The Mother series – better known as EarthBound in the west – is one of those franchises that benefits from a massive amount of attention from the Nintendo fanbase, despite the fact that the company has done relatively little to encourage such devotion over the years.
Sure, Mother 2 was localised as EarthBound on the SNES back in the '90s, but Nintendo declined to bring its Game Boy Advance sequel to the west, and only quite recently (well, 2015) released EarthBound Beginnings, the first Mother game, on the Wii U Virtual Console.
That version of the game was actually intended for release way back in 1991, but was cancelled and eventually turned up online thanks to the discovery of a prototype cartridge. By the time the prototype was found, EarthBound on the SNES had already gripped countless players, so it's easy to understand why it became something of a video gaming legend.
Now, a new documentary called Mother to Earth is aiming to shed some light on this prototype, why it was cancelled, how it got into the wild and how fans have been keeping the game alive over the years – right up until Nintendo's unexpected release on the Virtual Console 25 years after it was supposed to be released.
The makers of the film spoke to the people who worked on the localisation way back in the '90s, as well as the dedicated fans, collectors and historians who have poured hours of their time into documenting this unusual release and preserving its backstory for future generations.
If you want to learn even more about the film, then head over to the official site here.
Comments 15
I’ve been waiting for ages for this to be released. I backed this project on kickstarter back in 2016. They’ve been terrible at updating backers on the progress of this documentary. I honestly thought this was dead and I thought I lost my money. Glad to see it’s still alive. At this point, I still have my doubts it will ever be released, but hey- I could be wrong.
I'm just excited to see the MOTHER series get some love in the media. It's an excellent RPG series and it's sad that it often goes unremembered and remains unknown to a vast majority of modern day gamers. I am very excited for this documentary to release and for the MOTHER series to get a bit of love outside of us dedicated fans.
How is it we keep getting what seems to be monthly Eartbound articles but nothing about Mother 3 getting an official US release?
Funny how a dead franchise still gets talked about so much.
As for the game yeah it's good but quite grind heavy early on and that's one thing about RPG's i can't stand. Having to get into battles constantly rather than moving on with the plot because you're characters are so weak. Not fun!
@Zeldafan79 The MOTHER series may not be getting any new games, but its influence is very present and thriving. Many indie game developers and even large studios were inspired by the wit, charm, and wackiness of the series. Without the series, games like OneShot, Heartbound, UNDERTALE, Oddity, OFF, etc. would not exist, or would be drastically different. And, sadly, I don't believe Mother 3 will ever get a western release considering how Nintendo avoids the topic like the plague.
@Static_Fanatic I agree. I also think we’ll never see a western release. I also don’t see any kind of sequel or new game of any kind which is a shame.
@Tendogamerxxx I would love to see MOTHER 3 be released in the West in an art style similar to the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening remake. I'm afraid if they did release it in the West, they'd have to remove important details from the game so it can be released as E 10+.
@Static_Fanatic
I need to check out that Undertale! Sounds like people are pretty stoked on it for whatever reason. Looks interesting I'll give it that.
I remember hearing about this. I'm glad it's finally getting some where. I am interested in checking this out once it releases.
@Zeldafan79 It is a great game! The community is a bit... wild to say the least, but the game is wildly charming. I would advise you to avoid killing enemies when possible, as it greatly affects the story, if you choose to play it.
@Zeldafan79 have you ever played a Mother game? If you did you would know why it hasn't got a US release. Stop whining. Also I'm okay with it getting news because nintendo barely acknowledged its 30th anniversary
@Zeldafan79 Undertale is a masterpiece. I played through it... thrice. And it was a completely different experience each time.
In the first 2-3 hours it plays like an 8-bit RPG with a fresh and fitting WarioWare-like minigame battle system, but that's only trying to hide the fact that something incredibly mindblowing waits underneath.
And I think the more RPGs you have played, the more you will appreciate and respect Undertale's take on the genre. So yeah, Undertale is an absolute must-have, especially for RPG fans.
I bought Earthbound on my 3DS. I think it's a solid game so far, although it's not really something I would play all day. Personally, I would rather watch somebody else play it.
I can't deny the charm and love that was put into it though! It has aged incredibly well and the visuals work very nicely.
I am very happy playing a fan translation cart of Mother 3 I got on ebay on my ags-101 SP. Honestly, it would probably get censored in the West. Best Earthbound for the first time a few months back, it was amazing. Not sure if I'll get around to Mother 1 or not!
They screened a cut of it for backers a few months ago, I really enjoyed it. It has some real heart to it and goes on some fun detours.
Come on Reggie, give us Mother 3!!!
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