A very vocal part of the Nintendo community has long asked the company to give Mother 3 an official Western release. While it has yet to come to fruition, it seems an official release for this third entry in the Earthbound series might be closer than ever before thanks to the addition of Game Boy Advance titles in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service. Although it was not listed among the titles confirmed to be coming the service, there is hope for an English translation sometime in the future.
The announcement of Game Boy Advance games coming to the Expansion Pack tier was great news for a variety of reasons, as it not only gives fans of the handheld a modern way to play, but also offers Nintendo a space to bring over games that never saw a release outside of Japan. A good example of this trend is a Game Boy Advance title featured in the launch line-up on Switch, Kuru Kuru Kururin, which first saw a North American release on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2016. With this precedent set, it's possible that Mother 3 could receive the same treatment in the future.
Mother 3 Deserves an Official Western Release
Mother 3 started life as a sequel to the SNES RPG Earthbound - Mother 2 in Japan - being developed for the Nintendo 64. Although this iteration of the game would end up being scrapped, many of its ideas came into Mother 3, which released in Japan in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance. While many assume this game never saw a Western release due to some controversial elements of its story, the poor sales of Earthbound and a general lack of interest from Western audiences 12 years after its release were also likely factors behind why Mother 3 has never been localized.
However, in the time since its Japanese release, the Earthbound series has developed somewhat of a cult following, prompting many fans to inquire whether the third installment could ever see an official localization. It's clear Nintendo is aware there is an audience for Mother 3 given it released an official localization of the first game in the series on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015 - called Earthbound Beginnings. While this was not the entry that many fans hoped for, it still showed Nintendo was willing to localize a Japan-exclusive entry in the series decades after its initial release.
In early 2022, Nintendo added Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings to the library of NES and SNES games available for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Now that the launch of Game Boy Advance titles on the service has reignited discussion about a Mother 3 localization, the company could be planning a similar release. A Mother 3 release would be a larger undertaking, but that translation challenge didn't stop Earthbound Beginnings in 2015.
There's arguably never been a better time to give Mother 3 the English release it deserves, as there is a perfect platform to release it on. It would also serve as a great way to entice fans of the series to subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier of its Nintendo Switch Online service. As the library of Game Boy Advance titles on Switch continues to grow in the coming months, including Mother 3 among its offerings would be a great gesture of good faith for fans of the niche series.