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Mother series cosplayers

The 1994 video game EarthBound is known for its cult following and fan community. Multiple video game journalists have written about the dedication of the game's fans in producing fan art and lobbying Nintendo for further releases in the series. The company has been largely unresponsive to their efforts.[1][2][3] Prominent fansites include Starmen.net and EarthBound Central. The former was started in 1999 and became the definitive community website. Their members organized petitions and campaigns to bring English-localized games from the Mother series to North America. One such effort included a full-color, 270-page EarthBound Anthology as a demonstration of consumer demand for further releases. After nearly a decade, EarthBound was rereleased for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, whereupon it became a bestseller.

The fandom also spun-out other enterprises. When Nintendo did not release a localized version of Mother 3, fans organized their own fan translation. The video game merchandising business Fangamer grew out of the Starmen.net community, and sells video game-related items online. A full-length documentary on Starmen.net and the fan community, EarthBound USA, was released in November 2023. While series creator Shigesato Itoi has stated that he is finished with the series, a fan-created spiritual sequel, Oddity, began development in 2010, while another, Mother 4, was announced in 2021.

Fan base

[edit]

EarthBound is known for having a cult following,[2][4][5][6][7][8] which developed over time well after its release.[9] Colin Campbell of Polygon wrote that "few gaming communities are as passionate and active" as EarthBound's,[10] and 1UP.com's Bob Mackey wrote that no game was as poised to have a cult following.[11] Wired described the amount of EarthBound "fan art, videos, and tributes on fan sites like EarthBound Central or Starmen.net" as mountainous.[9] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas wrote in 2006 that EarthBound's "persistent", "ambitious", and "religiously dedicated collective of hardcore fans" would be among the first groups to influence Nintendo's decision-making through their purchasing power on Virtual Console.[2] The Verge cited the two-year fan translation of Mother 3 as proof of the fanbase's dedication,[8] and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata credited the community response on their online Miiverse social platform as leading to EarthBound's eventual rerelease on their Virtual Console platform.[12] Notable members of the EarthBound fan base include video game developer Toby Fox, who had made various EarthBound ROM hacks in high school and whose game Undertale took inspiration from the Mother series,[13][14] and Let's Play YouTuber Emile Rosales, whose videos on EarthBound covered various aspects of the game including the sound, art design and various glitches.[15][16]

EarthBound was hard to find before the rerelease.[17] In 2013, prices for the game's cartridge alone were more than twice its retail cost at its 1995 release.[9] IGN wrote that the game became a "cult classic" for its unique RPG and psychedelic elements alongside its reflection on American culture,[4] and Eurogamer credited EarthBound's "cute and funny modern-world styling of the Japanese RPG".[18] Kotaku hypothesized that fan favorite aspects of the game would include its "feeling of innocence, ... sense of whimsical adventure", "humor", "charm", "wonder", and "beautiful 2D maps".[6] Marcus Lindblom, the game's English localizer, cited its "cuteness, colors, and hallucinatory bits" as fan favorites.[9] Reid Young of Starmen.net and Fangamer credits EarthBound's popularity to its "labor of love" nature, with a "double-coat of thoughtfulness and care" across all aspects of the game by a development team that appeared to love their work.[11]

Digital Trends's Anthony John Agnello wrote that no video game fans have suffered as much as EarthBound fans, and cited Nintendo's reluctance to release Mother series games in North America.[3] IGN described the series as neglected by Nintendo in North America for similar reasons.[2] Aaron Linde of Shacknews felt that Nintendo's "historic passive-aggression towards EarthBound fans [seemed] somehow anachronistic" in response to the outcries from the game's fan community.[1] He added that while the company is known for providing "the most personal experiences in gaming's history", Nintendo lacks the "bedside manner" required of contemporary game companies, and that he could not think of a "more deserving fan base" than EarthBound's.[1]

Marcus Lindblom, who localized the Japanese Mother 2 into the English EarthBound, followed the fan community from afar and, in mid-2012, introduced himself at the Penny Arcade Expo Fangamer booth. When the game's Wii U re-release was announced, the press became interested in Lindblom's experience. Lindblom had planned a book about the game's development, release, and fandom as a Kickstarter project before a reply from Nintendo discouraged him from pursuing the idea. He plans to continue to communicate directly with the community about the game's history.[10] For instance, Lindblom struck down a popular ("infamous") "abortion theory" that the game's final sequence is a metaphor for an abortion,[6] with Giygas as the fetus.[17]

