March 10th, 2010 | EarthBound, Food, Interviews, Itoi, Uncommon Knowledge | 13 Comments

I’m not sure what magazine this is from, but it’s from way back when MOTHER 2 was released in Japan. Basically, the magazine people made some Strawberry Tofu for Itoi to try, and he said: This is really something! It has a profound flavor that makes me feel sad. (laugh) I thought this would be something an American with an unusual understanding of foreign cultures might make, but this...Read More »

February 16th, 2010 | EarthBound, Interviews | 28 Comments

In the November 1994 issue of Famicom Tsushin (later renamed to Famitsu) was a section about what Shigeru Miyamoto and some other famous people thought of MOTHER 2, which had been released a few months earlier. I’ve translated the article below. I don’t have a copy of this issue myself, so I can’t provide scans or other info, so if anyone comes across this issue, let me know! It&...Read More »

January 23rd, 2010 | EarthBound 64, Interviews | 15 Comments

Many years ago, Nintendo Power sat down with Shigeru Miyamoto and asked him about Ocarina of Time and a few other games, including EarthBound 64. I forget the issue number, if anyone has it handy lemme know. How is EarthBound 64 coming along? Miyamoto: I think we can release EarthBound 64 by the end of the year. Even though the game is canceled, I still kind of wish they’d show us more from...Read More »

November 21st, 2009 | Interviews, Itoi, MOTHER 4 | 67 Comments

While scouring Japanese Google for stuff, I came across a recent interview on Shigesato Itoi’s site that included some MOTHER-related discussion. This is dated July 22, 2009. This was actually Itoi interviewing someone else, which is one of the main things he does at his site. Anyway, I’ve quickly translated the relevant page here: (more…) ...Read More »

July 28th, 2009 | Interviews, MOTHER 3, Videos | 33 Comments

If you’re not sure who Bill Trinen is, he’s basically like the ultra-top guy in Nintendo of America’s translation/localization department known as the “Treehouse”. You’ve probably seen him during Nintendo’s E3 events, usually joking around with Reggie and interpreting for Miyamoto on stage. He’s a pretty important guy in the company and helps the Ame...Read More »

July 17th, 2009 | EarthBound, Interviews | 15 Comments

Remember that upcoming Japanese game for the ROID service that looks a lot like EarthBound? If you don’t, see here. As you may or may not recall, it turned out to be a cell phone version of Level 5’s “The Another World”. A much fancier DS version comes out very soon, so I guess the ROID one is mean to be like a side story. Anyway, apparently the August 2009 issue of Nintend...Read More »

June 24th, 2009 | EarthBound, Interviews, Itoi, Uncommon Knowledge | 20 Comments

Remember this big Shigesato Itoi interview about MOTHER 2? Well, Chewy burned some more midnight oil to translate an equally as big and fascinating interview that took place two years later, right after MOTHER 2 was finally released in Japan in 1994. (click to see translated interview) Some of the things that Itoi talks about are: Why MOTHER 2/EarthBound was nearly canceled The game was original...Read More »

May 2nd, 2009 | EarthBound, Interviews, Itoi, Uncommon Knowledge | 20 Comments

About two years before MOTHER 2 was released in Japan, Famitsu had a really huge interview with Shigesato Itoi. Then the game was nearly canceled, but then Satoru Iwata from HAL Labs swooped in to reprogram the game and save the day. Which means that the stuff that Itoi talks about in this interview is REALLY interesting. It’s also very long, and I kept pushing it off, saying, “Next mo...Read More »

April 21st, 2009 | Interviews, Itoi, MOTHER 3, Uncommon Knowledge | 30 Comments

This is a semi-follow up of this update from last week. Shigesato Itoi and Satoru Iwata ended their big Animal Crossing discussion with some stuff about MOTHER 2 and MOTHER 3. I’ve translated the text here: (more…) ...Read More »

April 14th, 2009 | Interviews, Itoi, MOTHER 3 | 29 Comments

A few weeks back, Shigesato Itoi and the Animal Crossing development team (along with Satoru Iwata) got together to talk about Animal Crossing. Itoi loves the game, and most everyone at his office plays the game as part of their work; there’s a big Animal Crossing section on his site that’s updated all the time. Anyway, like I mentioned a few weeks back, this meeting wound up being a l...Read More »