Holy! Earthbound 0 / Mother is OFFICIALLY RELEASED by Nintendo of America, Translated into English as "Earthbound Beginnings" [Archive]

Nz17

06-15-2015, 04:44 AM

Words can not begin to describe my surprise, but here is your videographic proof from Nintendo of America's official YouTube channel itself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttKkiEKqwuk

"Earthbound Zero," A.K.A. "Mother," has been officially translated into English and released into the West after decades of fans yearning for this very thing to happen. Yes, as a part of its Virtual Console offerings on Wii U, the NES/Famicom "Mother" game has been officially released here in America, Canada, Oceania, and Europe as "Earthbound Beginnings." It has been rated T for Teen.

...I guess the re-release of the SNES Earthbound game must have sold r-e-a-l-l-y well for this to have happened!

Can anyone attest to the differences between this official release and the unofficial fan translation from years ago, A.K.A. "Earthbound Zero?" Or is it indeed the case that "Earthbound Zero" has the same translation as "Earthbound Beginnings?" If so, this might bode well for future official releases of fan translations of games we didn't get the first time around!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxjOnl_Xkjo

Happy 20th anniversary, Earthbound!

retroguy

06-15-2015, 08:26 AM

Very cool! I'd still like to pick up a repro cart to play on my NES, though. The one being sold various places is Nintendo's original official translation that was intended for release but cancelled before it went into production.

Edmond Dantes

06-15-2015, 12:14 PM

Can anyone attest to the differences between this official release and the unofficial fan translation from years ago, A.K.A. "Earthbound Zero?" Or is it indeed the case that "Earthbound Zero" has the same translation as "Earthbound Beginnings?"

Correction:

Earthbound Zero was NOT a fan-translation, it was an unreleased prototype someone found and dumped the rom of. The official translator Nintendo hired confirmed that he authorized several of the changes (far more than just translation--some extra functions like a run button were added, and some of the dungeons were redesigned). The only thing fans had anything to do with was the "Zero" part--the actual game was just called "Earthbound," and they added the Zero to avoid confusion.

So I would expect Nintendo's translation to be exactly the same, seeing as Zero was their work in the first place.

ccovell

06-15-2015, 06:46 PM

I think "fans" also removed crash/save erasing copy-protection that appeared deep into the EBZ game.

PreZZ

06-15-2015, 11:36 PM

The Adventurer

06-15-2015, 11:46 PM

PizzaKat

06-15-2015, 11:55 PM

I gotta get a card. Get Ryu, Roy and this game. I really want to see how this is.

Leo_A

06-16-2015, 12:29 AM

I don't care about this game, but it's still nice to see and gives hope for some further surprises.

Some easy projects that I'd love to see are Fatal Frame 2 from the Wii and F-Zero Climax for the GBA finally making their way out in North America via the Wii U's eShop.

Aussie2B

06-16-2015, 12:53 AM

I dont get why people are excited for this, we've been able to play it for years for free, and now you can pay for it and play it only if you have a wii u? oh and its not good... just saying!! bring the hate!! Same goes for mother 3, its not bad but its OK, and even if its released you can play it already!!

For "free", AKA stealing it and playing it illegally. As far as Nintendo is concerned, that prototype never should've been leaked to the public. I'm not saying it was a completely bad thing because, as far as anyone outside of Nintendo knew, they could've just as well not retained anything from the project, so from a preservation standpoint, dumping the ROM could've prevented the localization from being lost to time. But a duck is a duck, and we have to call it for what it is. Earthbound Zero is no more "free" than if you walked into Nintendo of America right now, swiped a game off a desk, shoved it in your jacket, and nonchalantly walked out of there, none the wiser.

It's pretty sad that since the cancellation of its US release until now, the only people making money off the localization were thieves selling repros, not the actual people who put in the work. If I was one of the localizers involved, I'd be peeved about that. Granted, I'm sure they got paid for their hours, but Nintendo of America as a whole lost money on the project, so I hope those who have played "Earthbound Zero" over the years since it was dumped will actually send some money Nintendo's way, whether they liked the game or not. It's just a fraction of what it would've cost as a retail NES release anyway, so think of it like a rental fee.

