Fansubs

On one hand, here you are with a copy of Ys in hand but no way to enjoy the story outside of hearing someone translate it for you as you play. On the other, some fans have gone through the trouble of actually working through the game and have created a number of patches that do just that. This can also open the door to potential piracy. Why pay for the game when you can download both?

Fansubs in general have had a long history, one that goes beyond the scope of this article, stretching back through the early days of anime when it wasn't as readily available as it is now. It has also been mired in as much controversy and has created its own set of unspoken rules among each group that largely persists today. That it also tends to violate international copyright laws is also a big part of the debate.

At the same time, fans counter that they aren't trying to make a buck off of their work and are purely doing it out of the passion they have for their hobby. If anything, their efforts have helped to bring more attention to the series they take on, something that big names such as Kadokawa have acknowledged overseas (while at the same time, enforcing their copyrights with cease-and-desist warnings for other properties). Even the community is split between “white” and “black hat” translation groups: those that respectfully stop when a company licenses the distribution of a certain series, while others continue on regardless.

Fortunately, fansubs (and official localizations) are of a much higher quality today. For the most part.

On the other side of the coin, fansubs for anime and untranslated games have earned tacit, if not outright, approval from unexpected quarters. Professional translator, Clyde Mandelin, loaned his talents to translating Mother 3 and had even received support in the form of encouragement from e-mails sent over from Square-Enix. Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime even knew of the project. Clyde and the group he was working with were fully prepared to drop everything if Nintendo had decided to step in and stop the show, but it didn't happen and fans got to enjoy a rare classic that they had been waiting years to play.

Most of the Ys series, particular the PC versions, have been translated by fans and their patches are out there if you do a little digging. Ys: Typing of Ys is even offered as a translated piece of freeware, although that isn't typical.

To avoid getting Bitmob into any potential trouble, that's why you won't find direct links to subtitles in this particular article. At the same time, however, my hat's off to all of the hardworking fans, publishers, developers, and programmers that have made it possible to enjoy Ys over the years. Thanks to their efforts, they've helped to make fans over here.