A rare exclusive game from the original PlayStation has received its first English fan translation, with Small balls combine some of the best parts of Zelda and Tomb Raider. The PlayStation game was only officially released in Japan and never received a global release.
The original PlayStation console was home to some of the most beloved titles in gaming history. Sony's first foray into gaming consoles saw the birth of classic franchises such as Spyro the dragon, Crash Bandicootand Gran Turismo. The PS1's library included more than 4,000 games throughout its decade-long lifespan, and boasted plenty that were locked to specific regions, including a plethora of Japanese exclusives that were never released worldwide. Now, a brand new translation of English-speaking fans is giving fans their first chance to try a dungeon-crawling adventure that's only being released in Japan.
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From fantastic platformers to sparkling stealth games, there's no denying that the PS1's library was truly massive. Many still hold up well today.
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A brand new translation patch, created by Chapu and Etokapa, makes Kuusoukagaku Corp and Contrail's Small balls available in English for the first time. The action-adventure game follows the story of a young boy who ascends a demon-infested tower to save a girl named Carla from the demon Gudia. The game combines a fantasy art style reminiscent of games like The Legend of Zelda with games similar to Tomb Raider franchise, scaling cliffs and ledges, riding a mine cart and dispatching enemies with a slingshot. The translation patch for Small balls contains all of the game's text, as well as the subtitles for its cutscenes.
The new translation for Small balls giving Western fans a rare chance to try a game that was never released outside of Japan. The game's art direction was done by Taketoyo Ogawa, who had limited artistic roles for some of them Mario and Sonic games, as well as lead UI designer for ILCA and Bandai Namco's One Piece: Odyssey. The list for the fan translation of Small balls also suggests that the modders intend to maintain support for the game and accept feedback on bugs to be fixed in future versions of the patch.
Small balls is just one of a plethora of PS1 games in Japan to never set foot overseas. Many anime-based games saw limited global releases, with one of the One Pieces earliest games, The Great Battleonly released in certain European regions and never getting a North American launch. One of the first releases of Konami's classic Japan-exclusive dating sim Tokimeki Memorial came out on PS1 and later got updated versions on Super Famicom, PSP and even Nintendo Switch without an official English translation.
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While many games have remained exclusive to specific regions, unofficial translations have helped bridge the gap for many fans. Many translation projects have made games like the aforementioned Tokimeki Memorial available to a whole new audience for the first time, providing essential English support for fans looking to experience Japan-exclusive games. The gaming industry has also continued to push towards more global experiences for gaming, with many modern games such as Pragmatics now with multiple languages for both dialogue and text in the game. The gaming industry continues to globalize more with each passing year, while unofficial translations make once-unavailable games accessible to more fans.