Gameguy

06-16-2015, 03:02 AM

Correction:

Earthbound Zero was NOT a fan-translation, it was an unreleased prototype someone found and dumped the rom of. The official translator Nintendo hired confirmed that he authorized several of the changes (far more than just translation--some extra functions like a run button were added, and some of the dungeons were redesigned). The only thing fans had anything to do with was the "Zero" part--the actual game was just called "Earthbound," and they added the Zero to avoid confusion.

So I would expect Nintendo's translation to be exactly the same, seeing as Zero was their work in the first place.
I thought fans translated the game from Japanese into English, and then the North American English prototype was found after that. Maybe I'm thinking of some other game but I thought it was this one. There should be two different English translations floating around.

It's good that the game is finally out officially, but it's about 25 years too late. Most people who care about the game already played it in some form, legal or not. Maybe if Nintendo released it on a cartridge or disc of some type I'd be more interested, ideally a limited edition NES version with printed maps as they originally intended would be fun. You can't tell me that wouldn't sell out immediately even if it were priced high like $100 a copy. Digital distribution isn't my thing, I don't see a reason to support this model. Release it physically or don't bother.

Aussie2B

06-16-2015, 02:36 PM

sfchakan

06-16-2015, 03:13 PM

I think it's nice it's finally out, but can't help but feel incredibly disappointed Nintendo didn't put it out years ago. They could have easily put it out on GBA or the original Virtual Console. There really was no legitimate reason to sit on the finished product for so many years when there was an obvious audience for it.

Don't worry, guys, we'll get Mother 3 in another 15 years...

Aussie2B

06-16-2015, 03:54 PM

I don't know if there really was an obvious audience, considering the SNES game didn't exactly sell that great. I think Nintendo is still dubious about how well anything Earthbound can sell in the US. Cult status doesn't necessarily equal particularly good sales, and it doesn't help when you're also battling the sentiments seen above like "I already played the ROM, so why should I pay for the game?"

That said, when you've already got a fully localized and completed game, it's not exactly much effort or risk to throw it on VC. There really is no good reason I'm aware of that Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings weren't on VC much earlier. Of course, even if Earthbound Beginnings had been on there since the launch of the VC service, that'd still be many years since the prototype was dumped and shared.

Gameguy

06-16-2015, 04:02 PM

"Earthbound Zero", that is, the dumped localized prototype (which is actually just called "Earthbound"; but those who dumped it hacked the title screen to add "Zero" in order to eliminate confusion with the SNES game), has been available publicly online since the late 90s. I would be amazed if someone had patched Mother 1 prior to that. Maybe in more recent years somebody re-translated the game, I dunno, but Nintendo's localization has been available for a long, long time.
Looking more into it, there was another fan translation being produced when the prototype was discovered, so work on the fan translation was stopped as it was unneeded. I remembered that a bit wrong for some reason.

That said there was a new fan translation produced for the GBA version of the game, which a lot of people like better as it's closer to the original version of the game. Another option to play the game.

sfchakan

06-16-2015, 04:34 PM

I don't know if there really was an obvious audience, considering the SNES game didn't exactly sell that great. I think Nintendo is still dubious about how well anything Earthbound can sell in the US. Cult status doesn't necessarily equal particularly good sales, and it doesn't help when you're also battling the sentiments seen above like "I already played the ROM, so why should I pay for the game?"

We'll probably never know sales numbers for the games on Virtual Console, which is unfortunate.

I think Ness' inclusion in the Smash Bros. series helped give the games exposure to a new audience of people who otherwise were oblivious to it. You have all of us somewhat older farts who knew what was up telling them "hey, this is neat, check it out." Then you have this quirky character is one of the most popular fighting game franchises out there. I think the interest in the games has really gone up since the early 2000s.

