Extract text from Message Studio text files (MSTXT)
To convert MSTXT text files to another format, you need Message Studio or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Localization Text File" file type, you need software like Message Studio or a similar tool.
The .mstxt file is a Message Studio Text File used internally by Nintendo game developers. It stores game dialogue, system messages, and user interface text during the localization process. The official software used to generate these files is Nintendo's proprietary Message Studio, part of their closed software development kit (SDK). See the Nintendo Wikipedia page for more background on their ecosystem.
The main disadvantage of the .mstxt format is its heavily restricted, proprietary nature. Files often contain specific control codes and formatting tags that dictate how text appears in-game, such as color changes, pauses, or dynamic variables. Opening them in a standard text editor can result in unreadable characters or broken tags, making modding and translation frustrating. It requires an official developer license or specialized community reverse-engineering tools to handle safely.
To make the data usable for standard translation workflows, converting .mstxt to common formats like TXT, CSV, or JSON is highly recommended. Note that any formatting tags lost during conversion must be carefully managed, and converting back to the compiled binary format, usually .MSBT, is necessary to actually use the text in a game engine.
Because this is a closed, proprietary format designed strictly for internal use, standard online converters frequently fail to process it. If our analysis detects a supported underlying text structure, viewing or extracting the raw strings may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MSTXT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert MSTXT file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use Message Studio or similar software from the "Game Text Localization Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to MSTXT, try Message Studio or another comparable tool in the "Game Text Localization Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MSTXT converter.