Ningyou Tsukai English Patch Hits Version 1.0

For retro fans in the UK and beyond, there is good news from the Japanese PC scene, Derek Pascarella has released version 1.0 of his English patch for Ningyou Tsukai on the FM Towns and PC-98.

The patch has been in development for three years and now translates all key in-game text. That includes the title screen logo and prologue graphic, plus menu text, introduction sequences, fighter data sheets, in-game dialogue, and credits.

Ningyou Tsukai, also known as Metal & Lace: The Battle of the Robo Babes in its Western MS-DOS release, was developed by Forest. It first launched on the PC-98 in 1992, then on FM Towns in 1993, before Megatech Software brought it to Western players in 1993.

The game puts you in the role of Rika, a creator of female robots called Silhouettes. After finding a fighting tournament where robots compete for cash, she enters her latest creation, Mimi. The game is also known for its eroge content, and Megatech released two versions in the West, an under-13 edition with nudity removed, and an over-18 mail-order version that kept partial nudity.

This release is another strong example of fan translation work helping preserve niche Japanese software. If you follow this kind of news, you can keep an eye on our news tag for more updates, and read more about preservation-focused coverage in our retro news archive.

For the source material, see Derek Pascarella's post on X, and the original Time Extension report: Derek Pascarella on X, Time Extension.