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Mother 3

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Mother 3 box art
Japanese box art for Mother 3 using nothing but its logo, which uses a mash of wood and steel to show contrasting cultures.
Developer(s)Brownie Brown
HAL Laboratory
Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 3
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Nobuyuki Inoue (director)
Writer(s)Shigesato Itoi
Composer(s)Shogo Sakai
SeriesEarthBound
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory, and Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 3. It was published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the EarthBound series, following EarthBound for the Super NES 12 years earlier. It was written by Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the series, and directed by Nobuyuki Inoue. The music was composed by Shogo Sakai, whom Itoi chose to succeed long-time series composers for the series Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka; both were not available to work on the project.

Mother 3 is a loose sequel to EarthBound. It takes place on the "Nowhere Islands", a series of islands on Earth, and stars several characters, including Lucas, a young boy; Flint, a farmer and father of Lucas; Duster, a thief; Kumatora, a princess; Salsa, a monkey; and Boney, Flint's dog. The primary antagonist is the mysterious Pigmask Army, an army of people who wear pig-like uniforms, which suddenly invades the islands, subjugating its population. They create a variety of technologies, including Chimeras, creatures that consist of either multiple animals or machine-animal hybrids. The game switches perspectives between the main characters during several chapters.

Mother 3 was originally developed for the Super Famicom in 1994, but was moved to the Nintendo 64DD and titled EarthBound 64 in English. Owing in part the failure of this platform, it was cancelled and moved to the Nintendo 64, though the developers continued creating an expansion of it called Mother 3.5. They experienced trouble with developing its 3D engine, and as a result, it was delayed several times and ultimately cancelled. It resurfaced in a 2003 television advertisement for Mother 1 + 2, a compilation of its predecessors; a message announced the revival of Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Famitsu subsequently listed the title on its "most wanted games" feature where it stayed for weeks. It was released on April 20, 2006, and was met with great success, selling 370,213 units as of June 26, 2006.

Although Nintendo of America have not announced plans to localize Mother 3 into another language, a fan translation group has released a patch to translate the game into English. Electronic Gaming Monthly's rumor section mentioned a compilation of Mother, Mother 2, and Mother 3 titled Mother Compilation would be made for the Nintendo DS, possibly with an international release. However, nothing has come of this. More recently, Brownie Brown, its developer, stated that if asked by Nintendo, they would work on a DS remake. According to Itoi, there are no plans to create a fourth Mother game, but he has not completely dismissed the idea.

Gameplay

Boney attacking. The player must keep with the beat of the background music to continue comboing the enemy, which displays musical notes that rotate around the enemy.

Mother 3 takes place in a more rural setting than the other Mother games. It is arranged into a series of eight chapters of varying length. Instead of focusing solely on a group of children, Mother 3 chronicles the story and adventures of Lucas and his family, and the story switches perspective during several chapters. The first three chapters are from the perspectives of Flint, Duster, and Salsa respectively, while the remaining five chapters are from the game's protagonist, Lucas', perspective.[1]

A returning feature from the original Mother is the ability to dash; by holding and releasing a button the player can move more quickly, ram into breakable objects,[2] and stun or kill weak enemies.[2] A player may enter a battle multiple ways. Their character may enter it normally, facing the enemy's front, or they can enter battle in a surprise encounter, either with the enemy or character attacking the other from behind.[2] Mother 3 allows the player to save using creatures called "Save Frogs", which are abundant and appear at various areas in the game.[2] Currency is not available early in the game, as Nowhere Islands features a communal gift-giving system.[3] Currency is introduced later in the game as "Dragon Power" (DP), which is earned from battle,with different enemies giving different amounts based on difficulty, and stored away, requiring the player access it from the Save Frogs.[2]

The game retains the battle system found in Mother and EarthBound, characterized by non-animated enemy sprites and an animated background.[2] The player may have up to four playable characters in their group at a given time, as well as additional supporting characters.[citation needed] There are several kinds of statistics, which include Health Points, the amount of health a character has; PSI Points, the magic power a character has left; Offense, which determines a character's attack power; Defense, which determines a character's defensive ability;[2] IQ, which determines a character's PSI power and status effect defense; and Speed, which determines which character performs first.[2] The player may also equip various items, which range from weapons, body equipment, headgear, and other kinds of equipment.[4] The game uses a rolling health and PSI points system. Instead of a character's health or PSI being immediately drained, the health of the character will roll down over time, allowing the character to perform actions until it hits zero, including recovering from the damage.[citation needed]

