To those of you who have yet to play EarthBound Zero (aka Mother) ...

... may I suggest you do so soon now that a fan translation of the GameBoy Advance title, Mother 1+2, has been released?

Why should you play the version on Mother 1+2 rather than the available-for-eons EarthBound Zero? Here's how Tomato, the person behind this translation (and the translation of Mother 3), recently responded to that question:

"The EarthBound Zero ROM has a good number of changes, censoring and mistakes with plot details and dialog. The text in the EarthBound Zero ROM is also very dry due to limited NES resources. Doing a retranslation with this GBA version allowed for a lot more text, and censoring/changes weren't necessary. The result is a script that should hopefully be more engaging and natural-sounding."

Another reason to skip EarthBound Zero and play the version included on Mother 1+2 instead: The latter includes an "Easy Ring" (found in Ninten's room at the beginning of the game) which can be used by those who hate having to grind for experience and money.

According to Tomato, "this item, when equipped, greatly increases the experience and money you win from enemies while also reducing the amount of random battles. It makes the game much less of a chore, which is one of the main reasons EarthBound fans have a hard time getting into the game."

For more information on the Mother 1+2 fan translation, or to download the ROM patch needed to play it, go to mother12.earthboundcentral.com.

Would this ad have prompted more Americans to purchase a TurboDuo?

Probably not, but it couldn’t have hurt.



The folks at NEC (or TTI) would have had to redo the commercial’s song, though, since I can’t make out most of what’s being said in the current version.

I can hear, “let’s spend the night together!” at the beginning, for instance, and then the next thing I can make out is, “together having fun”--which comes just before the oh-so-cheerful chorus. The only other part I understand is the last line: “Look on the bright side of your life!”

All that said, I’ve watched the darn thing about 10 times now, so clearly it can be enjoyed quite a bit despite the language difficulties.

The Great Gaymathon Review #24: Electroplankton (DS)

Game: Electroplankton

Genre: Music

Developer: indieszero

Publisher: Nintendo

System: Nintendo DS

Release date: 2006

Shortly after Electroplankton arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago, an astute Twitter friend of mine suggested I "approach it as a musical playground. Don't look for faults, just have fun experimenting." That seems to be advice everyone should follow after booting up this Toshio Iwai-designed title. Another worthy piece of advice for Electroplankton newbies: Skip the rather yawn-inducing "audience" mode and go straight for the "performance" mode, where you're able to interact--using the DS' microphone and/or touchscreen--with any of the game's 10 music-making plankton. My favorite is Rec-Rec, by the way, since it allows you to create, using the DS' microphone, simple--four-track, four-second--songs. Beatnes, which lets you embellish--by tapping on the diamond-shaped heads, spines and tails of some particularly peculiar-looking plankton--a quartet of well-known Famicom/NES tunes, is a close second. Sadly, you can't use more than one type of plankton at a time, nor can you save any of your creations. Don't let that keep you from giving Electroplankton a try, though; this digital instrument is well worth the price of admission if you're a music junkie--or even if you just like DS releases that utilize the dual-screened system and its distinctive features in enjoyably unique ways.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Catherine edition)

Actually, this edition of "Which Box Art is Better?" really should be titled "Which Box Art is Best?" as it includes four (rather than two) different illustrations--all of which will appear on North American covers of Atlus' upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 puzzler-platformer, Catherine.

Here, for instance, is the image that will grace the cover of the "regular" PS3 release of the game:

Gamers who consider that piece of box art to be a bit too risqué will be able to buy this "alternate" version (through Amazon.com) instead:

Xbox 360 owners will be presented with a pair of box art options, too, with the one below being the regular release:

And this one being the alternate (pre-order it here):

After much consideration, I have to admit that I like the regular PS3 cover the best, followed by the regular Xbox 360 cover. As far as the alternate covers are concerned: Once again, I prefer the PS3 iteration to its Xbox 360 counterpart.

Which one is your favorite?

See also: Previous Catherine posts

I just remembered that I'll be able to buy (and play) Catherine now that I own an Xbox 360

I've been so focused on using my Xbox 360 as an Xbox Live Arcade and Indie Games player that I completely forgot, until last night, that I'll soon be able to use that big, black box to play Atlus' upcoming erotic and horrific puzzler-platformer (boy, that's a mouthful), Catherine, too.

What prompted this late-night revelation? Well, the folks at Atlus released a bunch of localized (English) screenshots--like the one below--of the game, that's what.



According to Amazon.com, by the way, both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Catherine will be available for purchase (for about $59.99) as of July 26. Pre-order the PS3 version here and the Xbox 360 version here.

(Via siliconera.com)