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is a 2006
role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
developed by
Brownie Brown (stylized as "1-UP Studio Inc."), formerly is a Japanese video game developer founded on June 30, 2000, in Tokyo, Japan, and a subsidiary of Nintendo. On February 1, 2013, the company announced that due to their recent co-development efforts ...
and
HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN (derived from its native name), is a Japanese video game developer founded on 21 February 1980. While independent, it has been closely tied with Nintendo throughout its history, and is often referred to as a secon ...
and published by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
. It is the third entry in the ''Mother'' series. The game follows Lucas, a young boy with psychic abilities, and a party of characters as they attempt to prevent a mysterious invading army from corrupting and destroying the world. Like previous entries, ''Mother 3'' focuses on exploring the game world from a
top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
and engaging in
turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...
combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
with enemies. Its development spanned twelve years and four consoles, beginning in 1994 for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
and then transitioning to the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
and its
64DD The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The "6 ...
add-on. It was initially canceled in 2000, but development was restarted in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. ''Mother 3'' was never localized or released outside
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, due to its release near the end of the Advance's lifespan and the company focusing on the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. However, it was a critical and commercial success in the years that followed and has generated a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, in which it received critical praise for its character development, stylized graphics, music, story, and more mature and dramatic tone than its previous installments, but was criticized for its lack of innovation in the role-playing genre. An unofficial English fan translation was released by the Starmen.net
internet community A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communi ...
in 2008, and received over 100,000 downloads within a week. ''Mother 3'' was re-released for the
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
in Japan in 2016.


Gameplay

''Mother 3'' is a single-player
role playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
similar to previous games in the ''Mother'' series. The player controls a
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
of
playable characters A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
who explore the game's
two-dimensional In mathematics, a plane is a Euclidean (flat), two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely. A plane is the two-dimensional analogue of a point (zero dimensions), a line (one dimension) and three-dimensional space. Planes can arise as s ...
fictional world A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes m ...
, primarily shown from a
top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
. While navigating the
overworld An overworld (sometimes referred to as a hub world) is, in a broad sense, commonly an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other vide ...
, the player may converse with
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s, obtain items, or encounter enemies. Winning battles against enemies awards
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s to the party, which is required for leveling up. Leveling up a character permanently enhances its individual
attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object * Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object * Grammatical modifier, in natural languages * Attribute (computing), a specification that defines a proper ...
such as maximum
hit points Health is an attribute in a video game or tabletop game that determines the maximum amount of damage or loss of stamina that a character or object can take before dying or losing consciousness. In role-playing games, this typically takes the for ...
(HP), power points (PP), offense, and defense. Weapons, armor, or accessories can be equipped on a character to increase certain attributes. The player can restore their characters' HP and PP or heal various status ailments by visiting
hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
s which are abundant in the game world, and the player can save the game by talking to
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s. Currency is introduced in the later half of the game as Dragon Points (DP), earned by winning battles and used to purchase items. The player can deposit or withdraw DP from frogs. ''Mother 3'' retains the
turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...
battle system featured in ''EarthBound.'' When the player comes into contact with an enemy in the overworld, the game transitions to a battle screen. Battles are viewed from a presumed first-person perspective, showing the enemies against a distorted, animated background. The player can assign each character in their party to perform an action, such as attacking an enemy or using items to restore HP or PP. Some characters can utilize
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
-based abilities referred to as PSI, which includes stronger attacks and healing abilities, and require PP to execute. Like ''EarthBound'', combat uses a "rolling health" system: when one of the player's characters is injured, its HP will gradually "roll" down, similar to an
odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...
, rather than immediately decremented. This allows a mortally wounded character to perform actions like attacking or healing themselves, as long as the player acts quickly enough. If a character loses all HP, it will become unconscious and cannot participate unless revived by another character. The player loses a battle if all characters become unconscious; the player will then be given the option to continue play from the nearest save point, but with half the DP on their person. Combat in ''Mother 3'' includes a unique musical
combo Combo may refer to: Technology *Combo television unit, a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit * Combo drive, a type of optical drive that can read CDs and DVDs *A guitar amplifier incorporating one or more loudsp ...
system not seen in previous ''Mother'' games. When one of the player's characters directly attacks an enemy with a weapon, they can repeatedly attack the enemy by pressing the button in time with the
beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...
of the
background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
, with each enemy possessing a musical theme with different rhythms. Using this system, the player can attack the enemy up to sixteen times in a row. When the correct beat is not apparent, the player can put the enemy to sleep to isolate the beat from the music.