My pre-teen kids recently sat down and started playing it. They ate it up.

Aussie2B

06-16-2015, 04:54 PM

Yeah, definitely, the Smash Bros. effect is significant. Who knows if we would've ever seen the Fire Emblem series take off outside of Japan if not for Smash Bros.

Tanooki

06-16-2015, 10:35 PM

I got tired of reading the back and forward so if I'm repeating sorry, it's getting kind of late.

Earthbound(NES) aka "Zero" has a known story more or less about how it got out there and what is it. The game came from the NOA grounds, it got somehow or another snuck off the property and sometime down the line was put up for sale through a usenet newsgroup back in the 90s. It was discovered and deals were attempted, eventually one was made. The game had a deal for X amount of funds to be mailed to a person, that person would dump and verify said dump, then mail the game back to the owner -- it was a fee for copy deal. Demi of NeoDemiForce did this and I was at that time an acquaintence of his and we would bs on efnet back in the day. He got a bunch of backers if fairly short order given the year this was to get the cash and on faith alone send it so it could be bundled up so the game could be mailed, copied and returned. Once they got it, they say that Nintendo had finished the game as history was assumed at that rate. When it was played though people eventually after it was thrown online that it had pre-programmed crash bugs in there to screw with thieves. Those bombs were removed, hence now it being called Earthbound Zero with the hacked title to differentiate from the pure game and the hack so copiers and emulators could play it.

They never hacked anyhting else I'm recalling, and they did not re-translate it as it was already a finished product Nintendo just tanked like fools (like Starfox 2 a few years later and even Sim City NES at that time too.)

All that said Nintendo, ahem, screw you. WiiU only eh? Again they're trying to blackmail fans into buying their floundering system with fan bait of the highest rabid fanbase order. I get the first one, there is NO super nes emulator for 3DS then or now, but the NES was/is part of the ambassador program for the 3DS. There's no excuse other than to troll people into buying the system. Even they know it's failing when they go in with tecmo-koei to take the so-so (due to user base of the WiiU) age/interest group and throw HYRULE WARRIORS on the greatly more well sold 3DS out in the fairly near future. I can only hope they wise up and put Earthbound on the 3Ds and once hte Starfox game doesnt' sell well enough either that gets on 3DS too. I'd buy them all.

Leo_A

06-16-2015, 10:45 PM

It's called Earthbound Zero by fans, because the SuperNes sequel was titled Earthbound by Nintendo of America and other Western arms of Nintendo.

It's not done to differentiate it from the unmodified source code. It's called that to simply differentiate it from its sequel.

Nintendo themselves have done something very similar. I'm pretty sure I saw it called Earthbound: Beginnings on the Wii U eShop earlier.

Tanooki

06-16-2015, 11:05 PM

Yes it is called Earthbound Beginnings, but the Zero bit was done by Demiforce. They're the group that collaborated getting the stolen prototype and having it made public through a copying of the cart.

Edmond Dantes

06-17-2015, 12:21 AM

That said there was a new fan translation produced for the GBA version of the game, which a lot of people like better as it's closer to the original version of the game. Another option to play the game.

I remember reading about that (on Starmen.net maybe?), and while the fan translation may textually be more accurate, Mother 1 on GBA actually uses the new dungeons and some redrawn monster sprites from Earthbound Zero.

Apparently, the reason for this is that Nintendo's people see each subsequent version of a game as a patch, and as EBZ was the latest at the time version of the game, that's what they used, minus the English text. Sounds a bit stupid and ass-backwards to me, but whatever.

Just struck me how much the initials EBZ looks like DBZ. If Ness went Super Saiyan and had the Gutsy Bat, how screwed would the universe be?

bootsector

06-17-2015, 02:03 AM

Does this official release have any differences from the "Prototype" USA version dumped some time ago? Also, is the prototype incomplete in some form like lacking of text translation or even some dungeons not present or something like that?

