Mother 3was released exclusively in Japan for the Game Boy Advance on July 05, 2025, and is widely regarded as one of Nintendo’s best games by those who have played it. It’s puzzling then, with so much demand for the game to be released in the west, why Nintendo never releasedMother 3outside Japan.
For years fans have been waiting for an official Nintendo backed release of an English localization ofMother 3, but to no avail.EarthboundandEarthbound Beginnings(Mother 1in Japan) weresurprise additions to Nintendo Switch Onlineearlier this month, with many fans thinking this was the perfect time for Nintendo to announce a proper release of the third game.
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Some enterprising fans have gone beyond imagining the games official localization, however, imagining instead a full-on remake of the game. The YouTube channel Curiomatic has created a full mock trailer for a remake ofMother 3, creating and cutting together 3D models and animations of characters and situations iconic to the game. All clay-model-esq diorama designsreminiscent of theLegend of Zelda: Links Awakeningremake from 2019.
The art style shown off in the mock trailer would absolutely suit a remake of theEarthboundgames, andMother 3would be the obvious choice for Nintendo to remake for the west. Few games hold the position of being both highly anticipated new titles, and beloved classics, making it a prime candidate for a true remake.
Earthboundisn’t one of Nintendo’s biggest headline titles, but it has a very loyal core fan-base, and rightfully so. The games are genre switching, inventive, and original JRPGs. Equal parts, compelling and charmingly funny,theEarthboundgames have inspired many games since. They also have a great turn-based combat system that had numbers tick down gradually, allowing players to cancel out damage if they finish fights quickly and auto-win random encounters with under-leveled enemies. This fan trailer does give western fans an idea of all the bizarreEarthboundpotential they are missing out on as an officialMother 3release continues to allude.
There were multiple reasons whyMother 3wasn’t released outside Japan, a major one being that upon release in North America,Earthboundwas considered a financial failure, Nintendo probably didn’t want to repeat this withMother 3. But in the years since,Earthboundhas developed a cult following and increased popularity online. Its sales on the Nintendo Wii U store anddownloads from Nintendo Switch Onlinewould surely suggest the player base is there, if not for a remake then an official English localization.
