ROM Hack Translation Famicom Detective Club 1+2 Remake .msb (.mes) text files [SOLVED]

[eviltrainer]

So, I was curious to start working in the translation of the FDC remakes and coudn't find a way to extract the game's dialogues because none of the tools I tried worked with them.

These files are located in the "mes01" subfolder, which is located in the "script" folder of the romFS. The text seems to be in this format, but when you look in hex it shows their magic as MES. Does anyone know a way to handle these files?

Also, there seems to be some .scx files inside the same folder that I'm not sure how to handle as well. I'm attaching 2 samples for anyone interested in helping on this. Thanks in advance!

 

[Skyluker4]

The files are used in the MAGES engine. See https://committeeofzero.gitbooks.io/mages-engine-compendium/content/scripting/scx_file_format.html

 

[eviltrainer]

The files are used in the MAGES engine. See https://committeeofzero.gitbooks.io/mages-engine-compendium/content/scripting/scx_file_format.html

Thank you! They seem to have a tool that can extract texts from games used by MAGES engine:
https://github.com/CommitteeOfZero/sc3tools

However, it only works with supported games

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

Thank you! They seem to have a tool that can extract texts from games used by MAGES engine:
https://github.com/CommitteeOfZero/sc3tools

However, it only works with supported games


View attachment 448590

This is likely related to different games using different opcodes for different functions. I suggest checking their git to see how the scripts differ per release and starting there.

 

[eviltrainer]

This is likely related to different games using different opcodes for different functions. I suggest checking their git to see how the scripts differ per release and starting there.

Thanks! I'll try and reach them since they have a Discord and I wouldn't know how to read the differences from each game since I'm not knowleadgeable enough for that

 

[eviltrainer]

This is likely related to different games using different opcodes for different functions. I suggest checking their git to see how the scripts differ per release and starting there.

Welp, the dream has ended (for now)

The folks over Committee of Zero, the only ones dealing with this format, at all on the web, confirmed the version of the files used in this game is heavily modified and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

Back to the starting line, I guess.

Post automatically merged: Jul 23, 2024

Well, didn't stall for too long at the starting line...

Turns out the tool made by Committee of Zero can actually work with the FDC files! Just make sure to use the

rdn

parameter in the CLI program and you're good to go!

Guess it's case solved then!

 

[Worldblender]

I think I can help out here too, since I also have access to both games' files. But I'm more likely to focus on ripping the audiovisual assets (they'll be posted to the Spriters Resource if they are not already uploaded over there). It would be a fun miracle to get more Nintendo-published games running on other platforms, even in an unofficial capacity!
My workflow will very somewhat since I'm running Ubuntu Linux 22.04, but the tools you used can thankfully run on Linux distros too.
I see that based on the screenshots you posted, those files are from The Girl Who Stands Behind. Would the procedure be significantly different (other than different files) once you get around to The Missing Heir?

 

[eviltrainer]

I think I can help out here too, since I also have access to both games' files. But I'm more likely to focus on ripping the audiovisual assets (they'll be posted to the Spriters Resource if they are not already uploaded over there). It would be a fun miracle to get more Nintendo-published games running on other platforms, even in an unofficial capacity!
My workflow will very somewhat since I'm running Ubuntu LLinux 22.04, but the tools you used can thankfully run on Linux distros too.
I see that based on the screenshots you posted, those files are from The Girl Who Stands Behind. Would the procedure be significantly different (other than different files) once you get around to The Missing Heir?

They work just like TGWSB files do

However, since the tool isn't exactly made for Switch games, you'll get this error:

But the text is extracted regardless of that!

Of course, it's important to notice this is a tool made exclusively for text. I didn't touch any graphic tools yet, but I don't think it'll be needed since, as you may know, they're pretty much just there in .png format to access and edit right away!

 

[whisky9]

Congrats man

 

[eviltrainer]

Congrats man

Thank you!

 

[Worldblender]

They work just like THWSB files do

However, since the tool isn't exactly made for Switch games, you'll get this error:

But the text is extracted regardless of that!

Of course, it's important to notice this is a tool made exclusively for text. I didn't touch any graphic tools yet, but I don't think it'll be needed since, as you may know, they're pretty much just there in .png format to access and edit right away!

Good to know. Your timing of starting this project is pretty good, as this was started after Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club was announced 7/17. We'll have to wait until that game releases to find out what method needs to be used for the text.
As for the...

• Video: WebM format that which can be readily played with media players like VLC, so no conversion needed.
• Audio: vgmstream can play the *.opus files that which are actually a special Nintendo Switch OPUS format (many other Nintendo published Nintendo Switch games use this format) that cannot be played by the likes of VLC out of the box.

I should also mention that I only have the English international releases of both games. I may want to hunt down for the Japanese releases as they have other graphics that I can rip from them that aren't in the English international releases.

 

[eviltrainer]

Good to know. Your timing of starting this project is pretty good, as this was started after Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club was announced 7/17. We'll have to wait until that game releases to find out what method needs to be used for the text.
As for the...

• Video: WebM format that which can be readily played with media players like VLC, so no conversion needed.
• Audio: vgmstream can play the *.opus files that which are actually a special Nintendo Switch OPUS format (many other Nintendo published Nintendo Switch games use this format) that cannot be played by the likes of VLC out of the box.

I should also mention that I only have the English international releases of both games. I may want to hunt down for the Japanese releases as they have other graphics that I can rip from them that aren't in the English international releases.

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about this project! And apart from the hassle it was to find the tools for handling the text, pretty much everything else is quite straight-forward and I have the tools to handle them (even the Nintendo special .opus format).