There are four main options a character can use - Attack, which varies depending on the primary weapon the fighter uses; Goods, which is used to access the items held by that character; Guard, which lowers the damage taken and slows the speed of the character's HP drop; and Run Away, which gives the player a chance to escape from battle.[2] Another option, called PSI, is an ability only two characters possess. There are three different kinds of PSI powers - Offensive PSI, which contains attack PSI abilities; Defensive PSI, which contains protective PSI abilities; and Assist PSI, which contains abilities such as shields.[2] Each character has a unique ability exclusive to one or two characters.[2] Flint, the first playable character, has "full power attacks", including attack and defense buffs and an attack that strikes multiple enemies; Duster is capable of using several thief tools, including Wall Staples which subdue an enemy; Salsa's technique is Dance, where he does a dance to affect the enemy's disposition; Lucas and Kumatora's special technique is PSI; and Boney's is Sniff, which is used to detect the details of an enemy. Mother 3 introduces a musical combo system not found in previous titles. To use this system, the player must hit the beat of the background music during battle, with most enemies having their own beat and/or tempo.[2] The player can hear this tempo by putting an enemy to sleep, allowing the player to hear its beat in the form of its "heartbeat".[2] Certain attacks strike only one enemy, while others strike multiple ones. Randomly, the player may inflict a critical hit on an enemy.[5]

Characters

Main article: Characters in Mother 3

Unlike the first two games, the focus is no longer on a group of children. Some chapters put completely different characters in the protagonistic role: in one chapter the player controls a limping thief named Duster, in another chapter the main character is Salsa, a monkey who is constantly suffering abuse by a rich traveling merchant named Yokuba. The only child character the player gets to control is Lucas, who is about nine to ten years old in the first three chapters and 12 to 13 years for the remainder of the game. Mother 3 features few returning characters, including the two above mentioned Dr. Andonuts and Porky Minch, as well as the Mr. Saturns, a race of small creatures who speak in a strange dialect. The main protagonists include Lucas, a young boy; Flint, a ranch owner; Duster, a thief; Kumatora, a Princess; Boney, Lucas' dog; and Salsa, a monkey.[1]

Setting

See also: EarthBound 64 § Story and setting

Mother 3 is set in the Nowhere Islands. Chaos ensues after an invasion by the Pigmask Army, named after the uniforms, which resemble pigs, and its leader the "Pig King". They slowly construct a police state, while experimenting on the land's flora and fauna, and introducing new technology and infrastructure to the islands.[6] The various chapters culminate in Lucas's quest to rid the Nowhere Islands of the Pigmask Army.[citation needed]

Itoi describes the world of Mother 3 as being "macho", saying that "the good guys are strong and fight, and so do the bad guys, set up to mean might equals right."[7] Itoi had a difficult time creating another location called the Tanetane Islands, which included a twisted, nightmarish world caused by the characters' consumption of psilocybin mushrooms.[8] It features a similar vibe to Moonside, a location from EarthBound,[8] and is like a mirror of the player's mind, reflecting the player's worst nightmares.[8] The temporary dialogue Itoi used for Tanetane Island was so unpleasant that he could not stand to look at it, and tried to tone it down by rewriting it, though commenting that he still found it unpleasant.[8] Itoi stated his worst nightmare would be his friends and family being evil, which is a common aspect of the island while Lucas and company's nightmares are being shown.[8] He stated that Tanetane Island features a similar flavor to shows such as Twin Peaks and Lost.[8] While previous titles in the series required the player to call the protagonist's father to save their game, the player must save through "Save Frogs" scattered throughout the world.[8] He anticipated that people would complain about the change and ask why it was done,[8] explaining that "they are tiny, they seem like they could be anywhere, and they won't get in your way, yet they do stand out. A dog wouldn't really seem like a save point."[8]

The first location observed is Tazmily Village, known as Tatsumairi Village in Japan. It is a rural village with a communal gift-giving system. Its English name was first shown in previews of EarthBound 64, and was later used in the PAL version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, though the North American version called it "Tatsumari Village".[9] A later location, the kingdom of Osohe, is an uninhabited castle, whose Princess is the girl Kumatora. It is the location of a mystical item called the Hummingbird Egg. Osohe Castle, a locale in the game, was created by Itoi as a time table of sorts.[8] He commented that no matter how correctly you portray a time period, it's easy for it to appear to be shallow, but when you dig up a fossil, you realize that it inhabited this world at one time, using the Nazca Lines as an example.[8] New Pork City is the final location in the game, and was featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[10]

