News > Fans start on Mother 3 translation
November 10, 2006
Content taken from 1UP:
Earthbound is one of those games that RPG fans talk about in hushed tones that border on reverence. Known as Mother 2 in Japan, Earthbound earned an intensely devoted following (Tomm, I'm lookin' at you) that clamored and petitioned and begged for a sequel. Technically, fans got what they wished for when Mother 3 was released in Japan earlier this year, but alas, no plans to bring the game to English-speaking shores ever surfaced. The devoted (some say obsessive) fans at Starman.net refused to take "No" for an answer and have set about creating their own localized version of the game.
Both the crew at Starman.net and the similarly-minded folks at the Mother 3 Translation Project emphasize that you must have a legal copy of the game in order to use the patch that they'll ultimately be producing. It seems clear that both groups would much prefer to have a proper localization from Nintendo and aren't working on their own to score any kind of cash, but rather because they simply want to be able to fully comprehend the text-heavy game. All the honorable intentions in the world won't matter if Nintendo decides to swing its stick, however; localizing a game without permission is strictly verboten.
Generally speaking, most companies turn a blind eye to such projects, not only because they don't detract from a viable product, but also because they're usually so underground they don't attract much notice. Earthbound fans are atypically noisy, though, so it seems likely that Nintendo will find out about the translation efforts sooner or later, and the company's reaction, whatever it may be, will no doubt leave a lasting impression on its fans.
