Chacranajxy's Guide to Importing (Updated 2/6/07 at 21:05)

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[quote name='Namrepus221']I suggest adding Fire Pro Wrestling D for the Dreamcast and Fi-Pro Returns for the PS2 to the list.

They aren't import friendly per se. But they are great wrestling games. Much much better than the junk we get here in the USA.[/QUOTE]

The guys at the firepro forums have been working on an enlgish translation patch for FPR on PS2 and it makes things sooo much easier.

Although to play it you need to be able to run off the HD or play backups and you have to rip your copy to the computer and apply the patch to the image and burn it to a disk.
 
[quote name='evophile']rip your copy to the computer and apply the patch to the image and burn it to a disk.[/quote]

....

I had no idea this was possible. I have a slim PS2, so there's no hard drive in my future. The idea of a translation patch (instead of a guide) for a console game, and still being able to play it on that console is a really cool one, I must say.
 
you usually need a special program for patches. at least, that's how it was with the Tobal 2 english patch (makes quest mode playable)
 
[quote name='Apossum']you usually need a special program for patches. at least, that's how it was with the Tobal 2 english patch (makes quest mode playable)[/QUOTE]

Yeah you need PPF-O-Matic to apply the patch file to the image file you created from your game disc. It's free and pretty simple to do.

Hardest part I guess is getting the disc to play on your PS2. I don't have a slim and use a softmod on my fat PS2 to transfer to HD so I'm not too experienced with the slim.

Didn't they have ghost clips or something that allow you basically use the slim ps2 as a flip top?


heres the official forums for the Fire Pro english patch for those interested. It is also still a work in progress so not everything is translated yet. But names and menus and stuff are good. The create wrestler part is obviously going to take the longest.

http://www.fireproclub.com/index.ph...rum&f=17&sid=0bdd6f1d447f3a20a3dbf8c4d3792e13

He
 
[quote name='Apossum']add DJ Max Portable for the PSP to that list. it's a great Beatmania clone but with some better music, imo. Definitely woth an import if you like music/rhythm games.[/QUOTE]

Yeah and only the second time I've heard Koreans pulling off a track that sounds Euro, the first being "Para Para Queen" by Soo Yu Jin which is awesome.
Wow if you can do that HD patch what about seeing one for "Venus and Braves"? I'd LOVE that!
 
[quote name='evophile']

Hardest part I guess is getting the disc to play on your PS2. I don't have a slim and use a softmod on my fat PS2 to transfer to HD so I'm not too experienced with the slim.

Didn't they have ghost clips or something that allow you basically use the slim ps2 as a flip top?

[/QUOTE]

I'm writing up a section for the slim ps2 right now :)


patched ps2 games should load up like normal. just gotta burn them with a program called alcohol 120% and swap them like normal. same for patched ps1 games (though burned ps1 games are a pain to play on the ps2)
 
[quote name='Apossum']I'm writing up a section for the slim ps2 right now :)
[/QUOTE]

sweet! And also on the subject of english patching, one of the reasons Fire Pro is so easily patchable is that there is already a full english character set in the game itself as you can already choose to rename every wrestler in the game to english if you wish.

Also in CAW you can name your finisher in english as well.

This makes it really easy (well easier) to patch as they just reassign the characters in the menu via hex editor.

It would be a lot harder to do this for other games, which is why I think it hasn't happened yet. I know it got so-so reviews, but I've always wanted to play Namco X Capcom in english.
 
HERE IT IS! let me know if you guys have any questions.

Slim PS2 Import playing guide –

This may be long, but it’s just because I have everything spelled out. Don’t be discouraged! A crackhead monkey could do this. It takes about 15 minutes, if that. When it's done, none will be the wiser that anything has been done to your ps2.

--What you’ll need:
--Small Philips head screw driver. No powertools! Overtightening the screws trips a breaker inside the PS2.

--Scotch thick foam tape

--Swap magic discs



--What you’re doing:
---Opening the slim PS2 and covering 2 sensors with foam tape so that the ps2 reads discs with the top open.

the process:

1. Get the warranty sticker off! On older slim ps2s, it’s on the back. Newer models have it on the bottom, over a screw. To take it off without voiding your warranty, hold a hair dryer to it for a few minutes (actual minutes, not just a few seconds. It’s gotta get hot!) After that, slowly peel it off and put it somewhere safe. An altoids can or something like that. Don’t forget to use the dryer again to take it off that.

