PSP/Steins Gate Translation

One interesting example that shows how PSP translation works is the abandoned Steins;Gate PSP translation project.

Since it has an unofficial script development kit, and the actual game has already been translated, this is a great way to learn how to create an English patch for a PSP game.

Note that this patch was never finished, and is meant to be used as a proof of concept to train PSP translators (it is certainly possible to finish it, though).

If you want to play Steins;Gate in English, a official translation was released for PC on March 2014. If you are interested in playing a portable version of Steins;Gate, an official PS Vita English version was released in 2015.

Riku's Script Development Kit

 * Github Repository

Riku managed to hack the script to inject text without any text reflow issues. He managed to translate a whole prologue, but did not continue the effort due to lack of interest and assistance.

He provided a Script Development Kit with a Proof-of-Concept patch of the first chapter. Someone should investigate how it works, and possibly apply it to the rest of the PSP game to create a perfect patch. Documentation is sparse, but it should just be a matter of trial and error.

Initial Efforts
For informational purposes only


 * I opened the ISO with UMDgen, extracted the Data0.AFS with the AFS explorer, looked out for the .BINs (the scripts) and changed them with a program called sakura (a hex/text editor in japanese), saved, and repacked everything.

Unfortunately, it can be much more complicated than that, since the textbox often has a character limit per dialogue box. This will take some crazy bitbanging haxx to overcome.


 * I tried translating the game myself (aka opening the ISO and swapping the japanese text with Shourai's translation), but ran into one major problem: the character limit. Every dialogue box accepts only a set amount of characters; the first line of dialogue works fine, but every following line is missing the first few letters (and at some point, the game just crashes). I don't know shit about coding and Google couldn't help me either, so it's pretty much hopeless.


 * GBATemp - Steins;Gate: Help with PSP Translation
 * YouTube Video