Princess Crown (Saturn): the full English translation is finally available, 29 years after its release
After years of waiting and several failed attempts, the complete English translation patch of Princess Crown on Sega Saturn is finally available. A major event for fans of the Sega console and Japanese action-RPG.
Released in December 1997 by Atlus exclusively in Japan, Princess Crown is a 2D action-RPG developed by an in-house team that would later form Vanillaware - the creators of Odin Sphere, Muramasa and Dragon's Crown. The game never left the archipelago, leaving Western players unable to appreciate the story and dialogue.
The final translation, by fan hacker eadmaster, builds on previous work by CyberWarriorX and SamIAm. It covers the entire game: menus, dialogues, item descriptions and text cutscenes. The patch (version 1.0) is available on ROMhacking.net and is intended for the original Saturn ROM.
Critics who were able to discover the game thanks to the patch agree on its status as a hidden gem: a sumptuous artistic direction for the time, a combat system with precise timing, and careful writing characteristic of Atlus. A must for any fan of Saturn and retro action role-playing games.
The patch is compatible with reference Saturn emulators (Kronos, Mednafen/Beetle Saturn) as well as with original hardware via ODEs or SD card loader.