Mother 3 [GBA - Unused Boss & Sprites]

Mother 3 is the latest (and some say last) installment in the Earthbound saga. Released 12 years after the previous game in the series, Earthbound, it offers a radically different story and presentation than the other games it shares its name with, all the while retaining the same combat system and quirky sense of humor.

Creator Shigesato Itoi initially conceived mother 3 to be released for the N64 when it was announced first in 1996. However due to both the teams inexperience in developing with 3D graphics and the commercial failure of the N64 DD drive (which would have been required to play the game) the project was cancelled in 2000, even though the game was quite far in development. For an interesting comparison between the original N64 version and the GBA version, check this nice article by Starmen.net (warning for spoilers).

The next time anyone would hear about Mother3 it would be in 2003, when it was redesigned for the Game Boy Advance. Graphically the game looked closer to its predecessors, a league away from the blocky, early-3D look that it first appeared with. When it finally shipped in 2006 anticipation was high, so high in fact that when Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu polled its readers on what games they wanted most, Mother3 was on top of the list. Sadly, to date Mother3 has never seen a western release. Fans wishing to play the game are left with importing it and using fan-made guides to finish it. Recently however a dedicated group of fans has translated the entire game and made the patch available for the public. So those that never got to experience this hidden gem can now enjoy it in English.

Below are unused sprites (like a taxy, a bus and an UFO) and a video of an unused boss from Mother3, Claus, who is the brother of one of the main characters Lucas. The fight against him is similar to the fight against Giygas from EarthBound, but appears to take place in one of Ness’s dreams. There has never been an official explanation as to why it was cut from the final game, but one reason could be because of how much it resembles a part from the previous game. Some rumors tell that Giygas was originally meant to be in Mother 3, but it was taken out probably because Giygas was permamently destroyed. In the last video, we can see an unused enemy that was found in the game’s ROM.

For more info check:

http://forum.starmen.net/forum/Mother/3_GameHelp/41877

Sweden translation ▼

Some sprites from: www.spriters-resource.com

Images:

 

Videos:

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