The topic for last week's mailbag was:

No EB at E3 - For about the past year, many of us suspected to see either Mother 1+2 or Mother 3 at E3 this past May. We got neither. Mailbag asks, what do you think? Could this be some final death knell in seeing EarthBound in North America, or is it much to do about nothing?

Unfortunately, yes, I do believe this spells out Mother 1+2's doom for North American release. Nintendo just doesn't seem to have enough faith in us.

It was all a mistake from the beginning anyways, starting out with Nintendo NOT releasing EarthBound (NES) here to begin with, thus, eliminating any chance for a fanbase for EarthBound (SNES) when it came out. So now they're reluctant to release Mother 1+2 to us, even with 30,000 guaranteed buyers. As a result, we will not see Mother 1+2 or it's sequel, Mother 3, out here in North America.

If I end up being wrong, then feel free to tar-and-fur me (feathers make me sneeze), and parade me around reidman's home.

Pfft, Mother 1+2+3 not being released here...what's next, Jack

- Mansion_Maniac

Don't ask anyone to "tar-and-fur" you on the Internet or you'll be mistaken for one of those unsavoury types. You know what I mean.

And I always figured that Nintendo's willingness to release EB was a sign of more faith, not less. They have to gauge the cost of producing, shipping, and advertising the game against the potential sales profit they're going to make. That means they figured EB would have a shot at making it while EB0 didn't. At some point, they might decide to give it another chance. Maybe next year...?

--- SimonBob

Shortly and sweetly, I think we can rule out Mother 1+2 with the lack of it at E3, but I also see Mother 3 being unveiled in Japan; pretty much mootifying E3 in that regard. But with realistic Zeldas and DS's rolling out, we could always cling to the chance that Nintendo wants to spread out big unveilings.

Levels 6 and 9 in the original Legend of Zelda's first quest.

I picked the game back up recently, and remembered just how much frustration those dungeons could cause. Like the Wizrobes. Didn't Miyamoto just stop for a second and think, "Gee, maybe I shouldn't make an enemy that takes 5 hits to kill with the game's strongest sword and that can only be hurt with that sword. And maybe I shouldn't mix it with enemies that make it so the player CAN'T DRAW HIS FREAKING SWORD!"

*Ahem.*

Now, I realize that the second quest is still more difficult than the first, but still... I mean, it's not bad enough that the last dungeon is a literal maze, but Miyamoto felt the need to mix in 666,000 Wizrobes, PLUS Like-Likes, PLUS those sparkly thingies, all in the same bloody room, and repeat that general concept well over 10 freaking times!!

..

Okay, I think I've got it all out of my system now. Back on topic, I'm sure that Nintendo just wants to spring the surprise of Mother 3's sheer awesomeness on us, much like the new Zelda game. Which should be easy after playing through the first freakin' Legend of Zelda...

*Wanders off grumbling.*

- Wote

By the same token, didn't the SQUARE A-TEAM realize that making the enemies in the final area 100 times harder might discourage players from finishing the game? And didn't Itoi realize that 1 in 128 was too large a margin of chance for people to get the Sword of Kings without going crazy? I suspect that they did realize these things, and are in fact using them to separate the real videogamers from the posers! So which are you, Wote? Player or poser? (I suspect "player" since you beat LoZ.)

--- SimonBob

So it's nearing 3:00 a.m., and I finally get the Sword of kings.

"PUT ON THE COFFEE AND HIT ME UP WITH SOME MUSIC, SIS."

"oh, but Mike, what for ever shall I play?"

"ROLLING STONES. STREET FIGHTIN' MAN. I'M BLADING UP STARMEN TONIGHT. COO COO CACHOO!"

1. We haven't seen anything about Mother 3 from Japan. We haven't heard anything about it except for that it's for GBA and it has the same storyline as Mother 3 for the N64.

2. Why would it be called Mother 3 here?

3. Why would they show Mother 3 here first instead of Japan. They want it more.

4. As far as we can tell, Mother 3 has barely begun production. If they did plan to bring it over here, it would more or less be at next year's E3.

