Over 21 years ago, Sony released Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, a PlayStation 2 game that puts players in the small shoes of a young boy experiencing a coastal Japanese town’s summer. It sold well and became an instant fan favorite thanks to its relaxing setting, but unfortunately for English-speaking fans, it was never localized — until yesterday.
On Nov. 1, YouTuber and fan translator Hilltop released their long-awaited English translation patch for Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 alongside a short trailer.
The long-awaited English translation patch for Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 is now available. pic.twitter.com/YIR4o9mbiT
— Hilltop 🌻 (@HilltopWorks) November 1, 2023
“After eleven months of work, I am beyond proud to present the long-awaited English patch for one of the most special games ever to grace the PlayStation 2,” they wrote on Patreon. “I would like to thank the rest of the team for helping me in making this localization the absolute highest quality possible, with no expense spared and not a single corner cut.”
Hilltop’s patch seems especially detailed, with a small team working to preserve the original game’s nostalgic art style in everything from Boku’s journal entries to menu buttons while translating thousands of lines of dialogue.
I want to highlight the phenomenal work by @oldgamebox and @blametherobots to translate the game’s graphics, particularly the work to maintain the style of Boku’s crayon writing: pic.twitter.com/PAgk8zptqD
— Hilltop 🌻 (@HilltopWorks) April 16, 2023
The patch can be downloaded for free on Hilltop’s Patreon, and so many people have reportedly downloaded it that Hilltop had to establish a second download link after the first was overloaded. It’s currently compatible with both emulators and PS2s, and instructions for installing are included with the download.
Demand for this patch has been high for years — in 2012, we ranked the Boku no Natsuyasumi series among the best games to never get a worldwide release.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.