diff --git a/src/tools/aindump/aindump.c b/src/tools/aindump/aindump.c
index d9ddb7f..66be5c1 100644
--- a/src/tools/aindump/aindump.c
+++ b/src/tools/aindump/aindump.c
@@ -113,7 +113,6 @@ static void usage(void)
 	puts("    -e, --enums                    Dump enums section");
 	puts("    -d, --decrypt                  Dump decrypted AIN file");
 	puts("        --map                      Dump AIN file map");
-	puts("        --inline-strings           Dump code in inline-strings mode");
 	puts("        --no-macros                Don't use macros in code output");
 	puts("        --input-encoding <enc>     Specify the text encoding of the AIN file (default: CP932)");
 	puts("        --output-encoding <enc>    Specify the text encoding of the output file (default: UTF-8)");
@@ -473,7 +472,6 @@ enum {
 	LOPT_ENUMS,
 	LOPT_DECRYPT,
 	LOPT_MAP,
-	LOPT_INLINE_STRINGS,
 	LOPT_NO_MACROS,
 	LOPT_INPUT_ENCODING,
 	LOPT_OUTPUT_ENCODING
@@ -488,7 +486,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	char *input_encoding = "CP932";
 	char *output_encoding = "UTF-8";
 	int err = AIN_SUCCESS;
-	unsigned int flags = DASM_NO_STRINGS;
+	unsigned int flags = 0;
 	struct ain *ain;
 
 	int dump_targets[256];
@@ -516,7 +514,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			{ "enums",              no_argument,       0, LOPT_ENUMS },
 			{ "decrypt",            no_argument,       0, LOPT_DECRYPT },
 			{ "map",                no_argument,       0, LOPT_MAP },
-			{ "inline-strings",     no_argument,       0, LOPT_INLINE_STRINGS },
 			{ "no-macros",          no_argument,       0, LOPT_NO_MACROS },
 			{ "input-encoding",     required_argument, 0, LOPT_INPUT_ENCODING },
 			{ "output-encoding",    required_argument, 0, LOPT_OUTPUT_ENCODING },
@@ -606,9 +603,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		case LOPT_MAP:
 			dump_targets[dump_ptr++] = LOPT_MAP;
 			break;
-		case LOPT_INLINE_STRINGS:
-			flags &= ~DASM_NO_STRINGS;
-			break;
 		case LOPT_NO_MACROS:
 			flags |= DASM_NO_MACROS;
 			break;
diff --git a/src/tools/aindump/aindump.h b/src/tools/aindump/aindump.h
index 68140a1..aef1372 100644
--- a/src/tools/aindump/aindump.h
+++ b/src/tools/aindump/aindump.h
@@ -25,8 +25,7 @@ struct ain_function;
 
 enum {
 	DASM_RAW = 1,
-	DASM_NO_STRINGS = 2,
-	DASM_NO_MACROS = 4,
+	DASM_NO_MACROS = 2,
 };
 
 struct code_reader {
diff --git a/src/tools/aindump/dasm.c b/src/tools/aindump/dasm.c
index 072dd45..eddf421 100644
--- a/src/tools/aindump/dasm.c
+++ b/src/tools/aindump/dasm.c
@@ -331,30 +331,17 @@ static void print_argument(struct dasm_state *dasm, int32_t arg, enum instructio
 	case T_STRING:
 		if (arg < 0 || arg >= ain->nr_strings)
 			DASM_ERROR(dasm, "Invalid string number: %d", arg);
-		if (dasm->flags & DASM_NO_STRINGS) {
-			fprintf(dasm->out, "0x%x ", arg);
-			*comment = ain->strings[arg]->text;
-		} else {
-			dasm_print_string(dasm, ain->strings[arg]->text);
-		}
+		dasm_print_string(dasm, ain->strings[arg]->text);
 		break;
 	case T_MSG:
 		if (arg < 0 || arg >= ain->nr_messages)
 			DASM_ERROR(dasm, "Invalid message number: %d", arg);
-		if (dasm->flags & DASM_NO_STRINGS) {
-			fprintf(dasm->out, "0x%x ", arg);
-			*comment = ain->messages[arg]->text;
-		} else {
-			dasm_print_string(dasm, ain->messages[arg]->text);
-		}
+		fprintf(dasm->out, "0x%x ", arg);
+		*comment = ain->messages[arg]->text;
 		break;
 	case T_LOCAL:
-		if (dasm->func < 0) {
+		if (dasm->func < 0)
 			DASM_ERROR(dasm, "Attempt to access local variable outside of function");
-			//WARNING("Attempt to access local variable outside of function");
-			//dasm_print_string(dasm, "???");
-			break;
-		}
 		if (arg < 0 || arg >= ain->functions[dasm->func].nr_vars)
 			DASM_ERROR(dasm, "Invalid variable number: %d", arg);
 		dasm_print_local_variable(dasm, &ain->functions[dasm->func], arg);
@@ -481,18 +468,16 @@ static void print_instruction(struct dasm_state *dasm)
 
