Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings, previously known only as Mother, released recently for the Nintendo Switch online service. While fans were happy to see not only Earthbound, but also its previously Japan-only predecessor come out to modern consoles, many complained about the fact that Mother 3, the much-desired third game in the series, was once again not brought over to the west.
While Mother 3 remains Japan-only, fan appreciation for the game remains high, and with Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings now available for a brand-new generation of gamers, more people are becoming aware of the franchise. Here are some facts about Mother 3 for new fans of the franchise.
10 Lucas Originated In This Game
Fans of the Super Smash Bros. Series may recognize Ness as the main character of Earthbound, but be a little confused as to who Lucas is. This is because Lucas is actually from Mother 3, which of course has never been released in the West.
The game is unique in that it frequently switches perspectives between the many playable characters, giving each of their stories a different weight. However, Lucas remains the main character of the game, giving him a special significance that would allow him to represent his home game.
9 Mother 3's Combat Is Music-Based
Much of Mother 3's combat is very similar to that of Earthbound Beginnings and Earthbound's turn-based RPG gameplay. However, the former adds a couple unique aspects to the gameplay, particularly the music combo system, which makes it very different from not just other games in the series, but most other RPGs.
The music combo system allows the player to land extra hits depending on how fast and how well they can keep in time with the battle theme. At best, the player can land up to sixteen hits at once with a single attack.
8 Mother 3 Takes Place Some Time After Earthbound
The Mother games all take place within the same timeline and universe, and Mother 3 is no exception. The game takes place an unknown amount of years after Earthbound, in a fictional location known as the Nowhere Islands.
While Mother 3 makes no direct references to the previous two games, there are a few hints here and there to characters and events that happened in Earthbound. Dr. Andonuts appears, as does Pokey (or Porky) Minch, a recurring antagonist in Earthbound who is now the main antagonist of Mother 3.
7 Development Started In 1994
Mother 3's development actually started fairly early, starting up right after Earthbound's release. While it was originally planned to release on the SNES, the success of Super Mario 64 convinced producers to switch gears and plan for a release on the new Nintendo 64 console instead.
Plans changed again to have the title be a launch game for an expansion for Nintendo 64 called the 64DD, but they were quickly scrapped. Had plans not fallen through, this game would most likely have released in 1999 as Earthbound 64.
6 It Was Temporarily Canceled In 2000
Despite development having been going on since 1994, by 2000 only 30% of the game was complete, according to veteran Mother producer Shigesato Itoi. Producers Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata explained that the resources meant for Mother 3 were moved to develop the GameCube instead.
As a result, the development of Mother 3 was canceled, especially since according to Itoi, two more years would have been necessary to complete development of Mother 3. Despite this, Miyamoto insisted that he was not abandoning the game, and that he still wanted to complete it.
5 Mother Fans Encouraged Its Revival
Although Miyamoto had said he wanted to complete the game eventually, Itoi believed that reviving the project would be impossible. However, in 2003, three years after its initial cancellation, Nintendo announced that it would restart the development of Mother 3, this time for the Game Boy Advance.
According to Itoi, the Mother fanbase who had been clamoring for the release of Mother 3 was what convinced him that bringing back Mother 3 would be possible. Eventually, Mother 3 would finally release in 2006, twelve years after development initially started.
4 Many Aspects Of Mother 3 Were Ultimately Cut Out
The game that was originally envisioned as Mother 3 and the game that Mother 3 would actually become were quite different beasts. For example, it was initially planned to have 3D environments instead of the traditional 2D aesthetic of the previous games.
Many of these ideas were ultimately taken out of the game even before it was canceled in 2000. The realization that a lot of the ideas behind Mother 3 were too much for the Nintendo 64 caused the development team to cut down on some of the ideas that had planned, although the general themes of the game's story remained intact.
3 Mother 3 Is The Last Game In The Series
Mother 3 was a highly anticipated game, and when it was released, it became a bestseller. Part of that success was thanks to the marketing, which included released special editions and commercials of popular celebrities.
Despite this, series creator and producer Shigesato Itoi claims that he has no plans of creating a fourth Mother game. With the success of Mother 3, there should be no problem with green-lighting another entry, so it's likely that Itoi himself does not want to continue the series further.
2 A Localization Was Planned And Canceled
One of Mother 3's biggest talking points is the glaring lack of a Western localization. Western fans of Earthbound have been clamoring for an official localization, but it has never happened.
Game Informer editor Imran Khan has stated that Nintendo had actually planned an English localization, but it was ultimately canceled. Allegedly, the reasons that had been given for the cancellation were that many of the themes and actions in the game would be considered controversial, including certain instances of drug use and animal cruelty.
1 It Has An Unofficial English Translation
The lack of an official localization did not hinder ardent fans of the Mother series, and in 2008, a fan translation patch was released by Starmen.net which would translate the entire game into English. The project took two years to complete, and the translation cost was suggested to be around $30,000.
While the legality of the fan translation is somewhat unclear, the translation team noted that Nintendo of America seemed to know about the project but did not intervene. Nevertheless, the fan translation has been considered a sign of the Mother fandom's dedication and is praised for its quality.