2. Take off the screw covers and take out the screws.


3. Take off the top. It might be a little stubborn. Try to pull it off carefully, but you can use some force. Just be sure you don't rip out the part behind the power button, which is attached to a cable thing. It's not that fragile, but pay attention to it.

Here's a shot of the insides with the 2 spots you'll be working with marked. (The back spot has foam tape on it in this shot)



4. Here’s the first spot, the piece that sits right behind the power button.



There’s a button on it, on your right. Take a small piece of foam tape and put it on there. It’s okay if it doesn’t stick down completely. Make sure to snap the whole piece back in. The top of the ps2 will hold it into place. Don't put too thick of a piece on, or the top won't go back on.

5. Here’s the second spot, just left of the back left screw of the disc drive.



You’ll see a button that looks similar to the one on the other spot. Cut out two more small pieces of foam tape. Place them both on the button. It may pop back up, so press it down with the screwdriver and make sure it sticks. If it’s not secure on there, it may pop back up later.

7. Now just put the top back on and screw it in.


To test it, open the lid on the ps2, put a game in and power it up. The disc should spin on its own. On some models, you’ll notice a piece that keeps the disc from reaching full speed. This wasn’t on my launch Slim model, but it’s on the one I bought earlier this year. When you load up swap magic discs, you’ll need to hold that piece back with your hand until the swap disc stops spinning. There’s a way to rig it so that you don’t need to hold it, but it involves jabbing small pieces of plastic into the ps2. It’s easier to hold it manually.

Using the swap discs:
--Put the disc in, keep the lid open, power it up, when the swap menu comes up and the disc stops spinning, put in the game and hit X to play it.


Troubleshooting:
If the disc stops reading, chances are the tape popped off one of the spots. Just open it back up and stick some new tape on there.
 
winning eleven 10 also got english patch.

So far the only PS2 RPG I think got fan translated is Generation of Chaos 4 in Chinese.
 
as for the softmod/hardloader methods, yes they can play backups, but so can the swap disc method in this guide. If someone need to patch their games, playing a backup would be the only way. At the same time guides to do the exploit or mod are around, so we dont have to post them here.

as for the best game in the simple 2000 series, many would pick the The Simple 2000 Series Vol. 81: Chikyuu Boueigun 2 (Earth Defense Force 2) It has one of the best co-op mode for any PS2 games.
 
[quote name='62t']winning eleven 10 also got english patch.

So far the only PS2 RPG I think got fan translated is Generation of Chaos 4 in Chinese.[/QUOTE]

Jeez what a shame.
 
well patching games is very difficult and time consuming. We only got a handful of PSOne games patched. It is easier with just translating menu for games like Fire Pro or Winning eleven, but it could take years for a RPG to be completely translated. Even with GBA the only RPG I can only think of Fire Embelm that got completely fan translated.
 
[quote name='62t']well patching games is very difficult and time consuming. We only got a handful of PSOne games patched. It is easier with just translating menu for games like Fire Pro or Winning eleven, but it could take years for a RPG to be completely translated. Even with GBA the only RPG I can only think of Fire Embelm that got completely fan translated.[/QUOTE]

And the N ended up translating it. Jeez what bullshit. RPG's fans will go out of their way to translate "Fire Emblem" but not as critically acclaimed a game as "Venus and Braves". What hypocrites.
 
[quote name='Sarang01']And the N ended up translating it. Jeez what bullshit. RPG's fans will go out of their way to translate "Fire Emblem" but not as critically acclaimed a game as "Venus and Braves". What hypocrites.[/QUOTE]
it is the unreleased fire emblem on gba, not the one that nintendo released. If you really want to play Venus and Braves, there is a decent translation guide on gamefaqs that should get you through the game.

Working Designs was interst in tranlating the first game in the series, but the game is only about 10 hours long so they passed. Also V&B didnt sold too well in Japan, only 48,000 copies in the first week.
 
There is currently a group trying to translate the menu and maybe eventually the whole game for Tales of Destiny 2 Ps2. But you are looking at people who work on this kind of thing on their spare time and it could take a long time.
 