Plot

''Mother 3'' is set in the fictional Nowhere Islands, an unknown length of time after the events of ''Mother 2''. The game begins with twins Lucas and Claus and their mother Hinawa preparing to return home to Tazmily Village after visiting Hinawa's father, who lives in the northern reaches of the Islands. Before they can return, Tazmily Village is attacked by a mysterious military force known as the Pigmask Army, who bomb the nearby forest and start a forest fire. Hinawa's husband, Flint, is alerted to the fire and sets out to rescue his family. He finds Lucas and Claus, but discovers that Hinawa was killed defending them from a hostile Drago, a normally peaceful lizard-like creature. Later, Claus leaves the village to take revenge on the Drago; Flint attempts to follow him and discovers and defeats the Drago, which has been turned into a cyborg, but fails to find Claus. In response to the Pigmasks' invasion, neophyte thief Duster is sent by his father and teacher Wess to the abandoned Osohe Castle to retrieve the mysterious Egg of Light. While there he meets the spirited young Princess Kumatora, but both he and the Egg are caught in a trap and vanish. At the same time a mysterious peddler known as Yokuba, who works with the Pigmasks, sells television-like devices known as Happy Boxes to the townspeople, with the unwilling help of a monkey named Salsa who he abuses. Yokuba introduces the villagers to the concept of currency, giving some money to one of them and then framing Duster for the theft of it. Salsa escapes from Yokuba's control with the help of Kumatora, Lucas, and Wess. Three years later, Tazmily Village has been taken over by the Pigmask Army, who have modernized it with railways, Happy Boxes, and other modern technology. Lucas hears rumours that Duster, who has been missing since leaving for Osohe Castle, is working as a bassist at the nearby Club Titiboo, and sets off with his dog Boney. While travelling there, he learns psychic powers from a superpowered, benevolent, androgynous creature known as a Magypsy. At the club, he finds Kumatora working as a waitress, as well as Duster, who has lost his memory. They join and recover the Egg and restore Duster's memory, but while attempting to board a flying Pigmask airship, a mysterious Masked Man shakes them off and sends them flying to the ground, separating them. Lucas and Boney land in a haystack back in Tazmily, and learn from the Magypsies that beneath the Islands is a massive dragon. The Magypsies' purpose is to guard seven Needles that were placed in the dragon to control its power; whoever pulls most of the Needles will be able to use the dragon's incredible power to completely reshape the world. Because of this, the Masked Man is trying to find and pull the Needles. Lucas and Boney reunite with Duster and Kumatora and race to pull the Needles before the Masked Man, but only manage to pull three before him, with the Masked Man pulling another three. The seventh and final Needle is located beneath New Pork City, the capital of the Pigmasks. Lucas and company travel there and meet Leder, another villager, who reveals that the inhabitants of Tazmily Village are the last survivors of a global apocalypse, who travelled to the Nowhere Islands as they were protected by the dragon's power. To prevent a second apocalypse from reoccurring, the survivors sealed their previous memories in the Egg of Light; Leder was given the role of revealing the truth if the situation called for it. He also reveals that the leader of the Pigmasks is Porky Minch, who after the events of ''Mother 2'' travelled in time to the Nowhere Islands and began building an empire there, kidnapping inhabitants from other time periods (including Dr. Andonuts from ''Mother 2'') to populate it, as well as transforming the local wildlife into twisted new forms (including the Drago that killed Hinawa). Lucas and company set out to confront Porky and pull the last needle. While fighting their way to him, they discover that Yokuba was the Magypsy responsible for protecting the seventh Needle, who turned traitor and started working for the Pigmasks. The heroes confront Porky deep beneath New Pork City, but he seals himself inside an "Absolutely Safe Capsule" built by Dr. Andonuts; however, Andonuts then reveals that the Absolutely Safe Capsule cannot be exited. And despite his many warnings, Porky used the machine in ignorance. Rendering the outside world absolutely safe by permanently sealing Porky within it. Lucas reaches the seventh needle and confronts the Masked Man, who is revealed to be a brainwashed Claus. During the battle between Claus and Lucas, Claus's memory of his mother restores his humanity and he commits suicide. Lucas pulls the final Needle, awakening the Dragon and destroying the Nowhere Islands. In an epilogue set in pitch darkness, the game's cast reveals that they have survived and wish the player farewell. After the credits, the ''Mother 3'' logo is shown restored to being made completely of wood.


