Legend of Makai

Legend of Makai
Also known as: Makai Densetsu (JP) Developer: NMK Publisher: Jaleco Platform: Arcade (Jaleco Mega System 1-Z) Released internationally: November 1988 Released in JP: July 1988 This game has hidden developer credits. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused text. This game has regional differences.

In Legend of Makai, defeat your enemies with your sword (or just let them run into it), with throwing projectiles (daggers, axes, or double axes), or by jumping on them with powerful boots. Collect three different colored keys to open chests that contain gems or health. Look out for special potions that give temporary invulnerability, super speed, and enhanced jumping.

This game is similar to inspired by in no way related to Wizards & Warriors, a game that came out a year before this one, and that Jaleco licensed and published in Japan three months before this game came out (with NMK on the title screen to boot, but that's beside the point).

Hidden Text

Present in the audio CPU, starting at 0x0087:

Software and All Songs,Effect Design and Produce By Cheabow.
1986 N M K Limited 1

This is identical to the message found in Argus, which NMK also developed. Cheabow doesn't seem to have been involved with this game, so this text's presence is likely the result of reusing sound code.

Unused Item

There's one unused item in the game, the Medicine of Quickness (or, going by the English naming scheme, the Medicine for Quickness). Each area only supports a palette for exactly one kind of medicine:

• Areas 1, 2, 6, and 7 use the red palette for the Medicine for Strength.
• Areas 3 and 4 use the green coloring for the Medicine for Jump.
• Areas 5 and 8 use this purple palette, which is most likely intended for the Medicine of Quickness...but none of the shops in Area 5 carry medicine, and Area 8 has no shops at all!

This is the Medicine of Quickness. You'll be able to run fast for a 10 count.	You became faster.

(Translation: Joe)

The purchase text and description text are also in the English version, still untranslated, though certain characters like "っ" are blanked out.

The potion will make the player's boots glow blue and make the player around 15% faster. Like the Medicine for Jump, this lasts for about 15 seconds, not 10 as the shopkeeper suggests.

Use these MAME codes in lomakai.xml or makaiden.xml to add the potion to the lower shop in Area 5:

lomakai.xml	makaiden.xml
<cheat desc="Medicine of Quickness"> <script state="run"> <action>maincpu.mw@1E37A=0009</action> <action>maincpu.mw@1E37C=8400</action> <action>maincpu.mw@1E7EC=0019</action> <action>maincpu.mw@1E7EE=0029</action> </script> </cheat>	<cheat desc="Medicine of Quickness"> <script state="run"> <action>maincpu.mw@1E38E=0009</action> <action>maincpu.mw@1E390=8400</action> <action>maincpu.mw@1E800=0019</action> <action>maincpu.mw@1E802=0029</action> </script> </cheat>

Unused Text

ID	Text	Translation	Comments
0B		Tch!	A dismissive message, possibly meant to be used while trying to buy an item you can't afford.
2E		☆ A blue key that opens treasure     at the top of the first tree   it says.	An unused hint for Area 6, where the blue key is on top of a tree.
48		This is the Disagreeable Bird.  When you make it your pet, it will heal you.	Text for a third useless variant of the Story Teller bird.
4D		Could it be!? It's an ordinary feather. It's useless...	Alternate purchase message for buying a fake floating feather.
5B		☆ "C"   That's all it says.	Unused variants of the false password hints in Stage 6.
5C		☆ "E"   That's all it says.

(Translations: Joe)

Regional Differences

Shop Changes

To make the game a bit less cheap, and to cut down on the amount of text to translate, certain shop items were removed from Legend of Makai.

