Introduction

Mother 3 has one of the most interesting developments of any game. Originally slated for the Super Famicom before switching to the Nintendo 64DD (and then the Nintendo 64 itself), it was canceled before coming back to life as a GBA game that eventually came out in Japan in 2006, around ten years or so since it started development. Though there was demand for an official translation, the game never got one. However, it did end up getting probably the highest-quality fan translation we'll likely ever see. Translated by professional translator Tomato, the game ended up getting a strong translation and localization that feels just like playing the next "Earthbound" game. This translation will be what I use to show off the game.

As for the game itself, Mother 3 is the third game of the series that most US and European gamers know as "Earthbound." The series is unique among jRPGs for its modern-day setting, quirky sense of humor, and surprisingly relatable stories. Mother 3 shifts focus from the grander "save the world" focus of the first two games to instead focus on a family and a few other individuals as they deal with certain events too spoilerish to really talk about. It's more of a personal, darker story than previous games. It's also streamlined its simple battle system to be more accessible while adding a couple features here and there. And of course it keeps the series' odd sense of humor and ramps up the weirdness in the characters and the various foes you fight. This game is certainly one-of-a-kind, and between its reputation and it being somewhat inaccessible in English-speaking countries, I definitely aim to show off just how amazing, goofy, and wonderful this game is to an audience who isn't familiar with the game.

Maple Leaf made an excellent narrative LP for the game if you want to check that out. There's also solid LP's for Mother 1 and Earthbound, including a good narrative LP.

NO SPOILERS WHATSOEVER. NO TAGS, NOTHING.

Updates will likely be once, sometimes twice a week. You can follow when I update on Twitter, and generally I don't post other stuff so I won't clog up your feeds with whatever stupid bullshit opinions I have that you disagree with.
































*Exceptions can be made at my discretion.

SPOILERS: Avatars I've made from GIFs for this Let's Play. (Click the settings wheel on the top-right of the GIF area to download)
Updated 11/28/14 up to end of Chapter 2.

Fan Stuff

Variant_Eris takes the discussion of "Mother 3 is the precursor to Pokemon" to its logical conclusion.


Then Variant_Eris takes the epic "Stone-Sheet-Clippers" face-off to its logical extreme.


Internet Kraken sums up what the average Onett citizen's thoughts of a roadblock enemy would be like.