Development

Development of ''Mother 3'' began in 1994 for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
with
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
and
Satoru Iwata was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer, video game designer, and producer. He was the fourth President (corporate title), president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015. He was a major contr ...
as producers. The team mostly consisted of members involved in the development of the previous ''Mother'' game, ''
EarthBound ''EarthBound'', released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Creatures (company), Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the Mother (video game s ...
.'' Inspired by ''
Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'', the team transitioned from the Super Famicom to the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
, believing that they could also creatively flourish by making a 3D world without technical restrictions. However, their early specifications exceeded the capabilities and memory limits of Nintendo 64; halfway through development the team scaled back its large scope and changed the platform to the
64DD The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The "6 ...
, a Nintendo 64 expansion peripheral that was later released only in Japan in 1999. ''Mother 3'' was expected to be a 64DD launch game, but development shifted back to the Nintendo 64 after the 64DD's commercial failure. Nintendo showcased a demo of ''Mother 3'' at the 1999
Nintendo Space World formerly named and was an annual video game trade show hosted by Nintendo from 1989 to 2001. Its three days of high-energy party atmosphere was the primary venue for Nintendo and its licensees to announce and demonstrate new consoles and game ...
trade show. It was expected to be released in North America under the title ''EarthBound 64,'' on a 256-
megabit The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega (symbol M) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 106 (1 million), and therefore :1 megabit = = = 1000 kilobits. The megabit h ...
cartridge, similar to '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''. ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' reacted favorably to the demo and compared the multi-character narrative to the Japan-only Super Famicom RPG ''
Live A Live ''Live A Live'' is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. A remake for Nintendo Switch was released in July 2022, published by Square Enix in Japan and Nintendo worldwide. The game follows seven d ...
'', and ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' readers ranked the game as one of their top ten most anticipated towards the end of 1999.
Shigesato Itoi is a Japanese copywriter, essayist, lyricist, game designer, and actor. Itoi is the editor-in-chief of his website and company '' Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun'' ("Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper"). He is best known outside Japan for his work on Nintendo' ...
announced in late August 2000 that ''Mother 3'' had been cancelled following a number of delays. Iwata and Miyamoto clarified in an interview that resources had been moved to the development of the
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
, the next Nintendo console. Itoi stated that an additional two years would have been required to finish the game, which was 30% complete at the time of cancellation. Iwata stated retrospectively that the focus on 3D graphics made the project overcomplex. Miyamoto also stated that the ''Mother'' franchise had not been abandoned and that he was still interested in bringing the game to fruition. In 2003, in a Japanese commercial for the compilation game ''
Mother 1+2 (known as ''EarthBound'' outside Japan) is a video game series that consists of three role-playing video games: ''Mother'' (1989), known as ''EarthBound Beginnings'' outside Japan, for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer; ''Moth ...
'', Nintendo announced that it had restarted the development of ''Mother 3'' for the portable
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
console. Itoi had believed that restarting the project was impossible but changed his mind following encouragement from the ''Mother'' fanbase. Nintendo subsidiary
Brownie Brown (stylized as "1-UP Studio Inc."), formerly is a Japanese video game developer founded on June 30, 2000, in Tokyo, Japan, and a subsidiary of Nintendo. On February 1, 2013, the company announced that due to their recent co-development efforts ...
developed the game, with input from Itoi. While the graphics were changed from 3D to 2D, the story was not altered. ''Mother 3'' was about 60% complete by July 2004, and was released on April 20, 2006 in Japan.


