Mother 3

[inequity]

Mother, or earthbound, is said to have a sequel appearing on the GBA. As you may or may not know, a sequel to the japanese hit Earthbound (which hinted towards a sequal at the end of the game) was supposed to be made on the N64. Although due to many technical problems the game was delayed and delayed until it was finally cancelled in 2000. I came across this site which had Shigesato Itoi talking about it.

Originally Posted by RPGamer

Recently, it was revealed that Nintendo is planning to release a new installment of the Mother series on the Game Boy Advance. We can now bring you some of the initial details for the game which have been released by Nintendo, and in particular, Shigesato Itoi, the producer of the series.

In a discussion on his personal site, Itoi detailed a number of his thoughts on why he decided to go ahead with the production of the game. Of particular interest was the following excerpt, in which he reflects on the remake of Mother 1+2 and its influence on the eventual rejuvenation of Mother 3 on the Game Boy Advance:

"When I had decided to convert Mother 1+2 to the Game Boy Advance, I realized there would be pressure to revive development on Mother 3 as well. Naturally, I was opposed to the idea at first. I wanted to create something truly special with Mother 3 and that's partially why it was delayed and eventually canceled. There were ideas to write a book or produce a movie based on the story for Mother 3, but those turned out to be impossible as well. Due to continued encouragement and for the fans who never gave up, I can finally say Mother 3 is going to happen on the Game Boy Advance. It will be based on my original story and development, and is progressing steadily. I'm sure people are wondering what they can expect and when it will be available. We hope to answer some of those questions in our next announcement."

Initially, Mother 3 was planned as a Nintendo 64 title, but it was canceled due to production difficulties and thought dead by many of its fans. However, as was hinted at in the recent commercial released in Japan, Mother 3 will indeed be reworked for the Game Boy Advance. To accomodate the reduced graphical and hardware capabilities of the portable system, a number of the features will probably need to be redone. Despite these changes though, the story of Mother 3 is expected to remain essentially unchanged from its designs on the Nintendo 64. Unfortunately, no mention of specific characters or plot details has been made at this time, so it is uncertain whether this game will continue the story of Ness or pick up with new characters.

This, of course, was written in 2003. This was written in July 2004:

Originally Posted by RPGamer

Series writer Shigesato Itoi has revealed that Mother 3 is roughly 60 percent complete, and will be set for release in late 2005. This is the first word on the game since it was mentioned in a Japanese commercial for Mother 1+2.

There is no word thus far on a North American release for the game, which was originally known as Earthbound 64. RPGamer will bring you more information on this title as it becomes available

Im not exactly sure what to think about this. I haven't heard anything about a sequal to earthbound up until now, and I'm sure I would have seen this earlier. Im still keeping my hopes up for a North American release if this game is in production. It should be near complete now if that site is correct.

source http://www.rpgamer.com/games/mother/...3/mother3.html

[Wicked Sushi]

I love Earthbound. It's one of the best RPGs I ever played, if it's not my favorite (had to deciede). I was quite disappointed when Nintendo didn't release "Mother 1+2" on the GameBoy Advance. I looked up the original Earthbound 0 (Mother 1) and downloaded the rom (omg illegal) and yeah, it's a pretty crappy game. I pretty much disliked it.

Anyways, if Nintendo releases Earthbound 2 (Mother 3) in Japan, they will release it everywhere that's for sure. I bet they spent a lot of time working on and all. Though if it comes out late 2005, I wonder when the North American version would, since they need to trasnlate it from Japan to English.

I can't wait to hear more about the development this game.

[coromoro]

I am another fan of the Earthbound series, and it would make me a very happy man if this game got released. Keep your hopes up!

[Klarth]

I enjoyed Mother and Earthbound a lot. I heard rumours about EB64 appearing on the GCN, but I suppose that was nothing but a rumour.

roll on mother 3

[SWEET BRO]

Yep. All pretty much old news. I doubt it will be released outsde of Japan, though.