Princess Crown English Fan Translation Reaches Completion on Sega Saturn
Entry information
Published on: April 21, 2025
Description
After nearly three decades since its original release, Sega Saturn classic Princess Crown has finally received a complete English fan translation, opening new doors for players worldwide to experience this legendary action RPG.
Originally developed by Atlus and launched exclusively in Japan in 1997, Princess Crown was directed by George Kamitani—who would later go on to found Vanillaware—and has long been regarded as one of the Saturn's most artistically ambitious and influential titles.
Despite its cult status, the title never saw an official localization, making its story and innovative gameplay inaccessible for most non-Japanese players.
Efforts to translate Princess Crown into English have persisted for over a decade, with the earliest significant project initiated in 2012 by the duo of SamIAm and Cyber Warrior X.
Their work laid essential groundwork, but a fully playable patch remained elusive for years.
However, the translation scene saw renewed progress in 2024 when a developer known as eadmaster assumed leadership, building upon the unfinished earlier project and injecting new momentum into the fan-led initiative.
By April 2025, the translation had reached a critical milestone with the release of version 1.0.
Described by project lead eadmaster in a recent update, "All significant issues and limitations have been addressed.
While minor refinements remain, the core translation is now effectively complete, and subsequent updates will focus on polishing lingering details." This achievement follows a series of "Release Candidate" versions that introduced vital fixes, including restored cutscene dialogues, corrected soft-locks, enhanced widescreen compatibility, and refined English script consistency.
Notable community contributors such as Mentill and Paul Met assisted with scripting, bug fixes, and graphic optimizations.
The translation’s journey from inception to completion is a testament to dedicated fan labor.
New features introduced in version 0.8—prior to the major 1.0 milestone—not only included comprehensive English coverage for story events, items, and menus but also innovatively resolved soft-locks and interface clarity previously impeding the experience.
The result is a robust, crash-free patch that finally does justice to Kamitani’s original vision.
Princess Crown’s belated arrival in English is a significant moment for preservation and accessibility within retro gaming.
Its release stands as a tribute to the enduring passion of the Sega Saturn community and the dedicated talents of fan translators.
Players eager to relive this foundational Vanillaware experience can now download and apply the patch, allowing a new generation to explore its rich narrative and artistry.
With Princess Crown’s full English translation now available, the Sega Saturn’s legacy is that much stronger, and a once-unreachable classic is finally open to the world.