A film group known as 54&O Productions developed a fan-made documentary entitled Mother to Earth. The documentary focuses on the road to Mother's localization in North America, and includes interviews with key people behind the process.[19] It was released on August 31, 2020.[20]

The fan website Mother Forever hosted an annual "Mother Direct" live presentation of Mother-related fan projects.[21]

Starmen.net

[edit]

Reid Young started an EarthBound fansite in 1997 while in middle school.[11] It was one of the first EarthBound fansites on the Internet. By 1999 and with co-founder Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin,[1] the site grew into Starmen.net,[11] named for the game's "most iconic villain, the Starman".[1] 1UP.com described the site as "the definitive fan community for EarthBound on the web"[11] and Shacknews called it the fan community's "one-stop" resource for a decade.[1] Though EarthBound was more obscure at the time, the site quickly grew in popularity and featured "constant updates" and a burgeoning community by 1999.[11] 1UP.com said the viewership growth was "almost inexplicable" when accounting for the game's unpopularity, but credited Super NES emulation, which let "thousands" of people experience the game who might not have otherwise.[11] Young credited the site's growth to the fan content generated by the community.[11] Shacknews described the site's collection of fan-made media as "absolutely massive".[1] It also provided a place to aggregate information on the Mother series and to coordinate fan actions.[1]

The EarthBound fan community at Starmen.net coalesced with the intent to have Nintendo of America acknowledge the Mother series. 1UP.com described their intent as reasonable given the company's "frequent dismissal" of the series alongside the community's "monumental efforts to increase American EarthBound awareness".[11] Young felt that their "underdog status" kept Starmen.net vigilant.[11] He also said that he views the community as "a big group of friends having fun together" and sometimes thinks that it is just happenstance that EarthBound was what brought them together, as opposed to another franchise like Pokémon.[11] As the site started in 1999, the community started a petition to have Nintendo release Mother for the Game Boy Color, and collected 1850 physical signatures to this end and bound it in a book for Nintendo. The final word from Nintendo was that the package was received. Other petitions include the 2000 10,000-person petition for a North American Mother 3 release on the Nintendo 64, the 2003 31,000-person petition for a North American Mother 1+2 Game Boy Advance release, and letter and phone campaigns. A source internal to Nintendo later told them that the 2003 campaign was almost successful, but fell out of consideration as the phone campaign ended after a week. The community resolved to never let up again.[1]

The community's massive pile of art, videos, music, and writing is a testament to the creativity of its fans.

Reid Young of Starmen.net, March 2010[11]

In time, the fan community's requests shifted from specific demands to no demand at all, wanting only their interest to be recognized by Nintendo.[22] The Starmen.net community launched several campaigns to bring attention to the series. In their 2007 "The EB Siege" project to have Mother 3 receive an official North American localization, community members sent letters and made phone calls to Nintendo. They ultimately created a full-color, 270-page art book, The EarthBound Anthology, to send to Nintendo and press outlets as demonstration of their interest.[23] They also hoped the volume would mobilize established industry professionals to take up their cause in advance of the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Shacknews wrote that the "folk history" was more of a proposal than a collection of fan art—"the greatest gaming love letter ever created".[1] Wired's Chris Kohler used the Anthology's occasion to explain how Nintendo's upper management has heard the fan community.[24] The Anthology additionally received mention in Nintendo Power.[1] Upon "little" response from Nintendo, they decided to localize the game themselves.[23] Starmen.net co-founder Tomato led the project, and the complete fan translation was finished in October 2008. They then printed a "professional quality strategy guide" through Fangamer, a site that spun off from Starmen.net.[23]

Other oblique strategies included an attempt to license Mother 3 for North America from Nintendo through a small video game development studio, but Nintendo replied that the property was theirs and should not be developed externally.[1] In 2008, the site hosted a YouTube contest for videos that raised the visibility for the series in a final effort to get the game on the Wii Virtual Console, but Young found community spirit to be atrophied.[1] A week later, the game appeared on the ESRB website, which signaled success after many years of work.[1] It was finally rereleased for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013 via a Nintendo Direct announcement.[25] The game was a "top-seller" on the platform, and Kotaku users and first-time EarthBound players had an "overwhelmingly positive" response to the game.[6]