Edmond Dantes

06-17-2015, 02:26 AM

bootsector

06-17-2015, 06:24 AM

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 09:54 AM

Correct, it was done and ready to sell and they tanked it because they felt the SNES was going to be out a little earlier and kill it (much like their lame reason for shelving Starfox 2 a generation later.)

Pikkon

06-17-2015, 01:40 PM

Considering the Prototype has been around for decades and is the basis of all the repro carts you find online, if it were incomplete, someone would have said so by now.

FWIW I've never heard of anything being missing. Nintendo never actually cancelled the translation/development, they just never released it officially.

I wouldn't make that assumption.

Well for example roms for star fox 2 that everyone make repros for is a incomplete game,it's missing features from the final version.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/05/feature_the_full_story_behind_star_fox_2_nintendos _most_famous_cancellation

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 02:55 PM

I wouldn't make that assumption.

Well for example roms for star fox 2 that everyone make repros for is a incomplete game,it's missing features from the final version.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/05/feature_the_full_story_behind_star_fox_2_nintendos _most_famous_cancellation

I still think that one is up for debate a bit as Nintendo isn't happy that's out there and if they can say it's a broken incomplete game they could scare a few off. I think it's an interpretation really. Earlier betas that hit, one had a 2P multiplay combat game on there that was more or less maybe complete as a test, and it was fun. The 'final' we play with is the complete campaign mode and it changes/adds more as you inch up the difficulty, but it doesn't have the multiplayer. Perhaps that's why it's not the full game. I say if they're that concerned, release it, just like Earthbound on NES.

Guntz

06-17-2015, 06:13 PM

I'm saddened by the lack of awareness for EarthBound NES around here. I mean really, it's 2015... Surely everyone has heard of it by now.

Like others pointed out, EarthBound "Zero" was found as a prototype cartridge (two are known to exist) in the late 90s, dumped online and has been one of the oldest staples of the NES emulation community since. Consider at the time, Nesticle was the most popular NES emulator available.

Also as has been said, the Zero subtitle was added by fans. Up until now, it was titled simply Earth Bound. According to Nintendo, there was Earth Bound for NES and EarthBound for SNES. Now I guess it's officially titled EarthBound Beginnings. I still prefer the original unmolested prototype ROM though. No Zero, no Beginnings, it's the true original EarthBound.

I think "fans" also removed crash/save erasing copy-protection that appeared deep into the EBZ game.

This I have to correct. Back when Earth Bound NES was released online, it wouldn't work on the shitty emulators of the day. Demiforce found that slightly changing the ROM would allow to work. Only problem is Earth Bound NES contains copy protection that checks for ROM integrity. If the ROM has been altered, it will display an anti-piracy screen at certain points (including the dance at Ellay). Demiforce then removed the anti-piracy checks and added Zero to the title screen.

The original, unmolested Earth Bound prototype works perfectly fine on modern emulators and - more importantly - real hardware. EarthBound Zero is an antiquated and worthless hack that nobody should be using.

Also, there exists a patch that tones down the difficulty by doubling money and experience during battles, if that's really necessary. I have beaten Earth Bound NES twice and it was only tough at the beginning and end, nothing that requires an easy patch.

I wouldn't make that assumption.

Well for example roms for star fox 2 that everyone make repros for is a incomplete game,it's missing features from the final version.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/05/feature_the_full_story_behind_star_fox_2_nintendos _most_famous_cancellation

It's hardly an assumption when the guy in charge of localization at NOA (Phil Sandhop) himself said the prototype ROM floating around is the real final build of the game. http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/200407-earthbound.shtml

Now Star Fox 2, only a moron would assume it's a finished game. Of the two Star Fox 2 prototypes that were found, both were generated from source code and both clearly appeared to be unfinished. The earlier proto is like an early alpha build, still containing the glitchy 2 player mode. The later proto has a campaign mode that can be completed, but the game is all in Japanese and debug tools are still enabled. That doesn't sound like a finished game, not even one intended for Japanese release. That later build was translated, "finalized" and given a fancy title screen by fans.

