EarthBound

Legends of Localization #2

by Clyde Mandelin, Marcus Lindblom (Contributor)

With a script by a famous Japanese writer and a game overflowing with Western pop-culture influences, EarthBound stands out as one of Nintendo’s most fascinating localization projects ever. Get ready for hundreds of pages filled with surprising revelations, inside information, obscure trivia, and universal cosmic destruction. This legend of localization doesn’t stink!

Genres: Nonfiction, Video Games, Games, Japanese Literature, Gaming

432 pages, Hardcover

Published November 23, 2016

Reviews

[Lazy Spice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight-up gorgeous book filled with fascinating content. I can't even imagine how much work went into this. If you love Earthbound, you will enjoy this meticulously researched, lovingly laid out, entertaining reference work.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a love letter to the art of video game localization. It is a ridiculously thorough tome—even covering how localizers utilized programming techniques to achieve their goals!—and a must read for every Earthbound/MOTHER fan. It’s a shame that Marcus Lindblom’s potential book on Earthbound was blocked by Nintendo, but this will satiate fans’ appetites its in place.

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A meticulously crafted, insightful love letter to not only the localization process but the entirety of one of the best games of all time. Beautifully presented too.

[Jamin Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually learned a lot of cool things in this book—not just on Earthbound, but on localization in general! It actually helps me understand a few things a bit more clearly in my own profession and helps me appreciate it even more!

[Dale Kulas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievably thorough tome on English translation of Mother 2 into Earthbound on the SNES. First half of the book highlights key localization differences throughout the narrative and has plenty of relative facts and references for why certain Japanese elements would not work in America. Mandelin has a lot of footnotes and pictures throughout that helps highlight what stood out between all the released versions of Mother 2 and Earthbound.

The back half of Legends of Localization covers a plethora of miscellaneous localization tidbits and even digs up countless amounts of hidden data that got translated, but was nowhere to be found in the playable product. From playing through Earthbound earlier this year, this book was ideal supplemental material that ensured I got the most out of my playthrough and is a must for any diehard Earthbound fan.

[Wes Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal! Granted, it isn't for everyone, but it is right up my alley. This book takes a look at the localization and translation from Japanese to English of Earthbound, known in Japan as Mother 2. Japanese is my second language and Earthbound is one of my favorite video games of all time, and the research and thought that went into this book was amazing. Author Clyde Mandelin outdid himself. In addition, it is a beautifully crafted and printed book that looks like a high-quality textbook. Highly recommended if you are interested in the very specific topics of Earthbound and video game localization.

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as a Christmas gift from an old friend, which was a fantastic gift, because this shit is like catnip for me.

It's a deep, deep, DEEP dive into the translation of one of my all time favorite games, Earthbound. A game so good, I got a character from it (Starman Jr.) tattooed on my body. I thought I knew a ton about this game already, but there's just sooo much detail in this book. As a bonus, I learned some quirks of Japanese that had to be explained to decipher some of the original text.

If you're an Earthbound fan, buy this book. Just do it. This book is so damned cool.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhaustively researched and beautifully presented. I tried playing through the game again while reading this book, but I kept putting it off --it turns out I'm not such a big fan of EarthBound. This isn't a video game website, though; suffice it to say this is a fantastic book for anyone interested in localization or EarthBound.

[TJ Kendon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this deep-dive into the nature of translating video games. Mandelin does a good job teasing out the interesting differences culturally, linguistically and technologically between Earthbound and it's Japanese original, MOTHER 2.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating in-depth look at Earthbound and the localization process to make it. There is a ton of in-depth research to explain some of the references Itoh made in the text and how these got translated into English

[Eric Nagurney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep dive into the incredible localization behind a game that means absolutely the world to me. To be honest, I lose a little interest near the end of this, when it gets into the translation of debug modes and cut content, but what, am I gonna dock this a star for being too comprehensive? Nuh uh!

[Wesley Schantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful piece in a brilliant project!

more thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHp39...

[Doseisan]

comfort book :)
very good book on the translation of Mother 2 to Earthbound - very thorough

[Edith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of hardwork and research that went into writing this book is mindblowing. Amazing read for anyone who is a fan of Earthbound, who is fascinated by localization and translation, or who simply loves games! I can't wait to read more Legends of Localization books.

[Matthew Dowd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about translation/localization of something that I am intensely nostalgic for from a language I am currently studying (again again)? Yes, please. Fun and light, totally worth it.