Design

Itoi thought of the concept behind ''Mother 3'' towards the end of ''Mother 2'' production, a "detective story where the city was the main character". He thought of a
hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
, small-time,
womanizing Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
who would become engrossed in a big murder case, and the story would unfold from a young female clerk at a flower shop who would slowly recall parts of a story consequential to the plot. Thus, the city would appear to grow. This idea of a "single place changing over time" was central to ''Mother 3''. Unlike previous RPGs, which he saw as "
road movies A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienati ...
" with little reason to revisit, he wanted the player to see the town gossip grow dynamically. It was enough of a departure from the series that the development team questioned whether fans would consider it part of the series. Itoi intended the game to have 12 chapters with various game mechanics and rotating player-characters. He conceptualized the development as moving 3D puppets before realizing the degree of programming required. As development wore on, Itoi reduced the scope of the chapters until seven or nine were left. The "uncomfortable beauty" of
chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...
—multiple creatures fused into one—was central to the game and the idea behind the metallic and wooden ''Mother 3'' logo. Itoi served less of a manager role and more as a team member and scriptwriter than in previous ''Mother'' development cycles. He saw himself as simultaneously making the game he wanted to play and setting traps for the player, and as making a game Nintendo could not. Itoi chose to use the pixelated style of ''Mother 2'' for the Game Boy Advance ''Mother 3'' because he was uninterested in computer graphics trends. The series' games were written in the
hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...
alphabet instead of in
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
(Chinese characters) so as to remain accessible to young children. Itoi described the game world as governed by a " might equals right ...
macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
" power struggle. The antagonist, Porky, was designed as a "symbol of humankind", complementing Itoi's view of evil on a fungible morality spectrum with "pranks" and "crimes" at its extremes. Itoi compared the way in which the characters realize their psychic powers with
menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hor ...
and added that
human physiology The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a head ...
was "one of his themes". Players sweat when learning an ability based on Itoi's belief of how physical struggle facilitates growth. He also included characters like the Magypsies and Duster (who has a bad leg) to show the value of having friends with different qualities. Another of his themes was the duality of the seriousness and lightheartedness of games, which is why he added a serious death scene to the first chapter. Itoi's Nintendo 64 version of the scenario was darker, "dirtier", and more upsetting, though the final version changed little in concept. Itoi attributed the change in tone to his own growth and the character composition of the new development team. Itoi later reflected on the ending's lesson on the virtue of helping bad people. Itoi felt that the ending's renewal theme reflected his worldview of appreciating our time on Earth in light of the planet's inevitable end. Much of the rest of the script was written after-hours at a local hotel where they would continue their work.


Music

Shogo Sakai, a
video game composer Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...
at HAL Laboratory whose previous works include music for ''
Kirby Air Ride ''Kirby Air Ride'', known in Japan as , is a 2003 racing video game starring Kirby, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Kirby Air Ride'' has the players and computer-controlled racers ride on Air Ride Mach ...
'' and ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 Fictional crossover, crossover fighting game, fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. I ...
'', composed ''Mother 3''
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
. Shigesato Itoi stated that Sakai was chosen for the role given his deep understanding of the game's story and the ''EarthBound'' series in general, in addition to the fact that ''EarthBound'' composers
Keiichi Suzuki is a Japanese musician, singer, and record producer who co-founded the Moonriders, a group that became one of Japan's most innovative rock bands. He is known to audiences outside Japan for his musical contributions to the video games ''Mother'' ...
and
Hirokazu Tanaka , also known as Chip Tanaka, is a Japanese musician, composer, sound designer, and executive who pioneered chiptune music. He is best known as one of Nintendo's in-house composers during the 8- and 16-bit era of video games. Tanaka also had a role ...
were both unavailable. Sakai worked to make the music feel similar to previous entries in the series. The ''Mother 3'' soundtrack was released on
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
on November 2, 2006. Kyle Miller of ''RPGFan'' wrote that the game retained the quirkiness of the previous soundtracks in the series despite the change in composers. He found the second half of the album, which included reinterpreted "classics" from the series, to be its strongest. "Love Theme", the main theme of ''Mother 3'', was composed late in the game's development; earlier in development Itoi intended to use the "Pigmask Army" theme as the main theme of the game. During the creation of an important scene in the game, however, Sakai was asked to create a song that would have a greater impact than the Pigmask theme; upon its creation, it was chosen to be used as the main theme instead of the "Pigmask Army" song. Itoi claims that, given how quickly Sakai composed the song, that he had been "waiting for the order" to make a song like "Love Theme". Itoi requested that "Love Theme" be playable on a piano with only one finger, as the "Eight Melodies" theme from ''Mother'' had gained popularity and been played in elementary schools due to its simplicity. The "OK desu ka?" that plays after the player chooses the character's name was recorded without Itoi's knowledge by
Hirokazu Tanaka , also known as Chip Tanaka, is a Japanese musician, composer, sound designer, and executive who pioneered chiptune music. He is best known as one of Nintendo's in-house composers during the 8- and 16-bit era of video games. Tanaka also had a role ...
more than a decade before the release of ''Mother 3''.


