, they just leave it unspoken. Remember the Wii Vitality Sensor from an E3 years ago? Yeah, never came out and Nintendo never said it was canceled, it just didn’t happen. So if you’re waiting for an announcement that we won’t have a VC then you’ll be waiting forever.
As for hacking it... well, I more of meant to play games like this, that never will be on the VC, it’d be better to do so on the SNES Mini due to it being cheaper, easier, and less risky. If you did choose to do it on Switch, then if they suddenly changed decided to release VC when it seemed they wouldn’t, well you already can play those games on the go so why buy them? And it indirectly discourages new purchases of small or retro games because you already have the entire SNES library available to you on the go. Yes you can make a pact with yourself to buy anything they release that you already pirated but that is hard to fulfill then especially if it’s a game you don’t wanna play again anytime soon. I think doing it on the SNES would do less to interfere with you Switch purchases precisely because any ROMs you get will not be portable, and it’s a chance to actually play a game like this now (which, once again, won’t release on any VC service).
@ThanosReXXX Oh I am sure it wouldn't be easy. But it will happen. People have completely homebrewed 3DS systems running at this point. It will take a while but someone will get it working.
@ThanosReXXX Oh I am sure it wouldn't be easy. But it will happen. People have completely homebrewed 3DS systems running at this point. It will take a while but someone will get it working.
@ThanosReXXX Oh I am sure it wouldn't be easy. But it will happen. People have completely homebrewed 3DS systems running at this point. It will take a while but someone will get it working.
That Princess Minerva actually looks kind of neat. I'm interested.
@Heavyarms55 Of course it will happen, but that wasn't really my point. If I understood you correctly, you were hesitant to softmod your SNES Mini, which is next to no trouble at all, and will allow you to play games that you would otherwise never be able to play (including the game in this article), regardless of the arrival of any new VC service or not, but somehow you would be willing to softmod your Switch, which just seemed a bit odd to me.
P.S.
You might want to remove those two redundant copies of your reply to me. Multi-posting is frowned upon by the mods, intentional or not...
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