Shigesato Itoi Visits Arino Kacho’s Challenge Room — Talking 30 Years of Mother — Arino Kacho (Shinya Arino from Yoiko) x Shigesato Itoi

Arino KachoWhat kind of team did you have for Mother 3?

ItoiWe started planning the game with the team we had for Mother 2, only expanded. So we had more people, and we started developing the game in 3D.

Arino Kacho3D? Mother 3 came out with pixel art, but did you aim for a 3D version at first?

ItoiIt did end up being released with pixel art, but it was originally slated for the Nintendo 64, so we started with polygons. Halfway through, the project came to a dead stop. People started wondering if Mother 3 would be the very last game released for the Nintendo 64, but then the next console was ready for release and we were still totally stuck on that version. We ended up having to accept that Mother 3 would not be coming out and prepare an announcement. So Iwata, Miyamoto, and I got together and had a “Mother 3 Cancellation Round-Table.”

Arino KachoHa, that’s a new one. So you talked about it not coming out?

ItoiWe apologized and explained why it wouldn’t be released.

Arino KachoIs that when you decided you’d give it another shot?

ItoiNo, not yet. At that point we hadn’t said anything more than, “Maybe there’s some way we could do it in the future, once things calm down.” So we let it be for a while. Then one day I went to Kyoto for something else, and Miyamoto, Iwata and I got in the car to go out to eat together. The moment we got in the car, Miyamoto said, “So about Mother. Are you against making it for the Game Boy?” I just said, “Well, I’m not against it...”

Arino KachoThe Nintendo 64 and Game Boy have totally different ROM sizes, don’t they?

ItoiCompletely different. “If you’re okay with it, I think we could pull it off through pixel art,” he said. We had come up with a really interesting world before Mother 3 went under, so I did have a desire to try to see where it would go. I said I’d think about it, and later was asked to meet with the team one more time.

Arino KachoSo, one more shot.

ItoiThat’s right. So we ended up making another team. We gave up entirely on making it in 3D, but we had a really hard time reimagining all the art as pixels, so we were stuck in a lot of back-and-forth about how to proceed. Once we decided on the art style and backdrops, we were finally able to begin.

Arino KachoSo all that work on the Nintendo 64 version was scrapped.

ItoiAll of it. Once we started the project up again in earnest I had to get serious and write the story all over again, since there were a lot more events I wanted to sprinkle in.

Arino KachoDid you do all that yourself?

ItoiFor the most part, I devised the story and then explained it to the team. Some of it I imagined while I was in the middle of explaining things. If I came up with an idea that was more devious, I had to also come up with a way for players to find an item that would allow them to escape from total annihilation. Sometimes I’d think up a scenario all on my own, and other times I’d coop myself up overnight with the people helping on game design and we’d come up with ideas together.

Arino KachoWhat about the script?

ItoiThe script sort of came after the structure was already in place. I would recite the lines aloud and someone would enter them into the computer for me, taking out all the kanji as they went.

Arino KachoSo that’s what you worked on when you were cooped up together?

ItoiThat part went on forever. They’d listen to the lines, laughing and approving as they typed. They also made sure that everything lined up, sometimes bringing up a spot where I’d contradicted myself so we could fix it. It was wonderful having other people around to laugh with during this process.

Arino KachoIt’s nice having someone keep an eye on it like that. So was it more like you were lightheartedly putting it together as you went, rather than really letting it simmer?

ItoiThere were parts we had to let sit, of course, but it was all great. Sometimes we’d take a break and pop by a store to buy some onigiri. Oh, actually, I have something to show you.

Arino KachoWhat’s that?

Arino KachoOh, that is cool. (Laughs)

ItoiI made sure to wear it today.

Arino KachoHa! Thank you for that. So out of all three games in the Mother series, which one do you feel the most attached to?

ItoiI feel the same about all of them. All three games are totally different, but I think Mother 2 had the strongest reach; it sold a lot of copies, but also when people tell me they’ve played Mother, it’s usually the one they’re referring to.

Arino KachoAnd not Mother 1?

ItoiNo. People who have played Mother 2 are the ones playing Mother.

Arino KachoSo they go back to that one.

ItoiYes. In the West, Mother is actually called “EarthBound Beginnings.” They all work at different ages, too. You can play Mother when you’re young, Mother 2 is better when you know a bit more about the world, and then Mother 3 is best played when you’re older.

Arino KachoSo Mother 3 is for adults.

ItoiI’m just basing this on the fact that I’ve grown older myself along the way. By the time I made Mother 3 I was an old man, so the quirks have only gotten weirder. (Laughs)

Arino KachoHa! You think so?

ItoiYeah.

Arino KachoSo whatever happened to the proposal you had when you tried making Mother 3 for the Nintendo 64? Are you never going to show anyone?

ItoiNo. The art staff on the 3D project would suggest their own additions, and that art had turned out really well.

Arino KachoOh, nice.

ItoiOne of the items in Mother 3 is a stapler, and at one point you climb a cliff by stapling into the side of the wall as you go. If this scene had been in the 3D version, it would have deserved to be an Olympic event.

Arino KachoScaling a cliff with a stapler. (Laughs)

ItoiWhen it’s pixel art, having a character slam out those staples and climb up just looks cute. I must apologize to the staff for making such a cool item restricted to 2D.