Story

See also: Characters in Mother 3
See also: EarthBound 64 § Story and setting

The game starts with Hinawa visiting her father Alec, along with her two children, Lucas and Claus.[11] A fire is started in the forest, and Flint assists in helping with it.[citation needed] Claus and Lucas are found washed up nearby.[12] After Hinawa is killed by a Drago[13] that had been made into a cyborg.[14] Claus visits Flint before going to avenge her death.[15] Claus is never found, and Flint spends most of his time searching for him and mourning the death of Hinawa.[16] Duster goes with his father, Wess,[17] to retrieve the Hummingbird's Egg from Osohe Castle.[18] They meet Kumatora, and once they find the egg, they fall into a trap.[19] Kumatora and Wess wash up on a sandbank, but Duster goes missing,[20] losing his memory and becoming "Lucky" of the DCMC, a band that performs at "Club Titiboo",[21] hiding the egg in the process.[22] A man named Yokuba forces a monkey called Salsa to work for him or else he will kill his girlfriend, using him to sell Happy Boxes to the Tazmily villagers.[23] By this time, the Pigmasks, the antagonists, take over Tazmily.[6]

Three years later, Tazmily has been transformed into a totalitarian society[24] with a new monetary system.[25] Wess askes Lucas to find Duster, and he goes with Boney to Club Titiboo.[26] Kumatora is disguised as a waitress,[27] and the three of them convince Duster to come with them.[28] They eventually find the egg,[29] and destroy the generator of Thunder Tower.[30] They are chased to the top by Yokuba,[31] who slips and falls off the tower.[32] They try to escape by hanging from the ladder of a Pigmask ship, but are thrown off.[33] Lucas and Boney awaken in a field of sunflowers, and see the ghost of his mother, following her off a cliff and onto a haystack.[34] They awaken, being told by Alec that he was told by Hinawa in his dream to make a haystack.[35] Ionia, one of the Magypsies, tells Lucas about the seven Needles, which hold intact a seal on a Dragon hidden under the island. If a good person pulls the Needles, the Dragon could bring peace to the Islands, while if an evil person pulls them, it may be destroyed.[36] As they search for the Needles, they encounter Yokuba who has now been fitted with mechanical parts after his fall,[32] as well as a Masked Man, who is encountered several times as he tries to pull the Needles.[37]

They are invited to the anti-utopic New Pork City by Master Porky,[38] and find Leder the bell-ringer who speaks for the first time.[39] He tells Lucas that there once existed a world much different from Nowhere Islands.[40] The world wound up destroyed by the humans inhabiting it.[41] Before the end of the world, a white ship came to the Nowhere Islands in order to create a utopia under the Dragon's protection.[42] They replaced the memories of the old world with the new one of Nowhere Islands to prevent them from destroying the islands as well.[43] The Hummingbird Egg was created to store the old memories.[44] Leder watched over the village as the only one who retained his memories, ringing a bell to keep their memories from reverting.[45] He reveals that Porky discovered the islands by traveling through space and time,[46] taking people from other eras and placing them there.[47] He learned of the white ship and the Dragon from Locria, who betrayed the Magypsies.[48] Since Porky could not pull the Needles, he took control of someone who could.[37] Yokuba later battles them, and is defeated for the last time.[49] They later discover that Yokuba is the final Magypsy, Locria.[50] They meet Master Porky on the 100th floor,[51] who turns out to be an old man.[52] and Lucas, Kumatora, Duster, Boney, and Flint go down to the Needle's location.[53] Flint learns that the Masked Man is the missing Claus,[54] and after the four of them battle Porky, he encases himself in a completely impenetrable capsule but is consequentially trapped inside for eternity.[55] Lucas fights the Masked Man one-on-one, but cannot bring himself to hurt him.[56] Hinawa's ghost tries to end the fight,[57] leading Claus to regain his memories and kill himself in order to free his soul.[58] Lucas pulls the final Needle, causing the islands and Pigmask Army to be destroyed and the Dragon to awaken.[59] The player later learns that the world remained safe and that the inhabitants of the islands survived.[60]

Development

See also: EarthBound 64
A comparison between EarthBound 64 and Mother 3, displaying Flint inside of the Yado Inn.

Shigesato Itoi was involved in the development of all versions of Mother 3. It was originally in development for the Super Famicom shortly after the release of EarthBound, and was later transferred to the Nintendo 64DD. After the 64DD proved to be a failure, the developers moved it to the Nintendo 64. Owing to difficulties in the development, it was delayed several times and ultimately cancelled until it was re-released for the Game Boy Advance. Shigesato Itoi announced that he currently had no plans to make a Mother 4 because of how difficult making Mother 3 was.[61] When asked about his thoughts on a Mother 4, Shigesato Itoi responded by saying "this time, I'd like to be the player." He also commented that if anyone said that they would like to make Mother 4, he would tell them to "go for it".[50]

