What EarthBound On Switch Could Mean For A Mother 3 Release Date

EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings are now available on Nintendo Switch Online as downloadable games. This means that two of the three entries in the EarthBound/Mother series are available on Nintendo Switch, but what about the third? If there are two EarthBound titles on Nintendo Switch, then does this mean that Mother 3 will finally make its way overseas and appear on the system?

Mother 3 was originally meant to be released on the Nintendo 64, but that version of the game was canceled and reworked into a Game Boy Advance game. The Game Boy Advance version of Mother 3 was released in Japan in 2006, yet Mother 3 never received an official English localization. There is an incredibly well-done fan translation of Mother 3 available online and Nintendo has never attempted to shut it down, which means the only way to play the game is through illegal means. Those who have played Mother 3 often sing its praises, calling it one of the best JRPGs of its era.

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Nintendo has shown a general disinterest in the EarthBound series, outside of Ness and Lucas’ appearances in the Super Smash Bros. franchise. That all changed when EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings joined Nintendo Switch Online in February 2022. This has raised hopes that Mother 3 will also come to the Switch, but are those hopes warranted?

It’s Less Likely That An EarthBound Remake Trilogy Is In Development

Fans thought it was suspicious that EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings were limited to the previous generation of systems. This was more obvious in the case of EarthBound Beginnings, which was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015, but not the 3DS’ Virtual Console. This was deemed odd, as the 3DS had a far bigger audience than the Wii U and it had many NES games on its Virtual Console, yet it was absent from the service. EarthBound Beginnings was absent from the NES Classic, which launched a year later. EarthBound did appear on the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Consoles, as well as the SNES Classic in Europe and North America.

When the Nintendo Switch Online service was announced, fans thought that EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound would be natural fits for the service. Their absence on the service for the longest time led some to believe that an EarthBound trilogy remake was in the works. The fact that EarthBound Beginnings was only present on one platform led some credence to this idea. If the game was a big hit on the Wii U, then this might have prompted Nintendo to quietly approve a remake, and keep the original restricted to the Wii U.

A remake trilogy would make the EarthBound/Mother games a lot more palatable to a modern audience, as EarthBound Beginnings is frustratingly difficult. A remake of Mother 3 would remove the problematic elements in the game that may be keeping it in Japan, allowing it to be localized for the first time. An EarthBound Collection on Switch would also make sense. This theory has lost a lot of steam, as it was revealed during the February 2022 Nintendo Direct that EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings would soon arrive on Nintendo Switch Online. It seems that Nintendo was just waiting for the right time to put the games onto the service. This doesn’t completely rule out the remake theory, but it seems a lot less likely when the originals are easy to access on the Nintendo Switch.

There Is Currently No Game Boy Advance Content On Nintendo Switch Online

One of the big issues with Mother 3 coming to Nintendo Switch is that there’s nowhere to house it. Nintendo Switch Online has apps for the NES, SNES, N64, and Sega Genesis, so it makes sense to add EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings to the service. As of the time of writing, there are no apps related to the Game Boy line of systems. Mother 3 was released on the Game Boy Advance, yet Nintendo Switch Online doesn’t even have apps for the Game Boy or Game Boy Color.

There were rumors circulating about Game Boy titles coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but these have yet to bear any fruit. There have been no rumors about Game Boy Advance titles at all. Nintendo still has a ton of N64 and Sega Genesis games to add to the Expansion Pack, so it’s likely in no rush to add more consoles to the service. The next time a console is likely to be added to Nintendo Switch Online will be in September 2022, as that is when annual subscriptions will start to end, and Nintendo will want new content to entice people to subscribe. It’s possible that Nintendo could put all of the Game Boy systems into one update, but it would make more sense to space them out and save the Game Boy Advance addition for the future. As such, it could be a while before there’s even a place to put Mother 3, and Nintendo is unlikely to disrupt its plans for Nintendo Switch Online for one game.

Fire Emblem Does Offer Some Hope For Mother 3

The best hope for Mother 3 coming to Nintendo Switch is as part of a solo release. The fact that the game is so highly-anticipated means that Nintendo might not want it on Nintendo Switch Online at all. If the company is going to go to the expense of having the game localized, then it will probably want to sell it on the eShop. The Fire Emblem franchise gave hope to Mother fans when Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was released on the Switch in 2021. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was a translated version of the original Fire Emblem game on the NES. It had many of the QoL features of the Nintendo Switch Online games, but it was a paid release and could only be acquired for a limited time.

It’s possible that Nintendo will want to go the same route with Mother 3. A translated version of the game with some QoL features would be more than enough for the game to go up on the eShop. The memetic status brought about by fans asking for Mother 3 over the years means that its localization would get a ton of coverage in the news. The announcement of a Mother 3 port to the Nintendo Switch could even steal the show during a Nintendo Direct, so there would be value to bringing it over.

For years, fans assumed that Nintendo didn’t care about the EarthBound/Mother franchise. This is the same company that celebrated EarthBound’s 30th anniversary with Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The arrival of EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings on Nintendo Switch Online shows that Nintendo isn’t quite done with the franchise just yet. It’s unlikely that Mother 3 will hit Nintendo Switch Online, at least not for a while, but there’s still a chance it could receive a standalone release on the eShop.

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