Mother 3 is a role-playing game released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in Japan on 20 April 2006. It was written by Shigesato Itoi, directed by Nobuyuki Inoue and scored by Shogo Sakai, and its Japanese catchphrase was 「奇妙で、おもしろい。そして、せつない。」 ("Strange, funny, and heartrending").
The game had a long road to release. Development began in 1994 for the Super Famicom, moved to the Nintendo 64 and its 64DD add-on as EarthBound 64, and was cancelled in August 2000. Work restarted in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance with Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and the game switched from 3D to 2D graphics.
Nintendo never released Mother 3 outside Japan; Reggie Fils-Aimé said a localization "just didn't make business sense". On 17 October 2008 a fan team led by professional translator Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin released an English translation patch. The game later appeared on the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console, and in February 2024 it was added only to the Japanese Game Boy Advance – Nintendo Switch Online library. As of its 20th anniversary in April 2026 it still had no official release outside Japan.12345
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP | MOTHER3Mazā Surī | Game Boy Advance | Apr 20, 2006 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | MOTHER3Mazā SurīVirtual Console, Japan only | Wii U | December 2015 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | MOTHER3Mazā SurīGame Boy Advance – Nintendo Switch Online (requires Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack); Japan only | Switch | Feb 21, 2024 | Nintendo | 4 |
Also known as: マザースリー JP2Mazā Surī JP2EarthBound 64 WW1
Box art by region
JP MOTHER3
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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TextEnglish fan translation (2008)
The game was never localized: the only English version is the unofficial fan patch led by Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, which turns the Japanese cartridge's text, menus and graphics into English.6
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Bug fixEnglish fan translation v1.2+
Version 1.2 of the English fan patch fixed a bug that stopped Duster's attack melody from being randomized, so all of his melodies can now be heard.7
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ContentGBA (2006)
The released game is a 2D Game Boy Advance title; the earlier 3D version for Nintendo 64/64DD, known as EarthBound 64, was cancelled in 2000 at roughly 30% completion and never released.1
Translations
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English Fan
Tomato (Clyde Mandelin), Jeffman, byuu, sblur and the Starmen.net / fobby.net team2008Game Boy Advance · Japanese versionReleased · complete
Tomato (Clyde Mandelin), Jeffman, byuu, sblur and the Starmen.net / fobby.net team released an unofficial English patch on 17 October 2008 after about two years of work; it was obtained more than 100,000 times in its first week. Updates followed in 2009, 2014 and 2021, when v1.3 came out on the game's 15th anniversary, 20 April 2021.8
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Japanese Official
Nintendo2006Game Boy AdvanceReleased · complete
Officially, the game exists only in Japanese.1
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
MOTHER3 (Game Boy Advance – Nintendo Switch Online)
Original Japanese GBA version
Checked: 2026-10-139nintendo.com
Reception
Mother 3 sold around 200,000 copies in its first week in Japan and more than 368,000 by the end of 2006, making it the 36th best-selling game of the year there. Famitsu scored it 35 out of 40.1
In lists
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2ja.wikipedia.org
- 3en.wikipedia.org
- 4gamespark.jp
- 5nintendowire.com
- 6legendsoflocalization.com
- 7tcrf.net
- 8mother3.fobby.net
- 9nintendolife.com
- 10ja.wikipedia.org
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.