The Earthbound series is probably the one real anomaly in the stable of Nintendo franchises. The series began with Mother in Japan on the Famicom and only came to American with the SNES sequel, Earthbound. It’s really Nintendo’s only pure turn-based JRPG (Fire Emblem falls more along the lines of a tactical strategy RPG), and even for a JRPG, Earthbound is pretty weird. Like Fire Emblem, most Americans probably would’ve never heard of it if its characters and iconography didn’t show up in the Super Smash Brothers series.
IGN writes: Mother 3 is one of the most hotly-desired RPGs ever, having never received an official translation in North America despite the cult popularity of its predecessor, Earthbound. But over all these years, series creator Shigesato Itoi has never weighed in on the discussion - at least until now."
The long-awaited documentary, which highlights the online community that's built around cult SNES RPG EarthBound over the years. It's an examination of the power of online communities and fandom, and the impact that Shigesato Itoi's series has had on its fans.
EarthBound is bona fide classic and part of gaming royalty that somehow still feels like a hidden gem.