Mother 3 could be getting adapted into a book
The director of Earthbound and Mother 3, Shigesato Itoi, has put out an official call for manga artists, suggesting that a Mother 3 book adaptation could be in the works
The news originally appeared in an article published digitally by Japanese games magazine Famitsu. When roughly translated to English, the gist seems to be that Itoi’s publishing company, Hobonichi, has announced plans to launch a Mother-related book - or books - later this year. It also mentions that the finished product will be available in a variety of languages. There's still no news of a Western Mother 3 port, but there could at least be a Western Mother 3 book.
Fans have been quick to respond to the call for manga artists, although it seems to be relatively ambiguous. Check out the tweet below.
Specifically telling people "don't ask why" may seem like a strange move, likely because it is one. Regardless, fans of Earthbound and Mother appear to be excited by the news, and expect that Hobonichi will publish a new Mother book before the end of 2020. A website has also been set up in conjunction with the news, and seems to imply that this initiative is simply called the "Mother Project."
Other fans have taken it upon themselves to translate the tweets, and have arrived at the idea that Itoi is planning to adapt all of the Mother games into globally accessible books. Check out the tweet below.
"Today, we remember the writing from Mother," the tweet reads. "All the writing from Mother is being made into a book. 3 books of Mother's writing, each game in full. It will be on sale by the end of the year. Just wait a little while longer... Until then, we hope Mother fans will enjoy the news."
A video corresponding with Itoi's announcement was also published on YouTube. The text is written in Japanese, but it's still worth checking out even if you can't read it purely because of how good the music is.
Collecting all of the available information together implies that a Mother book based on the Mother games could be available by the end of 2020.
For fans wondering whether or not this affects the future of Mother, Itoi has unfortunately said that a Mother 3 sequel is impossible. Also, even at his new job at Cornell University, Reggie Fils-Aimé can't seem to escape Mother 3. Who knows how many times he's been asked about Mother 4.