In our quest to highlight Saturn fan translations this year, it’s also worth mentioning the handful of English activation patches available. Some Japanese games have English text baked right in, but no way to activate it. Enter Kingdom Grand Prix.
KGP is a hybrid vertical shmup / racing game developed by Raizing, released in arcades in late 1994 and given the Saturn treatment in mid-1996. Select from eight diverse characters ranging from Nirvana the oversized fairy to Honest John the massive armored guy, and shoot your way through 12 colorful levels to reach the finish line as fast as possible.
The story is that the kingdom isn’t doing too well… The people, tired of an ongoing war, grow restless. Realizing the midterms are only a few months away, the king steps in. His solution? Host a race that simultaneously protects the world from devastation, and unites all people within his nation! The Saturn game features not only the grand prix mode, but also a straight shmup move to cater to purists, with Tate mode also available.
Shmups are not usually known for insurmountable language barriers; nevertheless, in 2024, Bo Bayles and Malenko combined forces to locate the game’s English test, clean it up a bit, and release a patch!
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