Bahamut Lagoon, a Squaresoft RPG released late in the life of the SNES, has just received a new fan translation in anticipation of its twenty-fifth anniversary. Released for the Japanese market in February 1996—well after the launch of the first Playstation—Bahamut Lagoon was never officially localized for the international market but has none the less garnered a dedicated fan base. Although this new translation isn’t the first to reach English audiences, the developer pedigree behind it implies that it will be another excellent way to experience this hidden gem.
Spearheading the project’s programming and design work is Near, a prominent developer with an extensive background in the SNES emulation scene. This is clearly a labour of love for Near, who alleges in a Twitter thread to have been working on a Bahamut Lagoon translation in some form or another since 1999. Helming the localization is Tom; a translator responsible for a plethora of fan translations, including multiple Megami Tensei games.
In spite of being released as an “open beta”, Near claims that RC1 is stable, feature complete, and playable to completion. To contribute bug reports or translation errors, Near has a link to the project’s Discord server in this tweet.