Halloween article time!!!
I’ve written a little article about Ningyo no Rakuin, an obscure Japanese PS1 horror RPG from 2000 that’s finally receiving an English fan translation under the title The Curse of Ogaeritō.
Interestingly (to me, at least), the original Japanese name roughly translates to Brand of the Merfolk, although it’s not really a game about mermaids. Instead, it’s heavily inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, particularly The Shadow over Innsmouth, with mysterious cults, disturbing creatures and plenty of cosmic horror. I’ve always found these forgotten Japanese games fascinating, especially when dedicated fans put so much effort into making them accessible to English-speaking players. With the translation arriving just in time for Halloween, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to cover a little of the game’s history and the people responsible for bringing it back into the spotlight!
Hope some here enjoy this one :)
Translating stuff is hard. Translating a videogame is even harder. Translating an obscure PS1 Japanese videogame with insane character limit in sentences is something that deserves a lot more applauses than it will probably get.
Huge congrats to the people involved.
“… with an entirely human-made English patch arriving just in time for Halloween.”
Lol man fuck 2026. I hate that saying something like human made is needed now.
I guess the craftwork industries have had the term “handmade” for a long time ago to fight back against factory-made items. I guess software may be using the word too now.
Just downloaded and patched this. It comes with translated ads, back inlay, and manual. You can rename these files to match your patched .bin/.cin and drop them in the respective /backcovers, /fanart (this is where I put one of the ads), and /manuals for Emulation Station to have easy access to them.
Sorry if that’s obvious to some of you, I just think it’s cool to keep this all bundled together on my main gaming system like that.
Would posting a link violate Rule 6?
I shared the article before the team had released it!
But now the link is at the end of my article :)
Thanks. I just didn’t want to get banned if I shared it.
Fantastic recommendation! Way before H.P. Lovecraft cast his quite racist eyes towards the sea in horror, Japanese folklore had a long list of stories with many horrific sea creatures. I do remember vibidly that capturing a mermaid will spell one of the worst fates to those who attempt it.
Maybe that’s why Call of Chtulhu is so popular as a ttrpg.