5. If it's not going to be Americanized, it won't be there.

In other words, there's no reason at all for Mother 3 for being at E3 this year. It's too early, and as far as we know, it's Japan only.

- PSI Stuff Rho

1. Yes we have. It was announced a little while ago, I forget where the link went, but it's around there somewhere.

2. Final Fantasy 7. 'Nuff said.

3. Maybe they finished the demo between Space World and E3 and figured they'd give us the teaser first? It's not like they're gonna save it for a Japanese show if they've got it working.

4. As far as I can tell there's nobody on Mars yet. But how do we know?!

5. That's just lame pessimism. :(

--- SimonBob

Oooh, I wanna play, too!

1. Lies!

2. OMG BECUZ IT'S ABOOT TIME TO USE THE SLOGAN, "IT'S ONE BAD MOTHER"

3. E3 would provide boffo coverage for the right audience.

4. Or not at all shimmy shimmy shake shake!

5. I don't even know what that means. But I nearly broke my rented copy of Twin Snakes when that Otacon went blathering on.

As something that was announced a year ago and something that already has a storyline foundation, a screen, updated character art, or something could have and should have been shown.

Starmen.Net will be doing one final petition concerning the release of Mother 3.

The Starmen.Net Dev Team is making some awesome progress this week and the staffers will begin the process of rebuilding the site soon.

Mikey is cooler than an ice cream headache.

Back to work.

-REIDMAN

And don't forget PK Callin', that's gonna help too. I'm gonna go put on a "We Like Mike" button. Yessir.

--- SimonBob

Hot eats and cool treats.

Maybe grandma Mike will finally have a chance to sign on the dotted line, kids!

- SuperPsycicPsyco

Two words: Eternal Darkness. I've never played a game like that before or since.

But I don't get why you're saying they're "not making" an SSB:M or Metroid sequel. I thought the whole point of E3 was that Metroid Prime 2 was coming out. Maybe our definitions of "making waves" are different.

--- SimonBob

The following is brought to you by the letter H. Use it wisely.

Anywo, maybe your faith is wavering because it's so ill founded? Pushing a cool game like Mother 1+2 isn't going to help the Gamecube, and if you haven't noticed, with new incarnations around for the GBA (the already released Zero Mission), GCN, and DS, Metroid's getting a huge push back into the limelight; especially when you think of how long it took for Prime to arrive after Super Metroid. And if I'm off, feel free to correct me, but I thought Crystal Chronicles made waves for the mere fact it was the return of Square to a Nintendo console. And I do disagree in that the last innovation Nintendo has brought to the table was its ability to bring games like EarthBound to North America. Since then, they were the first to do a 3D game right (Super Mario 64), created a slew of original franchises (Super Smash Bros., Pikmin, and Animal Crossing), made a pretty non-pirate friendly console in the Gamecube, came up loads of quirky gadgets that I think are genuinely fun (64DD, E-Reader, and GBA Player), and they've basically kept their vision of making pretty fun games and not getting bullied in the market without a fight. But when you see games like Fire Emblem finding their way here, it really smashes your claim entirely.

Sorry if I seemed harsh, but you pessimists just fell into my trap. :)

- SoulBlazer X

But if we lose hope, what are we left with? Not a lot, brother. We'd all have to pack up and move to Planet GameSpy or whatever. I dunno about you, but I like this community just fine, what with its frayed thread of hope holding it to a game that may or may not be coming out sometime in the next five years.

--- SimonBob

Hey, as long as I'm not the baldest one at the class reunion; know what I'm sayin'!? Yeah, you know what I'm sayin'.

I been sadly pondering if there was some thingies about EarthBound in E3 or not because TechTv(G4) diddn't show anything! Or else they diddn't really care about EarthBound because they were looking at Solid Gear. In whitch they had a sexy looking crocodile. Sorry! Off subject anyways once again I think Japan screwed us and maybe never be able to play EB on GB but I'm gonna e-mail X-Play until they answer or beat me up. So Now I will stop babbling but before I leave I must say one thing about E3 Zelda is starting to scare me...