The logo for Mother 3 is its title composed of both wood and metal.[55] Itoi states that when things that do not match at all are attached to one another, it is unsettling.[55] In the only novel Itoi has written, Family Fall Out, he wrote about a hearse, which contains a "casket of both metal and wood," a contrast between organic and inorganic that "makes you feel a little weird."[55] He calls these feelings of uneasiness and discomfort "modern feelings", describing the logo as a symbol of that, and explains his desire "to incorporate these horribly unpleasant things from the beginning."[55] The logo has remained the same since it was revealed.[55] While the Nintendo 64 version featured several different subtitles attached to the title, Itoi chose not to use subtitles in the Game Boy Advance version, saying that he felt providing a subtitle was too strong a message that says "I want you to look at it this way."[55] The official tagline for Mother 3 is "WELCOME TO MOTHER3 WORLD" [sic].[55]

Game Boy Advance version

When Shigesato Itoi decided to convert Mother and EarthBound to the Game Boy Advance, he realized there would be pressure to revive Mother 3, which he was initially opposed to.[62] to encouragement from fans however, he decided to begin the development of it on the Game Boy Advance.[62] At the end of several television advertisements for Mother 1 + 2, a compilation cartridge containing the predecessors of Mother 3, a creature called Mr. Saturn announces that "We're making Mother 3 for the GBA too! Dakota!"[citation needed] It was later announced on a Nintendo Corporate Ltd. release list.[63] The GBA version was developed by HAL Laboratory, Inc. and Brownie Brown, the latter a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo, formed by ex Square Soft members, while Itoi wrote the scenario and supervised.[64] It was initially proposed to Itoi to adapt the cancelled Mother 3 to a book or film, but Itoi found them both implausible, saying that the scale did not feel right.[65] Development of the GBA version began when someone came to Itoi, asking whether it can be made into a Game Boy Advance game. Itoi had not thought about it, so he merely told him "I don't know."[65] Itoi thought it over, and realized that he was trapped in a mindset that everything he made had to be epic and grandiose.[65] He commented that at the time, his attitude when approaching his work is "I want to shock the world!" and "I'm going to squeeze everything I can imagine, all of my creativity into this one project." as if he was working on his magnum opus.[65] He came to the realization that there's a different niche he can fill, which was one of the contributing factors to choosing the Game Boy Advance.[65] Itoi chose to use pixelated visuals over CG, saying that "flashy CG is just not an option for me", commenting that CG looks too ordinary.[66]

Mother 3 was created with a different feel from its predecessors.[50] When the character of Bronson is about to reveal Hinawa's death to Flint, he states "I have good news and I have bad news." Itoi stated that this uneasy line was necessary, as if the characters continued with this mood, he would not be able to introduce things such as the Oxygen Tanks, a light-hearted device.[50] One of the themes incorporated into Mother 3 is representing the physiology of the human body, such as the Asthma Spray utilized to treat asthma attacks in Mother.[8] He compares the learning of PSI to menstruation, and says that when Lucas or Kumatora, the two characters who can learn PSI, get feverish, they learn a new PSI power, which Itoi says is similar to real life, explaining that whenever he feels sluggish or exhausted, he is certain that good things will follow.[8] A scene where Lucas learns how to use PSI from the Magypsy Ionia while in a hot springs features the character telling Lucas to "just deal with it", commenting that he approached it with an older man's perspective as opposed to a "child's heart".[8] He also comments that children are good at picking up the general idea behind things, and that if he lives to be 90, he hopes one of those kids as a grownup comes to him and says A long time ago, in third grade, I played MOTHER 3. I was really nervous and confused about what was going on in the hot spring in that tunnel... And that's what led me to the place I am today."[8]

Before the release of Mother 3, Shigesato Itoi launched a section on his web site that would reveal content week-by-week, such as wallpaper, ringtones, and images of enemies featured in the game.[67] Mother 3 was eventually released on April 20, 2006.[67] A limited edition version of Mother 3 was sold in Japan in addition to the basic title. The "Deluxe Box" included a special edition Game Boy Micro and a Franklin Badge.[68]

Final battle

See also: EarthBound 64 § Final battle

The scenario between Lucas and Claus was written for the Nintendo 64 version while Itoi was in Saipan.[69] While the N64 version was "much, much darker",[69] the Game Boy Advance version is more light-hearted, which Itoi attributes to becoming a good person[69] and because he was not presented with as many confrontations back during the N64 version's development as he was during the GBA version's.[69] Since the scenario for the final battle had been written, it had always been a confrontation between two brothers.[70] Itoi had several choices for each line in the final battle, and had to digest each of them.[69] He set choosing the dialogue aside until later, separating himself from his other jobs and isolating himself, concentrating on writing it.[69] During the battle, Hinawa's voice appears during the final battle, scolding the two boys, telling them to stop fighting, though she is harder on Lucas, because he is still alive. Itoi stated that we feel sorriest for Claus, and that even more so than the good, the bad need to be rescued. He further states that "there's a deep meaning behind it, but they had to keep it simple because the game was written in Hiragana."[69] He had to beg the developer Brownie Brown to "add in the program the operations in the game perfectly enough to add the super subtle timing between lines."[69]

