Is Mother 3 REALLY Too Controversial?
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- Опубліковано 28 гру 2024
- With the recent news regarding Mother 3's (lack of) localization, we examine if these claims are entirely accurate...
Music:
Summers / Eternal Tourist Trap - EarthBound
Love Theme - Mother 3
Buy Somethin' Will Ya! - EarthBound
Going Alone - Mother 3
Sanctuary Guardian - EarthBound
She Was a Sunflower - Mother 3
Through the Wire - Kanye West (chiptune remix by UA-cam user Cooper)
Twitter: / primateness
Second Channel: / @primateninten
Backup Channel: / @monkeynessshorts
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I don't think the critique of capitalism would be a problem. Sure, there *are* plenty of people who make a fuss when something criticizes the status quo, but the people who would do that tend not to realize that media is criticizing things if there's even a little bit of subtlety. If Metal Gear Solid can come to the States and not only not cause controversy, but be seen as apolitical by some, Mother 3 is fine.
FF7 is also critical on capitalism and it’s one of the most beloved games of all time
Honestly I am a capitalist and I haven’t played it in a long time but if they criticize capitalism I am sure they would do it correctly and in a way that was designed to change minds instead of make people mad.
At least that’s what I think, should probably play it again because last time I played it I was what? 8? :P.
@@raider4341 Nintendo might have a problem with critiques of capitalism though.
@@eviltrollface647 I doubt it tbh, it wouldn’t stop them from releasing it
The critique of capitalism in mother 3 is very debatible or subtle anyways, 90% of the game are just wacky adventures and familiar drama.
every now and then a teenager who grew up playing brawl and inexplicably latched onto the magic cartoon boy characters who nobody’s ever heard of jumps back into their mother hyperfixation and creates absolutely impeccable fan content and this poor starving husk of a fandom only is satiated once more (i speak from experience). you do excellent work op thank you for feeding the brain worms!
As one from the same crop, I understand completely. Thank you for your comment, I hope you stick around!
This video has kickstarted my latest speedrun of the earthbound fixation
you worded this perfectly
i wonder if the fan translation killed the localisation project since an official version is gonna cost money AND can only be either on par with the fan translation or have parts of the game censored
The translation team was notified by a Nintendo higher-up that if they went through with the project it would greatly hurt the chances of it ever being properly localized!
@@MonkeyNess Remember most RPG's exist to make the Japanese satisfied and Mother 3 did exactly that. Besides Mother 3 selling well in the west would just mean more people asking for a Mother 4, but the creator refuses to due so.
@@orangeslash1667 What makes you say that? At the end of the day, video games are created to sell products to as wide an audience as possible. They’re made to satisfy everybody, just rarely do.
@@MonkeyNess Yes but RPG's that weren't Final Fantasy are usually hard to sell in the West. Mother 3 has another problem with being released on the GBA in 2006 when the DS was New. Metroid Zero Mission also didn't sell well, because the DS was coming, and Metroid was made for Americans. So in addition to Mother 3 being dark, by the time Nintendo would localize the game, it would be too late.
@@orangeslash1667 Never disagreed with that! I think the timing is precisely the reason! However, plenty of non-FF RPGs have sold well in the west; Pokémon, the Mana series, Mario RPGs, the list goes on.
Its funny how people think mother 3’s dark themes are the problem but nintendo let omori onto the switch without batting an eye
There's a ton of dark games on the Switch. There's even dark subject matter in their own games. Why do people still think this is 90's Nintendo?
@@yoso378 probably because of them acting like that on other fronts
Or the binding of isaac
@ona9 this was posted 1 year ago
1 It is in english so no costs for that 2 it got a 18+ rating
3 its a 3 party game so they dont care about it as much.
"So in conclusion... stop harassing Reggie..... harass Doug Bowser" that was unexpected
• I mean doug bowser does deserve it
7:15 - 7:22 I've actually always thought that a large reason Itoi's never tried 'kickstarting' an official English translation of Mother 3 is out of respect for the fan translation. In the "A Message from Mr. Itoi" video that was released when EB0 was released on Wii U Itoi said:
"This is a very personal emotion for me, but I have done a lot of different types of work in my life and creating Mother, and creating the work that is Earthbound is somehow, for me personally, less about me making something that impacted the lives of others, and more about those that played the thing I made impacting me. I feel that my life has been changed by all of you who have played Earthbound."
Itoi seems to have been deeply impacted by how much people seem to love and enjoy the Mother series, and I think the fact that a small group of loving fans got together to create their own translation would've really resonated with him. I think Itoi knows that having an 'official' translation created would essentially invalidate those fans' hard work, and would likely just disappoint fans of the fan translation for not being the same anyway. Itoi definitely seems like the type to care more about his fans than he does making a profit, in any case.
That also could be the reason Nintendo has never said anything about taking it down, Itoi didnt want them to and would rather let this be that hidden gem, because what dude wouldnt want to hold that honor.
@@youhaveayds8975 Yeah that's true too. It's especially odd that it's been left up considering how popular the translation has gotten (and employees like Reggie have even acknowledged its existence on Twitter). Nintendo has DMCA'd much less popular things before, so it sort of feels like there has to be some reason Mother 3 has managed to escape unscathed after so long
Mother is the one series Nintendo won't even take down. And thats a good thing...
