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Let’s Make the EarthBound Localization Book Happen!

Fangamer’s “You Are Now EarthBound” Kickstarter is ending soon, and I’m involved with one of the final stretch goals! Indeed, if it gets high enough within the next three or so days, I’ll be able to make a book version of my EarthBound localization analysis!

Believe it or not, I’ve been comparing games and translations since way back in 1999, when I first started a site that compared EarthBound with its Japanese counterpart:

I didn’t get too far – I soon studied the language a lot more, did a lot of projects, and even became a professional translator. Armed with all this, I eventually went back and did a full comparison of EarthBound and MOTHER 2 — and later turned that into the start of Legends of Localization.

After I finished it, I dreamed of making it into a book somehow. There was also a lot of content that I skimmed over that I’ve always wanted to go back and cover, plus I’ve actually had the honor of meeting EarthBound’s head localizer, discussing details with him, and even chatting about MOTHER 3!

So with all this, now would be a wonderful chance to put EarthBound Legends of Localization into a book form!

If this Kickstarter stretch goal is met and I’m able to work on a book, I’d be able to:

  • Go back and look at stuff in more detail, especially in the first half of the game
  • Cover questions and topics that have sprung up since I finished the site – I might even do a call for questions beforehand!
  • Discuss topics that concern series continuity
  • Include new insights and answers from EarthBound’s head localizer himself!

And more, of course! I’m still trying to figure out how I could include secret image text, but I think it might be a lost cause 😛

Anyway, if the Kickstarter stretch goal is met and the book does well enough, it could open up opportunities to do more books on a more regular basis! I’d love to be able to focus my efforts on plenty of other games and series – my MOTHER 3 translations noteswould be a perfect start, for example.

And I’ve already had the groundwork laid for a good EarthBound Zero/MOTHER 1 analysis too:

And there are the other projects I always have on my mind but not enough time for usually:

And if things go REALLY well, I’d love the opportunity to go and seek out the various people responsible for localizations and see what their experiences were!

Of course, this all rides on whether or not this stretch goal gets hit and if the EarthBound book does well enough. Even if you don’t back the Kickstarter, if the goal DOES get met you’ll still be able to order the book from Fangamer, but if you do back it I think there’s probably a tier or something where you can get a copy of the book automatically.

Depending on how things go, I might do a smaller, simpler book before the EarthBound one just to get the kinks and everything worked out. But that’s getting ahead of myself – for now, if any of this interests you, consider backing Fangamer’s “You Are Now EarthBound” Kickstarter!

– Clyde