A homebrew team has released a patch for the obscure Sega Saturn exclusive Cyber Doll, allowing the 1996 cyberpunk RPG to be played in English for the very first time.

Developed by studio Betop and published by I'MAX, Cyber Doll is a dystopian adventure set in the year 2039 in the aftermath of a terrible pandemic that stripped humanity of physiological evolution.

Humans, forced to advance their prosthetic technology, have been outfitted with an array of experimental limbs and organs at great cost. This has resulted in a mismatched society of complete evolutionary rejects, unpredictable human hybrids, and those who are practically gods among men.

The proverbial disturber arrives as a mutant invasion, led by a mysterious entity known as "Dark Visitor". The attack forces the broken, semi-mechanised people of Zero City to fight back for humanity itself. Grim stuff. Cyber Doll's gameplay blends typical top-down RPG adventure with turn-based combat, utilising a limb-based offence/defence mechanic in keeping with the themes of cybernetic body modification.

The new patch, created by modders Exxistance and Wiredcrackpot and spotted by the wonderfully monikered Sega Saturn Shiro!, translates all of Cyber Doll's dialogue and menu screens into English and adds new subtitles to both the intro sequence and all in-game cutscenes. It should also be noted that this is not the same translation project we reported on back in January. That project was canned by its owner, TrevoStuden, back in July.

Exxistance notes that all the text translation work, game coding, font design, and additional art assets were all created and integrated by the duo themselves, though does confess to having used Claude specifically to implement their monospace font in-game. So close.

It should be noted that this translation project is not the same

Speaking on their GitHub page, Exxistance notes:

“Once again, we have translator extraordinaire Wiredcrackpot to thank for volunteering to translate the game. I did use Claude to help implement the monospace font, but the monospace font as well as the translation and art are all the human meat slabs me and Wired."

Wiredcrackpot also offered their own take on the duo's process.

"I purely do video game translations as a means to study so if I were to use AI it'd completely void the point. I care little for gaining notoriety by translating video games, I've translated around 14 games at this point, and only Cyber Doll is getting this kind of attention...

I feel very strongly about AI use in most cases like anyone else; it's a means for talentless people to gain gratification from a false feeling of having done "something"

Candid and no doubt sincere words from the developers.

When AI prompters are used, even minimally, it still demonstrates validity to its owner, as well as others who benefit from the profits. Ultimately, any usage of generative AI gives the system purpose - allowing it to thrive and thus facilitate far more dubious and dangerous output while adding perceived value to the technology as a whole.

I respect the time, effort, and talent that went into the translation work, as well as the passion demonstrated in bringing obscure games back from the brink of oblivion. I believe in game preservation, so kudos to the team for the human element shown here.

But regardless, when you use Claude, all you do is raise the stock of Claude.

The Cyber Doll patch is available to download from GitHub. Oh, and for those curious, the litigation-inducing characters in the header image are featured in the game's concept art. Cool your jets, DC