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Mother 3 translator offers localized files to Nintendo for free
With the recent announcement that Earthbound will be making its way to Nintendo's Virtual Console service, confirming that the publisher hasn't totally forgotten about the series, Mother 3 translator Clyde Mandelin saw an opportunity to extend an offer to Nintendo. Mandelin recently took to the Mother 3 fan translation blog to express his interest in seeing the Game Boy Advance game officially localized for North American audiences."I realize that localizing a game this size can cost a lot, so if it'll help in even the slightest, I'll gladly offer to let Nintendo use my text translation files for any use at all, completely for free," Mandelin wrote. "I'll even edit the files to fit whatever new standards are necessary (content, formatting, memory size, etc.), completely for free. I'll even retranslate everything from scratch if need be. Just whatever it takes to get an official release out."Mandelin, along with a team of devout Mother 3 fans, launched a patch for the game in 2008 that translates the entire Earthbound sequel to English. Mother 3 was originally developed by Brownie Brown, a Nintendo subsidiary now known as 1-Up Studio."In the end, if localizing Mother 3 should ever come up in a Nintendo business meeting or whatever and someone brings up budget concerns or it costing too much, my hope is that someone will at least mention this offer too, even if it isn't accepted," he added.
Brownie Brown changes its name to 1-Up Studio
Nintendo subsidiary Brownie Brown is changing its name to 1-Up Studio, the company recently announced on its soon-to-be defunct site.The developer is known for its hand in crafting games such as Mother 3 and Super Mario 3D Land, as well as its help with Level-5's Professor Layton and the Last Specter. Along with the name change, the studio also announced a new Mother game for North America... oh, it didn't? Well that's too bad.
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%
Surprise? Brownie Brown considers Wii development
Brownie Brown has a history of releasing handheld games ranging from okay to good: Magical Vacation and its sequel Magical Starsign, Sword and Heroes of Mana; and, of course, their best work, done in collaboration with HAL Laboratory, Mother 3. But until now, they've only released handheld games. So in a way, it's quite a surprise to hear that, having finished up Blue Dragon Plus, they're thinking about trying their hand at a console game. Brownie Brown president Shinichi Kameoka told Siliconera that "We're optimistic about it and looking into it." But the choice of console platform is rather unsurprising. Brownie Brown is a Nintendo-owned studio, so they basically have two platforms from which to choose for any game they're going to make. Should they move into Wii development, it will be interesting to see if they start with a work-for-hire project or an original work like the Magical Vacation series.
Best of 2008: The most delicious DS homebrew
Time to face some harsh facts, people: this time next year, none of us will have two pennies to rub together, and nobody will care anyway, because we'll all be fighting to the bloody death over scrap metal, rat carcasses, and clean drinking water. The good news? You can slow your inevitable descent into abject poverty by no longer paying for your DS games, and instead download totally free homebrew. Hurray! Not that you shouldn't be selective in what you download -- after all, for every StillAliveDS or Pocket Physics, the homebrew community churns out plenty of garbage. With this in mind, we decided to compile a list of the best homebrew we personally encountered this year. Have any recommendations that we missed? Tell us in the comments! And don't forget we dedicated a whole week to homebrew earlier this year -- you can head here for more recommendations!
DS Daily: Motherly love
With the unofficial Mother 3 translation project having reached its goal -- that is, its achievable goal of a playable English version of Mother 3, not the successful shaming of Nintendo into releasing one themselves -- we thought it was a good time to link back to our interview with Starmen.net's Reid Young from last year. And also to talk about the Mother 3 translation project in general.Has the work of the dedicated grassroots Mother 3 movement made you into a fan? Did they make you aware of the series for the first time? Have you been following the progress of the translation? If so, we imagine this is a time to celebrate. Perhaps most importantly, does all this talk about Mother put that Danzig song in your head?%Gallery-34505%
Mother 3 fan translation complete, ready for download
After two years of development (and an endless string of tipsters keeping us up-to-date on every update on the project), the Mother 3 Fan Translation version 1.0 is now available for download, so English-speaking gamers without fluency in Japanese can enjoy the title. You'll need a copy of the Mother 3 ROM (also known as Earthbound 2) to use the patch, as well as your own copy of the imported game for legal purposes, moral clarity and a sense of contentment for supporting the franchise despite Nintendo's insistence to not bring it stateside. In other news, Earthbound for Wii (possibly Virtual Console) is still rated by the ESRB, and since May 2nd that's all we know about it.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
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!]