- Zock Q. Endland

TechTV hasn't done anything cool since that one host forgot that Photoshop clips retain the entire photo in their memory. What a fiasco that was.

--- SimonBob

Indeed, nothing EarthBound was shown. Now I haven't had Tech TV in awhile, but Adam Sessler and Leo LePort are scary men. Turn it off, man.

So, either way, I'm not worried. If in the event Itoi or Nintendo decide not to release either of them here, we shouldn't have a problem rousing a big angry mob to storm the Nintendo building. Either way mailbaggers, we can't lose!

Gotta slide,

- Morph

We already did that once.

--- SimonBob

Hindsight's 20-20, my friend. Except if there's some sort of surprise EarthBound sequel/compilation launch. Then, I'll be dead, but oh can you imagine the grin I'll have on my face!?!!?!?

*word terrorist copyright of George W Bush

- Zim-Ness

So if we don't buy Mother 3, the terrorists will win? I like those odds!

--- SimonBob

Maybe it's the Moon, maybe it's Salt Lake City. Alls I know is, I PLAYS IT LOUD.

That's either a sign that the world is going to end, or that the Mother 3 section was hijacked by FLAMING NIJAS OF DOOM, and they're bringing it to North America! WHEE!!

Okay folks, nothing to see here, you can all go home.

- EternalJade

Somebody noticed! I feel vindicated.

--- SimonBob

And with tears in his eyes, Brasky shot the maid.

- Elwood

Slowly but surely, we're getting this game released. One step at a time, folks.

--- SimonBob

And with tears in his eyes, Mikey shot the co-responder.

- Randy

They don't have tape at CafePress, but how about a sticker? I posted a design in the forums.

--- SimonBob

Randy, now, you know I love you, but if you could find a reason to purchase police tape, I'll owe you a frosty Coca-Cola.

- RanmaTom

Yeah, someday. Any minute now. Tum de doo.

--- SimonBob

hey remember set us up the bomb?

(We will be back after these breaks, but first, more from Wierdman.)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

(Welcome back, but first, more from Wierdman.)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... I think I'm done... Anyway, I must begin the analysis of why.

1. Bad luck, caused by ravage moles and power sucking Squid machine things
2. Bad breath, scared the people of Mother away, daNG that fat guy!
3. Amazing ammounts of coincidence, toppled by a hint of bribing.
4. Me, MWAHAHAHAHAHAH (If you don't know why i'm laughing, it's cause i'm evil or something, i think we're inputting the last of the hypotism in that game anyway...)

Have fun investigating these theories and more!

- Wierdman

1. Moles are your friends, remember? Average run-of-the-mill moles, anyway.
2. Microsoft handed out complimentary mints to get past that problem.
3. Bribery doesn't work. Here's your kickback.
4. Nah.

--- SimonBob

Man, ohsnap, I'm not investigating squat. Man, you take your bad breathe, enjoy a bowl of butter pecan ice cream, and call me in the mornin', girl.

- thu_wood

Absolutely! Pay $25 for a game you got for your NES for just $20! Sounds like a fantastic plan, Nintendo! Sell my childhood! It's yours anyway!

--- SimonBob

When I look at the sales numbers of the Shrek 2's and Mary-Kate and Ashleys of the world, that's a well-invested $25.

- thealexfish

You think they'll wait that long? I suppose, in terms of how long we've waited already, that's a short hop...

--- SimonBob

And hey, if Spaceworld still isn't a go, I know my family reunion could use a shake up announcement or something. OMG unless I'm so engaged. :OOOOOO O O k.

I was quite disappointed with this years Motherless E3. While many others were drooling over the new realistic looking Legend of Zelda, or the DS, or even Reggie, I felt very left out. How could I be excited about all of those things when the one simple little game I was looking forward to turned out to be a no-show? For a while I had a feeling that this would be a repeat of Earthbound 64. But after Nintendo once again acknowledged the game's existance a few days ago, I regained my optimism. I'm sure Itoi wont let us down this time. However, the question still remains. Will Mother 3 (or even Mother 1 + 2) ever see the light of day in the west?