I for one would love to see Star Fox 2 get released on the Wii U VC. I intend to buy EarthBound Beginnings shortly, once I have an eShop card. I'd be right there to buy Star Fox 2 as well.

Oh, I forgot to mention, a friend of mine bought EarthBound Beginnings ahead of me and he has not noticed a single change from the common prototype ROM from the late 90s. Not even the title screen was updated.

In fact, if those of you sitting on the fence don't believe me, watch Nintendo's trailer and play the original prototype ROM, they have the exact same dialogue and even the same graphic edits. There's a clip where Ninten is talking to his Mom, her hair was altered from the original Japanese version.

Tupin

06-17-2015, 06:30 PM

So this is the normal copy, none of that EarthBound Zero stuff, right?

Guntz

06-17-2015, 07:03 PM

Yes, EarthBound Beginnings on the Wii U VC is the same as the prototype ROM localized by Nintendo of America. At the title screen, it's just called Earth Bound.

Aussie2B

06-17-2015, 07:10 PM

Those Lost Levels articles on Earthbound NES were an interesting read. It makes me laugh how myopic Westerners can be when it comes to non-Western stuff, haha. The fact that the prototype said "Mr. Yamauchi" on the label, and people were convinced that it HAD to be Hiroshi Yamauchi, which they then used as evidence in their skepticism of its authenticity, is hilarious. As if it's completely impossible for there to be another Yamauchi working for any branch of Nintendo, not even a relative of Hiroshi Yamauchi. And they also glossed over the "NOCL", assuming it to be a typo of "NCL", yet if you're willing to make assumptions like that, than "Yamauchi" could've just as well been a typo too. Could've been, say, "Yamaguchi", an extremely common Japanese surname. These Earthbound skeptics were really grasping at straws.

Guntz

06-17-2015, 09:22 PM

The skepticism surrounding EarthBound NES happened a really, really long time ago. That Lost Levels article was published in 2003, the prototype itself surfaced in 1998. It's been clear cut for a very long time now that Earth Bound NES is 100% legitimate and is in fact the final build of the game, ready for release. The release of EarthBound Beginnings only cements this as fact.

What I do find particularly sad with Earth Bound NES is how little recognition or love it gets. Everyone loves EarthBound SNES, but never the real original. I got a repro cart back in 2009 and it remains my favorite NES RPG. Sure, it's a little rough around the edges, the NOA translation is a bit vague at times and the balance needed more work, but it's significantly more fun and less cryptic than other NES RPGs.

celerystalker

06-17-2015, 09:56 PM

I like the NES game, but the SNES deserves every bit of the love it gets. The NES game has a lot of rough patches like getting sick from talking to townsfolk, level grinding, tons of wide open space to wander to dead ends, and even smaller inventories to manage. The SNES game really improved every single aspect of the game and added so much more personality. I was so glad to play the original, but I hate to say it probably would have been everybit the flop Nintendo feared at the time, as even the SNES game more or less tanked here. I'm glad people will finally have an official avenue to play this, but aside from its excellent sountrack, I don't think it will create many new fans. That said, any fan of the SNES game really should play it, if for no other reason than to get its quality story and to get a feel for where the series began, but really, I can't say it's nearly as good as the other 2.

Is it just me, or has the world gone freaking crazy this week? All of the stuff people have been going nuts to revive are all happening at once-Shenmue, Earthbound, FFVII, Surge, Crystal Pepsi... I half expect to either wake up, or maybe I should start asking for other stuff that never happened. How about a physical release for the Simpson's Arcade, WWF Wrestlefest, the Wii servers for Monster Hunter Tri and Fortune Street going back up, and Culdcept for 3DS in English?

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 10:16 PM

Good one Guntz all around. You're right too, it probably is (DW4 aside) the best RPG for the system when you take the year in mind it was made, the developments it had to the early JRPG formula, and the script it was given under translation (or not.) Sure it's a little rough, but in the day it would have not felt rough, it would have been a unique breath of fresh air.

