Aretha -- English translation
Version 1.0.0-beta  (2026-10-18)
================================================================================

Original Japanese release: Aretha, Yanoman (developed by Japan Art Media), 1990,
Game Boy.

ABOUT
-----

An English translation of Aretha, a Game Boy role-playing game released only in
Japan. Materia, raised by old Floyd in Halohalo Town, sets out to find her lost
sister and the truth about the three rings and the fallen Kingdom of Aretha.
This is a free fan translation, made independently: no other team's patches,
scripts or tools were used. The patch contains no game data; you apply it to
your own copy of the Japanese cartridge.

WHAT YOU NEED
-------------

You need your own copy of the Japanese cartridge, dumped to a file. The patch
applies to this exact ROM (No-Intro set name "Aretha (Japan)"), headerless:

  Size          131,072 bytes
  CRC32         1DB65649
  MD5           9c23d37d51a593e82378dad038a52ef2
  SHA-1         eab8f13d110634f4ee750ac93e4f25d91a85000f

HOW TO PATCH
------------

  1. Check that your ROM matches the hashes above (headerless).
  2. Apply Aretha_EN_v1.0.0-beta.bps to it with Flips (Floating IPS),
     RomPatcher.js (runs in a web browser) or beat. BPS patches check the source
     checksum, so if the patcher refuses your file, your dump is different
     (headered, a bad dump, or another revision).
  3. Play the patched file in an accurate emulator or on a flash cartridge.

  The patched ROM should match:

  Size          262,144 bytes
  CRC32         CCC69F84
  MD5           a8a60e6669461b6ed857844d279e2954
  SHA-1         818bee1995298abe27084afb3a2e1e2a5f9849d7

  Patch file    Aretha_EN_v1.0.0-beta.bps (67,556 bytes)
  Patch SHA-1   bc51a289b024ea188442292818bb24d86762254e

STATUS
------

The whole game is translated: the opening, every villager and story scene, the
shops, the inns and the cash dispensers, the battles and their messages, the
item, spell, place and monster names, the menus, the save and naming screens,
and the ending. The title screen and the staff credits were already in English
on the cartridge and are unchanged. Checked by playing from power-on through the
opening, the first town, its shops and a first battle, and by showing every
scene and battle message of the game on the patched cartridge and reading it
back, beside the original.

KNOWN ISSUES
------------

  - The game has not yet been played through to the end by a tester. Every scene
    was shown and read back, but a full playthrough may still find something.
    Please report anything that looks wrong, with a screenshot and where you
    were in the story.

CHANGELOG
---------

  First public beta (2026-10-18)
    - First public release.

CREDITS
-------

This translation was made by CODEC BABEL's AI agents. Agents extracted the
script, translated it, rebuilt the game's text and art, and tested the patched
game in an emulator, under the direction of the project's human lead.

  Translation: CODEC BABEL agents (AI)
  Hacking: CODEC BABEL agents (AI)
  Testing: CODEC BABEL agents (AI)

  Tools used:
    - Python and Pillow (the project's own patching and text tools)
    - Mesen 2 (emulator, testing)

LEGAL
-----

This is a free, non-commercial fan translation. It is not affiliated with or
endorsed by the original publisher, and the game remains theirs. The patch holds
no game data: it only works on a copy of the game you own. Do not ask for ROMs
or disc images, and do not share patched files. Sell nothing made with this
patch.

REPORTING BUGS
--------------

E-mail bug reports to phil@tttships.co. Please include the version (1.0.0-beta),
what you were doing, a screenshot, and a save state if you can.
