The Ninth Hour - Scanlations & Translations
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theninthhour.bsky.social
The Ninth Hour - Scanlations & Translations
@theninthhour.bsky.social
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Dead Phoenix & Daytona: a 🇯🇵 » 🇬🇧 'lation duo from parts unknown. Currently focused on Dragon Quest.

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theninthhour.bsky.social
You can only coast on Devil May Cry's reputation for so long, I guess.
>when the random e-celeb you dislike for just being dumb and annoying and unfunny finally is outed for a legitimate reason to dislike them
November 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
And then, 1 month after the scandal unraveled, Sugiura's accuser took back his claims. On the day of the 2000 incident, Sugiura had been in Tokyo filming a movie, and not in Osaka.

In July 13, 2002, TBS ended reruns of Ultraman Neos with a message from the returning Musashi:
November 9, 2025 at 12:35 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
6:30 PM, June 22, 2002.

Japanese children sat tight, ready to watch the smash hit series Ultraman Cosmos, when they were greeted by this message from the titular superhero himself.

They would see Ultraman, but not his host, Musashi Haruno. 🧵
November 9, 2025 at 12:35 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
According to Riichiro Yamada, Virtua Fighter 5 evolved the series formula to the point that there was nowhere left to go after it; with this in mind, New VF's staff are challenging themselves by starting over with some brand new ideas, in keeping with the philosophy of series creator Yu Suzuki.
4Gamer: How difficult will the input for the new systems be? Yamada: This time, we want to lower the barrier to entry. Virtua Fighter was designed to be accessible to everyone, even players who just mash buttons — and as a result, it succeeded in attracting people who'd never played a fighting game before. I think that's an important aspect to keep, so we don't want to make things too complicated. 4Gamer: So you want to create a game that can also be enjoyed by veterans who've played since Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2? Yamada: Yes. In fact, many of the developers are from that generation. Our goal is to first create a system that can be easily enjoyed by younger players new to Virtua Fighter, then flesh it out to allow veteran players to have fun as well. 4Gamer: Your attempt to create fluid, dynamic, martial arts-esque combat feels very ambitious. This has been a difficult element that many games have tried to address, and it seems hard to implement successfully. Yamada: From a gameplay perspective, that theme might have made it difficult to implement some more ambitious concepts. However, we have nothing to lose. The core tenet of Virtua Fighter is to challenge ourselves with new ideas, much like the philosophy of the series's creator Yu Suzuki. Virtua Fighter has a certain established formula — and I think it was pretty much perfected with Virtua Fighter 5. So we should strive to create something significantly different, while also making it fun and engaging. Akira Yuki attacks Goh Hinogami in the Broken House stage in Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.
September 29, 2025 at 2:45 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
Virtua Fighter has always had verisimilitude as a focus, but previous games only really defined characters by their fighting style; the characters in New VF will have defined backgrounds and lifestyles contributing to their designs.
4Gamer: Thank you for joining us today. First, could you tell us about the concept behind the new systems? Riichiro Yamada: The concept is "reality." We can't just keep making games the way we always have. If we're making a new title, it has to have something unique, so we felt that the keyword should be "realism," something that has always been valued in the Virtua Fighter series and expected by its players. I say "reality" rather than "realistic" because the intent isn't to create a purely realistic fighting game. The series was originally influenced by kung-fu movies, and we want to create cinematic action. We want to achieve that kind of reality, while also incorporating new technologies and new ideas. That's why the new Uprising ruleset is included in what we announced today. 4Gamer: In the gaming world, "reality" often refers to photo-realistic graphics. However, the "reality" that the New VIRTUA FIGHTER Project pursues seems to encompass much more than just graphics — does that include the gameplay itself? Yamada: Even with Wolf Hawkfield, whom we revealed in a promotional video, we considered his lifestyle and backstory when making his character design. In previous games, the fighting style itself was the focus of the design. This time, we're emphasizing the character's life story, and creating designs that make them feel like living people in reality. Wolf Hawkfield makes his entrance in the New Virtua Fighter Project
September 29, 2025 at 2:36 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
...and live-action film segments based on the games, with some spooky versions of the series's recurring monsters!

It has no dialogue, so you don't need fansubs to appreciate it.
A party of adventurers buys a key from a merchant. A Slime threatens the Hero while alone. A Golem rises from the sands. A horde of Skeletons appears from the darkness.
June 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
No new translations for now, but while digging around, we found out about the Dragon Quest Fantasia Video — a long-form music video split between videotaped orchestral executions of music from DQ I to III, conducted by lifelong series composer Koichi Sugiyama...
The Dragon Quest Fantasia Video title card. Lifelong Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama conducts an orchestra while executing the Dragon Quest opening fanfare.
June 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
The Ninth Hour has fully translated CHAOS LEGION: LEGION MASTER'S GUIDE, an officially published strategy guide for Capcom's long-overlooked action game.

files.catbox.moe/ieoa8d.pdf
Cover art of Chaos Legion: Legion Master's Guide, a strategy guide for a 2003 Capcom action game from most of the same devs as Devil May Cry. The cover shows player character Sieg Wahrheit, main antagonist Victor Delacroix, and background character Siela Riviere.
May 31, 2025 at 1:01 AM
theninthhour.bsky.social
Yuji Horii also talks a little bit about his side project Famicom Jump, and the interviewer is aching for more crumbs of information... but Horii and director Koichi Nakamura won't budge.
May 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
Another old-timey #DragonQuest interview, this time on the announcement of Dragon Quest V.

