Game Boy Advance cult classic Mother 3 is finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but only to a certain region.
The role-playing game is being released on the Nintendo Switch Online and Expansion Pack subscription service, but exclusively in Japan. It’s perhaps no surprise Nintendo is focusing on Japan, with the recent news that the Switch is close to being the country’s best-selling console but this dampens the hopes of those angling for a global release or at least an English-speaking release.
While the translation is relatively easy to get a hold of online, but is not an official one, created instead by fans of the franchise led by Clyde “Tomato” Mandelin. It certainly does the job but for those who don’t want to patch it onto the Japanese version, an official translation would still be very welcome to the community.
The cult following of Mother
Mother 3 first came to Game Boy Advance in 2006 and developed a cult following. It was the third installment in the Mother franchise, which first got an English-speaking release in 1995 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
When rumors of a re-released for Mother 3 started circulating, long-term fans were excited by the prospect of the chance to play on a modern Nintendo console. However, Nintendo revealed in its Japanese version of Nintendo Direct that the game is coming to Japan only – for now. There’s no official confirmation of whether it will come to English-speaking countries as well, but fans are letting their disappointment be known.
Nintendo is certainly aware of the fans’ desire for Mother 3, even acknowledging it in a skit included in the company’s E3 2014 presentation, where an animated member of the audience was featured asking former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé to “give us Mother 3”.
Now, fans of the game are once again letting their displeasure be known, taking to X to express their disappointment.
“Apparently Japan is getting Mother 3 and I am D E V A S T A T E D,” wrote one X user, while others posted gifs of outrage in response to the news:
bringing this back for the mother 3 fans https://t.co/lRTgM3HSoe pic.twitter.com/TJtgZf4qDY
— Colton (@mungbaalin) February 21, 2024
US fans: we want the official Mother 3 release!
Nintendo: https://t.co/qAHwmBJnjJ pic.twitter.com/q5uiaubiyf— ✨Nick Peppermint✨ (@NickPeppermint) February 21, 2024
Featured image: Nintendo