Not relevant to the fan translation, as that does touch what nintendo owns, but nintendo only owns the rights to the 3 Mother games themselves, not the mother franchise. Were I to make a mother 4 and ask $5 for it, Nintendo would not be able to sue me. Itoi, however, owning the rights the Mother Series, could sue me, and should as it's incredibly scummy to ask money for a fan-game@@KnottsBear-yTalesPreserved
I think the reasons why it has never been localized initially because of EarthBound's commercial failure in North America and it releasing on the GBA when the DS has already been out for 2 years.
That's more or less what Reggie said.
Yeah cause they put a players guide and was like what 80 to 100 bucks? I had to beg to get the game
@@Krushak8888 and the fact they literally said the game stinks in the advertising like what the hell
@@dudu28r81 eh that never bothered us 90s kids
@@dudu28r81 Tbh, I think that's more minor (still a factor tho) because the 90's was already pretty gross so..
Thank you for this. Every time I hear someone say "oh Mother 3 hasn't been released because the west can't handle the Magypsies" or something like that, I die a little inside.
I also die because it's probably true
Just look at how homophobic people can get, disgraceful
@@rompevuevitos222
In an attempt to not piss anyone off I'll say: I feel like I see both sides of the political spectrum saying that the _other_ side would specifically hate the Magypsies lol
@@MishKoz well, i can only say that the only "spectrum" that has openly been anti trans is one of them, not both
And i don't mean "they probably think it" but rather "so obvious it hurts"
@@rompevuevitos222 I'm not saying both are anti trans. They each think the other side can't handle the Magypsies for different reasons lol, and that's all I'm say
@@MishKoz Oh, my bad
That's certainly interesting
I think that if they were to localize it, the most logical way would be to put it on nintendo switch online when the gba games come out for it. They’ve done it before and if the English version really does exist there isn’t any reason not to, they would make so much money with people just paying for it once to experience the game.
They're probably gonna put it on the crappy expansion service :(
Only problem is it's going to be on the NSO expansion, and I as well as many others don't want to buy an overpriced service just for a single game we won't even own.
Even if they do put it on Nintendo switch online for game boy and I think they will if they do add game boy I just don’t think they are going to translate it
@@PhantomOfficial07 they probably wouldn’t put it on there they’d probably put only the 3d ones that require more effort to be put into them to get onto the switch
@@PhantomOfficial07Hey, on the bright side... at least the emulation's pretty good
With the Ionia scene, while people tend to interpret it as lewd (Reasonably so, it *does* read that way, especially with how the screen is blacked out), I'm fairly certain they just shove Lucas under the water until fight-or-flight kicks in and he instinctively uses PK Love, thus awakening that power in him. It would make much more sense that way. :P
That’s kind of what I imagine as well, although it doesn’t explain why they black the screen out.
@@MonkeyNess Only things I can imagine are either "Lets not show this adult drowning this child (Even tho its the GBA, you can't get *that* detailed with it)" or they thought it'd be funny to make people think it was lewd? No clue tbh. Lol.
@@MonkeyNess maybe it’s so they don’t have to make more animations for the scene? That’s what Pokémon does for some scenes (I think even when the series was sprite-based, though there’s a chance I’m wrong since no specifics come to mind, and it wouldn’t have been as much as later games anyway), though idk.
I thought the hot water was meant to simulate a fever to Lucas's body, like the fevers that PSI users usually get in Mother 3, before they learn a new move. So it's tricking his mind into developing his powers early.
@@ShyGuyXXL That's a very interesting interpretation!
Idk, I can understand why they wouldn't want to localize the game, especially the part where Ledar tells Lucas about the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Wait wut?
@@leifcasanova3097 yea, i don't really know why they referenced that
that wasn’t nearly as bad as when Flint revealed himself to be the Unabomber
@@cowboyluigi5275 ???????
Now I am confused, did we play the same game?
Oh wait-
The first ten seconds were enough, Most people tend to use "Nintendo family friendly policy" as an argument of why M3 is not localized, but if Reggie himself says the themes and content are not the reason, then there is not actual evidence to back up the claim, I really liked that you went straight in to the point. I liked your theory that Itoi has some responsability on why it has not been localized, and also is quite undertable, he is pretty old now and having to approve every piece of new dialoge is monumental. Anyway Good video
Thank you! I try to make getting to the point one of my priorities.
The simple answer: no
People made up reasons for why they THINK it might be, but that's all it is, just speculation.
4:00 Hell Kirby and the Crystal Shards is getting rerated as T
tbh i've just lost hope in MOTHER 3's rerelease. I'll only start asking if they begin taking down fan translation downloads
so far it's confirmed that nintendo knew about the fan translation but left it up because they saw absolutely no reason to take it down. don't ask why this is an exception for nintendo because I don't know either
@@Madotshadow I think thats cause Itoi doesn't mind it (he owns half the license)
the second itoi dies nintendo will go insane on mother stuff /j
YOOO ITS YOU YOU’RE AWESOME
@@ARCHIVED9610 hi
If they take Mother 3's downloads down, the Internet explodes
if i may give my own perspective on the magypsies as a trans person myself. their characters are actually fine, and i feel their personalities work really well for who they are, because they are strange, but they also aren't treated like a big joke or made fun of. i do wish their designs weren't based on a dated stereotype that could be seen as offensive, and i wish they could be updated to look less so. but it's not a deal breaker, and mother 3 is still a masterpiece either way, so we'll just have to see i guess.
