Princess Crown English Translation Nears Completion with Release Candidate Patches

Princess Crown, the critically acclaimed 1997 action RPG for the Sega Saturn, is a revered title among fans of Japanese role-playing games.

Despite its enduring legacy, having been directed by George Kamitani—who later founded the notable developer Vanillaware—the game never saw an official release outside Japan.

For years, this left Sega Saturn enthusiasts and RPG collectors eagerly awaiting a playable English version. After over a decade in the making, the wait for an English translation may soon be coming to an end.

The dedicated fan translation project headed by eadmaster, a continuation of the original localization efforts by SamIAm and Cyber Warrior X beginning in 2012, has reached a major development milestone.

As recently reported by community sources such as Sega Saturn Shiro, the team has published a pair of essential "Release Candidate" patches—signaling that the project is nearing completion and a public release is on the horizon. The first patch, version 1.0 RC1, implements significant fixes and improvements.

Notably, it resolves persistent soft-lock issues following the dragon fight and during the start of the Larva encounter, restores full cutscene dialogue (with contributions from Mentill), and addresses infinite loading bugs connected to specific side-quests and towers.

Additionally, the update features a revised widescreen hack, corrects graphics anomalies when obtaining the Earth Stone, and polishes script formatting and sign placement.

RC1 also incorporates transparency fixes for certain characters, contributed by Paul Met. Following closely, version 1.0 RC2 offers further refinements, including script adjustments and enhanced menu padding, again thanks to Mentill’s involvement.

The translation team has clarified that these releases are not yet final; ongoing testing is planned to thoroughly eliminate any remaining bugs, ensuring a stable and high-quality patch for the English-speaking community. The Princess Crown English translation project began in earnest 13 years ago, aiming to bring the game's intricate story and innovative mechanics to a broader audience.

Earlier in 2024, eadmaster’s momentum saw the release of version 0.8, a build that introduced fully translated story content, menu elements, and crucial bug fixes.

According to The Sega Guys, this update marked the first time players could experience Princess Crown's radial menus, combat, and shop interactions in English, significantly enhancing playability. While minor formatting quirks persist—such as occasional text overflow into multiple dialogue boxes—the release of these candidate patches represents a pivotal achievement for the fan-driven Saturn scene.

With the final patch expected soon, Princess Crown will, at last, be accessible to English-speaking fans on the Sega Saturn, reaffirming the game's position as one of the platform’s hidden gems. For further updates and the eventual public patch download, fans should continue following project contributors and Saturn community hubs.

This translation effort not only preserves a classic piece of gaming history but also exemplifies the enduring passion of the retro gaming community.

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