Why make it for the Super Famicom? Will IV and V be part of a new trilogy? What about AI-controlled companions? Who's *that* in the key art?!

All of that is answered here!
May 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
A Dragon Quest featurette from Famitsu #150 (1991), diving into some rumors about an alleged secret Chapter 6 in Dragon Quest IV!

Such a shame it wasn't true! Hopefully in the future, Enix can put out a cool updated version with the new chapter! We can dream, right?
May 21, 2025 at 1:12 AM
theninthhour.bsky.social
Asano has a background as an animator, so "Pryde's" similarities to HnK reawakened his love for that series.

X-Men '92 wasn't just heavily influenced by Turtles in Time: Konami needed the game to be about as successful.
When I was an animator, I used to watch Fist of the North Star a lot, and I dreamed of working on that series — but it never came to fruition. Maybe I went for it so easily because my superiors were having difficulties with an American football game, but I think there was also pressure after the success of Turtles in Time.
April 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
The game's design was deliberately similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, but with six players instead of four.

Asano took on the project because the pilot was animated by Toei Animation — and it had a similar style to his favorite series, Fist of the North Star!
When my superior asked me if I wanted to take this project on, I immediately said, "I'm in!" Mainly because the pilot video was actually made by Toei Animation in Japan, and it was drawn in a similar style to Fist of the North Star, a series I love. Magneto in the video looked a lot like Raoh.
April 23, 2025 at 9:10 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
The game was based on "Pryde of the X-Men", a 1989 pilot for an X-Men cartoon that was not picked up. Thus, by the time it came out, the character designs were superseded by the Fox Kids TV show.

But the devs were gleaming at the chance to make a beat 'em up with 6-man co-op!
Later, I learned that the video we got was a pilot episode ("Pryde of the X-Men"), and the designs of the mutants were quite outdated. We had no idea of knowing that — but we did know that there were six mutants in the team, and since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game (Turtles in Time) was quite profitable with four players, if we allowed six players, X-Men could make even more! It was a simple idea, but it drove the project forward.
April 23, 2025 at 9:06 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
Although the X-Men were a consistent seller in Marvel Comics's roster in the US, they weren't very well-known in Japan, a problem that similarly plagued Capcom's X-Men: Children of the Atom.

In particular, the team really didn't like how Wolverine looked...
I heard that the early 1990s was a period of stagnation for Marvel. When the X-Men project was presented to Konami at the time, nobody knew anything about it. All the team got for reference was a video, which we were told would be made into a full series and a movie in a few years. Wolverine is quite popular in Japan now, but back then, he gave off the impression of a hairy knockoff of Batman, and we felt like that wouldn't be well-received in Japan.
April 23, 2025 at 8:57 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
And finally, here's an interview with Dragon Quest series composer Koichi Sugiyama.

He wanted DQ to go on forever as family entertainment, even naming inspirations like the Tora-san movies and... James Bond?!
April 17, 2025 at 9:04 PM
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The Horii interview continues, with him linking Wizardry, Ultima, and his first game The Portopia Serial Murder Case to the making of DQ. He also talks about a sidequest that was scrapped from DQ III.
April 17, 2025 at 9:03 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
Here's a pair of old interviews from the Dragon Quest III Master's Club book!

First up here's series designer Yuji Horii, speaking about the development of DQ III, his influences, and the future of the series as of 1988 — time sure flies...
April 17, 2025 at 9:02 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
⚠️ ENDING AND POST-GAME SPOILERS! ⚠️

We translated an interview from the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake official guidebook, with Yuji Horii and producer Masaaki Hayasaka.

Here, they talk the HD-2D art style, the remake's new content, and the real reason behind adding the Monster Wrangler!
March 29, 2025 at 9:48 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
‪Horii also looked back on the making of the Famicom and Super Famicom versions. The SFC ver.'s personality quiz came about because Horii used to make those for a teen magazine!

Also, some previously unreleased sketches from Dragon Quest III's planning stages!
December 16, 2024 at 12:36 AM
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An interview with designer Yuji Horii and producer Masaaki Hayasaka, from the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Legendary Guidebook!

The pair discuss bringing an RPG classic to high-definition graphics. Horii was very peculiar about the voice acting — even the spell intonations!
December 15, 2024 at 5:10 PM
theninthhour.bsky.social
In honor of the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake releasing tomorrow, we've translated this DQ III pre-release interview with DQ designer Yuji Horii!
November 13, 2024 at 1:02 PM