One avid fan treated Pokemon Red and Blue to an unexpected Irish translation more than 27 years after the classic RPGs debuted on the Game Boy. This is the latest instance of these iconic games making the headlines in the past few months, as it was only recently that the Pokemon Red and Blue soundtrack had a limited debut on select streaming services.
Despite being nearly three decades old by now, the original two Pokemon games still enjoy a cult following. Whether due to their seminal influence, nostalgia, or both, their popularity continues to inspire new playthroughs and fan projects alike. The latest example of the latter emerged just last month when one gamer revealed what Pokemon Red and Blue would look like in HD.
In yet another testament to these games' evergreen allure, one fan recently took to social media to reveal that they have taken the effort to create an Irish translation of Pokemon Red and Blue. Reddit user Eireannnorudeigin hence reported that they are currently in the process of testing the translation and will be releasing it shortly, according to their original announcement of the project that went viral on the r/Ireland subreddit.
Though the fan hasn't provided a concrete timeline for the debut of their translation, they did confirm that the fruits of their labor will be released in the form of a ROM patch. Meaning that anyone who's hoping to experience PokemonRed and Blue in Irish will have to dump their original game ROM, then patch it in an emulator. The most feasible way of accomplishing that is by using some Nintendo DS variant, seeing how that console is both compatible with Game Boy games and can export ROMs to external storage via R4 cartridges that fit regular microSD cards.
Multiple Reddit users reacting to this development expressed interest in contributing to the project by the way of proofreading and playtesting, with Eireannnorudeigin promising they'll start accepting help as soon as they complete their ongoing examination of the translation. Seeing how a Pokemon localization can be quite an undertaking, the project would likely benefit from a few extra sets of eyes. That notwithstanding, the goal of the effort is not to deliver a full-fledged Irish localization but merely a translation.
While Nintendo itself is far from friendly toward fan games, the fact that this translation is planned to release as a ROM patch means it is fairly likely to see the light of day. Though sharing ROMs falls under copyright infringement and is thus illegal, ROM patches are relatively immune to DMCA takedowns, so long as they are not bundled with actual copies of their target games.