Special Stuff:

Links:

Random Post:

Weekly Round-Up #23

June 21st, 2009 | Weekly Round-Up

Holy moly, where did the last week go? It’s a new week already?

This past week was a quieter one than usual. Man, it’d be so cool (and crazy-fying) if a new MOTHER game or a remake or something was announced sometime. But the best we got now are screenshots from that lookalike game for the ROID system. I remember how exciting everybody was back in 2006 when MOTHER 3 was announced and I guess I miss that now. It kind of sucks how it seems like sequels and spinoffs are the ONLY thing companies make anymore, but not when it comes to this series. But, it might also be a blessing in disguise.

Anyway, that’s just me thinking to myself, I’ll quit that so we can see what’s happened this past week!

Site News

MOTHER 3 fan translation patch version 1.1 is in the testing stage now. My hope is that the free, online version of the MOTHER 3 handbook will be ready at the same time.

EarthBound News

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Some cool new stuff this week! Probably the biggest thing of note is that there are MOTHER 1+2 keychain figures being auctioned off individually. This is usually the cheapest way to get your hands on them now, so check them out here!

You can also see all the other EarthBound-related merchandise currently on eBay at the above link, so check it out if you’re looking for stuff or just bored and want to see what’s going on Anyway, here’s some neat stuff this week:

MOTHER 3 Deluxe Box + MOTHER 3 Handbook! – this would’ve been so cool as an official bundle
Rare Mr. Saturn strap with free shipping – looks like it’ll go for a very low price!
Another MOTHER 2 cartridge for only $8.99
MOTHER 3 with box and instructions – this is as cheap as they come now
Seiken Densetsu, Final Fantasy V, and MOTHER 2 cartridges
EarthBound complete, mint condition
Official MOTHER 1+2 Starman keychain
Mach Pizza air freshener – very rare

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

MOTHER 1 Franklin Badge replica
Itoi’s ramen card game
EarthBound is being sold in Japan! – I’ve never seen this happen before with EB Includes box and guide!

And Amazon stuff:

I mentioned this before, but Itoi got some inspiration for stuff in EarthBound from this famous novel called Sirens of Titan. I read it a few months ago, but my memory is fuzzy now, so I was hoping someone with more free time might be able to read through it and provide a review/synopsis/quick list of stuff that seemed EarthBoundy. I only remember like two or three things now and I don’t have the time to re-read it

Community News

I currently live in Magicant, so I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

What’s Up With Itoi

This week, Itoi talked about how there was a time in Japan’s history when value was placed in being praised by the western world, and not necessarily the world itself. But that’s changed quite a bit now.
He also talked about how he still feels like there isn’t enough time in the day to his liking, even though he keeps a good schedule and even makes sure he gives himself free time.
He also discussed how everyone in Japan (though this probably applies to everywhere too) says that TV has gotten a lot more boring than it used to be. Itoi doesn’t disagree, but he does feel that there’s plenty of really good stuff if you look for it. He’s especially fond of NHK programs. He also thinks that too often people will look at a list of what people are in a show and make a decision about the show before even seeing it, when in actuality the shows wind up being great.
Itoi also talked about aliens and villains, and although it wasn’t directly MOTHER-related, I thought it was interesting enough for me to save the text so I can translate it and post it in an update later on. Basically he talked about the trend of making villains things like zombies and aliens, things that are clear-cut enemies of all of humanity.

Upcoming Stuff

Blech, I didn’t get around to doing all the updates this week that I had wanted. So some of those updates will probably come this week. My work schedule this week seems to be up in the air, so I can’t make any good predictions of what I’ll update EB Central with this week. So it’ll be a mystery roller coaster of fun for us all I guess.

End

I forget what game it was, but some new game I played recently had controls similar to EarthBound – you could control almost everything with your left hand alone. I thought it was neat to see that, though I can’t remember what game it was now.