I've sadly only been saddled with the ZERO release, even when I bought the damn thing on a chop shop cart, the toolbox used the ZERO rom which sucked. It is a pain in the ever loving ass early in the game so I've never got all that far other than to the above ground bits of the cemetery. Now personally I have no idea never talking to someone who played the pure version of the game, but is this hardness based upon the total lack of a way to restore your PP without walking that huge freaking hike all the way back to Ninten's house to sleep? That was my problem. I'd run out of restorative magic, there were little to no useful HP food items yet, and if by reading that guide starmen made is right there's only maybe 4 of those glowing PP restoring rocks in the entire game. It just seems like it set people up to fail with no way to restore our PP powers.

So what's the deal there?

Clearly at this rate at least Nintendo are being dicks about trying to force WiiU sales or this would have been 3DS co-released and knowledge of my question above or not I would have bought it to try it purely and fairly, and to give them some dough for like over 20 years later removing their heads from their lower stinky places finally.

Leo_A

06-17-2015, 10:40 PM

There are several NES oddities with the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS Virtual Consoles. That this didn't make the jump to the 3DS Virtual Console simultaneously, while it stinks, probably doesn't have anything to do with serious expectations that it would actually sell consoles. Rather, it's just a symptom of the mishandling that has happened here that should've seen simultaneous NES Virtual Consoles releases as soon as the Wii U appeared (While catching the Wii U up to the 3DS on off weeks).

For example, where's Baseball? It's on the Wii U, but still not out on the 3DS after all this time despite often going months without a new VC title. Yet they surely don't think exclusivity with that one is doing the Wii U any favors. Or where are the popular Star Tropics titles? They're perhaps the most significant 1st party absences for games that actually were released in North America back in the day, but remain unavailable long after seemingly every other big name from Nintendo's catalog for the NES has been released. Yet log into the Wii Shop and there they are to download to this very day.

You're better off not questioning why and trying to make some sense out of it, since Nintendo will drive you crazy sometimes...

Guntz

06-17-2015, 11:00 PM

I've sadly only been saddled with the ZERO release, even when I bought the damn thing on a chop shop cart, the toolbox used the ZERO rom which sucked. It is a pain in the ever loving ass early in the game so I've never got all that far other than to the above ground bits of the cemetery. Now personally I have no idea never talking to someone who played the pure version of the game, but is this hardness based upon the total lack of a way to restore your PP without walking that huge freaking hike all the way back to Ninten's house to sleep? That was my problem. I'd run out of restorative magic, there were little to no useful HP food items yet, and if by reading that guide starmen made is right there's only maybe 4 of those glowing PP restoring rocks in the entire game. It just seems like it set people up to fail with no way to restore our PP powers.

I'd just chalk that up to the Zero hack. If you were to try Earth Bound NES again, go with the pure prototype ROM. Here, I'll even give you a link. Mods, calm down, The Cutting Room Floor is a classy site.

https://tcrf.net/Proto:Mother

In the original prototype at least, you can always restore PP by using a hotel. Money comes with grinding and you get a lot during the game, so hotels aren't really a problem.

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 11:05 PM

I'm not really going to go into thinking about it much as it would do just that. The WiiU SNES one made sense since the emulator isn't there at all for 3DS currently. The thing is the NES since the ambassador days has been. The game uses a very common mapper and no weird tricks anywhere to work, just off the shelf design basically. I know it wouldn't suddenly cause tens of thousands of WiiU's to sell overnight, but given what they did say of how many copies early on that the SNES EB game sold due to the hype made me believe it may be them looking to cause another bump, not some ripple or anything huge.

