In Japan, Hoshi wo Miru Hito for Famicom is considered a kusoge no densetsu or “legendary crappy game.” One of the worst games of all time. It never made it to North America, but now we can share the pain, as a complete fan translation for the game has been released.
There had been a previous attempt at a translation made by modder KingMike, but it was never fully complete, leaving much of the battle text in Japanese. Last month, user Brandnewscooby released a patch for that patch, which picks up where KingMike left off and finishes the translation of the battle text.
Sometimes called Stargazer by Anglophones, Hoshi wo Miru Hito is an RPG that Hardcore Gaming 101 calls “hilariously embarrassing on just about every level.” The RPG genre exploded in popularity in Japan following 1986’s Dragon Quest, and Hoshi wo Miru Hito seems like a pretty blatant attempt at trying to get in on that boom. It does bring some interesting things to the table, including a futuristic setting, and managed to just barely precede Fantasy Star.
However, every idea the team had seems to have been executed rather poorly. While considered to be somewhat charmingly inept, there are severe balancing issues and incredibly obtuse mechanics. The fact that English monoglots may now be able to understand the text doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to actually complete the game.
It was reported back in 2020 that City Connection was going to release the game worldwide, suggesting an official translation, but it only saw release in Japan.
Until we eventually get an official translation for Hoshi wo Miru Hito, you can find the initial fan translation patch here and the patch for the patch over here.
Published: Dec 22, 2023 01:57 pm