Rosenkreuzstilette: English Patch

Rosenkreuzstilette ~Blades of the Rose Cross~ is a translation project spearheaded by the staff of Darkside Translations and Schwer and Schwer Alike (under the name Zeppy). The English script was based on two separate translations of the original Japanese (by Akira of Darkside Translations and Tanin of Zeppy). TDOMMX penned the script for Spiritia's story, while Grolla-fan extraordinaire TrickMasterMint wrote the original drafts of Rosenkreuzstilette ~Grollschwert~. The English localization was based on Version 1.05c of the game. The completed patch translates nearly all of the game's Japanese and German text into English (while retaining the original German-flavored text) and corrects the grammar, spelling, and romanization errors found in the original Japanese release. The localization also touches up a handful of aspects of the game, including:

The [erka:es] logo screen now integrates a translation of the group's tag line, which happens to be the title of a publication of the real-life Order of the Rose Cross.
A touched-up Title Screen menu and rebuilt Replay, Options, and Key Config menus for both Rosenkreuzstilette and Rosenkreuzstilette ~Grollschwert~.
Various romanization errors (including the Zeppelin families' surnames) have been corrected to match both the katakana spelling and [erka:es]'s intended references.
- Since the original Japanese translates Zeppelin's title (hakushaku), the English translators followed suit by referring to the character as "Count Zeppelin" in English instead of "Graf".
A refined Stage Select cursor.
Revised Boss Introduction fonts to match the presentation of Mega Man X4, which the game's music (unintentionally) alludes to. The captions have also been expanded to include the bosses' surnames.
A revised Status Screen with the names of every weapon in the game appear more bolder and Spiritia's Seelegewehr, Silberflügel "Eins" and "Zwei" features images of a cross instead of illuminated clouds (due to limits in the source material).
- The abbreviation for Die Geplante Zukunft on the Status Screen has been changed from G-Zukunft to D∙G∙Zukunft.
The palettes of the tilesets for Luste's and Sichte's stages have been touched up.
A new HUD (Heads-Up Display) for the Super Mario Bros. segment of Schwer-Muta's stage, which closer resembles that of New Super Mario Bros.

A translated version of the trial version (Version 0.03a) was originally made available for download before the game's English debut. This trial version included an "Extended Preview" of Rosenkreuzstilette for those who owned the disc of the original C73 version of the game. The Extended Preview allowed the player to enjoy the game in its entirety, but only the Opening Stage and the main eight boss stages were translated into English. The Preview has since been discontinued, though its contents can be found in the separate English Trial and English Localization releases.

There are two versions of the English localization: one for the original C73 version of Rosenkreuzstilette, and one for the -[erka:es] The Best- re-release. Though it is possible to use the latter with ripped or pirated copies of the game, this approach is generally looked down upon and outright discouraged in the installer's Terms of Use.

With the release of Version 1.06a of Rosenkreuzstilette, Schwer and Schwer Alike and Darkside Translations plan to release an updated version of the English patch to incorporate the fixes that were implemented as well as fix some of the problems found in the initial release (such as an incorrect link for the English-translated game manual and a few deliberately-untranslated lines in the original release). Two editors unrelated to the initial translation effort have been recruited to further improve the English script. As a result, the eventual release date is contingent on the editors' schedules (a December 2009 release was once planned, but has been shifted to 2010).

Patching Instructions[]

When prompted, select either the drive containing the RKS disc or the folder containing the digital re-release's executable (rks.exe).
Select the folder where you would like the English version to be installed. It is highly recommended that you select an empty (or new) folder.
Click "Install" and let the installer do its work.
If you installed shortcuts, double-click "RKS" on the desktop or "Rosenkreuzstilette" from the Start Menu. Otherwise, run "rks_e.exe" in the game directory to start the game.

Note: Those who do not have the disc for Rosenkreuzstilette should consider buying the digital re-release from DLsite or Melonbooks (price: 1,260 yen; approx. $13.43 in US Dollars). Several problems have been reported by people attempting to use the patch with ripped copies of the game.