This is a free, unofficial fan-made translation of MOTHER 1+2 for the Game Boy Advance. In this version, MOTHER 1 has been given a complete
English retranslation intended to make the game more accessible to EarthBound fans (details here), while MOTHER 2 has basic menu and name translations.
If the file won't play due to its dual-extension structure or internal encoding, you can convert it to a standard MP4:
: A free, open-source tool that can transcode video from an MKV container into a clean MP4 format.
: This is the most versatile option for playing MKV and MP4 files without needing extra codec packs.
: Use a reliable antivirus to check the file. Double extensions are a classic trick to hide the true nature of a file (e.g., an executable .exe masked as a video).
Files with names like Oz7jMaXKIh.mkv.mp4 often appear in pop-up ads or unofficial streaming sites. Before opening:
: A user-friendly option for converting MKV to MP4 on Windows or Mac. Simply load the file, choose "MP4 H.264," and click Run.
If the file won't play due to its dual-extension structure or internal encoding, you can convert it to a standard MP4:
: A free, open-source tool that can transcode video from an MKV container into a clean MP4 format.
: This is the most versatile option for playing MKV and MP4 files without needing extra codec packs.
: Use a reliable antivirus to check the file. Double extensions are a classic trick to hide the true nature of a file (e.g., an executable .exe masked as a video).
Files with names like Oz7jMaXKIh.mkv.mp4 often appear in pop-up ads or unofficial streaming sites. Before opening:
: A user-friendly option for converting MKV to MP4 on Windows or Mac. Simply load the file, choose "MP4 H.264," and click Run.
How to Use the Translation Patch
Unzip the contents of this zip file to a folder/directory. You should find the following files:
mother12.ips
mother12.txt
Second, you will need to obtain a ROM of the Japanese version of MOTHER 1+2. This clearly steps into promoting piracy, so you will have
to find this on your own. Search engines are useful for this sort of thing.
Once you have the ROM, make sure it is unzipped/uncompressed. The file should be 16 MB in size. Put this file in the same folder as
the files from above.
Most modern emulators will automatically patch IPS patches when you load a ROM. This is known as "soft-patching". If your emulator can
do this, then make sure the IPS file is called "mother12.ips" and that the ROM is called "mother12.gba". Then load the ROM in your
emulator. If all goes well, the translation patch should work automatically!
If it's not working and you're sure your emulator can soft-patch IPS files, then you might have to put the IPS file in a different folder,
depending on your settings and what emulator you're using. Check your settings and read the documentation that came with your emulator.
If you don't want to use soft-patching or if you can't get it to work, then you can always hard-patch it. Download Lunar IPS
here. With it, you can permanently patch the ROM. Then just load your ROM
in your emulator.
NOTE: If you're still having trouble getting either methods to work, then see here.
Troubleshooting
I can't get the patch to work!
Read the directions above. If you STILL can't get the patch to work, try asking on the Starmen.Net or Romhacking.net message boards.
I tried applying the patch to a ROM that already had another patch on it. Now it's weird! What do I do?
You NEED to make sure you've applied the patch to the original Japanese ROM. If you apply it to an already-modified ROM, then it's
naturally going to behave in unpredictable ways.
The MOTHER 2 stuff is still in Japanese!
The MOTHER 2 side of this patch only includes translations of menus, item names, enemy names, etc.
The naming screen stuff in MOTHER 2 is mostly in Japanese still!
The naming screen programming is truly insane and would take me more time to hack than I felt was worth it.
I can't get my game to save!
This happens mostly with Mac emulators. I don't have a Mac, so I can't really troubleshoot this. If all else fails, you can use
save states (I think they call them "freeze states" on the Mac emus).
I double-click on the .zip file but nothing happens!
If your computer doesn't have .zip file support (most computers in the last 10+ years have support by default), look on Google for
things like 7-Zip or WinZip.
The game gets stuck at the intro screen. Help!
You can skip this normally by pressing any button. If you're using an emulator, keep in mind that you might need to set up what keyboard
keys act as what GBA buttons. If you're new to emulators and you don't understand what that means, then just smoosh your face into the
keyboard until it works.
The game crashes/freezes on my hardware!
This may be a hardware-specific problem. I don't know much about this stuff, so I can't really help you in this regard.
I'm trying to use a save file from the Japanese version, but the names and stuff get all messed up!
There's no way to fix this, you'll either have to start a new game or live with your wacky new names!
Support
I often get e-mails from people asking how they can donate to my projects, but I don't like to accept donations for this particular kind of stuff.
If you'd still really like to help out, though, if you buy any EarthBound/MOTHER merchandise through these links, I'll get a dollar or so.
This will help keep EarthBound Central up and running, not to
mention many of my other projects, like Game Swag!
And probably a hundred or more other helpful people! Forgive me if your name
should have been here, there are so many to remember that my brain is failing
me now. But know that your help was appreciated and led to this patch's creation!
