Every year E3 comes riding on a wave of hopes and wishes of videogame fans, be it in form of the announcement of a surprise new IP, or another installment in their favourite franchise. One such wish from the Nintendo community that has been left unfulfilled every year (since 2006) is the ‘Localization of MOTHER 3’.
NE: "EarthBound fans got lots of news in 2024, but a Mother 3 localization wasn't part of it. We talk whether it's possible with pros and cons."
Pro: More people getting to experience a game they weren't able to before.
Con: Hearing either Lucas or Ness yell "PK fire" ever again.
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."
From VGC: "Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has cautioned fans not to expect further releases in the Earthbound series in the near future.
Mother – or Earthbound, as it’s known in the West – saw its third instalment released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan over 15 years ago, but despite persistent requests from fan groups it has never received an official English release.
The Earthbound series received renewed attention in February after Nintendo announced that both Earthbound and its predecessor Earthbound Beginnings (aka Mother) would be added to Switch Online’s SNES and NES apps."
He would happily suggest buying a NFT of Ness though. Thank God he is a semi-retired mouthpiece.