News Post

Translating the Best Japanese Baseball Games into English (Spirits Translation)

08:33 AM - August 3, 2010 by Steve_OS

Not many Americans know about Pro Yakyuu Spirits Baseball. Why? Because it's a Japanese baseball game and a lot of people are too lazy to weed through the menus to get a game going. Based on feedback from our Baseball (Other) Forum, the series is the best, baseball has to offer. Check out the new Spirits Translation website, which translates the Japanese text in the game, into English. If you are patient, you will be surprised at just how deep this game is.

Quote:


	"The purpose of this site is to help English speakers play one of the best baseball games ever made - Pro Yakyuu Spirits Baseball! The game is programmed to display mostly Japanese text and Kanji characters, but no worries you can learn to play the game quickly by following the instructions here. Not only do we offer translations, but you'll also find tips, advice and tutorials to get you up to speed. This website covers the current version (PYS 2010) but in the future we plan on adding PYS 6 which has the 'World Baseball Classic' mode which comes with US players. This is a BIG game with lots modes, settings and things to do. Translating every word would be a daunting and most likely an impossible task. The main goal here is to show you how to understand each mode of play and I think we accomplished that with flying colors. Anyone can now play this game, the barriers of entry are officially gone!"

Member Comments

# 41 LastActionHero @ 08/09/10 06:21 AM

I love the batting perpective when you've hit a ball, the camera stays behind the catcher for like one second.
It gives you more the feel of really being at bat yourself.

# 42 Shakedowncapo @ 08/09/10 06:44 AM

Agreed. Its awesome when you just miss a pitch and your batter just looks up at an infield pop up for that split second.

# 43 NotoriousReignz @ 08/10/10 02:38 PM

Anyone import this?

# 44 NYYanks26 @ 08/10/10 03:01 PM

Great.. Prior to today, I didn't even realize this game existed (and was good).
Now after seeing some videos, I want it and I'm on a mission to find it for a decent price.

# 45 Manny_Shevitz @ 08/10/10 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYYanks26


	Great.. Prior to today, I didn't even realize this game existed (and was good). Now after seeing some videos, I want it and I'm on a mission to find it for a decent price.

You and me both, pal. There are a couple of Japan based sellers on ebay who have used copies that come out to around $75 including shipping, if you're interested in going that route.

# 46 swaldo @ 08/10/10 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousReignz


	Anyone import this?

Yep, the game is region free - it plays in a US PS3, PS2 or PSP.

# 47 simgamer0005 @ 08/12/10 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swaldo


	Just an FYI: when the very first 2010 impressions came out back in April I remember someone said the PYS 2010 (PS2 version) looked alot better than the PYS6 (PS2 version.) According to him they really upgraded graphics and animation and he was very happy. Maybe you can find his post by doing a forum search. I don't have the PS2 version but I can say the PSP version's graphics are great, so I think Konami respects these formats (they aren't just roster updates.)

This is also a response to Henne's initial question regarding the differences between the PS2 and PS3 version of PYS6. I don't own any of the PS3 versions of PYS6 or PYS2010, but I do have both on PS2. I also have PYS2010 on PSP.

From what I've heard, PYS6 on PS3 had some cutscene issues (black screen for 5 seconds at a time sometimes). PS2 did not have this issues.

PYS6 is a huge, and I mean huge upgrade from PYS5 and PYS5 Kanzenban on the PS2. And with that said, PYS2010 is another huge, and I mean huge upgrade from PYS6 on the PS2.

If you have a PS2, get PYS2010, seriously. And if you love the WBC get PYS6 also. PYS2010 is so good it's just amazing. The engine runs incredibly well on the PS2. It's not like the Show. The Show on PS2 has no attention to detail. The game was unplayable. PYS on PS2 is the best version to get for me. The engine runs so well on the PS2. I also believe the PS2 has a better frame rate and better controller response time than the PS3.

PYS on PS2 FTW!

# 48 simgamer0005 @ 08/12/10 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fullgatsu


	When the say bat/ball physics are good in this game they mean bat meets ball=good physics. Much is thanks to it's cursor batting system which allows for good hit varity and for being less statsbased, The Show have a system that sometimes try to follow the players stats instead of the user input no matter, When you ground out in PYS you will know why it happend. I couldn't see that the ball moves any slower then in The Show will being thrown around the bases and I checked alot videos for comparision. Here is something that PYS is cleary superior to The Show and that is hardly any glitches exist in the game.

I think this is very well said Fullgatsu. PYS is designed differently than the show. The Show may have more bells and whistles, but what is in PYS is quality. The Show may have minor bugs, a complicated stats based hitting system. PYS is a user experience. It is a baseball sim in every sense of the world, but also is a sim combined with user creativity with a simplicity and reward that the Show simply doesn't offer.

# 49 NotoriousReignz @ 08/12/10 03:18 PM

Took a chance and purchased the game yesterday from an ebay seller in Korea, and they shipped it already.

# 50 rynecandy @ 08/12/10 06:21 PM

I got PYS 5 when it came out and enjoyed it but the Jap. text always limited the game to me. Thanks for directing me to this site. I will have to pick up my game again to play.

edit: I started the Training mode and most of the info from the site can be used for PYS 5. How much do y'all think this translation can be applied to older versions? Was anything changed in a major way, such as menus, game controls, etc? Thanks.