Release

''Mother 3'' was released in Japan on April 20, 2006, where it became a bestseller. Prior to its release, the game was in the "top five most wanted games" of ''Famitsu'' and at the top of the Japanese preordered game charts. At one point leading up to its release, the game's "Love Theme" would play as
music on hold Music on hold (MOH) is the business practice of playing recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by telephone callers who have been placed on hold. It is especially common in situations involving customer service. Music on hold is ...
for the
Japan Post was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, Retail banking, banking services, and life insurance. It's the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and run ...
. A
limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
Deluxe Box Set was produced with a special edition
Game Boy Micro The Game Boy Micro is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on September 13, 2005 as a smaller, lighter redesign of the Game Boy Advance. The system is the last console in the Game Boy lin ...
and Franklin Badge pin. The game was marketed in Japan with a television commercial that has Japanese actress
Kō Shibasaki is a Japanese actress and singer who has performed in television shows, movies, and commercials. She is managed by Stardust Promotion. Biography Acting career Shibasaki debuted in 2000, when she portrayed Mitsuko Souma in '' Battle Royale.'' S ...
on the verge of tears as she explains her feelings about ''Mother 3''. Itoi has said that her performance was unscripted. The game was released for the Japanese
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
on the
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
in December 2015. ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' editor Imran Khan alleges that Nintendo planned an English localization but canceled it due to fears that the central theme of bereavement, as well as instances of drug use and animal cruelty, would generate controversy. Former
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards. ...
president
Reggie Fils-Aimé Reginald Fils-Aimé ( ; born March 25, 1961) is an American businessman best known for being the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American division of the Japanese video game company Nintendo, from 2006 ...
later said in an interview with ''
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
'' that the lack of localization was because it "just didn't make business sense" to make one for a game released very late in the handheld's lifespan. He also said that he was in talks with Iwata to possibly release it on the North American Wii U eShop prior to Iwata's passing.