Mother 3 fan translation

[edit]
Main article: Mother 3 fan translation

After a decade of development hell, the Japanese video game Mother 3 was released in April 2006. When fan interest in an English localization went unanswered by Nintendo, Starmen.net announced their own fan translation in November.[22] The project was led by the fansite's Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, a professional game translator whose previous work includes games such as Kingdom Hearts II and anime such as Dragon Ball.[26]

The dozen fans who worked on the project had been vetted by Mandelin and had prior localization experience. Thousands of hours were put into the project between hacking the game data and translating the 1,000 pages of scripted dialogue. They built their own tools for the work.[22] The final version was released in October 2008 and issued as a patch to be used with an emulator.[27] The patch was downloaded over 100,000 times in its first week.[26] A fan-made, full-color, 200-page, professional-quality player's guide was released alongside the fan translation.[28] 1UP.com wrote that "no other game in the history of time garnered such a rabid demand for translation",[29] and The Verge cited the effort as proof of the fan base's dedication.[8]

Fangamer

[edit]
Main article: Fangamer

Fangamer is a video game merchandising business spun out from Starmen.net. The online store sells items including hats, pins, and T-shirts branded with video game-related designs from games such as EarthBound, Chrono Trigger, and Metal Gear Solid. 1UP.com described their fare as "much less tacky than your typical mall-bought video game apparel".[23] The site began in part due to Young's experience with targeted fan communities. In October 2008, he was attempting to get the site officially licensed.[28] Later that month, they released the Mother 3 Handbook, a full-color, 200-page player's guide akin to a professional strategy guide. Wired reported its quality to be "on par with ... Prima and BradyGames".[30] In 2014, Fangamer crowdfunded a box set of media celebrating EarthBound, with $230,000 raised—over twice its goal. The box set includes a travel zine for the game's fictional settings EarthBound, an album of music, and the documentary EarthBound USA. Since exceeding the campaign's goal, the business hosted Camp Fangamer, an event in Tucson, Arizona, for 450 fans.[31]

EarthBound USA

[edit]

Just finished an interview with some American MOTHER 2 fans who came to see me. Some of them were in elementary school when they played it but are now married with children, and still have a love for the game to this day. I've had all sorts of projects in my time, but this game is definitely in a league of its own.

Tweet from Shigesato Itoi, preempting the documentary's announcement, March 2014[32]

In April 2014, siblings Jazzy and Robbie Benson announced the production of their documentary "about how EarthBound fans have fought to popularize the Mother series in North America since the 1990s", EarthBound USA.[32] The Bensons had been conducting interviews with EarthBound fans and Starmen.net members for a year prior to the announcement.[32] They had previously begun a feature-length film about the events of EarthBound.[33][34] Starmen.net "inspired" the documentary, which seeks to explain how the site's members convened via online message board and the consequent "re-emergence of a cult classic" and birth of Fangamer.[32] The filmmakers had been planning to wait longer before making the announcement, but were preempted in part by interest following a tweet from series creator Shigesato Itoi, which mentioned their interview. Originally scheduled for a 2016 release, the film's production underwent numerous delays until 2023, when it was released on November 27.[35][36] A showing before its public release was held in Tucson, Arizona.

Fangames

[edit]
For the third game in the EarthBound series, see Mother 3.

Mother 4 / Oddity

[edit]

After Mother 3, Shigesato Itoi declared that he was done with the series.[37] Fans wanting the series to be continued began to develop unofficial fangame sequels, starting with Mother 4 in October 2010.[38] As of September 2016, the Mother 4 development team had not received a cease and desist letter from Nintendo.[39][37] In a preview of the game, Jason Schreier of Kotaku said Mother 4 looked "stunning", as "everything you could possibly want out of a new Mother game", from the music to the environment design.[37] The game was originally planned for release in 2014, but has been delayed twice, with no future release date set.[40] Mother 4 was to be playable as a standalone game, without need for an emulator.[41] In 2017, after many recent Nintendo fan games received a DMCA notice, the team decided to rebrand it as an original IP, Oddity, and remove all direct references to the Mother series.[42]