Things certainly aren't looking up for us, but I don't think our chances are as bad as many seem to think. Even though Mother 1 + 2 was released in Japan nearly a year ago, and you'd think we'd have heard about a US release by now, that doesn't mean we're completely out of luck. Think about it. Mother 1 + 2 is TWO games Nintendo would have to localize. One is an 8-bit NES classic that never was, and the other is a legendary Super NES RPG that already flopped once, so why chance it at this point? Mother 3 on the other hand, is an entirely new game. The N64 version got tons of hype in Nintendo Power, so what better way to please the disappointed fans than to give them the reborn version? Perhaps maybe it could feed off the hype that surrounded the canceled N64 game. I think Nintendo would be foolish to ignor the US market, especially after recieving the petition with 30,000+ signatures. So as long as we continue to show support, an English version of Mother 3 isn't too farfetched. And I'm sure a US release of Mother 1 + 2 would depend entirely on the success of Mother 3. So in the end, we may end up getting both. It would be a dream come true. I'd never again need to play Mother 1 on my emulator. I'd at last be able to play it on my TV thanks to GC's Gameboy Player.

Also, I'm positive Earthbound could be a much bigger success this time around. Lets look at the evidence.

1) RPGs are far more popular in the US now than they were back then. Though I dislike the game, I'll admit that we have Final Fantasy VII to thank for this.

2) One word: Melee. SSB/SSBM popularized the once unheard-of Nintendo character Ness. Now there are tons of gamers who are interested in playing this mysterious game that he's from.

3) If you've been keeping up with the recent GameFAQs tournament, you'll remember that Earthbound lost to Doom in the first round. However, the results were 45% to 55%. It's actually quite increadable that EB managed to score that well against Doom, especially since most people just vote based on title recognition (that's why Pong beat River City Ransom by a landslide). So that means 45% of the voters chose Earthbound over a popular beast like Doom. That's a sure sign that Earthbound has gained lots of popularity over the years.

Well that's really all I have to say. Hopefully my speculations are correct. Even if the Mother series doesn't proove to be a huge financial success, it would be nice if Nintendo at least did it for the fans.

- EvilAkito

I voted for RCR. I also voted for Vice City and EarthBound. None of those made it past the second round. I was shocked when SSBM beat GTA, and shocked when it surpassed FFX. It really is a popular game, isn't it?

--- SimonBob

Great entry, Akito. Keep the Reggie Revolution alive!

I'm digging your first point. Given all of the big titles Nintendo has to spend the time localizing and such, I also see them potentially taking awhile with the M1+2 compilation. I like your side, and I'd buck up about the whole Gamefaqs thing. Their main audience is downright weird, and you're bound to have more PC-loving FPS heads than one of our cultists take part in that thing.

on a side note... too many people take Nintendo for granted. burn psII's. we'll show them

- jttheweasel

I'd see the Mr. Saturn, get all excited, then discover that there was no Mother 3 and it was just a big prank.

The Mr. Saturn would end up being used in a giant game of kickball.

--- SimonBob

Oooh, I wonder if you get any benefits.

As for E3...I don't know. You know, I think we've already got a great game that's timeless in our own minds. We don't have much to talk about anymore gamewise, but we're together, right? As long as we keep it's spirit alive, there's always a reason to stay together.

You know, if Mother 3 comes out here there's gonna be a big BIG party. I'll buy a GBA just for the occasion. And it'll be warranted, too, because it'll be like taking a whole new path through memory lane. At the very least, it'll be an amazing game because Shigesato Itoi is a genius, who pours his heart and soul into his games. But if we never see Mother 3 here on the shores, I'll be content. It's not like Ness's adventures are continuing with Mother 3, so we won't be left in the dark as to what happens with him. And you know what, no matter what happens, we've always got EarthBound, and romanticizing the adventures of Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo (or whoever you called them) will never get old. Never.

