FINALLY. Nintendo is bringing the beloved RPG Earthbound to the Wii U's Virtual Console this year.


Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced the news during the Nintendo Direct presentation this morning. I'm still stunned.

Fans have been begging Nintendo to re-release the quirky role-playing game, titled Mother 2 in Japan, for years now, but the Mario makers have never complied. Until now.


Originally released in 1995, Earthbound became a cult classic over the years, beloved for its bizarre humor and trippy aesthetics. But Nintendo hasn't shown it much love in North America: the sequel, Mother 3, never made it out of Japan, although an English fan translation is floating around on the web. (The first game in the series, Mother, also never left the East.)

So a re-release of Earthbound is certainly welcome news. Perhaps we'll see more of the Mother series in America soon? Maybe? One day?