Import video game store NSCX has posted a fairly lengthy import review of the Japanese release of Mother 3 for the Gameboy Advance; the Mother series has been elevated to almost mythical status among Nintendo fans, in part because of its strange release history, and in part due to the offbeat and unique nature of the gameplay of the one Mother game to be released in the US to date, Earthbound for the Super Nintendo. Mother 1 was originally released in Japan, and plans were made to translate the game for release in the US as Earthbound. This never happened, since the game was put on hold. The “sequel” to the game, Mother 2 would eventually become Earthbound in the US. Mother 3 would be eventually announced for the Nintendo 64 in 1996. While the game would be eventually cancelled for the Nintendo 64, the Japanese release has just recently shipped, making almost a ten year gap between the game’s announcement and availability. The fact that Earthbound has been considered by many to be one of the top RPGs for the Super Nintendo, combined with the horribly spotty release history for the other Mother games makes the release of Mother 3 a highly anticipated event.

However, NCSX found that the actual release fails to live up to the hype. Graphically, they find the game to be lacking. While the series has never really been known as a graphical powerhouse (even for its time), NCSX complains that the graphics do not age well, and particularly do not take advantage of the Gameboy Advance’s capabilities. Gameplay, also, is largely the same as the previous releases, which is somewhat to be expected as with all sequels. However, NCSX’s biggest complaint seems to be in the amount of expectation laid upon the game and the result, which seems to be the Nintendo 64 version translated into 2D. Perhaps it is part of the mythic status that has been laid upon the series, but the story also was found to be lacking, and without inspiration. It may be that given the long development time and the amount of anticipation built up, there would be no way for this release to match the hype, but at least in NCSX’s eyes, it still fell short of reduced expectations.

Update: A more positive preview is available from 1up.com

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