I think it helps that the Magypsies are such positive characters.
They're a bit stereotypical, but they're fundamentally *good* people who play a vital role in saving the world.
I think they, as well as Tony being gay in EarthBound, were Itoi's sincere attempt at positive representation, and I think he definitely had good intentions behind the characters.
@@DrMechano I absolutely agree with that. Nothing about them feels ill intended, and they are a very positive force on the game and the world. I would like to see them with a less dated appearance, but that's like the only issue with them I really have.
Reggie too lol
@@MonkeyNess yeah, nothing to really say on that one, it's offensive and should be changed as well if any sort of remake/rerelease ever happens.
@@MonkeyNess Yeah, I'd be for a sprite edit to change his appearance slightly. Just remove the big red lips mostly.
I'm not excusing the original design, but this is probably a case of "Japanese creator is unfamiliar with how much this looks like old-timey racist caricatures." So in a sense, I feel like it'd be truer to Itoi's vision of acceptance *to* edit Reggie for a western release.
In my opinion, no. There are even worse games than Mother 3 that came to america. Some even got banned. A little rpg isn't gonna ruin anything. The game has no blood, it has some Mild language, and has deep topics but meh. People will get over it.
Totally with you, however I don’t think it’s a matter of “way worse games come out” it would be more about Nintendo maintaining its image if this was at all the case.
@@MonkeyNess I agree with this 100%. It's not so much to do with "is the content too controversial for modern standards" but rather "is the content too controversial for Nintendo and their western kid friendly image?"
@@MonkeyNess come on dude its earthbound, its not like Mario or Zelda where their image revolves around it.
@@Sad-Lesbian i think the main problem with games release here has to do with its anti-capitalist and anti-consumerist themes that are quite prominent throughout the game.
@@FzeroVaporeon It’d be a major release.
Im suprised you didn't point out one of the (supposed) points, the entire animal abuse through the game,like chapter 3 shows it very clearly
your channel is a gold mine... please keep it up brother!!!
Thank you! Really appreciate that!
Keep in mind Final fantasy and Metal gear tackled capitalism too, yet they are very successful franchises
you’re my favourite mother channel atm keep up the good work👍
Thank you so much!
I seriously doubt the critique of capitalism is the issue. Mother 3 is one of the few games that actually has the balls to make big statements and points like that.
Agreed.
Also isn’t Harvey from ACNH like not a fan of capitalism
Also, we live in a post-"Che Guevara T-Shirts at Hot Topic" form of capitalism. Nintendo is more than likely aware that any critiques of capitalism in the game will not be enough to meaningfully affect any potential revolutionary action in America. Nowadays, corporations love to commodify anti-capitalism. It lets the consumer feel like Buying the Product is praxis.
Plus, the game doesn't even seem that radical to begin with. It's less Marxist-Leninist and more just everyday pastoralism (Like "The Nymph Complaining for the Death of her Fawn" by Andrew Marvell or William Blake).
another recent game series that has dipped into anti capitalist critiques is xenoblade, not directly related to capitalism but a lot of the psychology is adjacent with anti capitalist sentiment
why do people think Ness hasnt gone through traumatic experiences he has literally died and his soul put into a robot, and then fought an eldritch abomination of misery and pain and evil literally based on Itoi's encounter with (something he thought was) a rape scene in a movie. like sure his wasnt as familiarly traumatic, like his family is alive at the end and whatever, but both have gone through some shit, even if Lucas' traumatic experiences were worse
It was just a joke for the most part.
Died? he got his consciousness trasnferred to a robot, idk if that's the same thing
@@MonkeyNess yeah i didnt mean it about your joke specifically! it just brought this to mind cuz i always see people saying it for real in the community
@@rompevuevitos222 fair enough, but still! having your soul plucked out of your body to be put in robots is probably not a pleasant experience anyway!
Does Ninten have any real big trauma during Mother 1? I mean, he did fight zombies and ghosts, but he is a brave boy and zombies and ghosts are not really that scary compared to fighting the personification of evil and your suicidal brother.
As a trans person I've always been a little iffy on the magypies appearance-wise, but at the same time it's really cool seeing androgynous characters being treated with such high respect and not used as jokes, it's something that video games still struggle with, so I do have a lot of appreciation for them
You were a little iffy on the Magypsies because they don't really have anything to do with anything our mortal shells can even comprehend, they literally transcend gender...
Alec himself said so. Even then, Ionia is super cool and you can't convince me otherwise.
As a right winger, I don't mock anyone unless I see activists put ridiculous ideologies on children about gender while trying to normalize communism. Yes there are garbage human being but there are garbage in all sides. The woke propaganda is not evolution, it's just a mean for companies to make money out of sexualization of minors and letting guys call themselves women while going to female prisons and getting on women sports
Itoi said he included the Magypsies because of how he had gender fluid friends irl and wanted to represent them. Considering how much the series represents Itoi, it’s easy to see how.