Item	Image	Translation	Comments
General
N/A		What do you desire?	An alternate intro text that's used in some shops from Areas 2 and 5. This was replaced by a duplicate version of the first string in the English translation.
Area 3
Description		This is the Powerful dagger. If you purchase it, you'll definitely...	This is the first of the game's tricks on the player. This item is only found in the first shop of Area 3 in the Japanese game. Purchasing this item will replace whatever is in the player's projectile weapon slot with the default throwing dagger.
Purchase		Acquired the Powerful Dagger. Huh? It's a fake! This is an ordinary knife!
Description		This is "The Writings of the Sword"...	This suspicious no-cost scroll in the shop at the end of the first part of Area 3 degrades the player's weapon to its default state. This is only really a problem if the Wiam Slayer in Area 2 was purchased, but still, it's a dick move.
Purchase		The scroll had been cursed. Your sword has become blunt.
Area 4
N/A		What would you like? Unfortunately, there's nothing special...	There's a shop hidden in the bottom-left corner of the first section of Area 4. In the Japanese version, its shopkeeper has unique intro text.
Description		This is the Magical Dagger. It's not really special or anything	This Magical Dagger (superficially different from the Powerful Dagger) is found in the hidden shop. Like the Powerful Dagger, this is just the default throwing dagger.
Purchase		Acquired the Magical Dagger. Huh? It's a fake! This is an ordinary knife!
Description		This is a useful scroll. Please take it...	Another item found in the hidden shop. This removes the player's Boot for Strength, provided the player has actually obtained them, of course.
Purchase		The scroll had been cursed. You lost the Boot for Strength.
Area 5
Description		So... The thing that looks like a map...	This is in the bottommost shop of Area 5. At this point the player really shouldn't be buying free scrolls, but... As expected, this removes the player's projectile weapon.
Purchase		The scroll had been cursed. You lost the projectile weapon.
Area 6
Purchase		☆ Once you find the green key,     you should try crouching   it says.	This scroll can be found in the only non-hidden shop in the left tower of Area 6. This deleted hint clues the player in on a hidden (but useless) shop in one of Area 6's passageways.
Description		This is a Fortune Teller Bird.	This fake Story Teller bird can be found in the topmost hidden shop in Area 6's left tower. Though it leaves the player 400 gems poorer, at least it gives a clue on how to obtain the Magic Sword.
Purchase		Fortune Teller Bird said "When you enter the door of the moon, a red treasure chest" and then it left.
Purchase		☆ From the left tower to to the right tower,     move the joystick to the top right in one go   it says.	In the lower-right corner, between two more obvious hidden shops, is an even more hidden shop with this scroll. This is just a hint for a little Easter egg in Area 6 (see the deleted text section for more info).
Purchase		You obtained the Floating Feather. ...Or so you thought, but this is an ordinary feather!	The shop in the lower-right of Area 6 is filled with fake items. In the Japanese version, each item has a unique purchase message. In the English version, all of these items use the generic "That was faked!" message.
Purchase		You obtained the Story Teller Bird. ...Or so you thought, but this is fake!	Purchasing the fake Story Teller Bird from the shop of fakes.
Purchase		You drink the red liquid. But... nothing happens! This is fake!!	Purchasing the fake Goblet of Life from the shop of lies.
Area 7
Purchase		☆ Once you find the green key,     fly to the upper left of the hall   it says.	Found in the first shop of Area 7. A potentially helpful but ultimately unnecessary hint for clearing Area 7.
Purchase		☆ It can't be said that there's no door     at the end of the narrow passage   it says.	Found in the third shop of Area 7. Additional hint that the long hallway near the shop actually leads somewhere.

(Translations: Joe)

Deleted Text

About a third of the in-area dialogue was deleted from the English version.

Image	Translation	Comments
Area 2
	Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, for defeating monsters, the Medicine for Strength is best...	A clue that the Medicine for Strength found before the exit will help with the boss.
	Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, there's a key in a high place.	A hint for finding the red key at the start of the Dwarf Village.
Area 3
	There's graffiti on the wall. "You can't go back to the waterfall. If you don't believe me, try it yourself!"	Points the player towards the hidden shop at the start of the area.
	Room of a Hundred Faces	Just some flavor text that the translators didn't feel like translating. (This room does have exactly 100 faces, in case you were wondering.)
Area 4
	Cave of Anger	Another area name that was removed from the English translation. The other section in Area 4, the Forest of Bone, did get its name translated.
	"Miin's Rummage Shop, just below this♡"	A rather blatant clue for the (rather useless) hidden shop below the platform.
Area 6
	Watch out, get down there!	This is just an Easter egg that's triggered by floating from the left tower to the right one. (Translation: divingkataetheweirdo)
	You can't enter the castle from here!	This is actually a hint for the hidden shop in this corridor.
	Reckless adventurer, turn back immediately!	Just a warning that the boss is coming up.
Area 7
	Last Castle	Another deleted location name.

(Translations: Joe)

Endings

Bad End (JP)	Bad End (INT)

Though the ending text is in English in both versions, the text was rewritten in the international versions to be more coherent.

Good End (JP)	Good End (INT)

Strangely, the international version has palette and tile errors that the Japanese version lacks, hinting that the international version might be based on an earlier build than the final Japanese release.