Translations of Ultima games
Besides the various translations of Ultima VII, Ultima VIII and Ultima IX, there also are other titles that were translated into other languages. However, these efforts are far less known and catalogued, thus here is a small overview of the various translations, official and unofficial, that do exist for the other games. Please note that this does not include console ports.
Note that releases where just the documentation was translated do not count on this list; look instead at the articles for the documentation in question. Official translations always mean documentation and the game software itself.
Translations[edit]
Ultima I[edit]
- Main article: Ultima I
Japanese Versions
In Japan, the ports for the MSX2, PC-88 and PC-98 were all translated to Japanese (though they also featured an English mode) by the company Pony Canyon. The FM Towns translation in turn was done by Fujitsu.
Ultima II[edit]
- Main article: Ultima II
French Version
It is little known, that Monacoan software distributor MCC did translate Ultima II into French on the Atari ST, Atari 800 and C64. Next to nothing is known about this translation, other than that is does exist.
Japanese Versions
In Japan, the ports for the MSX2, PC-88, PC-98 and FM Towns were all translated to Japanese. The translations for the PC-88 and PC-98 were done twice, first by Starcraft and then later by Pony Canyon. The translation for the MSX2 was done by Pony Canyon alone, while the FM Towns translation was done by Fujitsu and is bilingual – it also offers an English mode.
Ultima III[edit]
- Main article: Ultima III
French Version
The French publisher Ediciel translated Ultima III for the Apple II. Translation work was done by Pierre Rosenthal. Next to nothing is known about this translation, other than that is does exist.
Japanese Versions
In Japan, the ports for the MSX2, PC-88, PC-98 and FM Towns were all translated to Japanese. The translations for the PC-88 and PC-98 were done twice, first by Starcraft and then later by Pony Canyon. The translation for the MSX2 was done by Pony Canyon alone, while the FM Towns translation was done by Fujitsu and is bilingual – it also offers an English mode.
Ultima IV[edit]
- Main article: Ultima IV
French Version
Ultima IV had the dubious honor of being translated into French, with both manuals and in-game text fully translated. While the translation for the manual was decent (albeit with some obvious mistakes), the in-game translation appears to have been done by people with no understanding of the language. An example of the mistakes in the translation is the translation of the traditional "Board Frigate" message seen when boarding a boat. It was translated as "Tableau Frégate", which translates "Board" as a noun, not a verb.
The French version contains a very severe bug which prevents the use of any items – items to be used are supposed to typed, and the game recognizes neither the French nor the English spelling. As such, it is extremely difficult to become an 8-part Avatar since the player cannot use the Silver Horn to get to the Shrine of Humility, and impossible to complete the game since the player cannot use the Virtue Stones on the altars to get the Three Part Key, or the required items to open the Abyss.
Japanese Versions
In Japan, the ports for the MSX, PC-88, PC-98, X68000 and FM Towns were all translated to Japanese. Except for the FM Towns, all translations were done by Pony Canyon. The FM Towns translation was done by Fujitsu and is bilingual – it also offers an English mode.
Ultima V[edit]
- Main article: Ultima V
Japanese Versions
In Japan, the ports for the PC-98, X68000 and FM Towns were all translated to Japanese. The translations for the PC-98 and X68000 were done by Pony Canyon. The FM Towns translation in turn was done by Fujitsu and is bilingual – it also offers an English mode.
Ultima VI[edit]
- Main article: Ultima VI
Japanese Versions
In Japan, the ports for the PC-98, X68000 and FM Towns were all translated to Japanese. The translations for the PC-98 and X68000 were done by Pony Canyon. The FM Towns translation in turn was done by Fujitsu and is bilingual – it also offers an English mode. The voice acting of the FM Towns port of course only is in English.
German Fan Translation
Ultima VI auf Deutsch is a fan translation of the game, done by Sir John. The game is fully translated into German, with only small compromises in the intro and magical system due to hardcoding. Details are on the Codex page for the project.
Spanish Fan Translation
Ultima VI: El Falso Profeta is a fan translation of the game, done by Dementia Traduxiones. The game is fully translated into Spanish, with only small compromises in the introduction and magical system due to hardcoding. Details are on the Codex page for the project.
French Fan Translation
Ultima VI: Le Faux Prophète is a fan translation of the game, done by Yves, also known as Docwise Dragon. The game is fully translated into French, with only small compromises in the introduction and magical system due to hardcoding. Details are on the Codex page for the project.
Savage Empire[edit]
- Main article: Savage Empire
Japanese Versions
Pony Canyon released a Japanese version of Savage Empire for the PC-98 and X68000. It basically follows the same rules as the translation work done for Ultima VI.
Ultima Underworld[edit]
- Main article: Ultima Underworld
Japanese Versions
The game was fully translated to Japanese by Electronic Arts for the PC-98 and the FM Towns.
Ultima Underworld II[edit]
- Main article: Ultima Underworld II
Japanese Versions
The game was fully translated to Japanese by Electronic Arts for the PC-98 and the FM Towns.
Ultima VII Part Two[edit]
- Main article: Ultima VII Part Two
Spanish Version
Ultima VII Part Two was fully translated into Spanish (including the expansion), which includes the voice work. Interestingly, the title of the game was not translated. The translation work was done by the same team that translated Ultima VII, and thus also the same problem arises. This version did not bother to prepare the game for any common special characters. So there are no accented letters in the Spanish translation, making part of it ambiguous.[Clarification needed]
German Fan Translation
Ultima VII Part Two auf Deutsch is a fan translation of the game, done by Sir John. The project is complete and is a complete translation, including the expansion Silver Seed. It does include newly translated manuals. Details are on the Codex page for the project.
French Fan Tanslation
Serpent Isle in French is an Exult mod that translates the game plus expansion into French. The project is finished and available. Details are on the Codex page for the project.
Italian Fan Translation
A patch is available that translates the entire game plus expansion to Italian.