If I was to do an animated adaptation of Mother 3, I would turn 5:11 into a misdirection joke parodying this scene where you think one thing is happening only for it to turn out to be something either completely innocent or completely bizarre (I would even have a little back and forth between the two with Lucas sounding annoyed).
Tbh, yes harass Doug bowser as he is most theoretically the reason for the bad Nintendo decisions. Don’t just shout at him for mother 3, shout at him for those stuff. (I’m pretty sure he’s also trying to look innocent by making Mario maker 2, what a sly rascal!)
He just posts bangers every day
It would make a beautiful anime in the right hands either Mother series.
I think Magypsies would have and would cause some complaints in most eras when M3 could have released. For differing reasons throughout the years. Maybe it's a worry now moreso than when Reggie was in. Not that it would cause controversy, but people in business would think it'd cause controversy. Of course they could change things. But yeah, I doubt any controversies are keeping the game from releasing. I believe what you said at the end, Itoi would need to be involved, and that causes issues. Ultimately, I think NOA just sees M3 as a not-worthwhile investment. The money and time they'd need to invest would not give them the returns they'd want, at least they'd think they wouldn't get the returns they'd want. Whatever reason why they think that, that's the most legitimate thing I can think would prevent a company from localizing it.
It's just strange to me why they wouldn't just utilize the fan translation, as the team's offered it up to them for free several times. The other Mother games are rated T for teen anyway, why not just make Mother 3 have a higher rating as well? It's virtually 0 work. Just a ROM upload. We might never know!
Short answer: there is already a translation
Long answer: it’s too long.
You win the Webbie for funniest comment
my thoughts on the magypsies as a trans woman who's never played mother 3 (i plan to at some point) are that what I have seen of them is respectful and I haven't seen anything to suggest that theres any malice there.
In 2006, nintendo was censoring basically any trans or feminine male characters like birdo or vivian
I can still hope
At least I got the fan translation
Just saying, the fact that everyone breezes over the naked person making Lucas 'endure' something during a blank screen to learn his special magic is disturbing as all get out. Who in god's name thought that was a good idea? Also Reggie (the character, not the person) made me cringe so hard.
I never thought it was something messed up, i thought ionia just held down lucas's head to water
@@irembal6011same bruh
I really wish Nintendo could make a remade of Mother 3, just like how they did to Super Mario RPG. 😞
I mean, if it doesn't have Teddy, is it really worth the possibility of controversy?
Itoi-san does an amazing job with the trilogy, but I think it's still odd that one game has undead mafia dudes and one has a borderline traumatizing finale with a cult, a dude in the arcade with knives, gangs, druggy cake, a dude named after what I'm about to flush down, and also undead and trash monsters n odd stuff
But it's the game with the ungenderable(?) needle guardians, the dead mom, the dystopian city, the new creatures, the brother being turned into Diet Mega Man, same brother zapping himself, and a bald cowboy dad who isn't a phone that gets nothing lmfaooo
Anyways I liked the video, thanks for making these Monkey Ness
*And a drug trip*
I think the US is generally more ok with mass shooting than with trans people
So yeah, undead, mafia and drugs are probably more acceptable in their eyes
Poo being named Poo isn't exactly odd tho as that name is pretty common in other parts of the world.
This comment needs to be pinned
I don't get how they think the androgynous characters would bother people. Did we all forget how flamboyant Sylvando in DQXI? And Slyv is my favorite character lol
I present you: The United States
@@rompevuevitos222 The answer was obvious since it was addressed in the video but here is the thing, if you think the USA is bad.... most Asian cultures and MIddle East are more horrid about it. IT's still wrong but USA isn't the only country with issues.
@@Krushak8888 Yeah, never said those wheren't bad (altho the US is becoming scarily similar to them)
But why do you think they don't localize it for the west?
Hint: it isn't because of those other countries you mentioned
@@rompevuevitos222 or because earthbound series probably not as popular and or they think the west might not enjoy it. *shrugs* who cares i was just commenting randomly on a video about Slyv lol
Alright yall hear me out.
A remake of Mother 1, with clay like graphics. 💁🏾♂️
I'd rather have it in the style of the other two Mother games
@@gengargamer5657 all 3
YES YES YES YES YESSSSS
@@xenobreyden666 That sounds neat
Moral Orel style?
5:25 Was I..? Was I the only one who thought Ionia was doing a heavy massage to Lucas?
I'm not a kid, this scene felt like nothing out of place could happen to me XD
thank god you put spoiler alert. Ill watch it when i finish mother 3, thanks
Would never want my favorite game ruined for someone. Hope you return when you finish it! ❤️
@@MonkeyNess i now truly undertstand the meaning of "No crying until the end"
@@MonkeyNess how can i make my friends play these games when they are xbox fans? maybe just mother 3 but also earthboynd beacause it would be better if they enjoy that first, with me guiding them (maybe you can do a video about it)
I genuinely think a re-release could Get a new rating (15 +) introduced with it or even get a M rating over here if it ever came out.
Have you watched Moon Channel’s take on why Mother 3 hasn’t been released in the U.S.? I think he might be on to something there.
I have doubts. The game came super close to putting it on the eshop in Japanese, so I doubt it’s music related.
