Years of neglect are eroding gaming history. Cartridges rot in garages, companies hoard demos that they will never release, and obscure titles fade into the ether. Some games may even be lost forever.
If you watched the June 19 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, you surely noticed something interesting in the crowd: A wrestling fan in the front row holding a giant pink posterboard sign that read “Localize Mother 3.”
Mother 4, the long-awaited fan-made sequel to Mother 3, will be rebranding after several high profile DMCA takedowns of other fan games.
In the West, Shigesato Itoi is most famous as the guy who made the Mother games. But in Japan, his main job has been copywriting, including penning taglines for Studio Ghibli movies.
Clyde Mandelin is a translator who has worked on games and anime such as One Piece, Kingdom Hearts II, Attack on Titan, and, most famously, a translation of Mother 3. Now, he’s showing off his programming skills as he streams game on Twitch through a program that compares translations as he plays.
People bring all kinds of ridiculous signs to WWE events, but a demand to translate Mother 3? That’s a new one.
It’s been nearly a decade since Nintendo released Mother 3 in Japan, and since then, we haven’t heard a word about an official English release. Until now.
Today, Mother 3 is out for Wii U Virtual Console in Japan. Now it’s time for America to have its day too.
For years now, fans have wanted Shigesato Itoi to make a new Mother game. It doesn’t sound like it will happen. There’s a reason for that.
Mother 3 is coming to the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on December 17, Nintendo announced today. That same day, Nintendo is also releasing a Lucas Amiibo in the country.
My annual interviews with Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime are upbeat affairs. He’s always feeling good about the line-up and remains unruffled as I pepper him with as many questions about as many topics as I can squeeze in.
Kotaku to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime on Tuesday: You guys did make a joke about Star Fox in the [Nintendo digital event] and then Miyamoto showed up with a Star Fox game...
Nintendo might never have given us Mother 3 in English, but at least they've got JOKES. Here's a small part of the intro to Nintendo's Digital Event today. I can confirm that this is exactly what happens when you ask Reggie Fils-Aime about Mother 3.
Forget Miley Cyrus—before the pop star's inane VMA performance made national headlines and got "twerking" added to the dictionary, Mother 3's Wess was shaking it like the best of them. The aging ninja had to do the twerk-filled Osohe Dance in order to open two doors in the Osohe Castle in Nintendo's GBA role-playing…
Alas, it's just a Mother-themed mock-up created by a poster named Mazza on the Nintendo Blast forums (via Tiny Cartridge).
Mother 2, or Earthbound, is finally coming to the West once more courtesy of the Wii U's Virtual Console. Mother 3, at least for now, is not, meaning the only way you can play that in English is courtesy of some very dedicated fans.
The people who translated Mother 3 to English say that if Nintendo ever wants to bring the quirky RPG to U.S. shores, the company can use their script. Free of charge.
Over the years, there have been many games released in Japan only. Of these, a small number have gone on to become cult classics abroad—lost gems of gaming that the English-speaking world missed out on.
Just like cats, man's best friend is a returning character in every genre. We've selected those video game dogs—from games both old and new—which are usually portrayed as companions; sidekicks who can both help us with minor tasks and save our asses in difficult situations.
