This guide is not a complete guide and only covers the most common issues encountered when trying to play RPG Maker games. For simplicity, this guide assumes you are using Windows and the only locales are “English” and “Japanese”.

Versions covered: XP, VX, VX Ace

NB: Check back at the blog page for the most recent update to these troubleshooting steps. I have been frequently revising this and the site won't let me edit after about a day

Diagnosis

1.       Does the game window load?

         a.       If yes, continue

         b.       If no, see “Wrong locale – Game.exe”

2.       Does the error message refer to a Japanese filename (see Figs. 1 & 2)?

         a.       If yes, continue.

         b.       If no, see "RTP not installed"

4.       In the game directory, open the “Graphics” and/or “Audio” folders (and sub-folders)

5.       Are any the filenames in those folders unintelligible or appear corrupted (see Fig. 3)?

         a.       If yes, see “Wrong locale – File extraction”

         b.       If no, see "Wrong locale – Game.exe"

Figure 1 – Dialogue for an English filename. Refers to a file called "001-Blue01"

Figure 2 – Dialogue for a Japanese filename. Refers to a file called "タイトル"

Figure 3 – Corrupt filenames in folder

Issues

Wrong locale – Game.exe

This occurs because older versions of RPG Maker use the region-tied versions of system call functions. Any characters from outside the region will break these functions and cause them not to work. In the case of using the file system, this is fatal.

Solution 1:

Recommended for users who don’t intend to switch locales frequently

1.       See “Change system locale”

2.       Run Game.exe

Solution 2:

Recommended for most users

1.       Install Locale Emulator

2.       Right click on Game.exe

3.       Click “Locale Emulator” > “Run in Japanese”

If neither solution works:

1.       Make sure the full path (from C:\ down) to Game.exe contains strictly ASCII and/or Japanese characters (only if game is Japanese)

Wrong locale – File extraction

This occurs because ZIP files created in Windows frequently use the creator’s locale and Windows forces extraction tools to use your locale. When these locales are different, the list of filenames cannot be read properly.

Solution 1:

Recommended for users who are not tech-savvy or don’t intend to switch locales frequently

1.       See “Change system locale”

2.       Use file extractor to extract ZIP file

Solution 2:

Recommended for advanced users

1.       See this post

RTP not installed

The RTP is a resource pack that contains many common and default assets used by RPG Maker games. This is not included in most game downloads in order to decrease file size.

Solution:

1.       Go to this site

2.       Select the version of RPG Maker used for the game

3.       Download and install

Appendix

Change system locale

1.       Open Control Panel

2.       Navigate to “Clock and Region” > “Region”

3.       Select the “Administrative” tab

4.       Under “Language for non-Unicode programs”, click “🛡Change system locale…” (see Fig. 4)

5.       Say “yes” to the admin pop-up

6.       Select “Japanese (Japan)” from the drop-down menu

7.       Click “OK”

8.       Restart your computer

Figure 4 – Region settings, Administrative tab