(and FAQ credits)
(Best viewed in 800x600 or higher!)
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~~~~~ My stance on emulation~~~~~
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First and foremost, if you are playing the game and enjoying it,you should be doing
your utmost to pay for the fun you are having.
The best case scenario is that you are playing the game on an emulator in order to
use English patches released by Translation Groups on the 'Net because you can't read
Japanese, not because you don't have the actual physical cart. There is absolutely nothing
illegal about having a copy of a cart you own on your computer. Now having it on your web
site or downloading it from one is a different matter.....
Considering the extreme limitations on obtaining some of the older and more popular
games (which DQ1-2 definitely fits in) another scenario of which I approve is to have
downloaded the game in order to play something you could not have otherwise obtained. This
does NOT mean you should stop looking for a copy of the original cart. You should be making
every effort to pay the wonderful people who made the game for their efforts.
Basically, it boils down to this. If you downloaded the game simply so you could get it
for free, we're at odds. I hate that whole stinkin' "WaReZ" scene garbage and the
people it attracts. Now I'm done ranting.
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~~~~~Notes about playing this game via emulation~~~~~
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First off, you should know that there is no complete translation patch for this game at
the time I am typing this faq. The latest version released is .37 from RPGe and that is what
I am basing this section of the FAQ on.
Next.... READ THE README FILES THAT COME WITH YOUR EMULATOR OF CHOICE!!!!! Ninety percent
of the time reading those and a little bit of experimentation will teach you what you need to
know about these fascinating little programs and how to run them. Don't harass page
maintainers with questions about emulators if you don't want to get flamed. I will be posting
a FAQ on this on my page sometime, so you might check and see if I've uploaded it yet.
Continuing on..... There is a bug in the most recent release of the Translation Patch by
RPGe. This causes significant story events not to proceed properly. The events affected are:
Rescuing Gwaelin, Obtaining the Staff of Rain, Obtaining the Rainbow Drop, and forming the
Rainbow Bridge. There is, however, a way to play the game and maintain the aid of the partial
English patch.....
First, you must have a copy of the original untranslated rom somewhere in storage. It
must be named the same as the one you are playing the game on. You may then play up to the
point of the event (Just before talking to Gwaelin in Swamp Cave for example) and use a
*Save State* to save your game at that point.
Then, switch positions of the patched and unpatched roms. Load up the unpatched rom and
use *Restore State* to return to the point where you saved it earlier. Now activate
the event by talking to whoever or using your item. Once the event has occurred, you may
do the switch again and continue playing with the partial English patch.
If you don't know how to use *Save State* and *Restore State*, read the
documentation! It differs depending upon which emulator you are using. You could also do a
renaming trick instead of a swap trick to accomplish this same goal, but this is the way I
always do it.
Next on the agenda.... I'm not sure if this is a problem with the patch, or the original
rom, or just emulation in general, but this game tends to crash on occasion. If the music
stalls in one long note, it's crashed. I recommend that you use the *Save State* often
to avoid losing progress due to a crash. By *often* I mean near constantly. Every two
or three battles, or every foot or so you walk on the overworld. The game has a BAD tendency
to crash, and if you get in the habit of keeping your save state updated you will find
yourself screaming a lot less often.
You should be on a system with AT LEAST a 100 MHZ processor or better to play this game
via emulation. With that speed and the sound turned *off* the game will run at a speed
that is somewhat bearable. It can be played on slower systems (I can run it on a 486 50 MHZ)
but the speed will drive you batty most likely. For full sound and speed, I'd say go for
something in the 200 MHZ + range. That's what I run it on and I don't have any frame skip
whatsoever.
Final notes..... If the emulator you are using doesn't support transparencies, or your
system can't support the VESA required to do so, then you will have no need for Torches or the
Radiant spell in the game. The caves will always be fully visible without them.
Disappointed with the boost a Defense Seed or Lifeforce Acorn has given you? Make sure
you *save state* before you use any of these items. Then just keep hitting restore
until it gives you a boost that makes you smile (6 is max). But remember, this is cheating
and I highly discourage this unless you have already beaten the game and are just playing
around (or writing a FAQ and trying to stay a step above the monsters ^_^)
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~~~FAQ Credits and Acknowledgements~~~
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First off, have to credit the development teams and Enix for making the game to play in
the first place ^_^
Second, Thankye to Mohamme, Cie, Dustin, Dwaine, Neil_, Cliff, and everybody else who
continually supports and praises my work in the DQ community. You all are gonna give me a big
head here ~_^
Now, some actual credits to people who've corrected me mistakes! Thanks go out to
Thanatos for informing me about the Cursed Necklace and the Fighters Ring.
Thankems out to Metal Babble for informing me I'd reversed my Status and Equip menu
listings (D'OH! =P)
And finally, big Thankyous for Robin. You're the one who keeps me on an even keel and
keeps my sails to the wind. Full speed ahead Mr. Cohen! *GOL*
Much of the information in this FAQ naturally is the property of Enix of Japan and it's other legal intellectual type property holders. No thievin' nor toe steppin' is intended. Just tryin' to provide a hand to the poor DQ people who've been waiting for years for another Dragon Warrior and have given up and started playing the Japanese versions like I have.
Everything else (C) Christopher Lee Boger 1998-99
