Month: April 2018

Back in the early ’90s, the Ranma ½ series was an internationally popular anime at a time when that was something of a rarity. It was so popular in the U.S. that it was worth the time and effort of developers to translate licensed games for US audiences — one of those titles being the Super Nintendo fighting game Ranma ½: Hard Battle. (It’s also remembered fondly enough that there was a side tournament for the game at Evo Japan 2018.)

Some combos from 2006 by YouTube user mrwhitefolks. This game has fascinated players for a while, to say the least.

Ranma ½: Hard Battle — the 2nd of three Ranma fighters made for the SNES (Super Famicom in Japan) — was successful enough to lead to the development of a third entry, Ranma ½: Chougi Ranbu Hen. This fighting game was slated for release in the states as Ranma ½ II: Anything-Goes Martial Arts, but publisher Toho Company Ltd. cancelled its release due to the poor sales of an unrelated Japanese title, Super Godzilla.

Why bring all of this up now? Well, translation group Dynamic Designs has released a translation patch for English-speaking audiences for the “RetroN 5” and “Retro Freak” clone consoles. If you are a looking to take the plunge into the world of pseudo virtual consoles and you also happen to own the original imported game (which is an adventure of itself to obtain), then you on your way to experiencing this gem that’s been lost in time and translation.

Sources: mrwhitefolks; NintendoLife