# 51 Fullgatsu @ 08/12/10 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rynecandy


	I got PYS 5 when it came out and enjoyed it but the Jap. text always limited the game to me. Thanks for directing me to this site. I will have to pick up my game again to play. edit: I started the Training mode and most of the info from the site can be used for PYS 5. How much do y'all think this translation can be applied to older versions? Was anything changed in a major way, such as menus, game controls, etc? Thanks.

I think most can be used to the older version since they haven't changed much in the menus. Game controls have remained the same since 4 to my knowledge and the skills have also stayed the same. I don't think anyone should have a problem using the PYS 2010 translation to a older version, except maybe stardom mode which has changed but it was really simple 4 and 5 so I don't think anyone should have problem with that.

# 52 SmashEd44 @ 08/13/10 05:41 PM

Saw this article the other day and within hours I was set on getting this game. Got it for $40 off a Korean based eBay seller. So I have the Korean version of a Japanese Game...Whatever. I can't read it either way.

Looking foward to this game. Just got shipped today, so it should arrive in a few days.

# 53 badmrfrosty7 @ 08/14/10 02:46 AM

#1. I've always wished The Show would switch to that batting cursor that this and MLB Power Pros uses although it'll probably never happen.

#2. I wonder if the commentary is any good?

# 54 marbury @ 08/19/10 10:31 AM

just sold my copy of MLB' 10 for PYS 6

and finished my pdf file (personal use only) of your translation page. thanks everybody for this awesome page.
can't wait 2 more weeks

# 55 myghty @ 08/19/10 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ermolli


	I'm watching some videos about this game and they're very good.

Haha. 5:27 has the pitcher brought in, in a Volvo...

# 56 MukaMuka @ 09/14/10 02:21 AM

just want to give this thread a little bump

so any new players try PYS recently? like it? love it? hate it?

# 57 OhDaesu19 @ 09/14/10 06:51 AM

I ordered this game last week and can't wait for it to get here. Have any OSers played online? If so is it possible to play a friend like in the Show? When playing online, assuming most opponents you will play are not from the states, how is the lag?

# 58 NotoriousReignz @ 09/14/10 12:49 PM

I love the game, still have to adjust the difficulty because I can't hit all that well.

# 59 Manny_Shevitz @ 09/14/10 01:57 PM

I am loving this game. Absolutely my favorite baseball game ever, gameplay-wise. I also really enjoy the atmosphere of Japanese baseball. Honestly, as great as it would be if Konami could somehow get the license to release an MLB game in the West, I would be perfectly happy if they just released english language versions of the Japanese game over here.

I've definitely struggled with hitting as well, but didn't want to drop the difficulty down too low, because I still want it to be challenging, and I want the AI pitching to be somewhat realistic. I was afraid if I put the AI pitching on a lower difficulty than Hard-, I would see too many pitches in the strike zone and not draw any walks. So for now I've settled on assisted cursor, with the assist on 1, the lowest setting. I find that with this I'm getting a reasonable number of hits per game, and still getting a lot of hit variety. Once I get a little better at batting, I'll probably first remove the assist, and then maybe up the pitching speed a notch or two.

I think if you use the zone or timing-based hitting settings in this game, you're really missing out on what makes PYS the best baseball game around. While the cursor system has a learning curve, once you start to get the hang of it, it is so rewarding and fun.

@baseball66 - it's true that there is no check swing, which is a shame, but with everything else so close to perfect in this game, it's no big deal. After my first few games, I didn't even think about it anymore.

Finally, I want to thank the guys that put together the translation site. I probably never would have played this game, let alone been able to enjoy it as much as I am, if it hadn't been for you guys.

# 60 swaldo @ 09/14/10 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baseball66


	Still waiting for my copy to arrive. I was reading the other thread about the game and saw a couple posts talking about no check swings in the game, is this true? Also batting options from what i gather include zone hitting, is this like the old Highheat games where you aim the L stick where the ball goes or is it simply timing based? Thanks.

Check swings are good for batting systems where you have to load your swing. MVP's NCAA baseball 06 & 07 'Load and Fire' batting comes to mind and it was done very well. Most the time I'd check swing in that game because the pitch movement was kinda bizarre though, and the people at MVPmods.com actually changed the ball flight on some of the pitches which you can use on a modded XBOX.

The PYS batting system gives you all the info you need to decide if you want to swing through it's "Batting Point" so there's not really a strong need for a check swing. It displays the spin, location and ball size (big for poor pitch, small for good pitch.) It sounds like a cheap arcadey thing but it's really not and you can make it more difficult in settings by changing it from normal to real. Anyway, because of this I hardly need or miss not having a check swing.

The basic function of a check swing is to keep you from swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. 2K10 initially did not come with check swings, because similiar to PYS it gives you info such as batting eye and pitch tip so the devs didn't think it necessary. There was alot of complaints so I think they put one in through a patch, but was it really usefull? I don't have that game but from what I understand you do not pre-load your swing, you just flick the stick up so I'd be interested to hear if people even use it.

Bunts do have a check swing in PYS (and it's the best bunt system ever.) Bunts definately need a check swing feature and they put one in, so that tells me the Konami devs probably don't think it's necessary to put in one for normal swings. In almost every case with things I don't like about PYS I ask myself why did the devs do it this way? And in most cases there's a logical answer. The swings are already pre-loaded so all you have to do is pull the trigger, and at that point it's tough to program in a "cancel" command.

In regards to zone hitting, no it's timing based (no aiming) and is a bit easy to hit the ball hard. You don't want to use that because it takes away the great hit variety you get from cursor batting. That is one complaint I have about the game - they could tweak zone batting but it's probably just put in for kids to make things easy. Even if it was tweaked I still wouldn't use it.

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