The game takes place in a parody of contemporary America, as a boy named Travis leaves his town of Belring to join three others in a fight against the "mysterious" Modern Men.[41] The game is expected to associate with the stories of the previous series games, and be similar in length. Its music and visuals are similar in style to the rest of the series. Oddity features a new soundtrack. Its creators are currently working on a voluntary basis without compensation.[41] While a handful of builds of the game have been leaked, their barebones nature has led many to assert the game is vaporware or in development hell.[43]

Other games

[edit]

A separate Mother 4 is development as of late 2021, and includes elements like rolling hit point counters, rhythm-based attacks, and an art style derivative of the series[43] Mother Squared is a remake of the SNES EarthBound in an open source game engine.[44] EarthBound Dimensions is a 3D reimagining of EarthBound.[45] Mother Encore is a reimagining of the NES Mother, with updates such as overworld abilities and rolling hit point counters.[46]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

EarthBound fandom

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The EarthBound fandom encompasses the dedicated global community of enthusiasts centered on the (known as in ) series, developed by Ape Inc. and and published by , celebrated for its surreal humor, innovative , and status despite modest commercial success upon initial releases. Emerging in the mid-1990s following the North American launch of EarthBound in 1995, the fandom has been characterized by persistent advocacy, creative fan projects, and online communities that have sustained interest in the series for decades. The series' first Western entry, , achieved only limited sales in the United States, hampered by an unconventional marketing campaign featuring scratch-and-sniff ads proclaiming "This game stinks," which alienated potential buyers and contributed to its status as a commercial flop. Despite this, word-of-mouth and later accessibility through emulation fostered a devoted following, transforming it into a praised for its satirical take on American suburbia and powers wielded by child protagonists. By the late 1990s, fans organized around websites like Starmen.net, founded in 1997 by "Reidman" Young and Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, which served as a central hub for discussions, artwork, and information on the trilogy. A hallmark of the fandom's zeal has been its multi-year campaigns to influence toward re-releases and localizations, exemplified by Starmen.net's 11-year effort from 1997 to 2008, which included compiling an anthology of fan works to demonstrate the series' enduring appeal. These initiatives yielded partial successes, such as the 2008 ESRB rating for a potential re-release and the 2008 fan-led English translation of the unreleased by Tomato and a team of volunteers, enabling global access to the Game Boy Advance title. The community's advocacy extended to broader cultural outputs, including the 2018 fan-published book C'mon , Give Us , chronicling decades of petitions for an official Western localization of the third game, and the 2023 documentary USA, which explores the history of Starmen.net and fan perseverance. In recent years, the fandom has benefited from official revivals, including the addition of and (the localized ) to in February 2022, reigniting interest among new and veteran players. Ongoing activities encompass fan remakes, such as a 2025 project reimagining in a modern style, fan events like the Mother Direct presentation in November 2025 showcasing community projects, and speculation around potential announcements, reflecting the community's sustained vitality as of 2025. Despite creator Shigesato Itoi's 2013 statement deeming a fourth entry "impossible," the fandom continues to thrive through creative expression and calls for further series expansion.

History

Origins and Early Fan Activities

The EarthBound fanbase emerged as a dedicated shortly after the game's North American release on June 5, 1995, for the . Despite Nintendo's limited marketing and initial sales of approximately 140,000 copies in the region, the title garnered appreciation for its unconventional blend of quirky, satirical humor, psychedelic visuals, and innovative RPG mechanics set in a modern American-inspired world. This grassroots enthusiasm persisted among players who discovered the game through word-of-mouth or rental copies, contrasting with its commercial underperformance. In the late 1990s, early fan activities centered on creative expressions and advocacy efforts to expand the series' availability. Fans produced depicting the game's eccentric characters and environments, sharing it through personal collections and nascent online forums, while also creating zines—self-published magazines featuring artwork, stories, and tips inspired by 's whimsical tone. Concurrently, frustration over the lack of sequels led to organized campaigns, including petitions to urging localization of the unreleased (announced in Japan in 1997 as a potential EarthBound 64). These efforts highlighted the growing demand, with early petitions in the late 1990s calling for English releases of the original games. The formation of dedicated online spaces further solidified these origins, with early websites and mailing lists appearing between 1997 and 1999 to connect enthusiasts predating larger communities. Reid Young launched one of the inaugural fan sites, EarthBound.net, in 1997 while still in , providing a hub for discussions, artwork, and news updates that drew in a core group of supporters. Mailing lists facilitated direct communication among fans, enabling the exchange of ROM hacks, such as the 1998 dump of the unreleased prototype for the NES, and coordination of advocacy drives. These grassroots initiatives, driven by individual passion rather than commercial backing, laid the groundwork for broader organization.

