It seems that after having a group do an English translation of Mother 3, there is now one working on a new project that they’re straight up calling Mother 4.  Other ROM hackers have done things with big franchises, creating their own versions of Metroid, Mario, Zelda and so forth.  Most of these are welcomed, especially since Nintendo has abandoned the roots of those series in favor for new takes on them.  With this Mother 4 project, though, there has been a backlash against the project, saying that it will never be a “true sequel.”  But what exactly does that mean?

I suppose I can relate to these folks.  When Bioshock 2 came out, I didn’t want to play it because it wasn’t a “true sequel.”  Irrational Games was off working on their own project, and since they created the narrative and world of Bioshock, how could 2K Marin step in and decide where the story should go?  Since it wasn’t cannon, I didn’t care.

It’s not like this hasn’t happened before, and not just in games, but also in all media.  As an example, since Ian Fleming died, a number of other authors have started writing the James Bond novels.  While any change is sure to create controversy, every time a new author is announced there isn't much uproar except in small fan communities.  But then there’s something like The Wheel of Time.  Robert Jordan didn’t finish the series before he died, so his notes were passed on to a writer named Brandon Sanderson who is writing three books to end the story with.  In this situation, fans are mostly upset.  What is the difference here?

It’s the narrative.  It’s the rich universe that was created by the original person or team.  If you take that away from them, it just feels like the result is somebody’s opinion on what happened rather than what actually happened.  Books and films like the James Bond series are pulp novels with not much of a universe involved, just a few characters and concepts.  In the world of games, something like Prince of Persia is the same as a pulp novel.  You come for the action, not really the story.  That’s just there to give you a meaning behind the action.  Someone different could be penning each one of those games and most people wouldn’t care or notice.

I’ve finally made the decision that I’d play Bioshock 2, and I’m having fun with it.  Sure it’s not a “true sequel,” but sometimes we have to put aside our internal critic and just try to enjoy things.