Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A complete history of Saori Kumi’s MOTHER/EarthBound novels & the many attempts to translate them into English, leading to their unofficial release by Nyaasu Nekoban! I interviewed her and kenisu about their roles in the long journey to get here.

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If you enjoyed this, please check out these other playlists & videos of mine!

► All MOTHER/EarthBound videos:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK37aGUr9BMUCWlptuIm-Z-aA8D420OAO
► Dark Aspects of MOTHER: The Complete Series Playlist
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK37aGUr9BMXiQfu0qKOO_V-sb-Rs3Hkz
► How The Notebook Trilogy Inspired MOTHER 3:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK37aGUr9BMWLADwSKHrH3-N2tzEuXuhY
► The Meaning of MOTHER Spirits in Smash Ultimate:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK37aGUr9BMWmnkfPsXorVf49TMHuv4wY
► How MOTHER Inspired Animal Crossing:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK37aGUr9BMVncnKwrISy41ySThaELPFa
► All Dark Aspects of Nintendo episodes:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK37aGUr9BMX_TMxnj___A1XDNkyC6-9M

Sources & further reading:

Translations, books, and articles

⍟ Nyaasu Nekoban's MOTHER 1 and 2 novel translations
twitter.com/NyaasuNekoban/status/1472356000514592774
⍟ Kenisu's updated MOTHER Encyclopedia translations
twitter.com/kenisu3000
⍟ Chewy's MOTHER 2 Novel Translation website (Wayback Machine)
web.archive.org/web/20140221060441/http://novel.fobby.net
⍟ Saori Kumi on why a MOTHER 3 novel was never written
web.archive.org/web/20130924213512/http://novel.fobby.net/2010/05/14/saori-kumis-afterword-part-two
⍟ Mato's MOTHER novel chapter summaries
earthboundcentral.com/mother-1-novel-summary
⍟ Kyosuke's MOTHER novel chapter 2 summary
earthboundcentral.com/2009/11/mother-2-novel-chapter-1-2
⍟ Kenisu's MOTHER novel translation: chapter 1 (complete)
forum.starmen.net/forum/Games/Mother1/Official-MOTHER-novel-Chapter-1-sample-translation
⍟ Kenisu's MOTHER novel translation: chapters 1-4 (excerpts)
forum.starmen.net/forum/Fan/Writing/Mother-Novel-Excerpts-1000/page/1
⍟ Starmen thread where Kenisu reveals plans to translate novel
forum.starmen.net/forum/Games/Mother1/is-there-a-translated-version-of-Mother-Novel-The-Original-Story/page/1#post1563767

Footage

⍟ Earthbound Dimensions Trailer by antourenein [Studio Allele]
youtube.com/watch?v=hyVeswntdBQ&t=4s&ab_channel=antourenein%5BStudioAllele%5D
⍟ Shigesato Itoi featured in "Gintama" (episode 274) - watch on Crunchyroll
⍟ The Earthbound Bash 2013 Day 1 footage by Fangamer
youtube.com/watch?v=HaQLqrSxM40&ab_channel=Fangamer
⍟ Chewy livestream by Fangamer
twitch.tv/fangamer/videos?filter=all&sort=time
⍟ POLLYANNA: An Animated Earthbound Tribute by SaganYee
youtube.com/watch?v=-hVuv7mDNqM&t=195s&ab_channel=SaganYee
⍟ "LloydBound Commercial" by BlueNinty
youtube.com/watch?v=nQCo1VpH6Yc&ab_channel=BlueNinty

Images

⍟ FATHER 2 screenshot from "Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl" (episode 11) - watch on Funimation
⍟ All sprites used in this video were ripped by The Spriters Resource
spriters-resource.com
⍟ Crumpled paper stock photo by steve_a_johnson
pixabay.com/photos/garbage-trash-litter-recycling-3259455

Sound FX

⍟ MOTHER 1 and 2 sounds by Starmen
starmen.net/mother1/soundfx
starmen.net/mother2/soundfx

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#mother2 #earthbound #earthboundbeginnings