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Halloween is nearly upon us, and it seems that the PS1 fan translation community is getting ready to unleash something wicked to help people celebrate the occasion: a new fan translation for the Lovecraftian tactical RPG Ningyo no Rakuin.
Announced last week, this brand new PS1 patch, which is being created by a team consisting of @vervalkon.bsky.social, @chaputranslations.bsky.social @laytonloztew.bsky.social & whowasphone404, will release on Saturday, October 31st 2026, giving people the opportunity to play Highwaystar and NEC Interchannel's Japan-exclusive oddity from the year 2000 in English for the very first time. So, if you happen to love checking out obscure Japanese games and have been looking for something vaguely Halloween-themed to dive into for the spooky season, this might be worth keeping an eye out for the patch when it launches on ROM hacking sites this weekend.
Localised here as "The Curse of Ogaerito", Ningyo No Rakuin is often more commonly referred to as "The Mark of the Mermaid" in English-speaking spaces, but the name has been changed by the fan translator to avoid people expecting a setting similar to Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth" when the game takes place on a South Japanese island, among other reasons (which are detailed in full here). This includes the fact that the specific phrase 'Mark of the Mermaid' apparently doesn't feature in the actual game, with the Japanese kanji for Curse (呪) and the name of the island (魚返島) being far more common.
It follows the story of Keisuke Tatebayashi and his love interest, Mizuki Nakayama, who survive a plane crash, along with a small group of survivors, only to find themselves stranded on an island where they are hounded by a bunch of hooded figures. Not long after crash-landing, the shadowy cult emerges and kidnaps Mizuki, but the survivors eventually manage to rescue her and bring her back to camp. Keisuke notices there's something not quite right with his sweetheart, however, upon her return. She's been cursed, with her body being slowly twisted into an unrecognisable form.
Because of its play style, the game has often been compared to other tactical RPGs of the era, like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vandal Hearts, but has some unsettling horror elements thrown in for good measure.
As confirmed by Chapu Translations online, "no AI, LLM or MTL was used in the making of this patch," with the majority of the people working on the project having had some previous experience translating Japanese games into English.
Chapu and whowasphone404, for instance, previously collaborated on an excellent fan translation of the eco-friendly PS1 import Wonder Trek, originally developed by Zest Works and published by Sony.
Here's some footage of the Japanese version of Ningyo no Rakuin to give you an idea of what to expect: