Monster Hunter Frontier Translation

This repository has moved to Mogapedia/MHFrontier-Translation. This fork is archived. Please open issues and PRs on the new repository.

A curated guide to translating Monster Hunter Frontier, a Japanese MMORPG shut down by Capcom in 2019. This project documents the tools, translatable content, and community efforts around MHF localization.

Tools

Text Extraction & Reimport

Tool	Language	Description
FrontierTextHandler	Python	Full pipeline: decrypt, decompress, extract, edit, reimport, compress, encrypt. Handles all main game text files.
ReFrontier	C#	Archive unpacking, batch decryption/decompression. Useful for non-text data and bulk processing.
MHFTextEditor	C#	UI-based text editor for MHF game files.

Dialogue & Quests

Tool	Language	Description
readDialogue.py	Python	Extract NPC dialogue from stage files.
writeDialogue.py	Python	Reimport NPC dialogue into stage files.
MHFZ Quest Editor	—	Server-side quest data editor. Designed for closed-loop use.

Chat & Real-Time Translation

Tool	Language	Description
MHFTranslate	C#	Parses in-game chat logs and translates via Google Cloud Translation API. Abandoned, no API key provided.

Launchers with Localization Support

Tool	Language	Description
mhf-launcher	Rust	Custom launcher with built-in locale system (Fluent .ftl files). Supports adding new languages.
mhf-patch-server	Rust	Patch distribution server for mhf-launcher. Can deliver translation file updates to players.

Translation Platforms

Tool	Description
Weblate	Open-source web translation platform. Can be self-hosted to manage translations collaboratively.

Translatable Content

All game text uses Shift-JIS encoding. FrontierTextHandler extracts it to CSV (UTF-8) with columns: location, source, target.

mhfdat.bin — Main Game Data

Category	XPath	Content
Weapon names (melee)	dat/weapons/melee/name	Great Sword, Hammer, Long Sword, etc.
Weapon descriptions (melee)	dat/weapons/melee/description	Melee weapon flavor text
Weapon names (ranged)	dat/weapons/ranged/name	Bow, Bowgun, etc.
Weapon descriptions (ranged)	dat/weapons/ranged/description	Ranged weapon flavor text
Head armor	dat/armors/head	Helmet names
Body armor	dat/armors/body	Chest armor names
Arm armor	dat/armors/arms	Gauntlet names
Waist armor	dat/armors/waist	Belt/fauld names
Leg armor	dat/armors/legs	Greave names
Item names	dat/items/name	Consumables, materials, key items
Item descriptions	dat/items/description	Item effect and lore text
Item sources	dat/items/source	Acquisition info
Monster descriptions	dat/monsters/description	Monster lore
Equipment descriptions	dat/equipment/description	General equipment flavor text
Rank labels	dat/ranks/label	HR requirement labels
Rank requirements	dat/ranks/requirement	Rank requirement descriptions
Hunting Horn guide	dat/hunting_horn/guide	Song effect guide
Hunting Horn tutorial	dat/hunting_horn/tutorial	Tutorial text

mhfpac.bin — Skills

Category	XPath	Content
Skill names	pac/skills/name	Skill activation names
Skill effects	pac/skills/effect	Skill effect descriptions
Zenith skill effects	pac/skills/effect_z	Zenith-era skill descriptions
Skill descriptions	pac/skills/description	Skill point descriptions
UI text tables	pac/text_14 to pac/text_d0	Menu labels, interface strings (20+ tables)

mhfinf.bin — Quests

Category	XPath	Content
Quest info	inf/quests	Quest names, descriptions, objectives (8 fields per quest)

mhfjmp.bin — Fast Travel

Category	XPath	Content
Location titles	jmp/menu/title	Teleport point names
Location descriptions	jmp/menu/description	Area descriptions
Menu strings	jmp/strings	Navigation UI text

Other Formats

Format	Flag	Content
FTXT files	--ftxt	Standalone text containers (magic 0x000B0000)
Quest binaries	--quest / --quest-dir	Individual quest .bin files
NPC dialogue	--npc / --npc-dir	Stage dialogue files

Quick Start

Extract text

# Extract everything at once (auto-decrypts)
cd FrontierTextHandler
python main.py --extract-all

# Or extract a specific category
python main.py --xpath=dat/items/name

Edit translations

Edit the generated CSV in output/. Fill in the target column with your translation.

Reimport into game files

# Produce a game-ready file
python main.py --csv-to-bin output/dat-items-name.csv data/mhfdat.bin --compress --encrypt

Replace the original mhfdat.bin with the output.

Community Efforts

Know of a translation project? Open an issue or PR to add it here.

Game Text Translation

Language	Project	Coverage	Notes
English	MHF English Patch	Menus, equipment names, item names	Distributed via Rain server (~70K members). Does not cover NPC dialogue or tutorial.
English	MezeLounge	Menus, equipment, quests	Private server with near-complete English translation. Also runs a Classic server (S1–Forward 5).
English	Leaps' MHFZ Guide	Guides	Comprehensive gameplay guide for Rain server players.
English	MHFZ Ferias English	Game database/wiki	English translation of the Ferias Japanese info site.
English	MHFZ Info	Game database/wiki	Fork of the Ferias English project.
English	Fist's English Guide	Guides	English info site and gameplay guides.
English	MHF Frontier Wiki	Wiki	English Fandom wiki with translation notes.
French	Mogapédia + MezeLounge	Game text	French translation effort in partnership between Mogapédia and MezeLounge.
Korean	MHF Korean Wiki	Wiki	Korean Fandom wiki with menu translations and guides.

Official Localizations (Discontinued)

Language	Region	Notes
Japanese	Japan (PC, PS3, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360)	Original language. Service ended December 2019.
Korean	South Korea	Service ended August 2011 (Season 7.0).
Traditional Chinese	Taiwan, Macau	Service ended alongside JP servers.

How to Contribute

1. Translate text: Extract a category with FrontierTextHandler, translate the CSV, and submit a PR.
2. Document a project: If you know of an active translation effort, open an issue to get it listed.
3. Improve tooling: Contributions to FrontierTextHandler and ReFrontier are welcome.

Disclaimer

Monster Hunter Frontier and all associated game text are the property of Capcom Co., Ltd. This project is a non-commercial fan translation effort for game preservation purposes. No original game code is included. If Capcom requests removal, we will comply immediately.