That NES emulator is pretty strongly functional as even on the 3DS it runs all the MMC chips 1-5 so it's pretty robust. Earthbound uses the basic MMC1 with the 256K PRG/256K CHR RAM setup which is very common on the larger sized games. It can load the larger stuff like Kirby's Adventure which had twice the PRG size and being MMC3 more advanced that way too. Castlevania III was added awhile ago and that one is a beast to run too. I think the overall lack of games isn't the ability of the emulation package, but more the lack of desire to Nintendo to pump out games like the used to just before the 3DS came out as the Wii is flush with a heap of things to do.

Again though, given Nintendo, I do want to play this game right as I'm imagining the cart I had because it was Zero was broke. It can't be that stingy on the PP can it? I need to find the pure ROM and see, perhaps find someone making low (ie: fair) priced runs of the game using NEW parts, not hackery. I'm not a huge EB/Mother fan but damn, it is a decent game and I still do have EB+guide for SNES.

EDIT: I'm thinking my game was fubar and I passed that misery onto another ebay buyer a couple years back. Hotels did NOT restore my PSI just HP. I got pissed off and fed up going back home to get refilled.

Leo_A

06-17-2015, 11:10 PM

The WiiU SNES one made sense since the emulator isn't there at all for 3DS currently.

Not in the overall scheme of things it doesn't, since they still have a Wii Shop and 100 million Wii's out there.

Yet even if that was a system seller (A concept I find pretty dubious), where is it now? This appeared long ago at this point, yet the Wii Shop remains online and they still relist titles occasionally like the reappearance of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy a few months ago. Why does it remain a Wii U exclusive only available to ten million or so people, long after it has even been a freebie giveaway to Club Nintendo members?

But absent it remains for the millions of Wii's that are still dusted off from time to time and played. I bet there are 30 million Wii consoles out there today that still see semi regular use compared to a LTD total for its successor that's still just shy of 10 million units sold as of March.

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 11:17 PM

I thought they kind of shuttered the Wii shop. I know they stopped selling the points card when they killed that network to setup the NNIDs they use now. Either way, I guess if needed one of us could go dig up where Nintendo said they sold X copies of the game at one point. I just think with that number behind it I could see that as a Nintendo rational reason to do it again.

Guntz

06-17-2015, 11:22 PM

That NES emulator is pretty strongly functional as even on the 3DS it runs all the MMC chips 1-5 so it's pretty robust. Earthbound uses the basic MMC1 with the 256K PRG/256K CHR RAM setup which is very common on the larger sized games. It can load the larger stuff like Kirby's Adventure which had twice the PRG size and being MMC3 more advanced that way too. Castlevania III was added awhile ago and that one is a beast to run too. I think the overall lack of games isn't the ability of the emulation package, but more the lack of desire to Nintendo to pump out games like the used to just before the 3DS came out as the Wii is flush with a heap of things to do.

Earth Bound NES runs on MMC3, not MMC1. Castlevania 3 runs on the MMC5 mapper, though honestly it doesn't use very many of its exclusive features.

The reason for the lack of games on the VC is marketing, plain and simple.

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 11:24 PM

Ehh typo'd oops. :P It's still a fairly basic cart either way and we do agree, it's a marketing ploy.

Leo_A

06-17-2015, 11:34 PM

I thought they kind of shuttered the Wii shop. I know they stopped selling the points card when they killed that network to setup the NNIDs they use now. .

Nope, it's still very much around.

You just have to buy points directly off the Wii Shop, which I imagine most did even back in 2006.

Tanooki

06-17-2015, 11:40 PM

Well that's interesting. Kind of sucks for the Wii people then for the few gems they don't get the later stuff does. I guess Nintendo just keeps it around for the owners but isn't too public about it. At least they didn't shut it down.

Seems to make a EB cart of my own would require the $20-30 writer, a $16.50 MMC3 TKROM board w/battery and the $5 upgrade for the 256/256 prg/chr package. Then a shell would be required along with making a sticker.

I can't find one maker who does the game who uses the true game, not the screwed up ZERO trash.

celerystalker

06-18-2015, 12:39 AM

Lostclassicvgs.com does. I bought one there awhile back, and it isn't the Zero hack.

