A new translation patch is currently in the works for Hunex's 1994 PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version of Popful Mail, with its creators recently posting a series of casting calls online to find its new English voice cast.
Popful Mail was a platformer with light role-playing elements developed by Nihon Falcom for the NEC PC-8801 that focused on the story of a down-on-her-luck bounty hunter who sets out to hunt down a magician with a large bounty on his head.
It was released in the latter half of 1991, and later appeared on a range of other platforms over the years, such as the PC-9801, Sega CD, Super Famicom, the PC Engine Super CD-ROM², and mobile phones.
Of these, only the Sega CD version ever ended up getting a proper English localization, with Working Designs making several tweaks to the game's script, as well as the game's difficulty (the title was made significantly harder in the West), before releasing it in North American stores in early 1995.
In 2024, D4 Enterprise released a reissue of the original PC-88 version on Switch. However, this version was sadly presented with minimal changes from the original Japanese, providing some additional barriers to understanding the game's story.
The new patch for the game appears to be the work of the video game researcher and essayist, Forrealsyall, who covered the series in a video earlier this year on his channel and previously posted several mock-ups of his translation online six months ago. He states this patch is being developed as a "more faithful adaptation [than the Working Designs' Sega CD title]", with the team ultimately choosing the PC Engine version as its base.
"I've spent months with a friend from Tokyo translating the game," wrote Forrealsyall on the website Castingcall.club. "And we know people with the ability to implement text into these old titles. So our next step is to dub all the audio. I've already gotten several people on board this project, but we are still looking for more people to join us!
"Some lines will have somewhat strict timing; you'll be given videos showing the cutscenes play out and when a line must be spoken. I will also provide documents with directions for each line. It's a bit complicated to dub an old game we don't have the source code for, but I will do my best to work around these restrictions and welcome any and all questions."
Some of the roles the team is hoping to cast include the lead protagonist Mail, the antagonist Material Horun (known as Muttonhead in the Sega CD localization), and the restaurant owner One Eye'd Jack, among others. The gig also appears to be paid, with payment being sent on delivery of the voice files.
In other words, if you happen to be an aspiring voice actor, you might want to give this project a look.