Fan translation

''Mother 3'' did not receive an official release outside Japan. On October 17, 2008, Starmen.net released a
fan translation Fan translation (or user-generated translation) refers to the unofficial translation of various forms of written or multimedia products made by fans (fan labor), often into a language in which an official translated version is not yet available. ...
patch Patch or Patches may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Patch Johnson, a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'' * Patch (''My Little Pony''), a toy * "Patches" (Dickey Lee song), 1962 * "Patches" (Chairmen of the Board song) ...
that, when applied on a copy of the ''Mother 3''
ROM image A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, or used to contain a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board. The term is frequentl ...
, translates all the game's text into
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. Reid Young, co-founder of Starmen.net, stated that when they realized Nintendo was not going to localize ''Mother 3'', they decided to undertake the task, for themselves and for fans of the game. The translation team consisted of around a dozen individuals, including project lead Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, a professional Japanese-to-English translator. The project took two years and thousands of work-hours to complete; it was estimated that the theoretical freelance cost of the translation was $30,000. The project included translating, writing, and revising about 1,000 pages of the game script in addition to extensive
ROM hacking ROM hacking is the process of modifying a ROM image, ROM image or ROM file of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, levels, gameplay, and/or other elements. This is usually done by technically inclined video game fans to improve an ...
and testing to ensure that the game properly displays the translated text. The translation included minor deviations from the original, such as localization of place names and puns. The few dramatic changes included renaming some characters and locations. For example, the character "Yokuba", loosely derived from , was renamed "Fassad", loosely derived from the French word ''
façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...
'' and, incidentally, the Arabic word ''fasād'' (فساد, "corruption"). The ROM hacking entailed
assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
-level changes to the game code to support features such as variable width fonts. The team reported that "the highest levels" of Nintendo of America knew about their project, though they did not intervene. The localization team planned to end the project if Nintendo were to make an announcement about the future of the game, or if they were asked to cease development of the translation. They acknowledged that the legality of the localization was unclear since the final translation required use of an
emulator In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run so ...
or a flash cartridge. The localization patch was downloaded over 100,000 times in the first week following its release. Along with the translation, the team announced the ''Mother 3 Handbook'', an English player's guide for the game that had been in development since June 2008. ''Wired'' reported the full-color, 200-page player's guide to be akin to a professional strategy guide, with quality "on par with ...
Prima Games Prima Games is a publishing company of video game strategy guides in the United States. Formerly, Prima was an imprint of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Penguin Random House, and produced print ''strategy guides'', featuring ''in-depth walkth ...
and
BradyGames Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
". ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' cited the two-year fan translation of ''Mother 3'' as proof of the fan base's dedication, and Jenni Lada of ''TechnologyTell'' called it "undoubtedly one of the best known fan translations in existence", with active retranslations into other languages.


Reception

''Mother 3'' received critical acclaim, it sold around 200,000 copies in its first week of sales in Japan and despite not having an English localization, critics imported it for reception and gave it mostly positive reviews. It was one of Japan's top 20 bestselling games for the first half of 2006, and received a "Platinum Hall of Fame" score of 35/40 from Japanese reviewer ''
Weekly Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both we ...
''. It ended the year with over 368,000 copies sold, the 36th highest of the year in Japan. Jenni Lada of ''TechnologyTell'' called it the "perfect" Game Boy Advance role-playing game. Reviewers praised its story (even though the game was only available in Japanese) and graphics, and lamented its 1990s role-playing game mechanics. Critics also complimented its music. ''Famitsu'' reviewers noted the level of detail from the game's direction, accessibility and wit of the story, unconventional art style, and conventional game mechanics. They considered the timed battles to be both useful and difficult. ''Eurogamer'' Simon Parkin detailed the 12-year development, the series' legacy as both "one of Japan's most beloved" and the video game cognoscenti's " sacred cow", and the endurance of its
fan community A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
. He was impressed by the quality of the fan translation and described Itoi as a "storyteller" who chose the Japanese role-playing game medium to tell his story. Parkin noted how the "excellent" script unfurled from a "straightforward tale" into "breadth and depth of quality that few titles many times its budget achieve" with "affecting scenes" and "unexpected impact". He compared the chapter approach with the method of ''
Dragon Quest IV ''Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen'', titled ''Dragon Warrior IV'' when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game, the fourth installment of the '' Dragon Quest'' video game series developed by Chunsoft and publish ...
''. Parkin wrote that the script allowed for the somewhat "heavy-handed" juxtaposition of "nature and technology,
feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
and
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
, individuals and community", and that what he first considers a name customization "trick" becomes useful later in the game. ''
NGC Magazine ''NGC Magazine'' (''N64 Magazine'' until October 2001 (issue 59)) was a British magazine specialising in Nintendo video game consoles and software. It was first printed in 1997 and ran until 2006. It was the successor to ''Super Play'', a maga ...
'' Mark Green wrote that the game felt like ''Mother 2.5'' in its look and feel, which he did not consider negative, albeit somewhat antiquated. Lada of ''TechnologyTell'' said ''Mother 3'' was surprisingly "darker" than its forebears. ''Eurogamer'' Parkin wrote that the "childlike" and "unusually Western" graphics were similar to ''EarthBound'' in "flat pastel textures devoid of shading" as juxtaposed with background art that "fizzes with life and character". He described the cutscenes' animations as "
bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...
", rare for
16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...
role-playing games, and of greater dramatic impact. ''RPGamer'' Jordan Jackson wrote that the visuals are typical of the series and fit the game's mood, and the website's Mike Moehnke criticized the inventory limits carried over from the previous game. Green of ''NGC'' said the game mechanics were "depressingly basic" against more advanced role-playing games. ''Eurogamer'' Parkin felt that the role-playing game elements were less interesting and added that ''Mother 3'' had few standout selling points other than its attention to detail and "only systemic innovation": the rhythm-based battle system. ''Kotaku'' Richard Eisenbeis praised the system, and ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' Greg Kasavin compared it with that of the ''Mario & Luigi'' series. Jackson wrote that the music was "just as catchy as previous games" despite being "almost completely new". Moehnke agreed, calling it "nothing less than stunning". He noted overtones of
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
and
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
. Jackson said that the game was somewhat easier than the rest of the series and somewhat shorter, at about 30 hours in length. Both ''RPGamer'' reviewers noted that ''Mother 3'' has few penalties for death. Jackson reflected that while the game is humorous and grows in enjoyment, it has some somber moments as well. Eisenbeis of ''Kotaku'' cited "the importance of mothers" as a key theme about which the game revolves, which he preferred to the mid-game "slapstick insanity" and final
plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist or surprise ending. It may change the aud ...
. Parkin wrote that the game was filled with "memorable moments", including a character who criticizes the player "for not giggling at puns", frogs with progressively silly costumes that save the game, a "reconstructed
mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...
caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
" battle, a bad haiku, and the "
campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
scene", and that while the game's simpleness could have leaned towards "raw stupidity", instead it was "elegant in its simplicity".