And now, you got me curious about moving my project over to the japanese release of the game since the motto of my projects it's always work with the most complete/uncensored version of the games. I'l definitely have to check them out now

 

[Worldblender]

I finally opened up pages for both games on the Spriters Resource (they have not been created before my uploads), by uploading the HOME Menu Icons (English/International versions only):

• The Missing Heir: https://www.spriters-resource.com/nintendo_switch/famicomdetectiveclubthemissingheir/
• The Girl Who Stands Behind: https://www.spriters-resource.com/nintendo_switch/famicomdetectiveclubthegirlwhostandsbehind/

More images will be uploaded later once I figure out the structure of the image files and determine how to best organize them. This is a good start so far, but this is only the beginning.

 

[Askmin]

They work just like TGWSB files do

However, since the tool isn't exactly made for Switch games, you'll get this error:

View attachment 448993

But the text is extracted regardless of that!

View attachment 448992

Of course, it's important to notice this is a tool made exclusively for text. I didn't touch any graphic tools yet, but I don't think it'll be needed since, as you may know, they're pretty much just there in .png format to access and edit right away!

View attachment 448997

Hi, I'm trying to decompress the script files for every chapter for the first game (those who are named like "ftv1_001a_01.msb") , but everytime I try I get the error "Error: ftv1_001a_01.msb, line 1: unrecognized instruction (0x21)." and the .txt is generated empty, I also tried decompressing the files from the japanese version and I get the error "Error: ftv1_001a_02.msb, line 1: unrecognized instruction (0x21)."

By any chance, did you manage to extract those files successfully? I would like to know what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks in advance!

 

[eviltrainer]

Hi, I'm trying to decompress the script files for every chapter for the first game (those who are named like "ftv1_001a_01.msb") , but everytime I try I get the error "Error: ftv1_001a_01.msb, line 1: unrecognized instruction (0x21)." and the .txt is generated empty, I also tried decompressing the files from the japanese version and I get the error "Error: ftv1_001a_02.msb, line 1: unrecognized instruction (0x21)."

By any chance, did you manage to extract those files successfully? I would like to know what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks in advance!

Hello!

I can try and extract them for you in the coming days! I just can't commit to any specific date because I'm extremely busy with 2 huge projects rn. Do you need only the extracted scripts? Or are you trying to translate the games as well? If so, into what language are you willing to translate the games into?

 

[TommyLau]

@eviltrainer Thanks for sharing this tool! I’ve been playing the Japanese version of Famicom Detective Club to practice my Japanese, and since I’m a bit lazy, I wanted to extract the game’s text resources directly for Anki study without manual input. That’s how I found your post.

I tried using your tool, but I ran into some warnings. It seems to work at first, but it stops midway and only parses part of the file’s content, which isn’t ideal for getting clean text dumps for flashcards.

After browsing online and doing some research, I wrote my own script tool that can properly handle the game’s text resources from the Japanese version. It extracts the dialogue cleanly, which is great for importing into Anki. However, for the text to display correctly, it requires the corresponding version of the font.txt file. Attachment is a sample of the text content I extracted based on your sample.

Happy to share if you’re curious!

Post automatically merged: May 22, 2025

Hi, I'm trying to decompress the script files for every chapter for the first game (those who are named like "ftv1_001a_01.msb") , but everytime I try I get the error "Error: ftv1_001a_01.msb, line 1: unrecognized instruction (0x21)." and the .txt is generated empty, I also tried decompressing the files from the japanese version and I get the error "Error: ftv1_001a_02.msb, line 1: unrecognized instruction (0x21)."

By any chance, did you manage to extract those files successfully? I would like to know what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks in advance!

FYI

 

[eviltrainer]

@eviltrainer Thanks for sharing this tool! I’ve been playing the Japanese version of Famicom Detective Club to practice my Japanese, and since I’m a bit lazy, I wanted to extract the game’s text resources directly for Anki study without manual input. That’s how I found your post.

I tried using your tool, but I ran into some warnings. It seems to work at first, but it stops midway and only parses part of the file’s content, which isn’t ideal for getting clean text dumps for flashcards.

After browsing online and doing some research, I wrote my own script tool that can properly handle the game’s text resources from the Japanese version. It extracts the dialogue cleanly, which is great for importing into Anki. However, for the text to display correctly, it requires the corresponding version of the font.txt file. Attachment is a sample of the text content I extracted based on your sample.

Happy to share if you’re curious!

Post automatically merged: May 22, 2025

FYI

Oh, that's really nice! I think it'd be cool if you shared your script tool, so more people can be able to extract the scripts as well!

Actually, after creating this post I got help from the team who created the tool and succesfully extracted every script in the game. But it was the US scripts since that's what I'm working with here

 

[TommyLau]

Oh, that's really nice! I think it'd be cool if you shared your script tool, so more people can be able to extract the scripts as well!

Actually, after creating this post I got help from the team who created the tool and succesfully extracted every script in the game. But it was the US scripts since that's what I'm working with here

I've updated the script to GitHub, but It seems that, as a newbie, I cannot post link, and I couldn't post attachment now.

And I'm also curious, how to deal with the opus, I've tried a lot of opus tools, but cannot get correct audio wave file.

 

[Bánh Mì]

I've updated the script to GitHub, but It seems that, as a newbie, I cannot post link, and I couldn't post attachment now.

And I'm also curious, how to deal with the opus, I've tried a lot of opus tools, but cannot get correct audio wave file.

.

 

[TommyLau]

I've updated the script to GitHub, but It seems that, as a newbie, I cannot post link, and I couldn't post attachment now.

And I'm also curious, how to deal with the opus, I've tried a lot of opus tools, but cannot get correct audio wave file.

Search GitHub for msb2txt

And for the private opus format, using "vgmstream" solved the problem.