User:Czar/drafts/M3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mother 3 (Japanese: マザースリー, Hepburn: Mazā Surī) is a 2006 role-playing video game in the Mother series developed by Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratories and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The single-player, turn-based game follows simple role-playing game rules and uses the battle system of its predecessor, EarthBound (Mother 2). The player-character changes across the game's eight chapters, though the story centers around the protagonist (Lucas) and his family against the Pig Mask Army. Apart from the writing of its creator, Shigesato Itoi, the title is known for its extended development and its fan translation.
The game's development spanned nine years and four consoles, beginning in 1994 for the Super Famicom and quickly moving to the Nintendo 64 and its 64DD add-on. Following Mother 2's success in Japan, the team set out to make an unprecedented 3D game that ultimately exceeded the capabilities of the platform and was cancelled in 2000. Work on Mother 3 began anew in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance when Mother 1+2 was announced. The game's themes include human physiology, renewal, moral fungibility, and dualisms such as nature and technology, feudalism and capitalism.
Mother 3 was released on April 20, 2006 in Japan, whereupon it became a bestseller. Famitsu gave it a "Platinum Hall of Fame" score. Reviewers praised its story, graphics, and music, but criticized its 1990s role-playing game mechanics. Despite acclaim as one of the best role-playing games for the console and advocacy from EarthBound's fan community, it did not receive a North American release. A team of fans created a well known, full English fan translation of the game over two years. Itoi has no plans to make Mother 4.