Tanooki

06-18-2015, 12:49 AM

They must have pulled it, it's not there now. Thanks though.

celerystalker

06-18-2015, 01:05 AM

Ah, probably didn't want to mess with Nintendo. I'd e-mail them if you're interested, as they take requests. I've bought two games from them that work great.
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They have about a two week turn around in my experience. I really wish Nintendo would just put out a physical copy in English.

Tanooki

06-18-2015, 01:07 AM

Not realistic but would be nice and I'd be cool just with it on the 3DS VC. I could be most motivated then as I could play it in bed every night for an hour or two.

celerystalker

06-18-2015, 01:29 AM

Yeah, I bought the Mother 1+2 cart for GBA years ago for that reason, but I'd prefer to play in English if it were available.

Edmond Dantes

06-18-2015, 03:08 PM

Sucks to know that not all repro carts of the same game are created equal. Like Tanook, I looked at that site and didn't see Earthbound on NES. If anyone finds a second tho, lemme know.

I actually saw a Mother 3 fan-translation cart on ebay which I thought of buying. Because as convenient as emulators are, I'd rather play on real hardware when I have the option.

Guntz

06-18-2015, 07:03 PM

There's a couple sites most people recommend. They both offer Earth Bound NES. If you're concerned, just ask whether they use the original prototype ROM or the Zero hack.

http://www.shopflashbackgames.com/
http://www.ocdreproductions.com/

And for Mother 3, the best seller I've found so far is DxS, he does awesome and reliable work. Only problem is his thread is at NintendoAge and I don't know if he still offers GBA repros.

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=140120

Tanooki

06-18-2015, 08:48 PM

I know he won't do it anymore, but Piko pre-going legit made an equal quality release of Mother 3 as well. I've had the same game from both of them, and I've also have had the original style (fails when battery dies erasing the game) and the modern with all chips and no batteries stuff from DXS for DQM Monsters Caravan Heart. I can totally vouch for his work.

Earlier this year he sent me a second DQM because of how the original one failed. I'm not sure he makes them anymore in any kind of mass, but he does have an account on this site, maybe he'll see the message and make someone a game.

Edmond - Feel the same, if I can play it on the real system, I will, especially above all a handheld game since I can find it far easier these days to play on a handheld than a dedicated TV unfortunately. I can't remember the last time the PS4 has been used to game and not do movies because of this which is why I haven't bought anything on it in ages. I'm looking to get Wolf Old Blood (UK ver so it's real) shortly on there though.

I think the key is to find someone using the true and honest non-ZERO proto and getting a cart made. Even if I resorted to a bloody rom and a flash kit and just copied the save to the cart for when I can play it thanks to the Retron5 I'd be game on that.

Guntz

06-18-2015, 09:14 PM

LeonK still does good work too, only issue is he requires donor carts to be sent to him.

www.nesreproductions.com

If new parts are a must, you could ask around and see if someone in the US will buy the parts from INL and then sell you a new parts Earth Bound cartridge. I could also do INL cartridges but I'm over in Canada.

Again, look to The Cutting Room Floor's proto page for Mother to get the prototype ROM.

Tanooki

08-02-2015, 01:00 PM

Since you all were helping out with my discussion towards making a new one I thought I'd share this.

The friend I made over at pinside who I coached through learning how to use the kazoo/inl tools a bit and on prg/chr data sizes and so on followed through. I got my Earthbound (pure proto rom, non Zero) cart made by him and received a little over a week ago. It came in a baseball NES cart shell, that sticker was fun to remove. :) Anyway I recalled that the gamereproductions.com guy was both local with his mailing address a mile up the street from me and had been a friend in the past. I got with him on facebook and put an order in for a highest quality laminate label from him for the game, I was going to pay for it, but he decided to just be awesome and surprise me with it in my mailbox at no charge. So now that's been applied I've got a total Earthbound cart to enjoy.

Now if I can just figure a good way to take starmen.net's EB HTML guide and PDF it. I already leeched it using a firefox plugin.

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