Mother 3 fan translator offers script free to Nintendo

Mother 3 Fan Translation, the site behind the informal translation patch released in 2008, would "gladly" offer Nintendo its files for localization, translator Clyde Mandelin wrote in a recent post.

Mandelin, a professional translator for FUNimation, adapted the patch's current script for the Earthbound sequel. Mother 3 was released in Japan in 2006 for Game Boy Advance and, despite years of fan petitioning, has never been localized.

"I realize that localizing a game this size can cost a lot, so if it'll help in even the slightest, I'll gladly offer to let Nintendo use my text translation files for any use at all, completely for free," Mandelin wrote. "I'll even edit the files to fit whatever new standards are necessary (content, formatting, memory size, etc.), completely for free. I'll even retranslate everything from scratch if need be. Just whatever it takes to get an official release out."

During last week's Nintendo Direct, the company announced that Earthbound would be released for Wii U Virtual Console this year, its first North American port since the SNES launch.