18th August 2005, 9:05 PM
Chrono Trigger... Here's what I understand. All reviews of the Japanese version of CT for PS1 (oh and, the load times on a PSOne model PS and the older models are the same, they didn't speed it up sadly) state that the load times are instant. However, the US version is not instant in the least! What happened indeed...
As far as I can tell, from looking at the disk they actually store the ROM of CT right there for access. I actually played that in a super nintendo emulator and it really is the ROM. The only issue is it is the Japanese ROM. So, here's my hypothesis. I submit that when translating the game, the translators never actually found out that it is the ROM the system uses in order to play the game and the disk basically is coded to replace parts of the ROM when needed, like for the PS save system or when an FMV is supposed to play. In translating, a LOT more alterations need to be done to that old ROM, this time language related. So, every single time the game is "loading", it's actually actively patching the Japanese text with English text before showing that area/menu/battle. This might take time because the system has to go to that folder with the patch data on the disk. What I predict from this is that if they just replaced the Japanese ROM on the disk with the English ROM, most of the translating would already be done and they would only need to translate the added stuff like the save menu and the bonus section and so on.
So, the only way to test this, and I mentioned as much to OB1, is to actually burn a copy of the PS1 game, only replace that ROM file with an english ROM. It does have to be binary, meaning a direct unaltered straight rip of the cartridge. Further though, if we use the American disk, it is still replacing the already English text on this new ROM with the patch data's text. So, we'd need to use the Japanese disk which does not do this replacing.
This is all hypothetical though...
Anyone willing to help me with this wins a loadtime free version of CT on PS1 :D.
As for me, while I really would enjoy doing this just because it would be fun to experiment in it, it isn't too urgent simply because I still own the SNES version and don't plan on giving it up specifically for this reason.
As far as I can tell, from looking at the disk they actually store the ROM of CT right there for access. I actually played that in a super nintendo emulator and it really is the ROM. The only issue is it is the Japanese ROM. So, here's my hypothesis. I submit that when translating the game, the translators never actually found out that it is the ROM the system uses in order to play the game and the disk basically is coded to replace parts of the ROM when needed, like for the PS save system or when an FMV is supposed to play. In translating, a LOT more alterations need to be done to that old ROM, this time language related. So, every single time the game is "loading", it's actually actively patching the Japanese text with English text before showing that area/menu/battle. This might take time because the system has to go to that folder with the patch data on the disk. What I predict from this is that if they just replaced the Japanese ROM on the disk with the English ROM, most of the translating would already be done and they would only need to translate the added stuff like the save menu and the bonus section and so on.
So, the only way to test this, and I mentioned as much to OB1, is to actually burn a copy of the PS1 game, only replace that ROM file with an english ROM. It does have to be binary, meaning a direct unaltered straight rip of the cartridge. Further though, if we use the American disk, it is still replacing the already English text on this new ROM with the patch data's text. So, we'd need to use the Japanese disk which does not do this replacing.
This is all hypothetical though...
Anyone willing to help me with this wins a loadtime free version of CT on PS1 :D.
As for me, while I really would enjoy doing this just because it would be fun to experiment in it, it isn't too urgent simply because I still own the SNES version and don't plan on giving it up specifically for this reason.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)