The Fan-Made Mother Sequel is Back From the Dead as Its Own Game, Oddity
Ground control to Mother 4.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Mother 4 is dead. Long live Oddity. The team behind the fan-made sequel to Mother 3 has changed the game's title and released a new trailer. Pastel, Oddity's director, says much of the content will remain, but direct ties and references to Nintendo's Mother/Earthbound series have been axed.
"This change is one part preventative measure, following several large fan project takedowns, and two parts acknowledging what we've actually been making," Pastel writes in the Mother 4 subreddit. "We've been making is a celebration of the games that meant a lot to us growing up, something familiar but also different. The game has grown up with us. We want to share that."
The Mother 4 project began in 2010 as a sequel to 2006's Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. The new Oddity trailer shows the art style still bears a very strong resemblance to Mother 3's stunning sprite art, and that visual tribute will stay put. "Most things will stay the same," says Pastel. "However, if something is associated with the official Mother games, it won't be in this one. Mr. Saturn? Bon voyage, amigo."
Fans of the Mother/Earthbound series have been waiting eagerly for any news about Mother 4 since it's unlikely a Mother 4 is coming in any official capacity. Mother series developer Shigesato Itoi says a follow-up to Mother 3 is "impossible."
"Among big-time popstars, if they, you know, put out ten albums, around the fourth album, they can't make very good songs," he said in a 2015 interview with Game Watch Press (translated by Kotaku). "The albums sell, but everyone at the concerts wants to hear songs from those first three albums. Everyone."
Some fans on the Mother 4 subreddit are disappointed to see the game re-branded as Oddity, but it's unquestionably the best decision. Nintendo is notorious for axing fan projects. It's cut down Pokemon Uranium and Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R). But Nintendo will probably suffer Oddity to live thanks to its recent name change and disassociation with the Mother franchise.
Only problem is you might have to wait a while for Oddity to arrive. It's coming out "when it's ready." Well, we've waited ten years. We can wait a couple more. When it does arrive, it'll be free to download.
If you're still praying and hoping for more official Mother content, you might be out of luck outside of Mother 3's fan translation. It's looking less and less likely Nintendo will ever localize Mother 3 itself, possibly because of some controversial content spread throughout the adventure.