Mom, Please Come Home

“In the early 1900’s, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America. At that time, a young married couple vanished mysteriously from their home.”

These are the words that begin the first adventure in the Mother series. Mother, or EarthBound Zero as it is known here in America, was conceptualized and written by Shigesato Itoi. Itoi was an industry outsider at the time, but was a popular author and copywriter. He was so outside in fact, that when he first approached Nintendo with the idea for the game, that the Japanese company declined participation due to fear that the author was looking to cash in on the video game craze of the time and not assist with any of the work. Additionally, Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda was reluctant to accept the proposal for an RPG, thinking that the genre didn’t belong in the gaming space. His beliefs (and forgive me for paraphrasing here) were that in a game like Super Mario Bros., the player had to have an innate ability to learn the gameplay rules, while in an RPG the player could win just by spending time with the game. In an RPG, the player could grind for hours and hours and eventually they would be strong enough to complete the game.

In a 1994 interview with Famitsu, Miyamoto summed up his opinions on the RPG genre as a whole, and how he would design one himself.

Let’s say you tie someone completely up – even their individual fingers – and then wait a while. Then, if you start to untie the ropes one by one, they’ll of course be happy. Anyone would. The method of sticking someone in an incredibly tight situation then untightening it little by little and then saying, “There! Aren’t you happy now?” becomes very boring as soon as it becomes evident. So, instead of that, my personal theme when making RPG-like games is, “What can I do?” I don’t think creating happiness comes from starting from a negative and returning to zero. It’s starting from zero and ending at one hundred, and I try to think of ways to allow that.

It didn’t seem like an easy task for Itoi to get his game made at Nintendo, but he didn’t see another option. After assurance that the author was going to work hands-on during development of the game, Nintendo reluctantly agreed to bring the Mother series on board.

The idea that Itoi had in mind for the series, was to attempt the creation of suburban modern America through the lens of a Japanese eye that would tell a story about what would happen if strange things began occurring in one small town. Mother tells the story of Ninten, a boy who realizes that he and his family are more involved with an alien invasion occurring than he may have previously thought.

The game itself was more or less a Dragon Quest clone developed for and released on the Nintendo Famicom on July 27, 1989. What makes the game stand out may not be its mechanics or exploration, but its story is certainly one of the more complex and memorable ones for its time, even holding up 25 years later. The game sees the main character Ninten, a representation of the player, attacked by his lamp, make friends with someone inside of a trash can, battle animal mind-controlling aliens, and catch colds from sneezing passersby. Mother‘s quirky story and remarkable soundtrack, combined with the cute Peanuts-styled characters make the game memorable. It was even immediately scheduled for English localization, targeting a 1991 release date. After some marketing in Nintendo Power, an assumed localization, and the production of an 80-page instruction manual- the game was never released in America. At least not officially…

On January 15, 1998, a “for sale” message was posted online. The item in question was an unreleased prototype version of Mother for the Nintendo Entertainment System, where it would be titled “EarthBound”. Because of the game’s obscurity in America save for the few mentions in Nintendo Power, an obvious wave of skepticism swept through the minds of those interested in the purchase of this cartridge. The cartridge was then sold for $125 to the highest bidder, a long time game collector named Kenny Brooks. Steve Demeter, the leader of the fan translation group “Demiforce” reached out to Brooks in an attempt to save his team the trouble of their current work on a translation for the Japanese version of Mother. After a fan donation campaign, Demeter and his team raised $400 to pay Brooks for the use of his cartridge, so that the team could properly extract the ROM from the cart.

Once the ROM was backed up, the team at Demiforce modified the title screen so that it read “EarthBound Zero” as not to confuse American players who knew the Super Nintendo Entertainment System release EarthBound in 1995. Because the game was backed up, it became apparent very quickly that it was unplayable. The team solved the problem by removing a single byte from the game’s code, and released it for play on April 27, 1998. Soon after the public release, players experienced screen blackouts that informed them that they had been playing an illegal copy of the game. This was an anti-piracy measure set in place by the original programmers. While the issue was soon resolved and an updated version was released, the general gaming public believed the ROM to be a falsity and not actually authentic.

Comparisons were quickly made to both this prototype version and the original Mother on the Famicom, resulting in the appearance of several striking differences. For example, the English version of the game added a new “run” mechanic, detailed enemy descriptions, and even new sections of the map. More, the ending of the English version was significantly changed. While the original game had the characters in the game defeat the enemy and turn toward the screen as the credits began to roll, the English version adds resolution for characters and subplots in the game, as well as a retrospective on every character and remixes of certain songs in the game. The community was understandably skeptical of the prototype’s authenticity, and wrote the game off as a mere fan translation by Demeter and his team at Demiforce.

