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Magical Doropie (or Magical Kids Doropie, according to its Japanese box and cartridge-label) is a Mega Man-style game that seems to mostly be known by fans of obscure platformers, and the same goes for its interesting localisation history, which resulted in a rather butchered version called The Krion Conquest being released in the West.

This hack fully translates Magical Doropie into English, and doesn't remove any of the things that its official localisation removed - including the ability to continue when you run out of lives!

The standard of English in this translation is excellent, the fonts are easy to read, and the tone and feel of the game are not lost here - it all feels a lot less random than what The Krion Conquest lumps players with. Moreover, this patch also plays host to one of the most entertaining and informative readme files on the entire site! This extra effort is very much appreciated, especially when the subject is a game that apparently went through multiple different localisation efforts on its way out of Japan - the context helps to make the game and this replacement translation all the more interesting.

Although the author notes that the game imposed severe restrictions on their translated text, this does not show, and this hack is by far the best way to play this unusual (and unusually shameless) Mega Man knock-off in English - and the only way that is actually enjoyable.

Although Magical Doropie lacks the good balancing of the famed Capcom series that it apes, it's still worth a look if you're after a similar sort of game, and this standard of translation is what the game deserved to get in the first place.

I tested this game in the versions of RetroPie for both the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and the Raspberry Pi Zero W, and it worked as it should with both.

I've spent enough time with The Krion Conquest to know that Video Smash Excellent's translation of the Japanese original, Magical Doropie, is the right way to experience this game. It's still a second-rate clone of Mega Man - and still has major issues with the controls and design - but the cutscenes and story help to give the game a lot more character than the hacked-down North American localization, while the transitions before and after each level add polish.

Most of all the game itself is just more fun, as unlimited continues let you practice levels without having to replay everything that came before. (Imagine Mega Man without continues!)

There are also subtler differences: if I'm not mistaken, Magical Doropie has a higher item drop rate, and even has 1UP drops (I've never seen an enemy drop a 1UP in The Krion Conquest). I think the hit box on Doropie's broom is also subtly different, as I was able to navigate a couple of narrow corridors that seemed impossible in the US version.

The weirdest difference of all is the first boss in the final level: in the US version it's a ridiculous damage sponge and takes several minutes to kill, while in the Japanese version, the boss's HP is normal and consistent with the other bosses. I've read a theory that The Krion Conquest was actually based on an earlier version of the game, which would make a lot of sense as Magical Doropie seems less rough around the edges.

All told, this translation looks great, reads well, and worked perfectly for me on real hardware. It may be almost two decades old, but it holds up nicely. Thanks to Shih Tzu and Video Smash Excellent!