Is it true??? Have we returned????? We haven't had an outage like this in quite some time... I sincerely apologize if any of you were forced to postpone events, go outside, visit not-20-year-old-websites, or otherwise not hang around here for 3-4 days.
SOUND OFF IF YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!
Hi everyone. It's Boots again, and I have some extremely cool news to share about a recent interview from series creator Shigesato Itoi and Marcus Lindblom, EarthBound's English localizer!
From Monday to Friday this week, the Hobonichi MOTHER Project, an initiative from Itoi's stationary company that has recently been releasing lots of official MOTHER merch, has just finished publishing a series of 5 conversation excerpts between Itoi and Lindblom! If you, like me, were fascinated by site co-creator Clyde Mandelin's Legends of Localization book, you owe it to yourself to go check this out! The discussion is largely focused on the storied history of EarthBound's incredible localization, but also includes such gems as Itoi's favourite Beatle, how Marcus kept the script feeling "timeless", and most shocking of all, how to actually pronounce Giygas!!
Seriously, I thought I was pretty well versed in EB's creation at this point, and even I found there was tonnes of cool and insightful new information contained in this chat between two series legends. Learn anything surprising? Let us know in the comments!
Hi everyone, I hope you all were not too overwhelmed by yesterday's announcement, because that's not the only coding initiative that we'd like to catch you up on! There have been a few major events shaking things up in the world of PK Hack, and we have a couple of projects to feature that were announced yesterday for April Fool's. Read on below the jump for all the sweet details!
The year is 202X. A cold wind blows through the starmen.net discussion forums. Paint is peeling and chipping away from the walls, and there’s a dusty blue spreading as far as the eye can see. After a long day of being hard at work posting in the mines, you emerge from the navy blue corridors to fetch your jacket and sigh a deep breath of great relief, relishing in the knowledge that just outside the door is a world of fresh air and spring flowers.
But what’s this? There’s a knock at the door…? You wait, hoping whoever it is will just go away. Who could be so rude as to knock on an establishment’s door 5 minutes after closing. Likely just a spambot, you think to yourself, but the thought leaves quickly. The knocking comes back—louder, LOUDER. Whoever, or whatever, it is is determined. You press your ear to the door and strain to hear any hint of movement or shuffling, but what you get is a mechanical sound of whirrs and clicks. Whatever is outside is not human. You should not underestimate them. You shudder, then tentatively reach down to the doorhandle that separates reality from the virtual. The knocking… stops. You stand still, heart pumping in your chest as you consider your options. “If only the backdoor exit wasn’t blocked with 20 years of old fanart boxes,” you think, already hopeless. Apprehensively, you step backwards, your gaze and focus fixated on this one and only point of egress. And then…
Hey folks! It's me, Rhyselinn, your local head admin, here with some cool forum news!
Hear ye, hear ye! I come bearing news from the hinterlands!
I am extremely pleased to announce that starmen’s own HCchicken has successfully completed the time-honored 1/128 challenge! Reports of this exploit made a buzz in the community, and we were able to reach several community members for comment:
I haven't seen someone pull off a 1/128 challenge in quite some time! Very impressive! - Boots
Whoooooooooooooaaaa! - vid
You beat up the town bullies (and everything else!), punched them out big time, kicked their butts, bit their heads off, spit in their eyes, and made them wet their pants. Then you forced them to promise not to make any more trouble. Thank you! - The Mayor
wow - Head admin Rhyselinn
For the uninitiated, the 1/128 challenge consists of getting every single RARE ITEM in an unmodified copy of EarthBound. The challenge gets its namesake from the infamous fact that the drop rate for these items is… 0.7% per encounter; not for the faint of heart! There are 25 enemies that drop 1/128 items, which means that in order to join the ranks of the esteemed players who conquered this challenge, you must successfully hit the 0.7% odds 25 times over the course of your playthrough.
We believe in skies forever blue... why shouldn't we believe the same in you?
Are you wanting to stay up to date with Starmen.net on social media that hasn't devolved into what Master Belch looks like after he quaffs buckets of fly honey? Then come check us out on Blue Sky!
Art by our very own Avery Memorable Username!
EarthBound news??? In 2024??? It's more likely than you think...
All of us were tipped off to some exciting news today, shared by starmen.net discord user Sup the Robo, who linked us to this GoNintendo article showcasing twenty EarthBound icons now available to select for your Nintendo Switch profile! These icons were originally made available earlier this year and had a limited release, but thankfully for us, it seems the big N has finally granted us some gamer clemency and re-launched the icon pack until December 8th, 2024! Each icon costs 10 Nintendo Platinum points, so hurry up and cash those in before the window is up!
Take a look below at a screenshot of the "Missions & Rewards" section on the Nintendo Online section. You can also click the image to get a higher quality version.
Starting from the top right and reading right-to-left, Nintendo is letting you choose the following characters/items:
Not bad choices! Let us know which ones you'd pick for your icon, and let's hope this is a sign that Nintendo hasn't completely forgotten about the franchise!