Then, on June 20, 2003, Nintendo released Mother 1 + 2 for the Game Boy Advance in Japan. This version of Mother contained the same changes that were made in the prototype version of the game, down to the censoring of images that Nintendo was known for during the localization process in the West.

To further corroborate the legitimacy of the prototype cartridge, Phil Sandhop, who had worked for Nintendo on the localizations of Final Fantasy and Metroid II: The Return of Samus, confirmed that in 1990 he was working on the localization for Mother, to be called EarthBound in America. Sandhop also spoke to the changes that were made during localization, and confirmed the completion of the game by September of 1990. Further, he detailed that the game was never released because by the time it had been completed and ready for production, Nintendo was preparing for their launch of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1991. The company was more interested in readying products for the new console rather than the old, and Sandhop explained that if EarthBound had been released for the NES, it would have cost more to produce due to its increased memory requirements.

Although Mother was never released in America officially, the game can be and has been played by fans of the sequel, Mother 2, which was released in America, and has a stranger story behind it then its unreleased predecessor.

EarthBound was released in North America for the SNES on June 5, 1995. The game takes place in Eagleland, and follows a young boy named Ness. Ness lives in the quiet, suburban town of Onett and he lives a normal boy’s life. Suddenly, a meteor crashes into the town and everything becomes a little strange. Wild animals begin attacking Ness, and some street punks begin to take over the downtown area. Ness sets out on a journey to save the world after a talking bee tells him to, and that is just the beginning of the game. Later stages see Ness rescue a girl who was kidnapped by a cult who obsesses over the color blue, he fights hippies and zombies all in one day, and he frees some aliens who were enslaved by vomit.

Packed with references to many pop culture staples, from Monty Python to the Blues Brothers and more, the game also contained countless examples of homage to classic horror and science-fiction movies. The game retained he mechanics and the simple design of the first entry in the series, while adopting it for a modern console. EarthBound, like its predecessor, stood out against the common tropes of RPGs in that era, which heavily relied on medieval or fantasy settings and all that came with them. Ness’ adventure however, put the player inside of a world that was strange yet still grounded in the reality that they lived in.

EarthBound, and Mother 2 as Japanese gamers would know it, evolved the original game into the 16-bit era while bringing with it all of the weirdness and absurdity. In Japan, Mother 2 was a massive success almost immediately, and it would have been difficult for Nintendo to fully ignore the American audience this time around. Plans were again made quickly to localize the game, and while it occurred, a massive marketing campaign began to hit the nation.

However, the approach to advertising this game was quite strange. Perhaps it was playing off of the game’s uncanny presentation and story, but the slogans used to draw attention to the game were more often than not a bit, well… odd. The first game, Mother, carried the slogan:It was evocative while being subtle and intriguing. The sequel, Mother 2, used the slogan:Again, nothing too explicit or challenging, but it presents a certain facade for the player as they enter this world. The North American release, EarthBound, opted for the slogan:While it certainly draws attention to what was being offered, and coupled with an image of pizza in the full page spread, the American slogan for the game may have been detrimental to the sales of the product. The advertisement opens by saying:To counter what is certainly strange marketing, such that might have turned some gamers away from the game, Nintendo gave away coupons to receive $10 off the purchase of the game, cutting a little bit off of the $69.95 price tag.

Further, the game’s strategy guide (which came packaged with the game), was also advertised with a similar slogan. Beneath the giant, bold letters, read the description: “Not only does the game of EarthBound reek like some foul creature of the sewers, but Nintendo has made the product even more repulsive with the Player’s Guide that comes packaged with the game.” This approach certainly contrasted a lot of others during the time, but perhaps it was in line with a lot of the 1990s dependency for shock and edge. Products like “Creepy Crawlers”, a counter to the “Easy-Bake Oven” that allowed the baking and creation of small insect-like toys, suggested in the commercial that their product was perfect for little brothers to toss onto an unsuspecting sister for a quick fright and the ensuing laughter that little brother would have.

Yet despite its best efforts to grab the market of menacing children who laughed at farts and made fake spiders in their bedrooms, EarthBound ultimately undersold. The game anecdotally has been recalled as being inside of clearance bins shortly after its release for downwards of $14.99. Whether this was the result of the peculiar marketing campaign, the impending launch of Nintendo’s SNES successor, or a lack of competitive visuals for RPGs at the time (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III) is not really known. Perhaps it was a combination of everything. Still, poor sales for the game in America did not mean the death of the franchise nor gamer’s interest in it.

Historically, when something flops during release it either fades away into obscurity forever, or it becomes a cult phenomenon. Anyone who was there for the first showing of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room is probably astounded at how many people have taken to that movie. Their appreciation for it might not have been Wiseau’s original intent, but nonetheless the movie is still alive. With EarthBound, the fact that it became scarce only increased its popularity as more people played the game through emulation for the first time. Fan sites began to crop up one after another, and the second-hand buyer’s market took off with copies of the game sealed in the box. Even today, the cartridge alone runs anywhere from $150 and up, with the empty box averaging $100. An unopened copy of the game will set the buyer back multiple hundreds of dollars more.

