Mother 3/Earthbound 64 (lost build of unfinished Nintendo 64/64DD video game; 1999)

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File:EarthBound 64 Mother 3 comparison.png
Comparison of EarthBound 64 and MOTHER 3.

EarthBound 64 (also known as MOTHER 3 in Japan, but not to be confused with the GBA game of the same name) was a cancelled sequel to the 1994/1995 Super Famicom/SNES game MOTHER 2/EarthBound (respectively). The story follows Lucas, Claus, and Flint, a family of 3 who lost their mother/wife, Hinawa.

The game had a lengthy and troubled development cycle, starting on the Super Famicom shortly after the release of Earthbound in 1994 but later moving to the 64DD. It was intended to have many uses of the 64DD hardware, but not all of the uses are well known. After the 64DD was canceled, development was moved to the N64. The two big problems were Shigesato Itoi and his crew had little to no experience with 3D titles, and without the aid of the 64DD the game had many constraints such as time and memory. Eventually, the title was pushed back until it was finally cancelled. At the time of the game's cancellation, Satoru Iwata estimated the game's completion at 30%, while Shigeru Miyamoto estimated it at 60%.[1]

The name MOTHER 3 was never forgotten, though. A few years later, after a MOTHER 1+2 commercial, it was announced that MOTHER 3 was in the works, and the final game was later released in 2006. A few changes in this version were obvious, however there are some connections between the 2 versions. Claus was no longer a protagonist, a few characters were added, but the biggest change was the return to 2D gameplay. Shigesato Itoi also stated in an interview that the story was originally going to be much darker and would "betray the player."[2]

Unfortunately, even the final release of MOTHER 3 was never released outside of Japan, although the game has been translated to English and many other languages by fans.

Brendan Sechter, a playtester who worked on the GBA version of MOTHER 3, confirmed in an interview that a prototype of Earthbound 64 exists. He was able to play most of the first chapter of the game, but the game crashed afterward. Sechter believes the prototype is either still in the possession of Brownie Brown or has been transferred to Hal Laboratories or Nintendo.[3] Although there are occasional rumors of fans owning prototype copies, there has been no credible evidence of this so far, and the game's composer Shogo Sakai has disclaimed ownership of some music purportedly from the prototype that has been posted to YouTube.[4]

EarthBound 64 Spaceworld '99 trailer.

A translated trailer for MOTHER 1+2.

References