Audio

See also: Discography of the EarthBound series § Mother 3
Love Theme
This sample plays the first 10 seconds of the game's theme, showing the simplicity of the song.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Shogo Sakai was the only one in charge of the music of Mother 3, which there is an abundance of.[71] Itoi stated that Sakai understood Mother 3 the most, which is why he was given his position, commenting that he could not request a musician outside the project like Keiichi Suzuki, the composer for the first two titles, and that Hirokazu Tanaka is now the president of Creatures Inc.[71] He also commented that "if the person couldn't contribute pencil-sharpening duties on the development site, he couldn't have worked on the music".[71] The Love Theme, the theme of Mother 3, was composed late in the game's development, with Itoi intending to use the Pigmask Army theme before the ending was finished.[71] During an important scene, they chose to create a song that would have a greater impact.[71] Itoi requested that the Love Theme be playable on a piano with only one finger, owed to the Eight Melodies theme, a song from EarthBound, being found in elementary school text books in Japan, as well as e-mails mentioning that they had heard it played on a flute at school.[71] The "OK desu ka?" that plays after the player chooses the character's name was recorded without Itoi's knowledge by Hirokazu Tanaka more than a decade before the release of Mother 3.[66] Several songs have been featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, including "Love Theme", "Unfounded Revenge", "Smashing Song of Praise", and "You Call This a Utopia?!".[72]

On 2 November, 2006, the MOTHER3+ original soundtrack was released in Japan. It was also released in the iTunes Music Store in North America on 1 April, 2007, featuring an additional bonus track unavailable on the CD release. This album contains arranged songs by the Crazy Ken Band as D.C.M.C. and a vocal track by Taeko Oonuki, as well as songs from older games. MOTHER3i was released on the February 6, 2007 in the iTunes Music Store and Napster in Japan, as well as a few other online music services.

Reception

Mother 3 was the 11th most anticipated game of the week of 20 June, 2003 in Weekly Famitsu when it was first announced. It was the first most anticipated game of the week of April 20, 2006 in the same publication, the week of its release.[73] It had great response from pre-orderers,[74] It sold 205,914 copies in its first 3 days on sale.[75] It was one of the top 20 best-selling games of the first half of 2006.[76] It was the 34th best-selling game of 2006, selling 370,213 units.[77]

Critical response

Famitsu scored Mother 3 with a 35/40 amongst four reviewers, providing the first public review of the game. All four reviewers praised the story and scenario, with the fourth reviewer commenting the it is a strange and sad story which immerses the player to the end, fitting the game's slogan. The new mechanic of performing combos was generally well-received by the reviewers; the fourth review commented that "the music in the Sound Battles has charm that reinforces the phrase, "Sound is fun!"".> The first reviewer, who scored Mother 3 the highest of the four, found the engine to be difficult, but found the overall game to be of high quality, referring to it as a "rare piece of art."[78] Australian publication Hyper Magazine gave it the "Hyper Big Rubber Stamp of Approval", calling it one of the best role-playing games ever made.[79] Play Magazine called it a timeless masterpiece, and that it "exploded their expectations."[79] games (tm) commented that it only falls short of what was expected of it because it is not a huge departure from EarthBound, and that the waiting period was unbearably long.[79] NGC Magazine UK said that it was comfortingly familiar to EarthBound veterans, but a bit old-fashioned for 21st century role-playing gamers.[79] In their review of the fan translated version of Mother 3, Eurogamer agreed that the wait for Mother 3 was unbearable. They called the gameplay "RPG-lite", and compared the simplistic overworld controls to a swiss army knife with two buttons on it. They also commented that it lacks unique headline-worthy features, but makes up for it in the detail. They also praised the lack of a need to grind and random battles.[74] RPGamer's Jordan "J_Sensei" Jackson praised the music of the game, calling it solid, and that though there were familiar songs, the songs included are almost completely new. He commented that finishing it won't take as long as in other recent games, but that there are many easter eggs to be found. He also commented that the level of difficulty was about medium, and that the player should expect to die a few times. He said that he found it to be a very satisfying experience, and fans of the series would enjoy it much more.[80]

Demand for an international release

Since the original Nintendo 64 version's announcement in 1996, there has been a strong demand for an international release, and several petitions and demands have been made towards Nintendo of America.[81] None of these efforts have been successful, and there do not appear to be plans to release Mother 3 in North America. One of the petitions created for its international release collected more than 30,000 signatures.[74] UGO.com named Mother 3's lack of release in English as one of the "Worst Heartbreaks in Videogames" in 2008.[82] It was also included in an article on 1UP.com titled "Vapor Trails: The Games that Never Were". 1UP cited the initial low critical response and sales with the lack of an English release for Mother 3.[76]

