| Metroid: Other M - True Japanese Mod | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | |
| Author | ScaryHobbit |
| Type | Translations |
| Version | 1.0.0 |
| License | Mixed |
| Last Updated | 2023/06/23 |
| Links | |
| Subtitle Files (Install this first) Media Files Download | |
| Website | |
Metroid: Other M - True Japanese Mod is a project aims to edit the North American version of Metroid: Other M with two goals in mind:
- Converting the game's voice-over from English to Japanese.
- Replacing the poor English localization with a more accurate version based on the Japanese script.
The inspiration for this project came from a video that highlighted the differences between the Japanese script and English localization. The Japanese version of the game allows the player to select between Japanese and English voice acting and subtitles, but it still uses the same flawed English localization for subtitles.
However, the Japanese audio tracks are still within the US version of the game, and the subtitles can be edited using a text editor. After months of research and effort, the Japanese tracks were made the default and a Riivolution mod was created to force the game to use the Japanese voice acting and modified subtitles. The result is the ability to play the US version of "Metroid: Other M" with both Japanese voice acting and improved subtitles.
Note: This Riivolution mod has currently only been tested for use on Dolphin Emulator. It has not been tested nor endorsed for use on actual Wii hardware at this time. Use at your own risk.
Installation
To use this mod for Metroid Other M, you need:
- Dolphin Emulator version 5.0-15407 or newer.
- At least 6 GB of hard drive space.
- An ISO of the North American version of the game.
- A saved file with Theater Mode fully unlocked (optional).
- This mod has only been tested on the Dolphin Emulator and may not work on actual Wii hardware.
Instructions:
- Download and Extract the folder "MOMTrueJapanese_v1_0_0_p1_Subtitles".
- Move the folder "other_m_true_japanese" to your currently configured Dolphin "Load" path and place it in the "Riivolution" folder.
- On Windows, the default path is "Dolphin-x64\User\Load\Riivolution".
- You may need to create the "Riivolution" folder if it does not exist.
- Download and Extract the folder "MOMTrueJapanese_v1_0_0_p2_Media"
- Move the two folders, "movie" and "sound", into the folder "other_m_true_japanese" from Step 2.
- The root of "other_m_true_japanese" should now contain the folders "message", "movie" and "sound", and the mod's XML file.
- Load up Dolphin emulator. Ensure that the base game is present in your gamelist and that the GameID is R3OE01.
- Right-click the game in the gamelist and select "Start with Riivolution Patches...".
- Click "Open Riivolution XML..." and select the XML file for "other_m_true_japanese". Under "Contents", switch both the "Audio & Movies" and "Subtitle" options to "Enabled".
- If you wish to have this mod configuration directly in your gamelist for quick access, select "Save as Preset...".
- Hit "Start".
User guide
Translation notes:
- This mod is for the NTSC-U (North America) version only.
- This mod was tested mainly with the Theater Mode, a full play-through has not been done yet to make sure everything converts correctly within the campaign.
- You can find information on modding Metroid Other M's subtitle file, message_all.dat, in this post. The same file also contain the game's Japanese script, even in the US version of the game.
Media
The Other M that never was (Lexicon Lookout)
Known Issues
- There are a couple voice lines that are stuck in their English configuration, because the sound files that are tied to these lines are not present in the "sound" folder like all the other voice lines. I'm guessing these sound files are packed in with the regular sound effects (or possibly with enemy data), but they're hidden somewhere on the disk in places that I don't know how to access at this time.
- List of known hidden voice lines: (Dialogue paraphrased from what is heard in-game)
- Adam: "Samus, use your missles." - During first boss battle.
- Samus: "Anthony!" - During Grapple Beam scene.
- General grunts and noises by human characters.
- Invalid Read error - When segments of the message_all file are changed too much to the point where the modded file is a number of kilobytes greater or less than the vanilla file, the game will crash and be stuck frozen until the game is powered down. This mod's translation has been thoroughly tested to eliminate this crash during normal play, but please keep this in mind if you decide to edit the message_all file yourself.
- Subtitle timings don't match Japanese dialogue - This is set within the game's code itself and requires programming knowledge to change. See my later post (post #8) for more details.
Changelog
1.0.0 2023/06/26
- Official Release. Added media and custom subtitles for dialogue present in the normal campaign. Campaign play-tested from start to finish. Minor adjustments to prior subtitles to improve accuracy and readability. Overhauled XML document to allow mod to function within a singular Riivolution mod.
0.2.0 2023/03/06
- Second release introducing custom subtitles. This release has been designed for use in Theater Mode, and has yet to be tested in normal play.
0.1.0 2023/01/18
- Initial Beta release containing the replacement video and audio files only.
- Tested for Theater Mode - still needs Base Game testing.
- Subtitles will be added in the next update.
Credits
Special Thanks (and notice regarding video editing):
A very special thanks to @ShadowOne333 for his invaluable help and support, helping me out on how to edit Other M's .sfd videos and setting up Riivolution mods. I highly recommend checking out his new improvement hack Metroid: Other M Redux: Shadow discovered the ideal solution for editing Other M's .sfd video files, which after testing it for myself I endorse 100% as it fixed all the video issues I came across when I first started this project.
Details on his process can be found under the Converting videos to SFD section of his first post - You may also find it useful for editing sofdec videos in other titles that use the codec.