Mother 3 Producer Shares Thoughts On Localisation, And Why It Hasn't Happened

And yet earthbound and mother 1 got released here.
What kind of excuse is that?

But aren’t there fan translations? Maybe if Nintendo dropped the pride they could you know, get other people to do it if they don’t want to themselves. And that is not saying that translating it wouldn’t be a challenge, it just that people have done it and have been asking for years.

Meh at this point this game is old, just released a remake of EarthBound Endings (Mother 3) with this game included on it and move on.

Yeah I kinda doubt this would be the reason.

This meme is years old and high profile within the company. I don’t think Nintendo is taking the suggestion to release it for the West.

@Greatluigi Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't there elements in Mother 3's storyline that simply would not work here in the west due to differences in want is acceptable in pop culture?

@Caryslan Such as? I have never really seen it before.

@Caryslan That's what I was thinking. It seemed like a roundabout way to say cultural differences.

Mother 3 released over 16 years ago. That's enough time to get over a few translation kinks. Honestly I'm just tired of it at this point

Why do people still harp on about this? You can’t have your perpetually indignant cake and eat it too. Something’s got to give, and so long as people make the conscious decision to play into manufactured “outrage” (which is completely meaningless), we will continue to see this sort of censorship take place.

And perpetuating rhetoric such as, “ooh, you can’t say that these days” plays directly into that. Just because some misanthropic “journalist” who writes for a publication not fit to be used as toilet paper said so? Just because something has been published doesn’t give it any critical (or ideological) merit.

The odds of Mother 3 being localised back in 2006 without being completely bowdlerised were infinitely greater than now, when Western societies seemed to have their marbles at least partially intact.

Hell, it’s only a matter of time before virtually anything made 20 or more years ago will be pulled from circulation due to “changing community standards”. Excuse me? Whose standards? Because they sure as hell aren’t reflecting mine and countless others. In fact, most popular media doesn’t reflect my worldview, but I can nevertheless appreciate them as a reflection of society more broadly, but we’re not going to move forward in any meaningful way if one worldview is coronated at the expense of all others.

I haven’t played the Mother games to any real length due to the fact that the entirety of the series is not available to Western audiences, and I would be fascinated to see an uncensored (and not embellished with modern political rhetoric) release of all three games. I have said before that the best case scenario could perhaps be a Japanese/Asian-exclusive physical release (complete with an all-new uncensored English translation), but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

It surprises me that no one said this, yet, it will be released at the same time as Half Life 3. Thought this was common knowledge ^^

I remember my buddy playing with the fan translation about a year after it came out in Japan. He still talks about it to this day; constantly saying it needs an official release. I have never been a huge EARTHBOUND fan, but he says MOTHER3 is brilliant.

i think it could still happen, nintendo understands the power they have. Right nows a pretty good time for nintendo to do it, i guess we'll just have to wait and see (or you could, you know, yar har har)

@Duffman92 ***** no way really well damn that really clears this all up

@Silly_G play mother 3, is fun game. surprisingly modern for how old it is

I don't understand why they won't make a new Earthbound game with modern graphics

@Caryslan Well, they changed some things for "cultural differences" in EarthBound (Mother 2) and people (well, those were playing the game before about the mid-late 2000s) enjoyed them.

Until the "purists" who probably want to spend about as much time complaining, as they could learning how to read Japanese and play the original themselves (but of course the first option takes less work), found out about what is different and just CANNOT enjoy the game for what it is.
Because apparently it matters whether the characters are drinking "coffee" or "alcohol". (moreso than the overall message of the work)

@Snatcher the main one that everyone references are the Magypsies: an ancient tribe of fairies who are described as having no gender but appear as middle aged men in drag. Much of their characterisation and dialogue is rooted in Japanese okama stereotypes. I don’t think it’d be impossible to localise them but I also see why no one has attempted to in an official capacity.

@TommyTendo The minimalist aesthetics is part of its appeal.

The original was inspired by Peanuts (so much that the localization changed a few sprites to keep the lawyers away) as a vision of "America".

There are many situations and themes in this game that would be considered "too mature" for Nintendo's target audience in Mother 3. Character deaths, gay/trans stereotypes (even though I didn't find them offensive as a queer person myself) mushroom trips, animal abuse, the list goes on. But presented in meaningful ways that make you think and challenge your assumptions. It's too bad Nintendo doesn't feel like the west could handle this story.

I played the fan translation and I thought it was amazing.

I think the fact that fans have translated it kinda disproves that argument

@DiggleDog Ah, thanks for clearing that up.

Yes I want to play it but I’ve given up on this. They’re not doing it.

@Alpha008 translation is different from localisation. With the former you just translate the text to a different language, with the latter you also change it so it fits with the target culture.

And that is where it could be a problem with Mother 3.

@DiggleDog Yet One Piece is still being localized in the west and there are many okama characters...