Official Nintendo Magazine UK announced in an issue of their magazine that Mother 3 would be coming to Europe. As of October 29, 2008, there has not been any word on a European release.[83][74] Rumors in the August 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly suggested the possibility that Nintendo may compile all three Mother titles onto one Nintendo DS cart entitled Mother Compilation, and could possibly release it internationally.[84] In a November 2006 interview between Nintendo World Report and Nate Bihldorff, the localization manager of Nintendo of America, about the localization process he and his team must go through for a video game. When asked about Mother 3, Bihldorff states that he and his team are not working on it, though adding that not all of his writers are under him. He adds that he has no plans of localizing it in the immediate future.[85] Brownie Brown, one of the game's three developers, expressed interest in a Nintendo DS port of Mother 3 if Nintendo asked them to make it, and that they would like it to be enjoyed by fans abroad.[86]

Fan translation

On October 17, 2008, a fan translation patch that translates the game into English was released by the Mother 3 Fan Translation project from Starmen.net.[87][88] The translation project, which took two years to complete, is an English localization of Mother 3. The team had stated that "[the] translation project will come to a full stop if/when we hear that Nintendo has chosen to pursue an official translation of the game."[89] The translation included minor deviations from the original, such as localization of place-names and puns. Few dramatic changes were made, but at least one character was renamed: "Yokuba," loosely derived from the Japanese word for "greed" was replaced with "Fassad", loosely derived from the French word "façade" and, incidentally, the Arabic word for "corruption".[87][90] The translation patch received over 100,000 downloads from the web site in the first week of its release.[91] The lead translator expected that the patch would be downloaded a few thousand times, and called its reception a "pleasant surprise."[91] In a review of Mother 3 using the fan translation, N-Sider commented that the team translated and localized it to perfection.[92] Clyde Mandelin, alias "Tomato" commented that one of the biggest hurdles in hacking the game was the "sprite text"-heavy naming screen.[9] Owing to CPU problems experienced early in the hacking of the game, he expected that the whole game would be hacked this poorly.[9]

An interview was held between Simon Parkin of Gamasutra and Tomato, the main translator of the fan translation.[91] Tomato has worked on professional translations, including video games such as One Piece: Unlimited Adventure for the Wii, as well as Dragon Ball and Crayon Shin-chan.[93] Tomato states that he knew that this translation was not completely legal[91] and that if Nintendo objected, he would have stopped the translation immediately.[94] but received e-mails from video game industry professionals giving their thanks, sometimes offering to buy him drinks.[91] Reid Young, alias Reidman, co-founder of Starmen.net, was interviewed by UGO.com on the translation.[95] He stated in the interview that when he and Tomato realized Nintendo was not going to localize it, they decided to localize it for themselves and for its fans.[95] Nintendo has not given them an official communication on the translation.[95] Employees of Nintendo and Square Enix expressed excitement for the translation.[95] Other translations are currently in development by the translation team, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and German.[96]

In other media

Since the announcement of EarthBound 64, Nintendo and other organizations have produced pieces of Mother 3 merchandise. A plush Mr. Saturn was made by Banpresto for its "UFO catcher" vending machines, and came with a red bandana that it can wear.[97] T-shirts of the D.C.M.C, a fictional band in Mother 3, were produced in limited supply displaying their logo for EarthBound 64 at Spaceworld '99.[98] A strategy guide was created by Enterbrain called "Mother 3 Perfect Guide" on June 8, 2006.[99] An unofficial Mother 3 strategy guide was created by the fan translation team that localized Mother 3 into English, illustrated using clay models and hand-drawn designs of characters, enemies, items, and other things found in Mother 3.[100] It also included a fan-made Courage Badge key chain as a preorder bonus.[101]

