Earthbound/MOTHER has been popping up in discussions quite a bit recently, and for multiple reasons. The franchise is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, MOTHER 3 just launched on the Switch Online GBA collection in Japan, and Western fans are once again clamoring for a localization. Now we have yet another reason to talk about this cult classic series, and it comes from none other than its creator.
Shigesato Itoi has spoken at length about the Earthbound/MOTHER franchise countless times over the years, but it’s only now that we’re hearing some of the true meaning behind the games. One burning question fans have had pertains to why the franchise has the MOTHER name in Japan. There are certainly plenty of mother-themed elements in each installment of the franchise, but it turns out things go even deeper than that.
Itoi has shared a very personal message about the MOTHER franchise, explaining what led to him choosing that name. Sadly, it all stems from Itoi’s own childhood struggles due to his parents divorcing early on. This separation caused Itoi a lot of pain over the years, and one of the ways he let that pain out was through the creation of MOTHER.
While there’s no official English translation of Itoi’s message, you can see a fantastic fan translation courtesy of StageCraftBeast below.
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