Key Milestones and Growth

In 2008, Starmen.net compiled a fan anthology showcasing artwork, stories, and other works to demonstrate the series' enduring appeal, contributing to advocacy successes including an ESRB rating for a potential EarthBound re-release. The release of the fan translation for Mother 3 in October 2008 marked a significant expansion of the EarthBound fandom beyond Japan, with the patch downloaded over 100,000 times in its first week and substantially increasing global awareness of the series. The 2013 rerelease of on the Wii U Virtual Console ignited renewed interest among fans, achieving strong sales performance that included ranking as the third bestselling eShop title during its launch month and topping Virtual Console charts in . On August 30, 2020, the documentary Mother to Earth: The Untold Story of Earth Bound premiered on , exploring the discovery and story of an unreleased NES prototype for Beginnings through interviews with the collector, developers, and fans. The received further documentation in 2023 with the premiere of EarthBound USA on November 27, which examined the 1994-1995 U.S. marketing campaign's shortcomings—such as mismatched advertising that failed to connect with audiences—and the subsequent persistence of fans in sustaining the game's legacy through online efforts. In 2024, celebrations for the 30th anniversary of EarthBound's Japanese release featured fan-led events, new merchandise collaborations like apparel and plush toys from partners including Hobonichi, and widespread calls for official remakes, bolstered by Nintendo's indirect acknowledgments through official social media posts teasing commemorative projects. Ongoing activities in 2025, such as Starmen.net's annual Carving Contest encouraging fan submissions of themed pumpkins and gourds, alongside the teaser for Mother Direct on November 2 showcasing indie and fan projects, underscore the fandom's sustained vitality, amplified by dedicated online communities.

Online Communities

Starmen.net

Starmen.net was founded in 1999 by Reid "reidman" Young and Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin as a dedicated fansite providing resources for the series, including information, artwork, and community discussions. Initially envisioned as EarthBound.net, the site adopted its current name following a domain dispute and community poll, quickly evolving into a comprehensive online hub with forums, art galleries, news updates, and interactive features that fostered a vibrant fandom. Over the years, it has served as the central gathering place for fans, hosting discussions on strategies, lore analysis, and creative endeavors tied to the series. Key features of Starmen.net include its extensive resource archives, such as sprite rips extracted directly from the games using tools like Tomato's Sprite Editor, which provide over 1,100 transparent GIFs for fan use, alongside detailed walkthroughs for , , and EarthBound Beginnings. The site also maintains sections for fan projects, including downloadable programs and games created by the community, and has hosted the annual forum game since 2003, a inspired by EarthBound themes that has run dozens of iterations, engaging thousands of participants across multiple rounds. These elements have made the forums a cornerstone of interaction, with categories for , music, and that encourage collaborative creativity. Starmen.net has significantly influenced the EarthBound fandom through its organizational efforts, notably leading petitions in 1999 and 2000 for the localization of (initially titled EarthBound 64), which collected 10,013 signatures and were delivered to , highlighting fan demand despite the project's cancellation. The site remains active, continuing traditions like the 2025 Carving Contest, where fans submit Halloween-themed pumpkin designs inspired by the series, demonstrating its enduring role as the definitive community platform. This legacy extends to spin-off ventures, such as , founded by site contributors including Reid Young to produce official merchandise.