Nintendo Power's Sword in the Preview
As it's been known to do, Nintendo Power wrapped up its latest issue promising a new unannounced title for next month's cover. Given the exclusive reveals the magazine has featured lately, such as Mega Man 9 for WiiWare and the Castlevania Judgment 3D fighter, both arguably megatons, it's hard not to expect another huge surprise!Nintendo Power's preview page for the next issue brandishes the above image and a quick prank on Earthbound fans (as if they needed more teasing): "We'll kick off the next 20 years of Nintendo Power with more big reveals, including a top-secret cover story fit for a king. It's got a lot of heart. Just kidding. It's Mother 3. Just kidding. Please look forward to it."What could it be? A sequel to Square's lackluster King's Knight? Even better, perhaps a remake of Capcom's Knights of the Round? What are your gueses?
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
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Dojo update: Flipping out
Today's dojo update introduces yet another Metroid stage. This time, though, instead of having Ridley terrify you in the background, that pleasure is given to (dun dun dunnnnnn) the Parasite Queen. You may find the Frigate Orpheon stage to be vaguely familiar, as it's one of the spaceships that Samus infiltrates in Metroid Prime. Of course, something is bound to go wrong, like, say, the stage flipping over on you. After a siren sounds (well, at least there's a warning), you'd best prepare to have everything invert on you, since the stage will flip a full 180 degrees. With some caution and good strategy, the flip can be a nice way to pick off a scrambling enemy.Also added today was Porky's theme from Mother 3. We think that this militaristic tune is a nice fit when it comes to beating up some folk, but maybe that's just us.%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%Read: Frigate OrpheonRead: Porky's theme
Watch the prologue of Mother 3 ... in English!
We've informed you about the Mother 3 fan translation project before, and now it's time for you to enjoy some of the fruits of Starmen.net's labor. The project is not completed yet, but the team has at the very least finished translating and coding the prologue of the game. You can watch it in the video above (spoilers, obviously), without even having to worry about downloading any unauthorized ROMs or being involved with any yarrrrrring.The video will also help you further acquaint yourselves with Lucas, who will be showing up as a playable character in one of Nintendo's most anticipated Wii games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.From what we've seen, Mother 3 has a certain charm about it, and we can see how fans would be so dedicated in their efforts to bring the game to English speakers. Now, if only Nintendo had the same dedication.[Via Destructoid]
One year later: Mother 3 fan translation project
Convinced that Nintendo has no intention of ever localizing Mother 3 for release outside of Japan, fans of the Mother/Earthbound series have been working on their own unofficial translation for the endearing RPG. The volunteer group has put a year's worth of work into the project so far and is celebrating that milestone with two releases: An anniversary video showing the game played with an English script. It's a preview of not only the team's progress, but of the bugs that still need to be addressed at this stage. You can watch the three-minute clip after the post break. An updated menu patch with the most up-to-date translations for Mother 3's menus and chapter titles. Of course, this menu patch and the eventual full translation patch require an unauthorized, completely illegal ROM copy of the game to be of any use. Yarr! Clyde Mandelin's celebratory post at the translation team's page also details the interesting events that went on behind the scenes, covering how the One Piece anime temporarily halted production and why Magical Starsign's failure to sell in the US could've doomed Mother 3's chances of ever receiving an official localization. As Clyde jokes, the project's history really does read like a spy novel!
Dojo update: New Pork City?! Get a rope!
