While EarthBound has a cult following, its predecessor on the Famicom and its sequel on the GBA/SNES era required fan efforts to be understood by English speakers.
Notable case: The fan translation of Mother 3 (GBA, but similar scene) was so beloved that when Nintendo finally acknowledged it, they played the fan translation on a livestream. translated snes roms
Fan re-translations aim to restore the creator's original vision. Games like Final Fantasy VI have received re-translation patches that strip away Woolseyisms (unique localization choices made by translator Ted Woolsey) to provide a script While EarthBound has a cult following, its predecessor
As physical carts degrade and Nintendo focuses on profitability over preservation, fan translation remains the for hundreds of games. The scene is shifting toward: While EarthBound has a cult following