@@MonkeyNessHence close
@@ianmcguire2964 that’s a big jump, as Reggie said in 2022 that isn’t wasn’t an issue relating to content.
@@MonkeyNess I think the video in question mentions that Japanese copyright law is a lot more lenient in the specific aspect of allowing musical inspiration than US law.
@@MonkeyNess I think the video in question mentions that Japanese copyright law is a lot more lenient in the specific aspect of allowing musical inspiration than US law.
The official translation will be released in 199X.
I've always assumed it was a financial/commercial thing to be honest. They're acting as big businesses/corporations always do. If the heavy or offensive content WAS at all part of the reason why, it would probably just be because that could possibly make the game even less marketable and profitable, as opposed to actually being concerned about offending people.
Side note: The word g*psy is also an anti romani slur (a lot of people claim it's not intended in a derogatory way which is true, but many romani people have spoken about how the word harms them so I think that's more important than the intentions behind it's usage) so I'd advise against using it even if it was used in the original game and is a portmanteau. I've seen some mother fans using terms like magifolk instead and I think it's a charming alternative.
honestly i dont know if many people think this way but honestly mother 3 not being officially translated makes the game even more special cause technicly you are not meant to be able to play this game and on top off that it heavily reduces the chances of someone getting spoiled cause earthbound is just talked about so much that people may not even know that it has a sequal i only found out about mother 3 after i finished earthbound which made me go in fully blind unlike in earthbound which the only spoiler i had was gyigas cause lets be honest its almost impossible to go in earthbound blind
and honestly about the content being an issue part if earthbound gets a green light with gyigas which as messed up as he is atleast for a 4 year olds mind theres a chance that it wont come off as messed up as it really is but especially if that POO scene where he gets his whole body torn apart and is made as clear as possible is consider ok by nintendo then i dont really see why people think that lucas getting PSI could stop mother 3 from getting localized
If the capitalism fandom didn't notice the criticisms in Fallout they sure as hell ain't gonna notice it in mother 3. the magypsies would need a name change as their name derives from a slur against Romanian people but that wouldn't be hard nor would editing Reggie's sprite
Not romanian, roma, those are two different ethnicities.
I think a huge reason why it hasn't been localized has to do with all the homages to other songs that can be found in the music. That would be a copyright nightmare I think
Also, I don't mind people having the SA interpretation of Lucas awakening to PK love, but I do think that it would be inconsistent with ionia's character throughout the game, which is why I personally think that it's not the case at all. I think the most sensible answer would just be that he had a near-death experience, almost drowning, caused by Ionia to awaken to PK love.
I disagree with this due to EarthBound doing the same thing and getting through and re-released multiple times. Not impossible, though.
Fassad predicted NFTs
Great video as always!
Thank you so much! 🐵❤️
4:03 I think the ratings are NSO General, as Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was rated M, and while it does feature some stuff you wouldn't want young kids to see... Really? M?
The M rating was a mistake for Kirby 64, it's been fixed since.
@@MonkeyNessOh.
Wow I did not realize Itoi was that old
Well, Omori's subject matter is way more controversial and yet it sold surprisingly well on the switch. This argument holds no water.
Omori has nothing to do with it. It’s not a Nintendo property, it was just released for the console.
It’s a literally just because of the music copyright, I have no idea why mother fans do this whole song and dance about how deep the franchise is.
Honestly, if they can't localize Mother 3, they should otherwise make a remake with the title Earthbound 2 and have more opportunities to add back in content from Earthbound 64 that didn't make it into Mother 3 as well as more stuff without all the limitations of the GBA getting in their way and add in new songs or covers or remixes to match the game (someone even suggested on another video I'll bring up about having Toby Fox compose it), since music licensing was a huge, and basically the real reason it didn't get localized and probably never will (there's a video talking about it and the guy's a lawyer too so he knows what he's talking about. He's called Moon Channel). The Super Mario RPG remake has proved that this can be done well and maybe they can stylize the animations to replicate claymation.
I think Mother 3 would be most likely to be localized if it was remade for a newer console. At least Mother 1 was fully localized by the time it was cancelled, so that made rereleasing it on Virtual Console kind of a breeze compared to if they just localized it specifically for it. Hell, they didn't even bother with Panel de Pon, it's western release to NSO was completely in Japanese, basically in its original state. Though that's a puzzle game and you don't really NEED fluency in the game's language to understand how to play a puzzle game unless it's super complicated.
Unrelated, but the Magypsies' designs kinda reminded me a bit of the drag queens I saw at a pride event last year, ngl. The colorful hair and fashion in particular. ^_^
I think Moon Channel 's coverage of the problem makes alot of sense.
Where the music is too connected to copywritten songs so the potential of lawsuit is a headache Nintendo probably doesn't want to deal with.
Seen the video, but still have some skeptecism.
EarthBound and Mother 1 both direclty utilize entire sections of real songs and it was confirmed the music had nothing to do with the process when being rereleaed, as seen in how the music is untouched. Much of Mother 3's direclty-ripped music is of public domain classical music too.
Lucas just got #$%@&! by an LGBTQ I understands why it wasn't realesed.
