Mother 3 Commentary

An in-depth commentary on Shigesato Itoi and Nintendo's MOTHER 3.

**TIMESTAMPS**
Intro: 00:00:00
Prologue: 00:02:05
Chapter 1: 00:13:34
Chapter 2: 00:39:43
Chapter 3: 00:54:14
Chapter 4: 01:06:56
Chapter 5: 01:31:30
Chapter 6: 01:40:51
Chapter 7 - Intro: 01:44:20
Chapter 7 - Let's Get Duster: 01:54:07
Chapter 7 - Chimera Lab: 01:58:11
Chapter 7 - Snowcap Mountain: 02:07:45
Chapter 7 - Saturn Valley/Fire Mountain: 02:13:24
Chapter 7 - Under the Sea: 02:21:22
Chapter 7 - Tanetane Island: 02:24:18
Chapter 7 - Chupichupoyoi: 02:23:29
Chapter 8 - New Pork City: 02:47:32
Chapter 8 - Empire Porky: 02:59:25
Chapter 8 - Meeting Porky: 03:14:59
Chapter 8 - Fighting Porky: 03:24:28
Chapter 8 - The Masked Man: 03:32:55
END?: 03:47:59
Curtain Call / Staff Roll: 03:50:03
END: 03:53:00
**************************

Mother 3 was released in Japan on April 20, 2006 -- 15 years ago.

Tomato (Clyde Mandelin) and the rest of the Unified M3 Translation team brought Mother 3 to the English-speaking world on October 17, 2008.

On April 20, 2021, 6 years since the last update to the translation patch, the team releases v 1.3 of the patch, cleaning up more minor issues and, get this **fixing bugs and mistakes present in the JP version of the game** AND **releasing their tools to the public so anyone can localize Mother 3 into other languages more easily.**

They say a version will be released that preserves the original bugs too, if you want that for some reason. There seems to be no limit to the amount this team is willing to contribute to this game and community for essentially no reward but sharing this game in its original uncompromised vision with the world. A testament both to the kind of effect Mother 3 has, and the dedication of this group of people on the Translation team.

It's possible the audio stuttering issue I mention in the beginning of this video is no longer a problem as of... today!

While I would love to see Nintendo release Mother 3 officially to bring the game to a wider audience, I think they would be inclined to compromise and alter some of the content. Even if Nintendo didn't tamper with the game, I doubt they would produce a localization better than what the Fan Translation team accomplished here. That is no knock against Nintendo's staff, just a credit to how good the fan translation is. Both in content and technical implementation.

What are you waiting for?

[majorD]

I remember when I was in elementary school and I asked for Mother 3 for my birthday so my father installed a GBA Emulator with the Mother 3 translation patch on the computer. Honestly one of the best birthday presents ever and rewatching this video reminds me of those times over a decade later. Thanks for making this, it's brought back some old memories.

[PorkyMinch]

In the present was a very nice video.

Ah

[GameBooAdvancePlus]

Fun fact: The one time in that final fight that Lucas can actually attack Claus normally without stopping or getting second thoughts is when Flint gets obliterated. Without any words shared and gameplay alone you can tell that Lucas is absolutely furious and ready to kill at that moment, which is absolutely tragic.

[Anonymous_Individual]

This was such a joy to listen through. I finally played this game for the first time and I’m obsessed now.

[kathigh]

A hint for Locria being a traitorous Magypsy is actually the types of chords of each diatonic scale. The first six (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian, in order) are a pattern of minor and major. Locrian, the final scale, is neither a minor nor major, but a diminished scale. Locria is nothing like the other magypsies, because the locrian scale is nothing like the other scales. It would make perfect sense for Locria to be the traitor.

[islandofmelanat]

This us the best Mother 3 video on the platform, deserves way more views. Most videos like this are a glorified plot summary, but this has excellent analysis the entire time. Thanks for making this, i really enjoyed it.

[Bi_scotti_]

One touch that I love about the disguised Mr. Saturn at around 2:37:50 is that if you walk back you can see that he is still there staring at a wall. He says "Zuchinni". The reason he's there was because initially because of a bug, but Itoi thought it was so funny he left it in and gave it a line of dialog. Another example of something unnecessary but a joy to experience.

