Mother 3

I have been meaning to post about this since it came out and I downloaded the patch, but somehow it just slipped through. The Mother 3 fan translation is finally done! You will need to obtain a rom of the original Japanese game which you can always do a quick google search to sort out, then download the patch and apply it to the rom.

Below you can find a trailer showing scenes from the game. It does contain a few spoilers here and there so if you are one of those people who must not see anything at all about any piece of entertainment before you consume it yourself, then don't watch it. :-)



It is an awesome game and the sequel to one of the most charming and unique RPGs I have ever played - Mother 2 (Earthbound in the West). It is interesting, not only because of its setting - a Japanese RPG set in a non-post/pre apocalyptic urban environment - but also because its lead designer and creator Shigesato Itoi is a writer. As a result of this, even though the combat system and the general rpg elements of the games are competent, they are not anything revolutionary. What is really nice about the Mother games though, is the writing.

There's been so much talk around the gaming blogosphere about narrative in games and how games need to escape from the crutch of film and books, but you don't hear a lot about games like the Mother series in those circles. They should be talking about it.

 I currently have Mother 3 on my PSP and I'm playing it via emulation, but I have decided to stop until I finish Mother 2. Once that is done I am going to start a new game of Mother 3 and settle in to enjoy the ride.

On that note, I should also say that I have decided not to pick up anything else once I get Little Big Planet for the PS3, Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360 that is a AAA title for a while. I realise that I have been getting loads of games close to when they come out and I still have a huge pile of stuff on older gen consoles like the PS2 that I haven't even started playing and I am not the only one. I am trying to stop that now, plus next-gen gaming is sooo expensive here it is not even funny. So, pardon me if the number of AAA reviews that come from my end reduce. HOWEVER, I will be covering classic games that should be available for cheap on older consoles, or handheld titles which also go for much cheaper than their home console brethren.

I am also using it as an opportunity to look more critically at 2D games and some of the older games to help me as I slowly journey on the path to making my own games.