Steam's latest cozy game has a fascinating backstory: Not only is it a PS1 game that predates the 'cozy' era, but it's only officially available in English thanks to fan translators

Just a hair over two years ago, I wrote about a fan translation of a landmark Japanese PS2 game, Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, making a landmark "cozy" game playable in English for the very first time. We didn't call games cozy back in the early 2000s, but were it released today, the slice-of-life adventure game (translated as My Summer Vacation) about exploring a small seaside Japanese town would very much fit the description.

So it seems only fitting that the fan translators who did such a marvelous job with that game would wind up getting to do the same for another underappreciated cozy gem—only this time, with official backing.

1999's Milano's Odd Job Collection, out on Steam today, is the first 'legit' project from the fan translators at Hilltop Works, who teamed up with publisher XSeed and emulation-porting house Implicit Conversions to release the game in English for the first time. I think the background of how Milano ended up finally being released in English is maybe even more interesting than the game itself, given how rare it is for fan translations to get the official seal of approval.

While this isn't quite the same as a completed fan translation getting licensed and released, which happened a few years ago with two RPGs in the Legend of Heroes series, it still feels like a sign that some of the stigma has disappeared from fan translation patches—that Japanese developers or publishers are more open to working with the folks most passionate about seeing their games be re-released.

"Among the countless pieces of content available today, the fact that Milano was found and brought back is incredibly fortunate," designer Ryuichi Nishizawa said in a recent interview. "As a creator, it’s a wonderful experience to see a small project from decades ago reach new players around the world."

Until now, the only way to legally play Milano's Odd Job was to buy a very expensive copy on the secondhand market. And it wasn't available in English at all.

As wholesome games go, Milano's is a bit different from the more life sim-leaning My Summer Vacations and Animal Crossings that would become a hit in Japan in the early 2000s and in the west much later. It's more of a minigame collection, where you spend a young girl's summer vacation doing all sorts of part-time jobs like scrubbing dishes and dodging cars on the scooter ride to work. The cozy payoff, of course, is getting to decorate the house.

"I am always humbled by the passion fans have for games. Sometimes fans directly tell me, 'This title seems influenced by your work,' and such messages are truly inspiring," Nishizawa told our colleagues at GamesRadar+ in another interview. "It's always surprising and delightful to realize, 'Wow, there are fans in that country too.' I believe that these fan-driven activities influence creators across borders, because they teach us things like 'They don't enjoy this part as much, or 'Wait, this detail is what they find interesting?'—discoveries that help us grow."

At the time it was released in Japan, Milano's Odd Job Collection was likely considered too Japanese, or too unorthodox, to be worth an English translation; the same was the case for Boku no Natsuyasumi. But a lot's changed in 25 years, and as he told GamesRadar+, Nishizawa now sees that as a strength.

"The biggest change over my 40-year career is the dramatic growth in the gaming population. Japanese culture as a whole has become admired worldwide, even beyond gaming," he said. "This game was created without any consideration for the global market, and I believe that is why it turned out to be so distinctly Japanese. ... Today's creators must think globally, but that is exactly why we must first understand what makes games 'Japanese,' and create based on that strength."