 static void print_switch_case(struct dasm_state *dasm, struct ain_switch_case *c)
 {
-	fprintf(dasm->out, ".CASE %" SIZE_T_FMT "d:%" SIZE_T_FMT "d ", c->parent - dasm->ain->switches, c - c->parent->cases);
+	unsigned swi = (unsigned)(c->parent - dasm->ain->switches);
+	unsigned ci = (unsigned)(c - c->parent->cases);
 	switch (c->parent->case_type) {
 	case AIN_SWITCH_INT:
+		fprintf(dasm->out, ".CASE %u:%u ", swi, ci);
 		fprintf(dasm->out, "%d", c->value);
 		break;
 	case AIN_SWITCH_STRING:
-		if (dasm->flags & DASM_NO_STRINGS) {
-			fprintf(dasm->out, "%d ; ", c->value);
-			dasm_print_string(dasm, dasm->ain->strings[c->value]->text);
-		} else {
-			dasm_print_string(dasm, dasm->ain->strings[c->value]->text);
-		}
+		fprintf(dasm->out, ".STRCASE %u:%u ", swi, ci);
+		dasm_print_string(dasm, dasm->ain->strings[c->value]->text);
 		break;
 	default:
 		WARNING("Unknown switch case type: %d", c->parent->case_type);
diff --git a/src/tools/aindump/macros.c b/src/tools/aindump/macros.c
index ad14ebd..8083b09 100644
--- a/src/tools/aindump/macros.c
+++ b/src/tools/aindump/macros.c
@@ -127,14 +127,8 @@ static void F_LOCALASSIGN_emit(struct dasm_state *dasm, int32_t *args)
 static void STRING_LOCALASSIGN_emit(struct dasm_state *dasm, int32_t *args)
 {
 	print_local(dasm, args[0]);
-	fprintf(dasm->out, " 0x%x ; ", args[1]);
+	fputc(' ', dasm->out);
 	dasm_print_string(dasm, dasm->ain->strings[args[1]]->text);
-	/*
-	char *u = sjis2utf(dasm->ain->strings[args[1]]->text, 0);
-	print_local(dasm, args[0]);
-	fprintf(dasm->out, " 0x%x ; \"%s\"", args[1], u);
-	free(u);
-	*/
 }
 
 static void LOCALCREATE_emit(struct dasm_state *dasm, int32_t *args)
diff --git a/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.c b/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.c
index 6cd7265..dcd31c3 100644
--- a/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.c
+++ b/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.c
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ static void usage(void)
 	puts("        --transcode <enc>          Change the AIN file's text encoding");
 	puts("    -o, --output <path>            Set output file path");
 	puts("        --raw                      Read code in raw mode");
-	puts("        --inline-strings           Read code in inline-strings mode");
 	puts("        --input-encoding <enc>     Specify the text encoding of the input file(s) (default: UTF-8)");
 	puts("        --output-encoding <enc>    Specify the text encoding of the output file (default: CP932)");
 	puts("        --ain-encoding <enc>       Specify the text encoding of the input AIN file");
@@ -54,7 +53,6 @@ enum {
 	LOPT_TRANSCODE,
 	LOPT_OUTPUT,
 	LOPT_RAW,
-	LOPT_INLINE_STRINGS,
 	LOPT_INPUT_ENCODING,
 	LOPT_OUTPUT_ENCODING,
 	LOPT_AIN_ENCODING,
@@ -95,7 +93,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	const char *output_encoding = "CP932";
 	const char *ain_encoding = "CP932";
 	bool transcode = false;
-	uint32_t flags = ASM_NO_STRINGS;
+	uint32_t flags = 0;
 	while (1) {
 		static struct option long_options[] = {
 			{ "help",            no_argument,       0, LOPT_HELP },
@@ -105,7 +103,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			{ "transcode",       required_argument, 0, LOPT_TRANSCODE },
 			{ "output",          required_argument, 0, LOPT_OUTPUT },
 			{ "raw",             no_argument,       0, LOPT_RAW },
-			{ "inline-strings",  no_argument,       0, LOPT_INLINE_STRINGS },
 			{ "input-encoding",  required_argument, 0, LOPT_INPUT_ENCODING },
 			{ "output-encoding", required_argument, 0, LOPT_OUTPUT_ENCODING },
 			{ "ain-encoding",    required_argument, 0, LOPT_AIN_ENCODING },
@@ -146,10 +143,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		case LOPT_RAW:
 			flags |= ASM_RAW;
 			break;
-		case LOPT_INLINE_STRINGS:
-			WARNING("Inline strings mode doesn't quite work yet...");
-			flags &= ~ASM_NO_STRINGS;
-			break;
 		case LOPT_INPUT_ENCODING:
 			input_encoding = optarg;
 			break;
diff --git a/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.h b/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.h
index 4bd05dd..902339f 100644
--- a/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.h
+++ b/src/tools/ainedit/ainedit.h
@@ -23,12 +23,12 @@
 
 enum {
 	ASM_RAW        = 1,
-	ASM_NO_STRINGS = 2,
 };
 
