Emulator uses AI to offer the translations your games never had

Many classic video games are only available in one language, making it difficult to enjoy them as a non-speaker unless you have a fan translation. Now, though, you might just need the right software. Version 1.7.8 of the RetroArch emulator front end has introduced an AI Service feature that uses machine learning to translate game text into the language of your choice. It taps into services like Google's to identify on-screen text and translate it into either an image if you don't mind interruptions, or speech if you do. You could understand games that were previously unintelligible to you.

There are caveats beyond the gray area of emulators themselves. You'll need to walk through a setup process to make AI translation work. Also, the translations will only be as good as Google and other services can provide. That's not necessarily a deal breaker given the rough state of some official translations (just look at the unintentionally hilarious Zero Wing for an example), but it's something to consider if you're less than familiar with a given title's plot. Even so, this could be very helpful -- and might show developers how to bring classic games to wider audiences.