It’s difficult to pin down precisely what makes EarthBound so remarkably popular especially when looking at how poorly it sold initially, but a likely component of its adoration comes from the inclusion of the character Ness in the popular Nintendo game, Super Smash Bros., a title for the Nintendo 64 that pit Nintendo’s flagship characters against one another in battle. Designed as a toy box come-to-life, Super Smash Bros. incorporated elements of each character’s game into their moveset and placed the fighters in stages that represented something from Nintendo’s biggest franchises.

For many, unlocking Ness as a playable character begged the question, “Who is this?” While the existing fans may have found themselves elated at the incorporation of him, others soon became fans themselves by playing as the character in the mascot brawler. The popularity of the Super Smash Bros. series also brought interest in the Fire Emblem series to the West, after the characters Marth and Roy were added to the roster in the Gamecube title, Super Smash Bros. Melee.

The continuing support of Ness in subsequent releases of the Super Smash Bros. franchise, including the addition of his hometown Onett as a stage, helped to raise the character and EarthBound‘s mindshare significantly, but the Nintendo crossover fighter wasn’t the only attempt to bring EarthBound into the third dimension.

EarthBound itself suggested that the game would see a continuation or sequel of sometime. Within the game, a text box appears when trying to enter a building in Fourside that reads: “Planning Meeting for EarthBound 2.” Additionally, the game’s credits finish with a screen that reads: “The End…?” The developers of the game had been planning a continuation even before the release of the game, and thanks to successful sales in Japan at least, development had begun on Mother 3.

Mother 3, or would what become it, was first shown at Space World 1999. The playable demo showed off a world that wasn’t exactly what was expected as as follow up to EarthBound, but the game certainly had the quirkiness that its predecessor did. The demo showed masked pigs, underground dungeons, and a giant green dragon. The game was shown extensively, and following its initial reveal, it was highlighted in numerous publications, including Nintendo Power, where the game was expected for release in Japan on the 64DD and in America the following year. The 64DD was a disk drive add-on for the Nintendo 64 that was only available in Japan. The add-on allowed for enhanced features in games, such as the first Animal Crossing‘s internal clock. A similar tool would have been used in Mother 3, but such is fate that now the third entry in the series was under development as time approached the horizon of yet another Nintendo platform.

With the Nintendo GameCube scheduled for release in 2001, the discontinuation of the 64DD in Japan, and difficulties during development- Mother 3 was cancelled. Fan petitions popped up online, in hopes to inform Nintendo of the amount of interest in the game. There were even rumors in 2002 that the game was resurfacing, and it would perhaps see an eventual release, but nothing came of the rumors and fans of the series sat in wonder, hoping for a future.

Until 2003, when the aforementioned GBA release of Mother 1 + 2 was released, and commercials began airing for the game including a tease that a new entry was in the works for the GBA. With this being the first thing to grab at in years, still nothing came of the tease for several more. Finally, in the fall of 2005, Itoi updated his website and discussed his moving for work purposes. He announced the existence of and development of Mother 3 for GBA, and launched an official website for the game shortly after. With all of this, he announced an expected release sometime during the summer of 2006.

Once again, the series found itself at the tail end of its native console’s life cycle. The GBA had been succeeded by the Nintendo DS in 2004, and the newer clamshell handheld was dominating the market. This didn’t matter for Mother 3‘s success. The game sold well in Japan, and it received approving review scores. One of the game’s protagonists made it alongside Ness in the roster for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the third entry in the series for the Nintendo Wii. The stage “New Pork City” was added to the game as well, and the Japanese release of the game had a playable demo of Earthbound that could be unlocked within the game. The demo was removed from releases outside of Japan, as just one more sign that Mother 3 was to remain overseas indefinitely.

While the fact that the game was a late release on GBA didn’t affect its sales or reception in Japan, it solidified the chance for localization in the West. Despite countless petitions and an enormous amount of outcry from fans, Nintendo has never indicated anything in the way of a Western localization. The game has since been translated by fans, and even offered to Nintendo with no strings attached, but nothing close to an official release has been discussed. It was even popular enough to warrant the release of a limited edition Mother 3 themed Game Boy Micro, Nintendo’s already limited production model of the Game Boy Advance. The complete bundle included the system and accessories, as well as a Mother 3 themed pouch, a replica Franklin badge from the game, and a copy of Mother 3 for GBA.