 #define PSEUDO_OP_OFFSET 0xF000
 enum asm_pseudo_opcode {
 	PO_CASE = PSEUDO_OP_OFFSET,
+	PO_STRCASE,
 	PO_DEFAULT,
 	PO_SETSTR,
 	PO_SETMSG,
diff --git a/src/tools/ainedit/asm.c b/src/tools/ainedit/asm.c
index 922f3bc..0429171 100644
--- a/src/tools/ainedit/asm.c
+++ b/src/tools/ainedit/asm.c
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include "ainedit.h"
 #include "system4.h"
 #include "system4/ain.h"
+#include "system4/hashtable.h"
 #include "system4/instructions.h"
 #include "system4/string.h"
 #include "asm_parser.tab.h"
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ KHASH_MAP_INIT_STR(string_ht, size_t);
 
 const struct instruction asm_pseudo_ops[NR_PSEUDO_OPS - PSEUDO_OP_OFFSET] = {
 	PSEUDO_OP(PO_CASE,       ".CASE",           2),
+	PSEUDO_OP(PO_STRCASE,    ".STRCASE",        2),
 	PSEUDO_OP(PO_DEFAULT,    ".DEFAULT",        1),
 	PSEUDO_OP(PO_SETSTR,     ".SETSTR",         2),
 	PSEUDO_OP(PO_SETMSG,     ".SETMSG",         2),
@@ -108,10 +110,7 @@ struct asm_state {
 	int32_t func;
 	int32_t func_stack[ASM_FUNC_STACK_SIZE];
 	int32_t lib;
-	struct string_table strings;
-	struct string_table messages;
-	khash_t(string_ht) *strings_index;
-	khash_t(string_ht) *messages_index;
+	struct hash_table *str_ht;
 };
 
 const_pure int32_t asm_instruction_width(int opcode)
@@ -121,43 +120,6 @@ const_pure int32_t asm_instruction_width(int opcode)
 	return instruction_width(opcode);
 }
 
-static int string_table_add(struct string_table *t, const char *s)
-{
-	if (!t->allocated) {
-		t->allocated = 4096;
-		t->strings = xmalloc(t->allocated * sizeof(struct string*));
-	} else if (t->allocated <= t->size) {
-		t->allocated *= 2;
-		t->strings = xrealloc(t->strings, t->allocated * sizeof(struct string*));
-	}
-
-	t->strings[t->size++] = make_string(s, strlen(s));
-	return t->size - 1;
-}
-
-static int asm_add_message(struct asm_state *state, const char *s)
-{
-	char *u = encode_text(s);
-	int i = string_table_add(&state->messages, u);
-	free(u);
-	return i;
-}
-
-static int asm_add_string(struct asm_state *state, const char *s)
-{
-	int ret;
-	char *u = encode_text(s);
-	khiter_t k = kh_put(string_ht, state->strings_index, u, &ret);
-	if (!ret) {
-		// nothing
-	} else if (ret == 1) {
-		kh_value(state->strings_index, k) = string_table_add(&state->strings, u);
-	} else {
-		ERROR("Hash table lookup failed (%d)", ret);
-	}
-	return kh_value(state->strings_index, k);
-}
-
 static void init_asm_state(struct asm_state *state, struct ain *ain, uint32_t flags)
 {
 	memset(state, 0, sizeof(*state));
@@ -165,14 +127,22 @@ static void init_asm_state(struct asm_state *state, struct ain *ain, uint32_t fl
 	state->flags = flags;
 	state->func = -1;
 	state->lib = -1;
-	state->strings_index = kh_init(string_ht);
-	state->messages_index = kh_init(string_ht);
+	state->str_ht = ht_create(4096);
+
+	for (intptr_t i = 0; i < ain->nr_strings; i++) {
+		struct ht_slot *p = ht_put(state->str_ht, ain->strings[i]->text);
+		if (p->value) {
+			char *u = encode_text_for_print(ain->strings[i]->text);
+			WARNING("Duplicate string in ain file: \"%s\"", u);
+			free(u);
+		}
+		p->value = (void*)(i+1);
+	}
 }
 
 static void fini_asm_state(struct asm_state *state)
 {
-	kh_destroy(string_ht, state->strings_index);
-	kh_destroy(string_ht, state->messages_index);
+	ht_free(state->str_ht);
 }
 
 static void asm_write_opcode(struct asm_state *state, uint16_t opcode)
@@ -281,6 +251,23 @@ static void realloc_message_table(struct ain *ain, int i)
 	ain->nr_messages = i+1;
 }
 
