After 25 years, the long-lost prologue to one of Capcom's most beloved PS1 classics is finally getting an English translation

Mega Man Legends 2 Episode 1: Roll's Close Call, a demo exclusive to Japan for 25 years, is finally getting an English translation thanks to fans.

25 years ago, Capcom released the first chapter of Mega Man Legends 2 as a demo that came with a separate game, and for the past quarter-century, that content has remained exclusive to Japanese-speaking audiences. Now, finally, it's getting an English translation thanks to fans.

Hilltop Translations has announced that an English translation patch for Mega Man Legends 2 Episode 1: Roll's Close Call will be released on Wednesday, April 24. As with any translation patch, you'll need to provide your own copy of the original game. Hilltop previously led work on the excellent translation of the classic PS2 cozy game Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, and their name has quickly become associated with some of the best fan translation work out there. 

Episode 1: Roll's Close Call was originally released in Japan as a demo included with The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, a spinoff of the Mega Man Legends series. But while it is a demo, and fairly limited in scope, it features all original levels not seen in the final version of Mega Man Legends 2. In Japan, the full game featured "Episode 2" in its subtitle, marking this Episode 1 demo as an essential part of the story - one which had never before been made available to English-speaking fans.

This fan translation patch also goes the extra mile to make a host of hidden dev content accessible, including "the unreachable city only seen on the back of the Mega Man Legends 2 case." Mega Man Legends has become one of Capcom's most beloved series over the years, and with a long-suffering fanbase that still doesn't seem to be over the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 over a decade ago, this looks to be a welcome bit of classic gaming sustenance.

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