Game: Kaze no Notam System: Sony PlayStation Developer: Artdink Year: 1997 This is a translation guide for the Japan-only PlayStation game "Kaze no NOTAM" by Artdink. This is not a walkthrough, it simply translates all of the Japanese text into English to make the game more approachable for non-speakers, and includes some basic instructions. The title: Kaze no NOTAM literally translates to "NOTAM of Wind". "NOTAM" is an acronym for "Notice to Airmen" which is "a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations". According to Artdink, the meaning of the game's tile is "the wind gives us a flying permit for our flight." Quick tip: In Japan, most PlayStation games use the circle button to confirm, and the X button to cancel. At the main menu, there are four options in the four corners of the screen. Select one by highlighting it and pressing the circle button. (T) Try Task Menu: This is a free play mode. You pick one of three maps and one of three tasks. In "Fly In" you throw bean bag markers into a target on the ground, in "Try Delta" mode you throw three bean bag markers so as to create the three vertices of as large a triangle as you can, and in "Wolf Hunt" you chase other balloons and try to "kill" them by throwing bean bag marekrs at them. The first thing you have to do is pick a pattern. This is just the color and pattern of your balloon. You can customize any of these using a cool mini-program in the options menu. Once you've selected your balloon, the game asks you to "Please select a stage". These are the three environments that Kaze no NOTAM has to offer. Select one and you will set some environmental parameters. They are "Please select a time", "Please select weather", and "Please select background music" (BGM). Once you select all three and hit the circle button, the game asks "Are these settings OK?" and you have to hit circle again to proceed. The game then displays a map and asks you to "Please select a starting point." You can place the cursor anywhere on the map that isn't greyed-out, then hit circle. The game will ask "Is this place OK?" and you choose "Yes" or "No". (M) Memory Card Menu: When you first open this menu, you must select "Load" or "Save". Once you select one, the text at the bottom initially says "Accessing memory card". After it's found at least one card present, it says "Please select a slot". Select a card and it will say either "Save" or "Load" on the top line, and then underneath ask "Are you sure?". Either press circle for "Yes" or X for "No". It then says "Memory card being accessed. Do not remove the card." If there is already data present on the card that you are saving over, it will say "Data already exists. Do you want to overwrite?" and you will have to press circle to confirm. Lastly it will say "Processing completed." and you need to press X to back out of the memory card menu. (O) Options Menu: Entirely in English, with the exception of the "Customize" option. Here you can customize the look of one of the balloons. Pick one of the five patters and press circle to open the editor. The d-pad moves the cursor around so that you can select triangle-shaped areas of the balloon to recolor. The small box in the upper right of the screen displays the currect color to be used. The circle button colors in the selected triangle. The X button is a color picking tool; highlight a part of the balloon whose color you want to use and press X. You'll see the color in the box change to that which you selected. The triangle button allows you to make your own color using red, green, and blue sliders. The four trigger buttons allow you to move the ballon around in space. L1 is left rotation, R1 is right rotation, L2 zooms in and out, and R2 tilts the baloon up or down. When you're finished, press the start button. The game will ask you to input initials to name the balloon. (R) Round: The round mode presents you with nine challenges that are variations on the tasks available in the "Try Task" mode. When each round is completed, it unlocks the next one. The first three are the "easy" rounds, the next three are the intermediate, and the final three are difficult. Completing the 9 rounds does not unlock any additional content in the game, aside from rolling the staff credits. The instructions for each round are given in Japanese, and are therefore translated below. Round 1: Two markers have already been dropped on the ground. Drop a third marker to form a triangle with an area of 30 square kilometers or more. Round 2: Find the target on the map and place a marker with 10m of its center. You are limited to three markers. Round 3: Find any wolf balloon and hit it with a marker within the 1 minute time limit. You have unlimited markers. Round 4: Drop 3 markers on the ground so as to create a triangle with an area of 25 square kilometers or more. Round 5: Hit each of the three targets within 20m of their center. You are limited to three markers. Round 6: Find any wolf balloon and hit it with a marker. You are limited to three markers. Round 7: Drop a marker in any three of the four designated areas. Round 8: Find the chicken balloon and shoot it 50 times. Round 9: Hit a single target three times within 10 meters of the center. ---------------------------------------------------------- This translation guide is copyright 2023 Classic Gaming Quarterly, and may be posted or shared anywhere on the internet without permission from the rights holder so long as credit is given.