By Gavin Swanson Posted April 27, 2016
With a cult following that has been slowly growing for almost 27 years, fans of the MOTHER trilogy have clamored for localized releases and re-releases of these beloved games to the American and European markets. The first Western audiences would see these games would be the worldwide release of MOTHER 2, known as EarthBound in the West. EarthBound (my favorite game of all time) received critical acclaim but was a commercial failure. Because of this, it may not be a surprise to many that MOTHER 3 was not released to the West. The MOTHER trilogy is lavished in the Japanese market and is one of their most successful videogame franchises. But thanks to the exposure that MOTHER received in the West, (mostly from the main characters of EarthBound and MOTHER 3, Ness and Lucas, being fighters in Nintendo’s successful fighting franchise Super Smash Brothers), the Western fanbase has grown and has become loud for the localization of MOTHER and MOTHER 3, as well as modern re-releases of MOTHER 2/EarthBound. When MOTHER and MOTHER 2 were re-released in Japan, western audiences flooded Nintendo with requests for releases to the international market. Because of this, EarthBound was re-released on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS and MOTHER was finally released to the West through the Wii U Virtual Console as EarthBound Beginnings. Last year, the third and final installment of the MOTHER trilogy, MOTHER 3, was re-released in Japan through the Wii U Virtual Console, and as a result, western fans are as loud as ever for a Western release of one of Nintendo’s greatest masterpiece. Context with this story is important, and with it out of the way we can finally talk about MOTHER 3.
MOTHER 3, much like its two predecessors, is a JRPG that was created and written by Japanese celebrity Shigesato Itoi. After going through 18 years of “development hell”, MOTHER 3 was released on April 20th, 2006 for the Gameboy Advance, making it ten years old.
Unlike the previous installations of the MOTHER series, MOTHER 3 is incredibly story-driven and is split into eight chapters. You play as a young psychic boy named Lucas and his friends, psychic princess Kumatora, master thief Duster, and Lucas’ loyal dog Boney. When tragedy strikes the small town of Tazmily Village, the home of our heroes, the band of four sets out to eliminate the Pig Mask Army and their fierce rulers who were responsible for the tragedy of Tazmily. With funny and interesting main and side characters, creative plot elements, and a heartbreaking ending that’ll make the most resolute of people shed a tear; the story featured in MOTHER 3 is its strongest feature.
The atmosphere of MOTHER 3 is very similar to that of its older brother, EarthBound. They are games that feature kooky worlds and funny dialogue. The main difference between the environments in these two games is tone. EarthBound is a much more humor-based and lighthearted game than MOTHER 3. That’s not to say that MOTHER 3 is downright depressing all of the time, but it does hold a serious tone throughout that EarthBound only shows at certain points.
Gameplay is important for any game, and that goes especially for RPGs. To set it apart from competing RPG series’, MOTHER innovated the genre in a few defining ways. The game famously features a health system that slowly scrolls lower when a character takes damage like an odometer rather than instantaneously taking the damage. On paper, it seems like it would be easier than the instantaneous damage taken in other RPGs, but the scrolling system can create a tense environment of stress and quick thinking where the player might make rash decisions. MOTHER 3 also adds another innovation to the genre by introducing a rhythm mechanism into its battle system. If a player can find the beat to the song playing in the background of a battle, when it is the player’s turn to strike, the player can time the attacks along with the beat and get multiple hits on the enemy, leading to combos up to 16 hits. Unfortunately like most RPGs, MOTHER 3 relies on the leveling of characters, which means grinding in certain parts of the game is necessary to advance.
And finally, one of the most important features of MOTHER 3 is the themes that are portrayed in it. The MOTHER games have always been known to tackle some pretty tough themes, but MOTHER 3 takes the cake in the amount of substance of its core messages. As to not give away the point of the game and to encourage readers to play the game and experience it themselves, I’m going to be intentionally vague about the themes of the game; but the game deals with the importance of the family unit, the loss of innocence that every child must face sometime in life, and the dangers of commercialism. It’s for these themes and how the game executes these themes that the game is not only a fun experience, but an important one.
As may be obvious from the overwhelming length of this piece, there is a lot to say about MOTHER 3. Despite its few flaws, the game is nothing short of a masterpiece. MOTHER 3 is a game that should be played by any fan of video games or those who would like to give games a chance. MOTHER 3 has something for everybody, it’s truly a work of art that you need to play yourself to understand. For those who are worried about the game being a third installation into a series and jumping into it, fret not. MOTHER 3 is a game that anybody can jump into, but there’s a lot more to appreciate if you play EarthBound before you play MOTHER 3. For those who do want to play but are concerned about the lack of a translated version of the game, worry not. If Nintendo were to localize this game, this year would be the year. Although it doesn’t seem like Nintendo of America is doing anything for April 20th, an announcement in the future is always possible. If the official translation doesn’t come, a fan translation was produced by a band of committed MOTHER enthusiasts at a website called Starmen.net. It is free for all to enjoy as a ROM that could be played in a GBA emulator. You could also dust off your old Gameboy Advance and buy one of the translated cartridges online. However you play the game doesn’t matter, it’s just important that you do. I hope you let MOTHER 3 and all of MOTHER into your heart, you won’t regret it. Thank you for taking the time to read this article. This article loves you!
