Rumour: Mother 3 to receive Western release

February 5, 2016

Eurogamer reports that Mother 3 will finally see a release in Western territories via the Wii U Virtual Console. The game was originally released in 2006 on the GameBoy Advance as a Japan-only title.

The claim follows recent Twitter posts saying the game was in the final stages of localisation at Nintendo Europe “some time ago”. Eurogamer writer, Tom Phillips, cites that series’ inclusion in the Super Smash Bros. games has kept it relevant in the West. Last year’s release of the original Earthbound (known as Mother in Japan) on the Virtual Console also proved to be popular, further supporting a localisation of Mother 3.

A group of fans have previously released an unofficial translation of Mother 3 online. They even offered to give their work to Nintendo for free in hopes an official release would come to pass.

Eurogamer has a good track record of being a reliable news source. As with all rumours though, it’s suggested you take this with a grain of salt until Nintendo confirm otherwise.