Meduza Team Releases English Translation of Madou Monogatari

Longtime translation patch group Meduza Team is back with another shadowdropped effort — this time it’s Madou Monogatari, also known as Sorcery Saga.

The patch went up Tuesday on Meduza Team’s website. If you have trouble accessing their website, you can download the patch directly from Mega.nz here. The patching instructions are as follows:

1. Copy all the patch files into a folder containing the original multi-track game image in the “Bin/Cue” format!
2. Launch the “START.BAT” file.
3. To make things safer, the original files are saved in the same folder (with the “old” extension). You may further delete after successful patching.
4. All the patch files are automatically deleted at the end of the patching process!

The patch’s readme file lists the hacking efforts that Paul Met undertook:

• Added opening video (from promo material).
• Support for 1-byte character encoding.
• Support for DTE.
• Support for tiled VWF.
• Support for color highlighting.
• Support for translucent shadows (combat mode).

DTE, or dual-tile encoding, is a form of text compression. VFW, or variable-width font, is a method of changing where the next letter appears on screen depending on how wide that letter is — the technique is used for better readability and to fit more text on screen.

The newly added opening video is from a VHS that Compile used to promote the game. Compile developed and published Madou Monogatari, an isometric RPG, in July 1998 exclusively on the Saturn. Its characters appear in the Puyo Puyo series of puzzle games, making them part of a shared universe.

Paul Met announced the patch with a trailer:

The game was translated by Maud, who also translated and hacked Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon last year.

“Puyo Puyo is a series that’s very close to my heart, and this game was one of my first Saturn imports that I have a lot of fond memories of playing on late nights, sitting way too close to the CRT screen in a dark room,” Maud said in the pattch’s readme file. “Naturally, when a talented hacker approached me asking if I was interested in working with him on a translation, I was ecstatic.”

While Maud is a Puyo Puyo fan, Paul Met apparently isn’t. He’s not one to let the injustice of a Japanese-exclusive Saturn game go untranslated, though.

“I’m not a fan of the ‘Puyo Puyo’ series of games, but when I first stumbled upon this game, I immediately noticed the beautiful sprites and excellent animation. The music was also very pleasant, and the funny characters kept me entertained. The combat system, although simple, is very high-quality — the game is a pleasure to play. The only thing that marred the gameplay was that it was entirely in Japanese (as always). It’s finally time to correct this unfortunate oversight.”

— Paul Met, in the patch readme file

Maud said the script was so big that it took a year to come up with a first draft. Waku Waku Puyo Puyo, by contrast, only took a month.

“I made sure to give a lot of attention to the dialogue to ensure each and every line flows well, makes sense in the context it appears, matches the tone of the original, and that gags land,” Maud said in the readme file. “But also it’s a big script so… if you find a typo, you can come to my house and personally execute me.”

Alternatively, anyone who catches typos can let Maud know on Bluesky.

Maud also teases more Puyo Puyo projects in the future. They likely won’t be for the Saturn, though — all of the series’ games are now playable in English.