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Shigesato Itoi Discussed Complications of Mother 3 Localization

Mother 3 Localizaion Complications
Image via Hobonichi Mother Project

EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi spoke about the possibility of an official localization of Mother 3. As part of an interview for a new documentary called EarthBound USA, Itoi stated that he would love for people in the West to play the game, but there were complications with the localization. [Thanks, IGN!]

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The EarthBound USA documentary documents the Mother franchise’s cult status in the US. It also touches on the development of the game’s popular fan translation. The documentary team’s interview with Itoi marks the first time he has spoken about the desire for Western fans to play an official localization. He remarked that the fan translation was offered to Nintendo, but they turned it down, stating it “wasn’t quite as simple as that.” Despite his interest in seeing a release for Western fans, he has no interest in returning to the project personally as he has moved on.

Itoi’s interview is the latest comment from an official source about the state of any official Mother 3 localization. Producer Shinichi Kameoka, previously told Nintendo Everything that he would love to see it happen. Meanwhile, former head of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, told Bloomberg that Nintendo had little interest in a US version of the game due to the transition to the DS hardware at the time.

While Mother 3 still has no official release outside Japan, its predecessors, EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings, are playable as part of the Nintendo Switch Online library.

The EarthBound USA documentary featuring the full interview with Shigesato Itoi is available now via Fangamer.

Leigh Price
About The Author
Leigh is a staff writer and content creator from the UK. He has been playing games since falling in love with Tomb Raider on the PS1, and now plays a bit of everything, from AAA blockbusters to indie weirdness. He has also written for Game Rant and Geeky Brummie. He can also be found making YouTube video essays as Bob the Pet Ferret, discussing such topics as why Final Fantasy X-2’s story is better than people like to think.

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