Never understood the argument that Mother 3 being critical of capitalism (even anti-capitalist) is a reason why it can't be localized. Americans are no strangers to anti-capitalist art, even anti-capitalist art with young demographics. The Lego movie has very similar themes to mother 3 (yes I'm serious) but nobody's protested it or even batted an eyebrow
Lucas
Lucas Mother 3
bottom text
I don't think Japan is as notorious for being a capitalistic society as the U.S., but I know it's one of the most infamous for this. If Japan can get an "anti-capitalist" (the game is honestly more "anti-materialist") game, so can the U.S. of A.
Only thing for Nintendo to do would be to "buy" the fan translation and slap it on the Switch e-shop, given that the series sales over here have been lackluster, both in original run and e-shop ports, ,as well as whatever royalty agreement they may have with Itoi, Nintendo would need to take the most cost efficient route to justify an official release.
But I have a more pressing question for the Mother fanbase, why constantly badger Nintendo for the official release? Given the Big N's feelings towards fan projects and roms, its surprising the fan translation has received no legal challenge. Why not just take the victory? Does the lack of an official release invalidate the series, or your enjoyment, in any way? Everyone who would buy the game, has more than likely played the fan translation.
Just want a world where we can have both.
@@MonkeyNess As I said, look at Nintendo's attitude towards fan projects. The fan made remake of Metroid 2 comes to mind. There is no way Nintendo would allow the fan translation to stay up if they decided to do the official release.
@@scar3crow_art Don’t disagree.
@@scar3crow_art Nintendo can't do anything about the fan translation as is anyway, partially because Itoi owns half of the property in the first place and he would shoot down any DMCAs of fan efforts if asked which he would have to be. But even with Itoi out of the picture (which is an encroaching reality), they still wouldn't have legal ground to C&D the fan translation because it's a patch file that requires the base ROM file to work in the first place. The most they could do is badger them to remove copyrighted images from their site but that's it.
Not that it matters; the Fan Translation Team has said that they would take down the patch download if an official localization ever released in the first place. Hell, Tomato has gone out of his way to offer the patch to Nintendo for use themselves, and even offered to translate it all over again from scratch (to no avail). With the leak of the GBA emulator for Switch Online and the Switch's financial success, now's a good opportunity for Mother 3 to have an English release but being honest, I don't think Nintendo believes it'll make enough money to be worth it.
Mother 3
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Earthbound 2
I don’t think of the game as a critique of capitalism, more as a critique of facism
why does the audio quality change every 5 seconds?
Roughly 45% of the voice over had to be re-recorded at a later time at a different location.
I think that all of these reasons on top of the fact that it was released in 2006 with 2 brand new consoles on the way is why.
The GBA ended its run in 2006 and Japanese publishers and developers moved on to the Nintendo DS, but Western developers and publishers would continue to release games on the system until 2007 in Europe and 2008 in North America.
Apparently they were planning on releasing the original Japanese version on the Wii U virtual console if the Wii U sold better
I think is the music homajes and the content what is limiting it's release
I think one of the reason is that it’s not making money. It’s a classic gba game. The translation would cost more money to make. Maybe people in nintendo not really interested in this game to actually care what we think.
I already gave up the idea of it being officially translated. Nintendo only care about Mario, pokemon and Zelda. Already played Mother 3 translation long time ago, one of my favorite game of all time. I don’t care about nintendo. Only my respect towards Mr. Itoi.
Not sure I agree that Nintendo only cares about those franchise, large pushes for Fire Emblem, Metroid, Splatoon, ARMs, there's plenty. :)
Don't forget EarthBound Beginnings made it here almost 30 after its initial release! The FT team has made it clear to Nintendo their translation is free for them to use, so it's actually a similar situation. Maybe someday!
@@MonkeyNess the thing about the earthbound zero or beginning is that it already have a translation to begin with or already in a process. If M3 already have a translation from a fan made, why isn’t nintendo doing anything about it? Make like a deal or sue it? Itoi probably says something like “don’t bother with them”. Itoi knows that his work for M3 would not make it in the US to even care what nintendo think. He even acknowledged all the fan made games and would love to play it. Only nintendo don’t agree with it. “So, no translation for you Itoi” said Nintendo. Unless you want to talk about the transgender, Arabic animal abuse, death of all mc family and bad parenting in the game. I don’t see money isn’t the only issue anymore.
Lots of speculation all around. Who knows!
I am high sure that they are never going to release a official translation because it would be better to spend time and money on their best selling series like kirby or pikmin instead of reviving a dead franchise like star fox or kid Icarus.
Also Nintendo already knows about the existence of the fan translation without any censorship so we just *don't* *need* this fan translation.
I wish I could’ve lived my whole life without seeing that picture of Doug bowser
Nintendo doesn't have the balls to release Mother 3 outside of Japan.
8:04 sadly that day wasm't today
One point I've never seen anyone bring up about a localization is that the Magypsies would be misconstrued as something they're not. Not in the way you mentioned, but as a negative stereotype for trans people. An unfortunate reality of today is that most people dont actually know what trans means, and assume its just a person that dresses and acts like the opposite gender. Because of this, people may misunderstand their mannerisms as a negative stereotype for trans people instead of what they really are: an endearing caricature of crossdressers. But gaming publications will take any negative headline and run with it just to get clicks, and thus, give Nintendo bad publicity.
its also a fairly accurate stereotype lol
@@joevaghn457 Maybe, but that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Like i said though, publications wouldn't care either way and would just make articles saying its the most offensive thing ever, just to get more clicks. My spouse is trans and originally thought they were supposed to be trans too, but didn't find the portrayal offensive because they're all wholesome and endearing. Their reaction after i explained things was basically "Oh that makes more sense actually".