But seriously, Mike, are you related to Bob Costas or something? I mean, really, I hear his voice when I read your words every time...

- Michael DePalma

You're nuts. Crazy. But count me in for the big party.

--- SimonBob

It's probably time I came clean to clear this up once and for all:

That said, I do wish that we had at least some mention of plans for a US release of either M1+2 or M3. I don't know how long we will be able to wait before we finally either end up with a US release or we give up waiting. We seem to be fairly patient here; but there's a limit to how long we can wait.

- Fishsticks

There is? It's been what, nine years? I guess maybe I'll stop waiting once I have great-grandchildren. "Back in MY day, we had to sit around and wait patiently for new games to come out! None of this game-on-demand junk!" Etc., etc..

--- SimonBob

No limit for me. Unless, of course, it's death. And man, that'd just be whack.

Falc, SimonBob, and Mike's Archive:

July 15, 2003: Mother 1+2 US Release, EB Merchandise, Fanfics
July 20, 2003: M 1+2 Import, Sanctuary Locations, Trivia League
July 28, 2003: EBFGPS, Sword of Kings, Time Capsule feat. pre-staff SimonBob
August 9, 2003: Starmen.Net Forums feat. Grandpa
August 17, 2003: Mailbag Improvement Week feat. PappyCat
September 16, 2003: Fun Stuff Suggestions feat. Sephy
October 7, 2003: Petition Mention feat. Skulryk
October 20, 2003: EarthBound the Movie
October 28, 2003: Free Topic Week feat. Giovanni
November 6, 2003: Halloween Funfest 2003 feat. Jim
November 9, 2003: Starmen.net Radio feat. Picky
November 15, 2003: Alternate EarthBound Sites feat. DarthAndonuts
November 22, 2003: #earthbound feat. Carpainter
November 29, 2003: Staff Improvement feat. AoE
December 14, 2003: Forum Improvement feat. Atticus
December 17, 2003: Holiday Funfest
January 2, 2004: EB No Matsuri
January 10, 2004: Starmen.net Site Development
January 19, 2004: EarthBound in 2004
January 24, 2004: EarthBound Quotes
January 31, 2004: Mother 1 Soundtrack Re-release
February 8, 2004: EarthBound Over Easy
February 15, 2004: Change of Pace
February 22, 2004: Favourite Foodstuffs feat. Steve-o
February 29, 2004: Killed Off
March 21, 2004: Catch A Bunch
March 27, 2004: Then and Now feat. Steve-o
April 5, 2004: Winter Funfest Results feat. Carpainter
April 12, 2004: Something Springy feat. Jamie_M
April 20, 2004: 1+2=what now? feat. Dash
May 1, 2004: New Forums
June 1, 2004: The Site That Gives Back
June 29, 2004: Wacky Genetic Experiments
July 18, 2004: E3 Speculations
August 11, 2004: Summer Funfest feat. Tomato & AmzRigh
September 23, 2004: EBFGPS04
October 23, 2004: Vacation Special
October 30, 2004: Soundtrack Songs
November 6, 2004: Site Fundraiser
November 14, 2004: Halloween
November 28, 2004: EarthBound Influence
December 11, 2004: Scientific Errors
January 17, 2005: Space Time Conundrum
January 28, 2005: Is Mother 3 Coming?

TAFKACC's Archive:

May 25, 2003: Starmen.Net's Future, EB Date, Ness's Nightmare
June 1, 2003: Mailbag Length, Online Walkthru, EB Theory Special
June 8, 2003: EB Characters in Mother 3, Flukes, Mailbag Critique
June 28, 2003: Articles Debate, Pokey's Past, Topic Suggestions
July 6, 2003: Xod Tribute, PK Call'n, EB Trivia

GuyInSummers and StarmanDeluxe's Archive:

Here is the Hall of Fame, which contains the best letters from each week.