[rammysaturn]

heya. i have adhd. usually, its difficult for me to sit through a video this long-- or anything, for that matter-- without frequent pauses, or fidgeting, or doing something else at the same time while its on in the background.
i dont know if its because your commentary was so good or because i just love mother so much, but i sat through this whole thing with no breaks, no fidgeting, no lapses in attention. i have never been that still and silent for so long in my life. was very amusing and surprising to me so i figured i would leave a comment.

[starstruxtion]

Thanks to Itoi stating that the ending is up to the player to interpret, my headcanon given the events of the end credits with Claus now being 13 with Lucas and running with him means the Dragon revived him and Hinawa. Of course this is my interpretation, but still, it feels like it is truly canon.

[OccuredJakub]

How is it that someone could've made a game so emotionally mature and heartbreaking almost 20 years ago? It blows my mind that, even as videogames nowadays still struggle with connecting to the players in the way that an artform should, as long as it's taken/taking people to understand the value of exploring different emotional relationships with the players, such as frustration, sadness and pain, Mother 3, and honestly the entire Mother series seems to take it for granted and do it so effortlessly. People still to this day disregard video games as mindless drivel and an immature waste of time. For most games, that may even be true.

But still, Itoi seemed to just... get it, from the moment he approached the medium of video games, back in the fucking 80s!

Of course people will care about what happens in a game.

Of course, you can bring a person to tears while they hold a controller.

Of course, you can convey the entirety of human experience in one, tiny, megabyte-sized cartridge.

Because if you care about it, if you love it, then others will love it too.

Fuck.

Shit.

Goddamnit.

[allosaurustime]

Pretty anecdotal, but I finished this video feeling plenty emotional (average reaction to the ending of Mother 3) and at around the same time I received a nice little text message from my mother. Good timing mom

[maxarmstrong]

this is easily the best commentary out there. really happy you chose to do this

[frederickthegamer]

This game is truly a masterpiece of a rpg final fantasy 7 has nothing on Mother 3 or Earthbound both have emotional moments especially Mother 3 my favorite rpg was Undertale and definitely Mother 3 it's a genuinely best game I care about the characters in Mother 3 just like I did in Undertale thank you Iwata and Itoi for making art and to inspire Toby fox to make a game that made me fall in love with rpgs

[stardogbillionaire]

It's awesome that a Youtube Channel once called Brutal Cumpowder could mature into something so heartfelt. It's kinda what I love about the internet. Great work. Keep it up. 👍

[steepology]

Mother 3’s title drop is one of my favorite moments in gaming. It simultaneously feels so welcoming yet so intimidating. It makes me feel like i’m about to witness something BIG.

[KaedeSmithOfTheKiller]

2:46:02
A very minor correction: This kind of music is actually a genre of Japanese music called enka.

[roof_of_the_fop]

Just finished this video and oh my god all the memories of playing this game for the first time almost 5 years ago when I wasn't even old enough to fully grasp its meaning have all come flooding back. Thank you so much for this video!
Also, I'm not crying! you're crying!

[James-zdyl]

Beautiful commentary, I loved your earthbound one too. One thought about the layout of the Nowhere Islands being dragon shaped. I always saw it as the dragon sleeping curled up, with the head being where New Pork City would be and the tail being the islands leading up to Tane Tane island. This would make the final needle all the more impactful, with it situated on the head

A few more things I noticed in this game that may or may not be references. The mushroom trip seems to be this game's version of Magicant, as it is an otherworldy place where people unlock the thoughts and secrets in their mind.

Another reference are the Magypsies. As stated they are all named after musical modes. The mode Locria is named after, the Locrian mode, technically does not exist in real life as it is the only mode with no harmony, it has no resolution. Which is perfectly in tune with Locria.

[kathigh]

It doesnt matter how many times I watch it, the ending of Mother 3 always makes me cry so hard

[reviewspiteras]

Mother 3 curtain call is so beautiful, truly an amazing way to say the last goodbye to all its characters.