yesteres's review
5.0
A book about translation/localization of something that I am intensely nostalgic for from a language I am currently studying (again again)? Yes, please. Fun and light, totally worth it.
ivan_tw's review
4.0
A massive hardback book that looks more like a textbook than something you'd read for leisure, Clyde Mandelin's treatise on EarthBound is mind-bendingly detailed. Mandelin digs deep and explores the nuances between English and Japanese, as well as the process of graphical localization, and manages to avoid the few pitfalls he made in his book on The Legend of Zelda. It's as big as a textbook, and it could easily be used AS a textbook, if there was a class on localization out there. If you want to really explore the minutia of localization, I feel confident in saying there's not a better book to crack open.
tjkendon's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this deep-dive into the nature of translating video games. Mandelin does a good job teasing out the interesting differences culturally, linguistically and technologically between Earthbound and it's Japanese original, MOTHER 2.
fireblend's review
4.0
A meticulously crafted, insightful love letter to not only the localization process but the entirety of one of the best games of all time. Beautifully presented too.
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