The real reason this game hasn't been released is because nintendo is so out of touch with its fans that they think most American gamers would over look it however they fail to recognize how the success of smash might impact the sales of a rerelease or remake of the game. If nintendo wanted to release it in America they would've done it on the wii u. We all know its true they rubbed it in our faces when we were the only people to buy that terrible console
But an official localization has already been 100% confirmed to be coming alongside a script book of the scripts for all 3 Mother/EarthBound games- Shiesato Itoi's own company confirmed it!
Source: trust me bro
who told you that
@@MonkeyNess XD
Trust Me Bro
My favorite source just for the absurd name alone
@@KnottsBear-yTalesPreserved Sorry, but the word of the Mother series creator is WAY more trustworthy than yours!
This game is one gigantic fucking beautiful metaphor and I despise nintendo for trying to rob us of this experience, I appreciate all of the work that was put into the fan translation. It really gives you the full experience that we were never meant to have.
It’s the music. They borrowed melodies from many popular songs from big bands like the Beatles. One song in the soundtrack directly uses the melody from Back in the USSR. Nintendo released a soundtrack mix in the USA, but omitted the most obvious copyright infringements. A video from a guy named “Moon Channel” explains this better than me because he’s a lawyer.
Aware of and seen the video. I still have doubts though since EarthBound did the same with several famous songs and still rereleased unchanged
Honestly why do people even want an official localization of mother 3 when we have a F R E E fan translation?
They want to support an official release.
I dunno man. If Celes can try to kill herself in Final Fantasy III (VI), I think a magypsie can have a beard and pink hair
It’s important to remember FF isn’t a Nintendo series, and is just playable on many Nintendo consoles.
@@MonkeyNess Fair point, but FF6 still came out on a Nintendo console in the 90s. They don't really change much from that scene in the original Ted Woolsey version. I feel like you're right, MOTHER 3 isn't being prevented from western release because of its content
@@king_pigeon It's not about the content in FF's case, because it isn't a Nintendo game itself, the argument was "Is Nintendo not releasing Mother 3 to protect its squeaky clean image as a family-friendly game producer?"
@@MonkeyNess Well yeah but Nintendo still got to control a bit of what Square was doing at the time because Square exclusively worked with Nintendo, almost like a 2nd party developer
I get what you're saying though, and I agree that Mother 3 probably isn't that controversial... unless I misunderstood and you were saying it is
We're in agreement, I was just explaining why I was making that point and that I wasn't actually arguing for it.
Just make it an 18
I'm sure they would have rereleased Mother 3 if it had been localized back in 2006, but they're not going to put in the work and go full Trials of Mana with a series that historically sells like crap in the west, and it would be legally problematic to use the fan translation. People seem to forget that it wasn't solely the work of Tomato. It would be a mess to clear the rights.
The FT has been offered to Nintendo to use for free, and the Mother series’s rep of poor sales has been obliterated by their massive success on eshops since EarthBound’s release.
It’s 2022, this game is fine to release
Agreed! :)
Even if all the controversial visual elements were censored, Mother 3 probably won't come to the west because of the musical references. I would recommend Moon Channel's video as it talks about the legal issues in depth.
TLDR of the video Mother 2 gets a pass because most of the references are samples under fair use, however Mother 3 does not fall under the same category.
Not so sure about that. EarthBound was able to be rereleased with all of its samples intact, after all.
@@MonkeyNess Many of the samples from Earthbound are short or transformed enough that they were considered legal. But when you look at samples from Mother 3, they are direct homages to the work they inspired by.
@@redwool Mother 3 should be more in the clear, honestly. It samples mostly classical music, which is public domain.
@@MonkeyNess True, but there are also songs like Mr. Batty Twist (Batman Theme) and Natural Killer Cyborg (Michael Jackson's Beat It) that would cause lots of legal trouble
@@redwool Point taken, but EarthBound samples The Beatles, The Doors, and Chuck Berry, who are all of similar notoriety and legal pitfalls and was left untouched.
Mommy 3
Good point
its not so much as nintendo is afraid of offending peoples gender, its more of nintendo worrying about parents boycotting them over “LGBT WOKE propaganda”
It is a trippy game but it's not that crazy, I think Nintendo is just lazy and don't want to translate the dialogue and if you look at how good the fan translation is they're probably thinking what's the point
8:12 honestly yeah 😂
I think it has to do with the literal toilet breaks at every point in the game. Like it's a subliminal message just to have you go in the woods or public restroom to find an Ultimate Chimera waiting there to be your friend.
