Itoi Speaks From 9 Years in the Past

April 22nd, 2008 | EarthBound 64, Itoi

I was browsing some of my really old files and came across this. July 27, 1999 was the 10th anniversary of MOTHER’s release in Japan, and fans at the biggest Japanese MOTHER fan site were celebrating. Even Shigesato Itoi himself dropped by to say a real quick something. Sadly, it looks like the site (MOTHER Nippooon) no longer exists anymore 🙁 Anyway, here is what he said, translated into English.

Writer:darling
DATE:99/07/27 04:24
Title:This may be breaking the rules, but…
URL:http://www.1101.com

Coming to this board like this may be breaking the rules in a sense, but please let me say something just this once.

Not even I, myself, was aware that July 27th was MOTHER’s birthday. I just happened to learn that this site was celebrating its anniversary, so I’ve come here with feelings of gratefulness.

MOTHER 3 is also coming along nicely now. Just like every other time, it’s taking a long time to come out. This one has quite a different “taste” than MOTHER 1 and 2, so it might not go over well with long-time fans. But I think it may be the very best one in terms of sheer excitement. But, I’m always worried, of course.

A playable version of the game is planned for an August game expo, whose name escapes me at the moment. It’s a bit of a dilemma, because a lot of time will be spent focusing on the demo and not the game. But I think it will show how things are.

I’m considering possibly releasing screenshots, sound clips, and the like little by little at some point in time on Hobonichi. I humbly ask for your patience and understanding, even if you’re not fond of how things are turning out.

I don’t have proof, but this has been Shigesato Itoi.

It’s interesting how he did wind up releasing stuff little by little 7 years later. Luckily, I think most old fans of the series liked the GBA version of 3 a lot too. I can understand why he would say that, though. It’s definitely different from the other two in many ways.

---