[quote name='62t']There is currently a group trying to translate the menu and maybe eventually the whole game for Tales of Destiny 2 Ps2. But you are looking at people who work on this kind of thing on their spare time and it could take a long time.[/QUOTE]

BOO! BOO! Instead of Tales they should dryhump V&B by translating it. Jeez what's with some RPG fanboys? At least when RPG people show love to Atlus they've got it right.
Now I have to argue with you Chac about the Europe comment, very FEW times have I seen a promising Europe game, non Sports, exclusive to them. Yes they got Doshin, Ghost Hunter, Headhunter, Shenmue 2 and Evil Twin or whatever it was called for DC and a few others but else am I really missing out on?
 
[quote name='Sarang01']
Now I have to argue with you Chac about the Europe comment, very FEW times have I seen a promising Europe game, non Sports, exclusive to them. Yes they got Doshin, Ghost Hunter, Headhunter, Shenmue 2 and Evil Twin or whatever it was called for DC and a few others but else am I really missing out on?[/QUOTE]
Best of the simple 2000 games: Monster Attack (earth defense force) -one of the best co-op game on PS2, Zombie Zone, Zombie attack, Pink Pong, Demolition Girl, and more. It seems like the site for 505 Game Street doesnt even list all the games they released, so I think gamefaqs has a complete list of games.

Other games
SNK vs Capcom, Sam Sho V, Super Dragon Ball Z in Japanese, Akira pinball, Grappler Baki: Baki Saidai no Tournament (Fighting Fury), Bomberman kart, Michigan, Tsukiyo ni Saraba (10,000 Bullets), Saint Seiya, Sword of Etheria, Sword of Destiny, Shinobido, are probably more I cant think off right now.
 
[quote name='62t']Best of the simple 2000 games: Monster Attack (earth defense force) -one of the best co-op game on PS2, Zombie Zone, Zombie attack, Pink Pong, Demolition Girl, and more. It seems like the site for 505 Game Street doesnt even list all the games they released, so I think gamefaqs has a complete list of games.

Other games
SNK vs Capcom, Sam Sho V, Super Dragon Ball Z in Japanese, Akira pinball, Grappler Baki: Baki Saidai no Tournament (Fighting Fury), Bomberman kart, Michigan, Tsukiyo ni Saraba (10,000 Bullets), Saint Seiya, Sword of Etheria, Sword of Destiny, Shinobido, are probably more I cant think off right now.[/QUOTE]

Yeah and most of those have been released here as well, at least in terms of the high profile games.
 
[quote name='Sarang01']Yeah and most of those have been released here as well, at least in terms of the high profile games.[/QUOTE]
aside from the snk games on xbox and the dragon ball game, none of those got a US release. So far we are 0/102 on the simple 2000 games.
 
[quote name='62t']aside from the snk games on xbox and the dragon ball game, none of those got a US release. So far we are 0/102 on the simple 2000 games.[/QUOTE]

You missed my point, NONE of those are high profile or for the most part worth a ratfuck. If I wanna watch POS B-movies then I will but most of the time I WILL not pay for that shit. About the ONLY game that comes into that zone that I know of is "Illbleed" and it's lampooning the genre to begin with as well as one VERY well known movie.
Now if you want to talk about more obscure, smart games Japan doesn't give us like "Segagaga", "Sakura Taisen" because of the Dating Sim. elements or even more mainstream shit like "Venus and Braves" which was not released because it was in 2D then we'll talk.
 
Can you guys clarify something for me. I'm looking for games that will never ever come to the US, have its own series (like the opposite of FF, where some are in the US while some are japan only), I want just japan. And judging by the covers, Senko No Ronde Rev. X (Shooter, Japan, Import Friendly) looks awesome, but I dont have an xbox360 or xbox and that second ps2 game looks cool, kinda hard to see though.
 
[quote name='Riyonuk']Can you guys clarify something for me. I'm looking for games that will never ever come to the US, have its own series (like the opposite of FF, where some are in the US while some are japan only), I want just japan. And judging by the covers, Senko No Ronde Rev. X (Shooter, Japan, Import Friendly) looks awesome, but I dont have an xbox360 or xbox and that second ps2 game looks cool, kinda hard to see though.[/QUOTE]

Nearly all of the games listed here are games that will never come to the US... that's really the kinda stuff I was aiming for since importing's a lot more worthwhile for stuff that you won't be able to get here.