@Greatad Problem with that argument is the fact they are targeting different audiences and what they want put out there with their name on it. There have been times Nintendo has removed stuff or not add things when they felt it would cause too much of a stir they don't want to deal with.

Honestly we have gotten the best deal with the fan translation being as good as it is and Nintendo not messing with it via legal actions.

@Silly_G Does your post have any merit when ranting about a game series you hardly played thinking a company with a rep for 'cleaning' up games would publish Mother 3 in the west?

More so this right here baffles me the most

'The odds of Mother 3 being localised back in 2006 without being completely bowdlerised were infinitely greater than now, when Western societies seemed to have their marbles at least partially intact.'

This is NoA we are talking about here. The company FAMOUS for forcing changes be made to games when brought over before they would approve it all the way back in the 80s. Hell recently people are noting how lax NoA is with content in games company to Sony. I guess it doesn't matter though, the mind set that we are now crazy with what is and isn't ok reads as someone who is reactionary vs someone who follows the outrage people have had with media decades past.

@TommyTendo I would love a 3D remake of Mother 3 based on the original Nintendo 64 version of the game.

@LexKitteh I think the problem is that I am not sure how Nintendo can market a game like Mother 3 and it's themes in the west.

Fire Emblem tackles some pretty heavy themes, but Fire Emblem benefits from having a fantasy setting, and the fact that most of the main lords are older teenagers or adults. Even Roy who is the youngest lord is fifteen years old.

This makes it easier to write and market a series like Fire Emblem in the west. One other aspect is that while the artstyle of the series is anime, you can easily tell the ages of the characters outside maybe the dragons.

I think the problem Nintendo faces in the west is mature content in a game that has a kid as the main character. Compound that with an era of SJWs and I just think Nintendo does not want to even try to bring Mother 3 over here.

I got a cartridge of the translation for a tenner. That'll do fine.

Unless there's a big Mother anniversary coming up soon and they already have GBA games on Switch by then... It will get released exclusively for the JPN Switch Online and everyone else will blow a gasket!

If the NSO GBA rumors are true and considering that Mothers 1 and 2 are on there, that's the last bastion of hope I see for fans holding out.

B**hit. The "official" fan translation did a superb job on that.

@Caryslan Copping out trying to blame 'SJWs' for Nintendo being how Nintendo do since the 80s?

BS. The fan translation is RIGHT THERE, Nintendo cannot be this dense, they have to know that it exists.

I am now in the last chapter of Mother 3 fan translation 1.3, on my first self-modded red GBA, and 26 hours in I have to say: this is the best 2D-pixel game I have ever played. I even consider it the best gaming experience I have ever had (so far) as a Nintendo-fan. Not sure if I need a official translation anymore, sorry to be so frank!

@Silly_G Honestly, what manufactured outrage? Most of it I've seen on Nintendo systems in the last 10 years have been idiots complaining about 'censorship' in XCX and TMS#FE, not people saying they should change more for cultural reasons.

@Silly_G

calm down dude, in 2006 it was still illegal for many people to marry their loved ones, to be gay in the military, etc etc. what have you sacrificed in the time since? so far we have "censorship in videogames," anything else?

are you aware there was (probably more) "censorship" of games and everything else in 2006 as well?

further, do you ever stop and think that there are just as many people who would object to the "offending" characters and themes as "gay abominations" that are "corrupting our youth?". these people were definitely around before the country "lost its marbles." who is to say that that element isn't what is scaring nintendo into holding mother 3 back?

PS - just play Earthbound! It's a fantastic game! I have to believe that if you really cared at all about this series you'd have played it by now

@Silly_G I see that your post went over some heads (that's life, I suppose). I think I follow you and mostly agree on the points of manufactured outrage and censorship. I've been trying to avoid spoilers around Mother/Earthbound for years now, so I'm not clear on what precisely the controversy here is. "Outrage-oriented journalist" brings a few publications to mind, but I don't read those, and it's hard for me to judge this issue without, you know, spoiling myself. Can you give me some vague hints here?

The thing about censorship and moral panics is... mores change. We now see SMT games, the DQ releases actually include that tasteless "puff puff" nonsense, and... I mean, one sees those GTA games on Switch. In our lifetimes, we've seen the hysterical denouncing types lose over and over. Shouldn't we assume the wind will change again?

To anyone else who may be tempted to respond to me directly here: don't. I'm serious about avoiding spoilers here - I didn't even read Kate's Backlog Club post on Earthbound. I will assume you are replying in bad faith, resulting in an immediate Ignore.

@link3710 : My comments were a general observation and not about Nintendo games specifically (or panty shots for that matter), though there are a few Nintendo franchises without any new entries on Switch as I suspect they would attract (further) criticism from noisy activists, including franchises that are substantially more innocuous than the Mother series.

The exchange of free ideas and by extension allowing storytellers to retain a vision free of ideological interference cannot be had if we continue to allow misdirected indignation to go unchallenged. People with too much time on their hands look for any excuse to take any vaguely perceived affront personally, and Nintendo have been mostly prudent in avoiding the firing line in that respect.