I think you're kinda underestimating how much claus's suicide would raise the age rating. Suicide is often one of the aspects of a m rated game and nintendo remember (outside of bayonetta which is a special exception) really doesn't like making their games have ratings above T. I will agree with you that Reggie is also a massive block to localization, the translators would have to completely change how he talks from cave man speak as that could be seen as offensive. Change his lips to not resemble stereotypical blackface, and remove any reference to Aboriginal culture including him living in a Teepee. With the magisies I used to think they were too controversial but honestly all nintendo would have to do is change any reference to them being transgender, tone down their flirtiness and the one adult joke with Ionia and lucas. Salsa being shocked would have to be toned down considerable which would take away from how evil Fassad is and Salsa's character growth. The point about Nintendo having to go through Itoi to start a mother 3 localization was pretty good, they would have to come to some sort of agreeement. People don't always remember that Nintendo isn't in full ownership of all their IPs. Lastly Reggie also recently said in another interview that it simply would just cost too much money to localize, something I can actually agree with but I can't be alone in thinking that can't be the only reason.
In relation to the content pertaining to suicide, I think it’s left so ambiguous in game it could get away with a T rating.
@@MonkeyNess doesn't it literally say claus took his final breath at one point? Plus Claus says I'm going to where mom is now and Flint says claus and hinawa have entrusted their fate to you. Idk I feel like Nintendo would have to make it even more vague which would really ruin the moment.
@@nascour5991 It makes it clear he dies, but the suicide element is left a bit more vague.
@@MonkeyNess i mean fair enough but idk to me child death is incredibly dark for a T rated game. I feel like how this game would be rated is another huge factor in a lack of localization, like there really should be something like T15+ lmao
@@nascour5991 You need to take into consideration that although there is the death of a child, it’s kept not too overt, isn’t graphic, and it’s done solely for story purposes.
Does it even matter at this point? Mother 3 is in English. Any Joe Schmoe with an internet connection and a functional computer can access it. And that's the best it's gonna get. We can keep chasing this foolish dream of an official localization for a GBA title made sixteen years ago, or we can be grateful for the fact an English version of the game even exists at all and move on to the next chapter of our lives.
An official release was being considered as late as 2015. There’s always a chance!
@@MonkeyNess Yeah. 2015 was 7 years ago.
It's time to move on.
@@ImportAustralia Do as you please :)
Shigesato itoi don't want to make people western cringed about this mother 3 story coz its had some sensitive issue and culture.perhaps one day thier will release it when he approved.
It's become my legitimate belief that Mother 3 SHOULDNT get an official localization, because at this point, Nintendo doesn't deserve Mother 3. The game already has the best localization that ever will exist, because the community committed themselves to doing what Nintendo never bothered to. And I see no reason to give that back to a company that hardly gives us anything but legal threats and half-assed subscription services. A company that will never hesitate to tear down everything the community has built up over all these years the very second it comes into conflict with their profits.
Nintendo has already more than demonstrated to us that they don't want Mother 3. I say revel in this.
I honestly think that if the game was to get localised, I would probably be disappointed by the localisation.
I will say that most people who want to play the game can and probably have done so via the exceptional translation by the community, but I will still say that I hope that Nintendo does localize the game as I feel that by doing so more people will play Mother 3 as many people have reservations about emulation and do not have a hacked GBA and can thus not play Mother 3. If Nintendo were to localize it the game would likely not be as good as the fan translation, although it would still increase the popularity of the game and grow the community while giving love to this game. Also remember that despite the numerous changes made to Mother 2/Earthbound in its localization, it still managed to gain a cult following in the west that persists to this day, which shows that even if Nintendo were to make changes to lighten some of the darker parts of the game, it could still gain a new following.
This is the right answer lol. I don't want Nintendo taking advantage of people's love for the game by locking it behind their overpriced expansion, which lets be honest they'd definitely do if the game got officially translated. Earthbound and Beginnings got the same treatment.
I think if the Magypsies are too controversial appearance wise they could make them look like the little witch people who live in Magicant in EarthBound Zero
I don't get it when people say Mother 3 is a critique of capitalism. Yeah, the capitalism is worse than what Tazmily had before, but what they had before is essentially impossible to implement in our world and on our scale. So saying that is not saying much.
In mother 3 there isn't even a government before money appears, so you can't claim it's a critique to capitalism as much as it's to money (and the quote "money corrupts absolutely" is very well known to both capitalists and socialists for a reason)
For it to be socialistic there would need to be an entity taking care of distributing the goods to everyone equally, Mother 3 has what i think is called a commune where the people take care of each other without the need of a governing entity
One can criticizes something without having a solution handy. It's quite clear that Itoi doesn't believe in anarchy either, given that the Tazmily utopia was only possible through brainwashing and thus forgetting errors of the past.
I don't see any controversy, video games are video games and awesome. They make you think about certain things which is interesting but I see no issue.
No
First 🥇!
maybe someone else could do it...
No. People are just WAAAAAAAY too sensitive nowadays.
Right, specially twitter
@@insane-cl0wn495 Yes, big time.
"People are just WAAAAAAAY too sensitive nowadays" Yes, because if Nintendo released it, they'd be called transphobic or some bullshit for "making fun of trans people" or whatever with those magypsies.
You can never win.
Giant twitter campaign to call Nintendo transphobic for being scared of the Magypsies
As an American that SORTA supports capitalism I see no problem with this game. Capitalism is corrupt, evil people can use it in very evil ways and that's exactly what we see in this game.
evil people use capitalism to do corrupt things. it's not corrupt by default