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CASPER (JAPAN) - ENGLISH TRANSLATION CONTINUATION
Version 1.0-beta1 | November 1, 2026
Original English translation: tashi
Translation continuation: dadmin / Retro Replay
https://retro-replay.com/romhacking/translations/casper-english-translation/
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1. ABOUT THIS RELEASE
2. PATCHING INSTRUCTIONS
3. WHAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED
4. PLAYING THE GAME
5. TESTING AND KNOWN ISSUES
6. CREDITS AND PROJECT HISTORY
7. FEEDBACK AND DISTRIBUTION

1. ABOUT THIS RELEASE
---------------------
Kat has come to a haunted mansion with her father, Dr. Harvey. When he
fails to return, she finds an unlikely ally in Casper. The Japanese
1997 Super Famicom game follows their search through an isometric
mansion, with exploration, puzzles, treasure, and some very troublesome
ghosts standing between Kat and her father.

This release continues tashi's abandoned English translation. Tashi
translated and inserted the main dialogue, but left the introduction
and several picture-based scenes untranslated. Retro Replay picked up
that unfinished work, recovered the compressed text and sprite-caption
formats, and completed the identified missing English text.

This patch is for the JAPANESE 1997 game. It is not for the different
North American Casper released in 1996. Version 1.0-beta1 is a public
beta; the testing limits below remain part of this release.

2. PATCHING INSTRUCTIONS
------------------------
Required file: Casper (Japan).sfc, clean and unheadered
Required size: 1,048,576 bytes (1 MB)
CRC32: 696458B3
MD5: 971368DB1974B14A25518A33E2BB5022
SHA-1: 848E5E0F4D622B81DD34E166BB98011C9BB2BA46
SHA-256:
d620555cf813fb3a6e46b6a1e8c94ebac6d29614171562b3b1b73635ee5c1773

1) Back up your original ROM and save files.
2) Open an IPS-compatible patching tool and select
   Casper-English-1.0-beta1.ips.
3) Apply it directly to the CLEAN Japanese ROM listed above.
4) Save the patched copy under a new filename, then load that copy in
   a Super Nintendo emulator or a compatible setup of your choice.

Do not apply this patch over tashi's original patch or an earlier
continuation. The release page also offers a browser patcher with this
patch preloaded. Your ROM stays on your device.

A 1,049,088-byte file has a 512-byte copier header and does not match
the required input. Use an unheadered dump. Renaming a file does not
change its contents or make it compatible.

Expected patched ROM size: 1,048,576 bytes
Expected patched SHA-256:
582c4667cb15c037161a74499cdacc72e4b96325ab1bde828969f43f115451f4

No game ROM is included in this download.

3. WHAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED
--------------------------
- Three English introduction pages.
- Forty-three English photo and ending caption blocks.
- An English Game Over message.
- Seven English damaged-save warnings, covering the file combinations.
- English closing narration and B/F floor labels.
- Nine dialogue passages reviewed against the Japanese source comments.
- Removal of the old dialogue workaround that repeated photo captions.

The main dialogue, English font, script tables, and original insertion
work are tashi's. The continuation retains the original game art,
music, controls, and underlying game engine.

4. PLAYING THE GAME
-------------------
Explore rooms carefully and speak to characters again after events.
Some routes and items become available later. The map-related radar
items help with finding rooms, stairs, and useful objects. Stand on a
star and press X when the game instructs you to switch characters.

Keep regular saves. The original translator reported that some events
can freeze if triggered as Casper when Kat is supposed to move through
the scene. Where possible, approach those events as Kat instead.

5. TESTING AND KNOWN ISSUES
---------------------------
The new text has been checked in emulator captures and targeted scene
tests. All 51 sprite-message blocks, introduction and closing-narration
glyphs, shared font references, sprite limits, and 185 dialogue pointers
pass validation. The ROM checksum is valid. Applying the distributed
patch to the required clean ROM reproduces the intended build exactly.

No complete campaign playthrough or real-console test has been
performed. Normal recording-machine save/reboot/Continue and natural
ending presentation remain unverified. Save/restore helper checks
passed, but controlled tests do not establish a full gameplay test.
Direct ending tests show graphics artifacts in both the original
translation and this build; these tests verify text and progression,
not the presentation of endings reached through normal play.

Original game issues documented by tashi remain, including:
- Repeated Carrigan dialogue on first reaching the second floor.
- Conversations that may include an absent character.
- Events and dialogue that can occur in an awkward order.
- Possible freezes when Casper triggers certain Kat movement events.
- Saving restrictions while Kat and Casper are separated.

The enclosed TASHI-ORIGINAL-README.txt is preserved unchanged for
historical notes and the original translator's gameplay observations.
Those notes describe the abandoned patch; section 3 above lists what
this continuation has since completed.

6. CREDITS AND PROJECT HISTORY
------------------------------
Tashi: original English dialogue translation, English font, script,
tables, and insertion work. His abandoned project is dated March 13,
2012. Its source material made this continuation possible.

dadmin / Retro Replay: continuation of the missing text, compression and caption
format work, dialogue revisions, floor labels, integration, testing,
and release packaging.

This is a continuation of tashi's released work. It does not imply a
formal transfer of the project or his endorsement of this release.
The original game's graphics, music, characters, and engine remain the
work of their respective creators.

7. FEEDBACK AND DISTRIBUTION
----------------------------
Release page:
https://retro-replay.com/romhacking/translations/casper-english-translation/
Japanese game entry:
https://retro-replay.com/db/snes/casper-2/

Please report the room or scene, character, text shown, and steps that
reproduce a suspected problem. A screenshot or short recording helps.
If possible, note whether the issue also occurs in the Japanese game.

Share the patch with this readme and the original credits intact.
Do not bundle the patch with a game ROM. This is an unofficial fan
translation and is not an official release of the original game.
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