The second game for the PS2 is Beatmania. The covers are alphabetical... the second game in the covers will be the second game on the list.
 
series: Super Robot Taise, Summon Night (getting GBA version but the PS2 verison are not coming)
from the simple 2000: Oneechan series, Chikyuu Boueigun (earth defense force) series

At the same time the snk games are very likely to get a PAL release. (they got sam sho V and snk vs cpacom for ps2 in europe)
 
Hmm no Summon Night on PS2? Thats kinda lame. Its a no go for the 2000 series for me, compliation of budget games? Doesnt sound that intresting, although I remmber PLAY reviewing like import only games, and it was this game that played liked 99 knights, but it was with a dog. Looked kinda cool.
 
Once again, big thanks to Chacrana for keeping this thread going. Great info. Stop being so damn picky people.

Sorry if this has been covered, but does the swap disc method for Dreamcast work your laser/motor? I remember a used Dreamcast I bought used a while back couldn't read any games. A friend of mine mentioned the laser could've been dead because the previous owner might've played a ton of imports/burned stuff on it.
 
What I like about my friends is that they don't know anything about importing so they don't make up things like "zomg! Teh imports killed my F@ckin system."

Your system will be fine. Really, it's exactly the same as if you were changing discs for a long RPG -- the laser isn't doing anything.
 
[quote name='Chacrana']What I like about my friends is that they don't know anything about importing so they don't make up things like "zomg! Teh imports killed my F@ckin system."

Your system will be fine. Really, it's exactly the same as if you were changing discs for a long RPG -- the laser isn't doing anything.[/QUOTE]

Awesome. Thanks

If I knew that CDX demo would play on my Dreamcast, I would've picked up the Guilty Gear X DC disc I saw the other day at a local shop. Damn :)
 
Chacrana, you never really answered my question. Is there any game series that will not come to the US? I dont want to fall in love with a series only to find out #2 is only a US release. Melty Blood looks cool but I dunno if it has other series to it.
 
Melty Blood will never come out in the US due to licensing issues. Same thing with all of the rhythm games... you're not going to see those over here with all the songs in tact. The Sega Ages series also has almost zero chance of coming out here...

assuming I understand what you're asking.
 
What about "Fate Stay Night" Chac? I see a combination of typical combo's with the supe attacks being the best part if you've seen the show.

Yeah with the Sega Ages games we know it's because Sega are being idiots with Dragon Force. It's money in the bank with anyone who's played it. The game is freakin' crack.
 
I think you guys are asking a bit much of Chacrana... how is he, or anyone, supposed to know what will never come out in the U.S.? One can only guess, really.
 
Chacrana, the Action Replay Demo disc worked on my Dreamcast. I picked up an import copy of Guilty Gear X over the weekend, and it ran it beautifully.

Thanks again!
 
Cause (s)he is magic and knows all. And (s)he probably has mor experince with importing, as I've never done it. Althought I defintily plan to get Jump Superstars, I play it all day at school, its very cool.
 
You should add Sega AGES 2500 Vol. 5: Golden Axe to the list. It plays almost exactly like the original, 'cept it's 3D and has Japanese text. The story is lost, but the gameplay (though simple and fairly crappy) is still there.
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']You should add Sega AGES 2500 Vol. 5: Golden Axe to the list. It plays almost exactly like the original, 'cept it's 3D and has Japanese text. The story is lost, but the gameplay (though simple and fairly crappy) is still there.[/QUOTE]


Golden Axe was released in the US, it's part of the PS2 Sega Classics collection.
 
[quote name='Strider Turbulence']Golden Axe was released in the US, it's part of the PS2 Sega Classics collection.[/quote]But is it in 3D? Or just a port?
 
[quote name='Strider Turbulence']It's the 3D remake that was part of Sega Ages in Japan.[/quote]Ah. I ask that my suggestion be stricken from the record.
 
Dammit... I wanna update this... I'll get around to it sometime I guess.

BTW people, buy Melty Blood Act Cadenza if you haven't already. Awesome fighting game.
 
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