Legacy

Multiple critics wrote that ''Mother 3'' was one of the best role-playing games for the Game Boy Advance. ''GamePro'' Jeremy Signor listed it among his "best unreleased Japanese role-playing games" for its script and attention to detail. Tim Rogers posited that ''Mother 3'' was "the closest games have yet come to literature." Nintendo has been heavily criticized for ''Mother 3'' lack of an international release.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
referred to the ''Mother'' series as "neglected" in regards to ''EarthBound'' being the only game to be released outside Japan across the decades until 2015. Bob Mackey of ''
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
'' wrote of ''Mother 3'' that "no other game in the history of time garnered such a rabid demand for translation," and Chris Plante of ''
UGO Networks UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
'' wrote that the lack of an official ''Mother 3'' English localization was one of 2008's "worst heartbreaks". Frank Caron of ''Ars Technica'' said that the fan translation's "massive undertaking ... stands as a massive success" and that "one cannot even begin to fathom why Nintendo wouldn't see fit to release the game in the West". Although acclaimed, ''Mother'' series writer and creator Shigesato Itoi has stated that he does not have any plans to create a fourth installment in the series. The ''Super Smash Bros.'' series features the characters Ness and Lucas as playable fighters, as well as minor characters as collectibles, items, or stage hazards. During Nintendo's digital event at
E3 2014 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 (E3 2014) was the 20th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 10, 2014, and ended on June 12, 2014, with 48,900 total attendees. Ma ...
, Nintendo made a humorous reference to ''Mother 3''s lack of a localization by presenting a
stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
animation created by ''
Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...
''. The short features a fan in attendance talking to then-Nintendo of America President
Reggie Fils-Aimé Reginald Fils-Aimé ( ; born March 25, 1961) is an American businessman best known for being the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American division of the Japanese video game company Nintendo, from 2006 ...
. After the fan says "Come on, Reggie, give us ''Mother 3''!", Fils-Aimé responds by saying "How about this instead?" and then proceeds to eat a Fire Flower from the ''
Super Mario (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...
'' series in order to throw a fireball at the fan.


Notes


References


Sources

*


External links

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