Hi there. I have a quick question regarding Hoshizora no Memoria:
As most of you are no doubt aware, Staircase Subs released a full English translation for Hoshizora no Memoria not that long ago. I’ve been looking around for an import copy of the game, but I’ve only been able to find the Hoshizora no Memoria -Eternal Heart- fandisc and the Hoshizora no Memoria -Complete- re-release that bundles the fandisc with the original game. I’m trying to figure out if the Complete version is compatible with the English patch or not. I’ve asked Staircase Subs directly, but they don’t have a definite answer either way (their hunch is that the Complete version applies the latest official updates and nothing else, but they have not tested this release themselves, nor have they heard from people who have).
Can anyone confirm if the English patch is compatible with the Complete release? I’d like to know if I should go ahead and buy the Complete version or if I should keep looking for the original…
No idea. You could always get a used copy of the original off amazon with an intermediary. I also see a copy of the original on paletweb- still full price though. My hunch is that it would be compatible and if its not, you could probably cooperate with the patch creators to make it compatible which would be a win-win situation, really.
My advice? Check with Staircase Subs; if the only easily-purchaseable version of the game is the Complete version, they might be willing to say “hey, if it doesn’t work, we’ll figure out why and fix the patch”.
As for whether the patch would be compatible … it really depends. If the engine changed (even if it’s just a newer version of the original engine with modern OS support) or if they changed the scripting format, then there could be issues.
The original version of Hoshizora no Memoria has at least one difference from the complete version. For some reason, Chinami was voiced by a different seiyuu in the fandisc, and in the complete version, the new seiyuu has also recorded her role in the original, so you can choose between the two. As far as I know though, none of the text has been altered, so there shouldn’t be any problem with making the patch compatible with both versions. If the patch works, no reason not to go for complete, as it’s the same base price as the original.
PaletWeb only has Eternal Heart and the Complete package (notice the “SOLD OUT” beside the price tag for the original - which, I should note, has been there since before I contacted Staircase Subs). The whole reason I started this thread was to see if I’d have to resort to using an intermediary or not.
[Remember that PaletWeb product pages are age-gated; you must log into your account first before using the above links or you’ll end up going to an “item not found” page.]
Already did (and I said as much in my original post). Their exact response:
In other words, exactly what I said in my first post.
The quick-and-crude way to be absolutely sure of compatibility would be to torrent the Complete version of the game and test it out that way, but I haven’t had any luck in that department (ie: I can’t find any Complete torrents at all, far less active ones). I kinda wish I did that for Planetarian and Clannad (I bought the Memorial Edition for each); in both cases, I get a very unwelcome “this product is for sale and use in Japan only” message whenever I try to run them (with Japanese locale, too). I don’t want to get burned again (for the fourth time, I might add) by importing yet another title that I have no way of playing in English (it’d be five if not for JAST’s show of good faith with My Girlfriend is the President).
In any event, I figured the quickest and least morally-questionable approach would be to ask if someone already owned the Complete version of Hoshimemo and have them check the patch compatibility (hence why this thread is in the Japanese section and not the English one). If anyone here has it, I’m all ears.
Tried installing the patch on the Complete version. It crashes when I reach one of Chinami’s lines, and when I try and click on the 3rd page of the options menu. The patch has also changed the options menu of the unpatched complete version, so there’s a chance that the patch might cause the original Complete version to crash too. Think I’ll need to reinstall the game.
Ouch, indeed. Seems like I’ll have to keep looking for the time being.
I appreciate the help, Ignosco. You might want to contact Staircase Subs yourself (enquiries@staircasesubs.com) if you’d like to help them add support for the Complete release in a subsequent patch; I’m sure they’ll need to see how the files differ between versions in order to do so.