When Nintendo launched the Nintendo Wii in 2006, the company introduced a service called the “Virtual Console.” This service was a legal way to download emulated versions of the company’s legacy titles, from almost every major console that they had released and select competitive consoles, such as the Sega Genesis. Virtual Console has since become a staple of Nintendo platforms, appearing on both the 3DS and Wii U systems, with each adding various emulated platforms. One by one following the launch of Virtual Console, Nintendo trickled out their first party software, making sure to include everything from the catalog that fans wanted. There were some omissions, and most came with the excuse of emulation difficulties. Titles like Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island utilized Nintendo’s advanced Super FX chip on the SNES, and emulation of the software became troublesome and imperfect. Similar titles suffered the same fate, and would never see a release on the digital platform.

There was one omission that had nothing to do with emulation, nor with a lack of demand. In fact, one of the most requested additions by fans and consumers was EarthBound. Giving up hope that Mother 3 would ever come West, fans relied on the hope that EarthBound would be made available, as most have probably never paid for the chance to play it. Because of the game’s incredible cult following and low production run, it became an expensive investment to obtain a copy of the SNES cartridge legally. Many turned to pirating the ROM, considering the cost of entry for something they may have never played before. The Virtual Console was the answer that many fans had been asking for, and Nintendo wouldn’t budge.

The entire lifespan of the Wii came and went without EarthBound. While the console was still alive when its successor launched, sales had diminished from what they once were and Nintendo launched the Wii U. The platform suffered a variety of problems during its launch, from lackluster software to brand confusion, and the Virtual Console didn’t fully launch for almost six months after the console release. When it did, the company offered an upgrade service for owners who wanted to bring their previous purchases to the new platform, and they promised the addition of other console emulation. One of the first platforms announced to come to the Wii U Virtual Console was the Game Boy Advance, leaving fans in want for a digitally distributed release of Mother 3.

The result of their wishes is yet to be determined, but Mother 2 was released on the Japanese Virtual Console on March 20, 2013. Following the release of the game in Japan, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced that EarthBound would be coming West at some point later in 2013. For the first time in years, Nintendo had acknowledged the series in America and were ready to embrace the fans after so long.

EarthBound was officially released on the North American Virtual Console on July 18, 2013 for $9.99. The price was a premium compared to standard SNES Virtual Console releases priced at $7.99, but considering the nature of the release it was difficult the $2 difference. Coinciding with the release of the game, Nintendo launched an official website for the game, the first site for the game that wasn’t created by fans. With the website, the company retooled the strategy guide for the game so that players could access it digitally, and view a version that has been optimized for the Wii U GamePad.

The existence of EarthBound on the Virtual Console is significant in the history of the franchise. For so many years, the series has been ignored outside of Japan despite not only the demand but the fact that the games take place in what is practically America. For some, this release is enough, while others are still demanding a release of Mother 3, or Earthbound 2 as it is commonly referred to. No matter the outcome, the fact that Nintendo was willing after so long to release the game shows that the company isn’t tone deaf. It shows that the company understands the passion behind the fans of the series, and that they are willing to give the fans what they want.

The last public appearance of the franchise was during the introduction to Nintendo’s E3 Digital Event. In a sequence that depicted the President of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, speaking to a convention center audience, one animated fan shouted “Bring us Mother 3!” The animated President responded by eating a fire-flower from the Mario franchise and firing a fireball at the fan, setting him on fire. It may sound gruesome, but it was done in fun and showed that once again, Nintendo is willing to acknowledge the fans and poke a little fun at themselves. However, neither Ness nor Lucas have been announced as playable characters in the next installment of the Super Smash Bros. series at the time of this writing, despite the series just celebrating its 25th anniversary. It is likely that at least Ness would return, but the fact that Nintendo has kept quiet is peculiar once again.

The fate of the Mother series coming to North America is unknown, but the company is listening. After a 25 year history, and only one game officially released in the territory, it is incredible the amount of fans that have rallied behind the franchise. The fan sites that dedicate themselves to Mother are updated daily with content, be it something of importance or just a simple post. There is more fan fiction and fan art than the amount of content within the games. There are live streams of Mother 3 that occur almost daily that show off changes and tweaks that have been made to the localization of the game. There is a fan made Mother 4 that the team is scheduling for release some time in 2014. To say that Mother is popular would be an understatement, and hopefully Nintendo’s unwillingness to bring the series fully to North America is breaking.

(Author’s note: I could not have written this article without the amazing Mother resources made available by so many great people. A lot of the history and facts I included, as well as the images throughout the article came from Starmen.net, one of the most popular and long-running fan sites online, created by Tomato in 1999, who helped work on the fan translation of Mother 3. The information on the legitimacy of the prototype NES cartridge came from LostLevels.org, a website dedicated to discovering what was never meant to be discovered. Additional information came from Mato’s other fan site: EarthBoundCentral.com)