References

  1. ^ a b "MOTHER 3 Characters". Nintendo. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mother 3: Official Gameplay Tutorial". Nintendo. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. The strong would help the weak, and those who had would share with those who had not.
  4. ^ "Starmen.Net Mother 3 Walkthrough - Full Item List". Retrieved 2009-1-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ "Mother 3 (Game Boy Advance)". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2006-4-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ a b Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. The mysterious group that has been tinkering with the forest creatures in an almost toy-like fashion has finally commenced its plan to alter the town, the lives, and even the hearts of the people.
  7. ^ "Exclusive Interview (Part 1, page 3)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Exclusive Interview (Part 1, page 2)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ a b c "Mother 3 notes". Tomato. Retrieved 2009-2-3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ "New Pork City". Smash Bros. Dojo!!. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  11. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Hinawa: My father seems sad to say goodbye to his grandchildren after seeing them for the first time in so long, but we should be home by this evening.
  12. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Jonel: We found the kids! It seems they fell into the river and washed up here.
  13. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Bronson: The bad news is... It's where I found the Drago Fang. It was...... in your... It was pierced through your wife's heart...
  14. ^ "Ch. 1: Race Against Time". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-2-4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Lucas: N-n-n-no! He didn't take Dad's homemade knife and go into the mountains to kill the Drago! ...Aah!
  16. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Nippolyte: Look for Claus, visit Hinawa's grave. Look for Claus, visit Hinawa's grave. That's all your old man does anymore.
  17. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Wess: I'll come with you this time.
  18. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Wess: Duster. This is the "certain important item" I had instructed you to bring back. It seems to be known as the "Egg of Light", or the "Hummingbird Egg".
  19. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Wess: I know it appears to be sitting there nonchalantly... But I placed traps around the egg!
  20. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Wess: Did you find that moron with us, too? Lighter: You mean Duster? It was just you two.
  21. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. OJ: I guess Lucky is this Duster guy, after all.
  22. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. All I knew was that the egg was really important for some reason. I knew I absolutely HAD to keep it safe... So I looked for a place to hide it.
  23. ^ "Archived Official Mother 3 (N64) page". Retrieved 2008-5-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Tazmily Village is now transforming exactly how the newly-come peddler had planned.
  25. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Frog: You can use DP in shops and other places in exchange for goods and services.
  26. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Wess: I hate to ask, but could you go and see if this look-alike really is my moron or not?
  27. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Violet: I know I'm dressed in this crappy girly outfit, but it's me! Kumatora!
  28. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. OJ: Go! Don't worry about anything else at all!
  29. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Duster: I have it! Kumatora: Now don't you dare lose the egg again!
  30. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Mr. Genetor: A SERIOUS ERROR HAS OCCURRED IN THE GENERATOR!
  31. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Yokuba: Nwehehehehe! You pathetic fools. There's nowhere to run now!
  32. ^ a b Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Interpreter (interpreting for Yokuba): "I found you. I finally found you. Nwehehehe!" is what Yokuba says. "You threw me off Thunder Tower..." He goes on to say, "The resulting shame, pain, and woe are humiliating. VERY humiliating."
  33. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Rope Snake: And the bad news for you... is that my jaw isn't sturdy enough to support the weight of three people and one dog. In other words, my jaw... It's... at its... limit... This is... literally... jaw-dropping!
  34. ^ "Ch. 6: Sunflower Fields". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-2-4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  35. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Alec: In a dream I had, Hinawa told me to pile hay in that spot right away.
  36. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Ionia: The Dark Dragon's heart will become as light or dark as the person who pulls it...
  37. ^ a b Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Porky decides to pull the Needles to wake the Dragon, so he could use the power for himself. Only a select few people can pull the Needles. Neither the Magypsies nor Porky have that capability. Yet, the Needles are being pulled now. That means Porky is controlling someone who can control the Dragon's power!
  38. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Chauffeur: Our great leader and new king of the entire world, Master Porky, cordially invites you to the greatest city in the world: New Pork City.
  39. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Yes. It's me, Leder, the bell-ringer. It must be a real shock to hear me speaking for once.
  40. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Long ago, there existed a "world". A world different from what the people of these islands think of.
  41. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: At some point, the world was destroyed. Naturally, it was humans who destroyed it.
  42. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Before the end of the world, a "White Ship" came to these islands. On it were the people of Tazmily.
  43. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Those aboard the White Ship feared another "End of the World" more than anything else. They decided to erase everyone's memories of the previous "world" and start their lives over with new rules and roles.
  44. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: The Hummingbird Egg was the device used to store the memories of the White Ship people.
  45. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: It was essential for someone to retain memory of the previous world and "keep watch".
  46. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: It seems he (Porky) used a "Time Distorter" machine to travel through time and space at will.
  47. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Even worse, he (Porky) used his Time Distorter to bring many people from other eras here.