+static int asm_add_string(struct asm_state *state, const char *str)
+{
+	char *sjis = encode_text(str);
+	struct ht_slot *p = ht_put(state->str_ht, sjis);
+	if (p->value) {
+		free(sjis);
+		return (intptr_t)p->value - 1;
+	}
+
+	int i = state->ain->nr_strings;
+	realloc_string_table(state->ain, i);
+	state->ain->strings[i] = make_string(sjis, strlen(sjis));
+	p->key = state->ain->strings[i]->text;
+	free(sjis);
+	return i;
+}
+
 static uint32_t asm_resolve_arg(struct asm_state *state, enum opcode opcode, enum instruction_argtype type, const char *arg)
 {
 	if (state->flags & ASM_RAW)
@@ -326,24 +313,14 @@ static uint32_t asm_resolve_arg(struct asm_state *state, enum opcode opcode, enu
 		return f - ain->functions;
 	}
 	case T_STRING: {
-		if (state->flags & ASM_NO_STRINGS) {
-			int32_t i = parse_integer_constant(state, arg);
-			if (i < 0)
-				ASM_ERROR(state, "String index out of bounds: '%s'", arg);
-			realloc_string_table(ain, i);
-			return i;
-		}
 		return asm_add_string(state, arg);
 	}
 	case T_MSG: {
-		if (state->flags & ASM_NO_STRINGS) {
-			int32_t i = parse_integer_constant(state, arg);
-			if (i < 0)
-				ASM_ERROR(state, "Message index out of bounds: '%s'", arg);
-			realloc_message_table(ain, i);
-			return i;
-		}
-		return asm_add_message(state, arg);
+		int32_t i = parse_integer_constant(state, arg);
+		if (i < 0)
+			ASM_ERROR(state, "Message index out of bounds: '%s'", arg);
+		realloc_message_table(ain, i);
+		return i;
 	}
 	case T_LOCAL: {
 		int n, count = 0;
@@ -514,11 +491,18 @@ void handle_pseudo_op(struct asm_state *state, struct parse_instruction *instr)
 		decompose_switch_index(state, kv_A(*instr->args, 0)->text, &n_switch, &n_case);
 
 		struct ain_switch *swi = &state->ain->switches[n_switch];
-		if (swi->case_type == AIN_SWITCH_STRING && !(state->flags & ASM_NO_STRINGS)) {
-			c = asm_add_string(state, kv_A(*instr->args, 1)->text);
-		} else {
-			c = parse_integer_constant(state, kv_A(*instr->args, 1)->text);
-		}
+		c = parse_integer_constant(state, kv_A(*instr->args, 1)->text);
+		realloc_switch_cases(swi, n_case);
+		swi->cases[n_case].address = state->buf_ptr;
+		swi->cases[n_case].value = c;
+		break;
+	}
+	case PO_STRCASE: {
+		int n_switch, n_case, c;
+		decompose_switch_index(state, kv_A(*instr->args, 0)->text, &n_switch, &n_case);
+
+		struct ain_switch *swi = &state->ain->switches[n_switch];
+		c = asm_add_string(state, kv_A(*instr->args, 1)->text);
 		realloc_switch_cases(swi, n_case);
 		swi->cases[n_case].address = state->buf_ptr;
 		swi->cases[n_case].value = c;
@@ -712,7 +696,7 @@ void handle_pseudo_op(struct asm_state *state, struct parse_instruction *instr)
 		asm_write_argument(state, asm_resolve_arg(state, PUSH, T_LOCAL, kv_A(*instr->args, 0)->text));
 		asm_write_opcode(state, REF);
 		asm_write_opcode(state, S_PUSH);
-		asm_write_argument(state, asm_resolve_arg(state, PUSH, T_INT, kv_A(*instr->args, 1)->text));
+		asm_write_argument(state, asm_resolve_arg(state, S_PUSH, T_STRING, kv_A(*instr->args, 1)->text));
 		asm_write_opcode(state, S_ASSIGN);
 		asm_write_opcode(state, DELETE);
 		break;
@@ -968,16 +952,6 @@ void asm_assemble_jam(const char *filename, struct ain *ain, uint32_t flags)
 	ain->code = state.buf;
 	ain->code_size = state.buf_ptr;
 
-	if (!(state.flags & ASM_NO_STRINGS)) {
-		ain_free_strings(ain);
-		ain->strings = state.strings.strings;
-		ain->nr_strings = state.strings.size;
-
-		ain_free_messages(ain);
-		ain->messages = state.messages.strings;
-		ain->nr_messages = state.messages.size;
-	}
-
 	validate_ain(ain);
 
 	fini_asm_state(&state);