Other Platforms and Resources

Beyond the central hub of Starmen.net, the EarthBound fandom thrives on various decentralized platforms that foster real-time interactions, archival resources, and . These spaces provide supplementary avenues for fans to engage with the series' lore, share creative expressions, and access updated game information, often linking back to Starmen.net's foundational archives for deeper historical context. The subreddit r/earthbound, established around 2010, serves as a vibrant forum for discussions, memes, and fan theories related to the series. By 2025, it boasts over 100,000 subscribers, reflecting the enduring popularity of the franchise among online audiences. Dedicated wikis offer comprehensive repositories of in-game details, including character biographies, lore explanations, and development histories. The Wiki on , launched in 2006, provides extensive articles on gameplay mechanics and series elements, while the independent WikiBound, operational since 2010, emphasizes community-driven updates. In 2024, both wikis saw significant enhancements to the stats category for EarthBound Beginnings, incorporating detailed breakdowns of attributes like Fight, Speed, , Strength, and to improve accessibility for newcomers exploring the game's mechanics. Additional resources include Discord servers for instantaneous fan chats, with the official Starmen.net server launched in 2024 to facilitate live discussions and event coordination. YouTube channels further enrich the ecosystem; for instance, Emile Rosales' , known for detailed playthroughs of titles, had surpassed 1 million subscribers by 2025, attracting viewers with narrative analyses and gameplay highlights.

Fan Translations

Mother 3 Fan Translation

The Mother 3 fan translation project was initiated in November 2006 by Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, a professional game translator, who led a team of volunteers including translators, hackers, and editors from the Starmen.net community and beyond. The effort culminated in the release of version 1.0 of the English patch on October 17, 2008, designed to be applied to a legitimate Japanese Game Boy Advance ROM of the game. Development spanned approximately 16 months of active work starting in summer 2007, involving extensive collaboration without a formal deadline. In October 2023, the patch was updated to version 1.3, addressing lingering bugs and improving emulator performance. The translation process required reverse-engineering the game's code, with key contributors like Jeffman learning Game Boy Advance programming to expand text storage and integrate English scripts seamlessly. This included adapting Japanese cultural references and wordplay for English audiences; for instance, the "PK" nomenclature for psychic powers—derived from the Japanese "Saikikku" (psychic)—was retained and localized with puns like "PK Fire" to preserve the original's playful tone while aligning with the series' established style from prior localizations. Names and locations, such as Tazmily Village (retained from an earlier Nintendo prototype) and character names drawn from literature like Agota Kristof's The Notebook, were chosen to honor creator Shigesato Itoi's inspirations without alteration. The patch was hosted for download on Starmen.net, emphasizing a non-commercial approach that encouraged users to own the original Japanese cartridge. Upon release, the patch garnered over 100,000 downloads in its first week, rapidly introducing 's narrative to Western players and sparking widespread acclaim for its fidelity to the source material. This accessibility profoundly influenced the global gaming community, notably inspiring creators like , who cited as a pivotal influence on Undertale's emotional depth and battle mechanics. Legally, the project operated in a gray area as a non-profit fan effort; Mandelin publicly offered the script and assets to for free in , receiving no response, while the company demonstrated tacit approval by taking no action against the distribution despite awareness of the patch. The translation meticulously preserved Itoi's stylistic choices, including the game's eight-chapter structure that builds tension across perspectives and its core emotional themes of loss, family, and environmental decay, ensuring the "strange, funny, and heartrending" essence remained intact.

Additional Translation Efforts

In addition to the landmark Mother 3 fan translation, community efforts have focused on localizing earlier entries in the series, particularly Mother 1 (known internationally as EarthBound Beginnings) and the Japan-only Mother 1+2 compilation for Game Boy Advance. These projects aimed to provide accessible English versions of the 1989 Famicom title and its 2003 enhanced port, drawing on the expertise developed during the Mother 3 localization. The success of the 2008 Mother 3 patch encouraged similar rigorous approaches to script adaptation and technical hacking for these supplementary titles. A key effort was the 2011 fan translation of Mother 1, led by Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin—the director of the Mother 3 project—in collaboration with hacker Jeffman. Released as a patch for the Mother 1+2 GBA ROM on April 30, 2011, this retranslation covered the full script of Mother 1, retranslating it from the original Japanese to ensure consistency with 's terminology and tone while enhancing readability for modern players. The team expanded text boxes to accommodate more natural English phrasing, restored uncensored graphics, and reverted some location names to their Japanese originals for authenticity, distinguishing it from the leaked 1990 EarthBound Zero prototype. This work reconciled the game's core narrative with Shigesato Itoi's intended script from the 1989 Famicom release, prioritizing conceptual fidelity over direct word-for-word conversion. The patch also incorporated gameplay tweaks, such as the addition of an "Easy Ring" item that doubles experience and money gains while reducing random encounters, making the NES-era title less grindy without altering its challenge. For the bundled Mother 2 portion of the compilation, initial efforts provided only minimalist menu and interface translations in 2011 to aid veterans, with partial English patches emerging from fan communities between 2010 and 2012 to localize and events in the enhanced GBA version. These early patches focused on core text elements, enabling partial playthroughs while full scripting remained incomplete until later updates. In recent years, the community has refined these translations for better compatibility and polish. In 2024, updates like the EarthBound Beginnings: Definitive Edition patch addressed emulator-specific issues, such as timing glitches on modern hardware, and revised outdated terminology to align more closely with the official 2015 Virtual Console release. Other refinements, including the MOTHER Restored hack, integrated the 2011 script into the NES ROM with bug fixes and restored visuals, ensuring the localized content remains viable for emulation. These ongoing improvements reflect the fandom's commitment to preserving and enhancing access to the series' foundational titles.