@-wc- : I suggest you calm down, "dude". You're making an awful lot of assumptions there about somebody you know nothing about (or the life that I have lead) and reading it through the prism of what sounds a lot like "this guy's obviously some bigoted boomer" (and going by your profile description, you're older than I am). I suggest that you instead keep an open mind as what I had described was far broader than what you've raised (my comments have had nothing to do with that anyway).

Ultimately, Nintendo's corporate image will take precedence to any artistic integrity of the work that they produce, and there has been growing hostility toward those who do not unquestioningly submit to social upheaval for the sake of social upheaval. In an ideal world, games like Mother 3 should be released uncensored internationally, just as the creators of the work intended. Will it offend me? Perhaps. A lot of my favourite works have material in them that I find offensive. The Simpsons is one of my favourite television shows of all time, and it occasionally contains material that I find deeply offensive (but fortunately not very often) just to name perhaps one such and particularly beloved example. For similar reasons, I refrain from watching South Park as I feel that it takes things much, much too far, but would I ban it? Absolutely not. If anything, I admire their audacity and applaud the fact that they are (mostly) able to say and do as they please, however much it may offend me personally. That's the beauty of a free market and an open exchange of ideas. And likewise, I've been recently watching a few podcasts with the occasional offensive remark, but I otherwise find their perspectives interesting and insightful.

Does it make any sense for blanket bans on the expression of ideas because adherents of one ideology are offended by that of another? It's a preposterously detrimental suggestion, and I suppose that was ultimately the crux of my argument.

I'm not sure why we're so excited to get our hands on a digital official copy of this game when there are so many valid ways to play the translations and even ways to acquire a cartridge of the translations.

If we get a digital translation it'll just be ripped away from us years later after the switch eShop is defunct.

@CANOEberry : With respect to your second paragraph, I think that had more to do with publishers being aware of the evolving market and audience expectations. For example, the Digimon games and anime are much truer to the source material nowadays, perhaps owing to the (presumably) aging target audience, and now that Japanese works are no longer expected to have their cultural integrity unnecessarily erased as opposed to reflecting changes in Western societal mores per se.

@Silly_G "and not embellished with modern political rhetoric" - you're going to flip your lid when you find out MOTHER 3 is heavily pro-environmentalist and anti-capitalist.

@Threebcisum : If that was all you took from my comments, then I have some doubts regarding the veracity of what you deem to constitute "pro-environmentalist" and "anti-capitalist" sentiment. Anti-materialism and anti-capitalism are not one and the same.

But if that was in fact the intent of the original authors, then so be it. I'm simply opposed to localisation teams perverting the original intent of the work to conform to their worldview or to kowtow to particular ideologues.

TBH, if the fan translation was official, it would most likely have an M rating. That's the real issue with Mother 3.

Would I like to see it? Yes. Do I think it will happen? No. I do own the Japanese GBA release thought.

@Arehexes There is a difference between whats in Mother 3 and the things Nintendo usually change / has been changed since the 80s thought. @Caryslan is spot on, SJWs would probably not take issues with all the small things Nintendo changes, but things in Mother 3 are the type of things they would take issue with.

@Silly_G lol, Mother 3 has the most blatantly anti-capitalist message I've ever seen a video game, let alone a Nintendo game. It's not exactly a secret.

@Silly_G "Anti-materialism and anti-capitalism are not one and the same" No dude, there's things like Tazmily being a commune with no concept of currency or private property, the whole "Happy Box" subplot, the game's emphasis on nature vs technology... why don't you actually play it before you state things about games you've never even played?

Well, it's already going to happen! I mean, it was confirmed as of a couple of years ago that an official Mother 3 localization was coming alongside a script book of the whole series- which Shigesato Itoi's own company confirmed! So, it's coming!

@Silly_G

calmer than you are 😎

Japan "isms" have been translated for years whether they hit the mark or came off odd-- We've loved it all the same. I get there's difficulty in trying to translate the meaning over languages but you gotta try.

I still think the reason is that differing cultural values would result in the Western ratings boards giving it mature ratings that would kill the sales potential of an already niche game. While many people don't care about game ratings, there are also many people who do care about them.

They could censor such content, but from what I understand it's interwoven so much into the game's story that censoring it would ruin the sales potential for an entirely different reason.

@LexKitteh It's not that adults in the West wouldn't be able to handle it. It's that it would result in the game just not selling well.

The core demographic of teenagers and younger shouldn't be exposed to such heavy themes, as it would rightfully be rated M by the ESRB and the equivalent rating by PEGI. While many irresponsible parents let their teenagers play M-rated games anyway, there are enough that do take the ratings seriously that wouldn't buy or let their kids buy the game.

Ultimately, this means that what is already a niche game wouldn't sell anywhere near enough to make up for the localization costs.