Mother 3 fans are getting everything but the actual GBA game with Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- Franklin Badges, Lucas as a playable character, and now, New Pork City, one of several memorable locations from the Earthbound sequel. The massive arena is one of the game's largest, putting to rest worries that the game wouldn't have any Hyrule-Temple-sized battlegrounds. New Pork City boasts among its attractions a swinging boat and a stage-specific menace. Before you preview the screenshots at the Dojo, be warned that there are some Mother 3 spoilers scattered around the images. You can also watch a 2D tour of the metropolis after the post break.%Gallery-3347%%Gallery-6869%
We bet this Mother 3 shirt is awesome
Since we've never been given the opportunity to play Mother 3, we aren't really able to gauge the thematic radness of Edit Mode's new Mother 3 "Emergency" shirt. Still, just as we know that all shirts sold on The King of Games are awesome, we have an inherent knowledge that everything about this shirt is wonderful, except the $50 price tag. We know that the design is pretty nice, and that the warning text on the back is adorable. The other new Mother shirt, featuring a logo for "The Sharks," comes from Mother 2 a.k.a. Earthbound, and is therefore easily verifiable as being great. You can totally pretend you're in an arcade-occupying, hula-hoop wielding gang led by a smilin', knifin' Frank Fly.[Via GAME Watch]
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]
Mother 3 to stay lost in translation
Any hopes that Mother 3 was in the process of being translated in English have just had their hopes dashed by Nintendo of America Treehouse Localization Producer/Manager Nate Bihldorff. In an interview with Planet GameCube, Bihldorff exclaims that he "wouldn't look forward to [a Mother 3 translation] in the immediate future," adding that none of the writers are currently working on one, though maybe some of the translators that do not work for him may be "in discussion."It has been over seven months since the title was released in Japan, and in development for years prior -- if Nintendo was to bring the title over, the process would have already begun. That it would be a sure-fire hit, with a built-in audience of rabid fans, is just another piece to the confusing puzzle: why would Nintendo, as a for-profit business, not spend the time and effort to bring the title over? The fan translation for Mother 3 has been ongoing since its launch.[Via Starmen.Net]
DS impressions: Contact
The game that has been jokingly called "Almost Earthbound" is quite possibly one of the most unique RPGs to hit Nintendo's touchy-feely handheld. The impetus of Contact is that you're not in direct control of the main character. Instead, you act as a mysterious external force that helps out a young boy as he searches for the parts of a weird professor's downed spaceship. The bottom screen of the DS allows you to guide your character through some wonderful looking environments, while the top screen always shows the professor scurrying about and doing work in his lab. He constantly communicates with you, making odd remarks, providing useful information and generally hurling a wrecking ball through that pesky fourth wall.Getting back to your character in the bottom screen, it's possible to engage enemies by tapping on them with the stylus and selecting the attack icon. Now, the battles are competely automatic with the exception of using the d-pad to dodge some attacks. Some will definitely be turned off by ths approach, but it fits in well with the game's exploration and its acknowledgement of the player as an entity in the story. The game makes pretty good use of the touch screen, with the special attacks particularly standing out. Essentially, you peel off the attack command as if it were a sticker on your screen and then stick in back into an appropriate slot. Much like the rest of the game, it's a pretty fun and quirky experience.
Japanese sales charts, April 17-23: Hello, Mother
Several new releases are sitting pretty in the Japanese charts this week, with newcomers holding the top three spots. Mother 3, described by Famitsu as the "Most Wanted" game in Japan back in March, unsurprisingly rocketed to the top with over 200,000 sales; a spinoff from the popular Dragon Quest VIII is in at number two, after selling 127,500 copies.The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 23:1. Mother 3 [GBA]2. Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken [PS2] 3. Final Fantasy XI: Aht Urhgan no Hihou [PS2]4. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]5. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai [PSP]6. Okami [PS2]7. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]8. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]9. DS English Training [DS]10. Pokémon Ranger [DS] The corresponding hardware sales (cumulative sales for 2006 in brackets):
