Sukenban Deka II (Sega Master System)
English Translation by enigmaopoeia
Hacking by Stephen Seehorn
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-From Stephen-
This is a strange hybrid of a digital comic (complete with requisite 3D maze
segment) and a rudimentary brawler.  It's all based on some terrible looking
Japanese series of movies about a girl who fights crime with a yo-yo
(supposedly what Quentin Tarantino based some character in Kill Bill on) along
with her 2 friends.  While I wouldn't be caught dead watching the movies, the
game has a bit of charm if for no other reason than its novelty factor.  How
many other brawler/digital comics can you think of?  The actual game mechanics
prove to be diluted in both respects (only one move for fighting and very easy
and limited puzzles in the digital comic sections), but together they make for
an entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

-Hacking Notes-
Hacking involved expanding the rom to make room for the text, changing the
routine to use the new space, decompressing & recompressing the title screen,
and adding some ASM that gives you triple the amount of health.  Originally the
game was incredibly frustrating because you would die in seconds on some
bosses, but with 3x the health I believe they still present somewhat of a
challenge without making the player feel invincible. Also, despite this being
enigmaopoeia's first translation job, I feel she did some amazing work.  She
literally turned a completed and edited script in to me 5 days after I sent it
to her, that has to be some kind of record in the romhacking community!
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-From enigmaopoeia-
This was quite an experience for me being this is my first translation work for
a rom and this project could not have come at a better time.  Before meeting
Stephen, I was writing a walkthrough for Loretta's Portrait -Sherlock Holmes- a
game only released in Japan, for the SEGA Master System to be posted at
GameFAQs.  As I've finished up this walkthrough, I was interesting in taking a
jab at Sukeban Deka II next, but I was already exhausted from the Japanese I
had to translate.  No more than 18 days later after showing interest in Sukeban
Deka II, I come across a help wanted ad for this game at Romhacking.net.  It
was a blessing in disguise, it gave me the motivation to not only finish my
walkthrough for this game, but to also provide an English translation for
others to enjoy!

In Sukeban Deka II, you play the role of Yoko Godai, a schoolgirl who was given
the codename "Saki Asamiya".  The government took her in and forced her to
fight crime to redeem herself with her only weapon being a metal yo-yo.  What
you can expect from this game is that it combines a lot of genres to give the
player an unique experience such as interfaces associated with graphical text
adventures, beat 'em ups, and dungeon crawlers.  Although this game was made
mainly to cater toward fans of the live action version of Sukeban Deka II,
gamers unfamiliar with this series may enjoy the art style and cheesiness that
this game has to offer.  This game features a lot of cameos from SEGA games
such as Alex Kidd, Ashura, Teddy Boy Blues, and Fantasy Zone.  It also makes
reference to pop culture stuff like a bromide of Yoko Minamino, the actress who
plays as the 2nd Saki Asamiya; and the mangas of Pygmalio and Sukeban Deka by
Shinji Wada, the creator of Sukeban Deka.  In order to fully enjoy this game,
make sure to always abuse the "Examine" and "Hit" commands!

-Translation Notes-
I'd done some research on the Sukeban Deka series before translating this
game, I tried to not present the game as being too Japanese, but I wanted to stay
true to the heart of the series.  This game gave distinct personalities for the
characters and I tried to show that through their dialogue such as Okyo being
assertive, Yukino being polite, and Kyoshirou being stoic to name a few.  Also
some cultural things to note that is a fukusa is a silk cloth often used in tea
ceremonies, a bromide is a commercial photograph of a celebrity, and a sakazuki
is a flat saucer-like cup usually used to pour sake into.
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-Patching Instructions-
Your rom should be exactly 131,072 bytes (128k).  I haven't come across any
dumps that weren't that size, but if you have patching issues check that first
and try a different version of the rom.  Simply apply the patch with any .ips
patcher.