  48. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Leder: Porky eventually learned the White Ship secret because of a traitor among the Magypsies. This traitor was Locria, the seventh Magypsy.
  49. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Interpreter (interpreting Yokuba's words): "The flames of my life are in danger now. I do not think we will ever meet again. And not just in battle," is what Yokuba states.
  50. ^ a b c d "Exclusive Interview (Part 1, Page 6)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  51. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Porky: Oh, is that what you look like? I was the one who brought you here. A traveler who has journeyed to and from past and future. I'm the most clever, most charming, and most trouble-making boy ever... Master Porky Minch!
  52. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Porky: I might be 1000 years old, or even 10,000 years old.
  53. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Porky: Bring it on! If you can catch up to me, that is! Here, you can use this elevator all you want!
  54. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. That... that masked man... He's Claus.
  55. ^ a b c d e f g h "Exclusive Interview (Part 2, Page 3)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  56. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. For some reason, Lucas couldn't attack.
  57. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Hinawa: Claus... Stop this... You aren't Porky's robot. You're our son!
  58. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. Claus fired an intense bolt of lightning! Lucas' Franklin Badge reflected the lightning back! Claus took mortal damage!
  59. ^ "Ch. 8: The Final Needle". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-2-4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  60. ^ Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory. Mother 3. I thought everything was about to be destroyed... but everyone is alive!
  61. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2006-05-03). "No More Mother". IGN. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  62. ^ a b "Further News of Mother 3". RPGamer. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  63. ^ "Nintendo announces new games and release dates". Games Are Fun. 2004-5-30. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  64. ^ "Mother 3 / EarthBound 2 Fan Translation". Retrieved 2009-1-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  65. ^ a b c d e "Introduction: In Regards to Mother 3". Shigesato Itoi. 2003-4-13. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  66. ^ a b "Exclusive Interview (Part 1)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  67. ^ a b "(Almost-daily paper) Itoi's Newspaper - Welcome to the world of Mother 3". Shigesato Itoi. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  68. ^ "Mother 3 Gets a Little More Special". RPGamer. 2006-2-22. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  69. ^ a b c d e f g h "Exclusive Interview (Part 2)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  70. ^ "Exclusive Interview (Part 2, Page 2)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  71. ^ a b c d e f "Exclusive Interview (Part 1, page 2)". Nintendo Dream. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  72. ^ "Full Song List with Secret Songs". Smash Bros. Dojo!!. 2008-4-3. Retrieved 2009-1-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  73. ^ "Mother 3's Ranking in Weekly Famitsu's Most Wanted Chart". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  74. ^ a b c d "Mother 3 Import Review". Eurogamer. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  75. ^ "Japan: Weekly software sales for 4/17 - 4/23". Games Are Fun. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  76. ^ a b "Vapor Trails: The Games that Never Were". 1UP.com. 2007-2-7. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  77. ^ "Top 500 of 2006". Gemini.com. Retrieved 2009-1-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  78. ^ "Famitsu Weekly Cross-Reviews of Mother 3". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-1-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  79. ^ a b c d "Mother 3 (gba: 2006) reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  80. ^ "Mother 3 - Staff Review". RPGamer. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  81. ^ "EarthBound 64 Petition". IGN. 2000-6-6. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  82. ^ "Mother 3 Still Not Released". UGO.com. Retrieved 2009-1-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  83. ^ "Mother 3 Europe Only?". Kotaku. 2006-5-15. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  84. ^ "Rumor: Mother Compilation coming to US?". Joystiq. 2006-7-14. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  85. ^ "Day of Twilight NOA Treehouse Interview". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  86. ^ "Brownie Brown "Looking Into" Wii Development". Siliconera. 2009-1-20. Retrieved 2009-1-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  87. ^ a b "Mother 3 Fan Translation ReadMe". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  88. ^ "Mother 3 fan translation complete, ready for download". 2008. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  89. ^ "Mother 3 Fan Translation FAQ". Tomato. Retrieved 2009-2-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  90. ^ "Mama's boys: the epic story of the Mother 3 fan translation". Ars Technica. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2009-1-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  91. ^ a b c d e "You Say Tomato: A Pro on Fan-Translating Nintendo's Mother 3". Gamasutra. 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  92. ^ "N-Sider.com: Mother 3". N-Sider. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2009-1-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  93. ^ "Flashing Neon Tomatoes". Clyde Mandelin. Retrieved 2009-1-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  94. ^ "You Say Tomato: A Pro on Fan-Translating Nintendo's Mother 3". Gamasutra. 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  95. ^ a b c d "Mother 3 in English! an Interview with Reid Young, co-founder of Starmen.Net!". UGO.com. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2009-1-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  96. ^ "Translations Into Other Languages". Clyde Mandelin. 2008-7-9. Retrieved 2009-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  97. ^ "Mr. Saturn Banpresto Plushie". Starmen.net. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  98. ^ "Treasure house". Treasure house. Retrieved 2009-2-3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  99. ^ "Mother 3 Perfect Guide". Play Asia. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  100. ^ "Mother 3 Handbook Will Blow Your Baby Blue Socks Off". Kotaku.com. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2009-1-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  101. ^ "Mother 3 Handbook". Fangamer. Retrieved 2009-02-27.

External links

Official websites
Unofficial websites
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