Fan Games and Creative Works

Notable Fangames

One of the most prominent EarthBound fangames is Oddity, originally announced in 2010 as Mother 4 by developer Orange Team as a direct sequel to the series featuring new protagonists Travis Fields and his friends in a 1970s-inspired setting. The project, initially developed using RPG Maker XP, aimed to continue the narrative and mechanics of EarthBound while expanding on themes of surreal . In 2020, the team rebranded it to Oddity to establish it as an independent work beyond Nintendo's , releasing a showcasing elements like PSI abilities and turn-based combat. Despite high anticipation, Oddity entered a period of development hell marked by radio silence from the team after 2020, with fans speculating on its status through forum discussions on platforms like Starmen.net. In April 2024, the official Twitter account broke the silence with a cryptic teaser image, reigniting community interest and confirming ongoing work, though no demo or release date has been provided as of November 2025. The project's challenges highlight common hurdles in fangame development, including balancing adherence to canon elements like PSI psychic powers and community-driven funding models often seen on sites like itch.io. Other notable fangames include Mother Squared, a comprehensive remake of rebuilt from scratch in the open-source Godot engine, emphasizing enhanced visuals and gameplay fidelity to the original SNES title. Announced in 2023 and actively updated through fan showcases, it incorporates modern mechanics while preserving core features like inventory management and enemy encounters. Dimensions, revealed in 2022, offers a 3D reimagining of using the Godot engine, with embellishments including expanded environments and potential nods to other properties through stylistic crossovers in its world design. Another project is the Beginnings Remake, a fan-made SNES ROM hack reimagining the first game in 16-bit style, which received a new trailer in July 2025 and is slated for release in 2026. Originally started in 2007, the project has persisted through multiple hiatuses. Both Mother Squared and Dimensions exemplify the fandom's use of accessible tools like derivatives for prototyping and for distribution and donations, fostering iterative development amid legal considerations for non-commercial fan works.

Art, Music, and Other Media

The EarthBound fandom has produced a rich body of visual , often showcased through community platforms that encourage creative interpretations of iconic characters such as Ness and the . Starmen.net, a central hub for fans since its founding in 1998, maintains an extensive archive with thousands of submissions dating back to , including depictions ranging from reminiscent of the original games to realistic renderings that place characters in contemporary settings. Periodic Funfest events on the site, held multiple times annually since at least the early , have traditionally invited art entries alongside other media, fostering traditions of themed contests that highlight stylistic experimentation with series elements. Music within the fandom emphasizes remixes of the series soundtracks, with OverClocked ReMix (OC ReMix) serving as a primary repository for high-quality arrangements approved by the community. The platform hosts 37 remixes of tracks alone as of November 2025, including orchestral and electronic reinterpretations that expand on composer Keiichi Suzuki's original motifs. Notable projects include arrangements of 3's "Theme of Love," such as Sebastien Skaf's 2025 piano rendition "Your Warmth," which captures the emotional depth of the series' melodies while incorporating modern production techniques. By November 2025, the cumulative output for the broader series totals around 40 tracks across OC ReMix, reflecting sustained fan interest in reimagining the soundscapes. Fan comics and animations represent key multimedia extensions of the fandom, often blending humor, narrative depth, and visual storytelling. The webcomic The Chosen Four, created by Darrow and serialized on Starmen.net since 2008, retells the story through over 900 pages of illustrated adventures, emphasizing character dynamics and whimsical side plots until entering hiatus in 2022. On , fan animations have amassed millions of views collectively; for instance, SaganYee's 2014 short POLLYANNA: An Animated Earthbound Tribute—praised by series creator —has garnered over 4.7 million views by exploring the game's themes of hope and nostalgia through fluid animation. These works frequently integrate aesthetics into broader creative projects, such as providing assets for fan games. In celebration of EarthBound's 30th anniversary in 2024, hosted informal art jams under the #earthbound30thanniversary tag, resulting in numerous submissions that fused classic pixelated designs with modern memes and digital techniques, such as Ness encountering viral internet phenomena.

