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ITOI children's interactive toilet concept is terrifying
We're not so sure you should be teaching your children to shake hands afterwards.[Thanks, Adam]
Brownie Brown interested in DS version of Mother 3
The lack of a localized Mother 3 on the Game Boy Advance must rank as one of Nintendo's more heinous crimes, but that's not to say they can't get out of our bad books. All it would take is, oooh, let's say a DS version of the classic RPG and A MILLION DOLLARS. Or, y'know, just the game.And look, Nintendo, Mother 3 co-developer Brownie Brown is happy to indulge us! Speaking to Siliconera, company President Shinichi Kameoka said Nintendo just needs to give the go-ahead. "If we were asked to make [a DS version of Mother 3]," he said, "then we would definitely like for fans abroad to play the game."The ball is very much in Nintendo's court, then. Until they take a swipe at it, there's only one way to sample (and fully comprehend) Mother 3's myriad delights.%Gallery-34946%
Mother 3 fan translation available this week
After almost two years of hard slog, Starmen.net's Mother 3 fan translation patch has finally been completed, and will be released at the end of this week ... a whole month ahead of schedule! That's according to the latest blog entry on the project's site, in which team member Mato records that, "Testing's pretty much over now. Some bugs did turn up over the last few days, but they were all minor and quickly remedied. Some really hard-to-spot typos were also found and fixed."Joyous news indeed, though the patch will require a few other things before it's of any use: namely a slot-2 flashcart, a GBA emulator, and -- cough -- an entirely unauthorized ROM copy of the Japanese game. While we don't condone piracy, a western localization of Mother 3 doesn't exactly look likely at this stage, and we do condone passionate fan projects such as this one. Hit up this FAQ to learn more, and don't forget to check out some beautiful, Anglicized Mother 3 screens.%Gallery-34505%[Thanks, Joel!]
Wii Warm Up: Are you down with EarthBound?
Inspired by the profile of the insane EarthBound fan community Starmen.net, we thought we would ask our audience directly: Are you an EarthBound fan? If so, how did you come by your fandom? Did you get the SNES game at launch? Maybe you discovered the game later? Or did the constant Mother series evangelism on the Internet (including the work of Starmen) turn your eye toward the series? Of course, there's also the (very likely) possibility that Ness's appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series ignited your fandom. That works too, as does love for Dragon Quest's gameplay.
Mother 3 translation seven months away [update]
Celebrating Mother 3's release in Japan two years ago today, Starmen.net co-founder and fan-translation project lead Tomato posted an update on the unofficial localization's outlook. With ten months of work already behind them, the team predicts that the completed English patch (GBA ROM required) still needs about seven months of hacking, script editing, and testing.While that may sound like a long time, keep in mind that some fan-driven translations can take years before they're finished, and that's if they even make it past the first months of work before dissolving. Besides, it's not like Nintendo of America is rushing to translate the RPG.To help you deal with the wait, Tomato has posted ten minutes worth of video showing the team's progress, all of which you can watch above! So close, and yet so far away![Update 1: Corrected Mother 3's age -- two years old. Thanks, ShadowX!][Update 2: Straight from the horse's mouth.]
Mother 3 battle clips snuck up from behind!
Unwilling to compromise on the quality of its project for the sake of a quick release, the Mother 3 fan translation crew has been tweaking every setting and smashing every bug in its path to releasing an English patch for the Earthbound sequel. In addition to posting regular updates on the programming process, the team has put up screenshots and videos from its work so far, like the Flint vs. Mischievous Mole movie above. We can't wait to try out that rhythm combo system ourselves!On a disappointing note, the project's FAQ now states that the translation group no longer has plans to put out the patch before Super Smash Bros. Brawl's North American release, even with the Wii game's delay to early March. It's a painful wait, we know, but at least you'll get a few bonuses* that aren't in the Japanese game, like this secret enemy in the clip after break.*provided that you have a flashcart/emulator and, uh, the Mother 3 ROM
Yo mama so cheap, you can buy her at Play Asia for $14.90
If you caught our interview with Starmen.net's Reid Young, you already know that the chances of Nintendo of America ever bringing EarthBound's GBA sequel, Mother 3, to the states are slim to none. As depressing as that reality might be, you shouldn't let it stop you from experiencing one of the most endearing RPGs ever released.There are several walkthroughs and guides available to assist you with the game's Japanese text, and, from now until next Tuesday, import shop Play-Asia will be selling copies of Mother 3 for only $14.90, less than a third of its standard price! What more do you need to convince you to pick this one up?[Via CAG]
Itoi and Iwata continue their dinner conversation
Normally, dinner conversation doesn't translate into a multi-part feature, but most dinners don't include Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and novelist/Mother creator Shigesato Itoi. Three more segments of the "interview" have been posted on Itoi's site, called "View Things over Someone Else's Shoulder," "Something Special about Mr.Miyamoto," and "On Management: 'Enhance your Strength.'"The first two parts continue the de facto theme of the conversation, which is talking about how awesome Shigeru Miyamoto is, but the third part is most interesting to us, as it deals with Iwata's management style. Somehow, during the discussion, Iwata manages to omit any mention of his "yelling at NOA about Brain Age" tactic.
Iwata and Itoi talk shop over dinner
Perhaps inspired by our recent interview with Starmen.net's Reid Young, Shigesato Itoi, best known in video game communities for his work on EarthBound and the Mother series, posted a few English-translated notes from a conversation he had with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata six months ago over supper.Itoi and Iwata spent a great deal talking about Shigeru Miyamoto, as Japanese developers/designers are wont to do, discussing his belief of ideas being "something which solves multiple issues at once." Though the two chums didn't chat much about past projects or games, there are still ten more portions of the roundtable that Itoi promises to release over the next two weeks. We'll make sure to notify you if we hear of any megatons.
DS Fanboy interviews Starmen.net's Reid Young (part two)
If you didn't catch the first half of our two-part interview with Reid Young, co-founder of Starmen.net, an online community for all lovers of the Mother series, make sure to check it out when you have a chance. We discussed a number of topics -- what makes the series stand out from other RPGs, why EarthBound (Mother 2) failed to sell in the U.S., and how Starmen.net is building awareness on the games with its EB Siege and Earthbound Anthology campaigns. Reid also took some time to update us on what our chances are of ever receiving a western localization for Mother 3, whether or not we'll receive EarthBound on the Virtual Console soon, and the current status of the Mother 3 fan translation project. As an admirer of creative and heartfelt games, you owe it to yourself to read the rest of our interview past the post break.
Mother 3 soundtrack on iTunes pours salt in our wound
Seeing the words "Mother 3" in the same sentence as "released" is cause for excitement. In this case, though, it's more like a kick in the stomach. The Mother 3 soundtrack has just been released on the US iTunes store. All 26 songs from MOTHER3i and the arranged album MOTHER3+ are available for $9.99 each. After almost a year of pestering Nintendo to localize the game, we get a soundtrack.A soundtrack. Are we being taunted? Is this a carrot dangling in front of our faces or a gift of mercy from the overlord? It is the first commercial release of EarthBound merchandise outside of Japan since the SNES game in 1995. And it's not like fans won't snatch it up in a heartbeat. But does it make sense to release a soundtrack for a game very few of us have played?Regardless of our bitter feelings, thank you, Nintendo. We don't mean to be demanding, but how about some graphics, a storyline, dialogue, and gameplay to go along with the music?