14 Comments to Weekly Round-Up #23

IWontGetOvertheDam said on Jun. 21, 2009

Is Itoi a history buff? I’ve recently begun started studying* Japanese history a bit myself.

*”Studying” in this context means reading Rurouni Kenshin. Although, it had gotten me interested in studying Japanese history a lot more.

Teddy said on Jun. 21, 2009

is that new game you’re talking about Oopona for Wii? It’s an RPG you play with just the nunchuck.

It’s a pretty obscure little game… I work at a used game store, it’s been on the shelf taunting me for a while now… I may just have to pick it up.

santiagoff said on Jun. 21, 2009

You might be referring to Oopona (or Opoona, not sure about the spelling) for Wii. An extremely underrated RPG.
And I think MOTHER series having so little entries is actually great, the series keeps it style and doesn’t wear it off stupidly for money ;D

reluctantgamer said on Jun. 21, 2009

Next M2 vs. EB update on the horizon?

santiagoff said on Jun. 21, 2009

@reluctant: Yeah, we haven’t heard about M2 vs. EB in a long time.
BTW, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY EVERYONE! ;D

Zinco said on Jun. 21, 2009

“This week, Itoi talked about how there was a time in Japan’s history when value was placed in being praised by the western world, and not necessarily the world itself. But that’s changed quite a bit now.”

Could you clarify this a bit? I’m a bit fascinated by countries that want to be more highly praised by the Western world—the main instance I’m familiar with was Russia in the 1800s, where there was a certain frustration with the fact that they weren’t really considered European, which had certain effects on their culture (although I haven’t read nearly enough history to qualify this, it was almost as though the 1917 revolution was their attempt to finally show everyone up).

pooppoop said on Jun. 21, 2009

lots of early psx rpgs could be played left hand only
i remember because my right wrist was screwed up for a while and could still play suikoden and some other games
the L1 and L2 buttons doubled as the action buttons

Someone Else said on Jun. 21, 2009

MOTHER 3 patch 1.1? Will it be compatible with existing save data?

Kurowoof said on Jun. 21, 2009

I’m just wondering how you know that Vonnegut’s ‘Sirens of the Titan’ influenced Itoi? Did he mention it in an interview or something?

Mato said on Jun. 21, 2009

Someone Else: Yeah

Kurowoof: I know for sure Itoi talked about it when the author died a few years back, but I think he might’ve also mentioned it during all the MOTHER 1+2 interviews and such.

SamWibatt said on Jun. 21, 2009

I’m not at all surprised to know that Itoi would take inspiration from a Vonnegut book. “Strange, funny, and heartrending” describe quite a bit of Vonnegut’s writings.

Mato said on Jun. 22, 2009

Zinco: I’m not a history expert so I can’t give too much insight, but as I understand it, things went like this.

In the 1600s, some foreign sailors showed up in Japan with guns and fancy ships and all kinds of stuff. Before long, all foreigners were banned.

200 years later, to create some easier trade routes to Asia or something, the American navy showed up again with big warships and said “you’re going to open your ports to us”. Japan then opened up to the world again and this time they tried to learn as much about the west as possible, to try to bring their society to that level, and probably also so that they would be able to have warships and such of their own.

So in like 50 years Japan learned and copied stuff that took the west centuries to figure out. There was always the feeling of “we can be like you guys too” as the whole country modernized and assimilated stuff like crazy. After 100+ years, they already surpass us in lots of things, so that’s probably one reason behind the phenomenon Itoi was talking about.

(I’m sure I super-glossed over everything and maybe got some stuff wrong, but that’s the basic flow of things as I remember)

Gendreavus said on Jun. 22, 2009

I know that you can make it so that Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum can be played with the left hand almost entirely. It’s got an option to make the L button a ‘confirm’ button, meaning the only thing you can’t do is open the menu or use your x-button registered item.

It makes playing while using the bathroom feasible!

Zinco said on Jun. 22, 2009

Thanks for the summary. I’d wondered what spurred Japan to become such a westernized society.