Merchandise and Events

Fangamer and Commercial Ventures

originated as a merchandise venture spun off from the Starmen.net fan community in 2008, founded by Reid Young and other site members to sell items like T-shirts, posters, and strategy guides inspired by the game. Initially focused on fan-created products to sustain the community's passion, the company began with limited runs of apparel and printed materials, such as the Handbook, marking its early emphasis on high-quality, game-specific collectibles. Over the following years, Fangamer evolved from a niche fan operation into a major player in merchandising, securing official licensing partnerships with in the mid-2010s to produce authorized items, including amiibo-inspired figures and apparel. This collaboration enabled broader distribution and legitimacy, allowing the company to expand beyond to other franchises while maintaining a core focus on the Mother series. Key releases included the Original Soundtrack on vinyl in , a double-LP set remastered for audio fidelity and available in multiple color variants, which highlighted the enduring demand for the game's music. The company's product lineup grew to encompass apparel, books like the EarthBound Handbook—a travel-guide-style companion to the game's world—and limited-edition bundles, with EarthBound merchandise remaining a foundational driver amid diversification. By 2025, had grown to employ approximately 125 staff in , where it handles design, production, and fulfillment for its global operations.

Conventions, Directs, and Documentaries

The Mother Direct series represents a key showcase for the fandom, consisting of annual online presentations highlighting fan-created projects and indie RPGs inspired by the series. Launched in 2021 by fan organizer Kody LaReu, the events evolved from simple video compilations into structured broadcasts, with the 2023 edition running nearly 60 minutes and featuring updates on ROM hacks, translations, and original games. The 2024 Mother Direct, held on July 27, aired for over an hour and spotlighted more than 10 projects, including the EarthBound 64 Experience prototype, The Tigers: The World Is Waiting for Us fangame, and the MOTHER² enhanced port, significantly increasing visibility for ongoing fan efforts such as the surreal RPG Oddity. The 2025 Mother Direct, aired on November 7, featured updates on fan projects including the Earthbound Dimensions battle system preview and other indie RPG developments, continuing the tradition with expanded indie spotlights. Fan conventions and gatherings have been integral to the EarthBound community since the early 2010s, often organized through platforms like Starmen.net and integrated into larger gaming events. The inaugural EarthBound Fanfest in 2010, hosted by , kicked off with gameplay tournaments and community recaps in Onett-themed sessions, setting a precedent for informal meets focused on shared playthroughs and discussions. Subsequent years saw regular panels at PAX conventions, starting around 2010 with exhibits and talks on the series' legacy, evolving to include fan project showcases by the 2020s; for instance, PAX East 2023 featured a screening and Q&A for an EarthBound documentary. Documentaries have played a crucial role in chronicling the fandom's history and cultural impact, with two notable productions emerging in recent years. "Mother to Earth: The Untold Story of Earth Bound," released in 2019 and directed by Evan Butler, explores the secretive localization process of the original game for , incorporating interviews with developers and fans to uncover the for unreleased prototypes. Similarly, "EarthBound, USA," a 2023 film by Jazzy Benson, focuses on the early internet-era marketing campaigns and the rise of fan sites like Starmen.net, featuring insights from creators such as and to illustrate how American teenagers rallied online for greater recognition of the 1995 title. As of late 2025, no major new documentaries on the have been released, though anniversary reflections continue through fan panels and streams.

References

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