“The player response to the game’s release lit a fire in Itoi-san. When he played the ROM we made at that stage, his response was, ‘I knew it, this isn’t it.'” - Shinichi Kameoka (Nintendo Dream, June 2013)
A glimpse into the early days of the Gameboy Advance Version, during an era in development where its art direction was undecided, and when development truly began.
The image shown above is the earliest look at the in-game graphics for "MOTHER 3" on the Gameboy Advance, done by producer Shinichi Kameoka of Brownie Brown. The original intention was to surprise players with a brand new art direction unlike the previous titles, leaning more towards the styles found in their previous titles.
Most surprising of all is that this art-style stayed for a while, with development of the game's first chapter being done with this art-style until Itoi played a prototype of it. The quote above was what Kameoka gathered from it.
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I made a video about the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive & its unreleased Expansion Kits! Me & my buds spent a lot of time working on this video, so I hope you all enjoy it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvaKgbN0E8M
MOTHER 3 at SpaceWorld 1997 - Part 3: The Claymen Mines
“I like this one. Claymen. Poor people…” - Shigesato Itoi (Famimanga, February 1998)
These shots here would be the world’s first introduction to the Claymen, a species of clay-like people created by the Pig Warriors to assist them with their mission. The design featured here are much more human-like in comparison to the designs found in the Gameboy Advance version.
The scene is a great example of the Pig Warrior’s cruelty, forcing them to work heavy machinery & attacking them if they do not perform up to standards. One on the very left of the first shot can be seen cowering away from a Pig Warrior, stabbing their spear at them. Much like in the released Gameboy Advance version, the Claymen here are digging, likely for the needles. The first room of the mines in the Nintendo 64 version is much more vertical, with the screen constantly busy from all the action happening (Claymen bringing rocks, being lifted/brought back down via a lift, moving a crane), with Lucas walking along the rafters of the place.
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MOTHER 3 at SpaceWorld 1997 - Part 2: Pig Warriors in the Desert
“Since Porky was to appear in the 64 version, too, I designed Porky, his team, and the place he lived in.” - Toshinao Aoki (Earthbound Central, January 20th, 2011)
A notable scene from MOTHER 3′s Spaceworld 1997 trailer features a group of Pig Warriors marching in a desert. Multiple different types of Pig Warrior ranks & machinery can be spotted in these shots.
This scene is a good example of this game’s animation. The Pig Warriors here are given two different walk cycles, a neutral one & a tired one (which can be seen more in the back). You can also see their massive canons, the Supreme Tank Zs, are very bouncy in their movement. The same also applies to the Pig Warrior riding in the Pork Bean. The background is very detailed (which is much more noticeable in the second shot) with large cliffs & canyons filling it.
“Here’s a new truth assured to upset some people. It already upset Paul Davies. MOTHER 3 is the bst-looking RPG ever, many times more impressive than Final Fantasy VII ” - Computer & Video Games Magazine (February 1998)
MOTHER 3 made its grand reappearance at SpaceWorld 1997 in the form of a trailer shown off to attendees. The trailer showed off multiple scenes of the game’s vast & colorful world, showcasing many of the game’s mechanics & engine. Press at the time praised the game highly, quickly becoming one of the most anticipated titles of the generation.
While the game’s reveal at Shoshinkai 1996 provided people with a taste of what could come, SpaceWorld 1997 was really the first to show off the game’s true colors. At this point in development, the game’s direction had been nearly finalized, such as designs & game mechanics. Unfortunately, a lot of the game’s SpaceWorld 1997 appearance is lost to time, with the full trailer still being searched for to this day. Luckily, screenshots & almost 30 seconds of footage from the trailer have resurfaced, that, along with multiple different magazine coverages, lets us piece a more complete picture.
It is known that there were 11 key scenes, with more potentially being shown off. Those are:
The game’s logo, along with the subtitle “Forest of Strange Creatures”
Flint walking through Tazmily Village, talking with villagers.
Flint entering the Yado Inn & purchasing a weapon.
Lucas riding through the mountain on-top of a Drago.
A Kraken attacks Great Scale Village
The DCMC performs a song during a concert.
The Pig Warrior army marching through the desert.
Lucas using a Pork Bean.
An in-depth look at the Clayman Factory.
Flint & a Capybara fight in the overworld, leading to a long battle.
Flint tumbling down a hill.
Join me as I go through every single one of them scene by scene (in no particular order) over the coming days.
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“Q: The main character [a boy] looks different from the last pictures. According to this document, you are still auditioning in regard to the main character?
A: Yes. The last one blew his audition. ” - Shigesato Itoi (Weekly Famitsu: June 1997)
A glimpse into the evolution of Lucas, the main character of MOTHER 3. Taking his name from the character of the same name from “The Notebook” trilogy, Lucas went through multiple different design changes during the game’s 12 year development cycle.
The first row features the earliest design of Lucas, drawn by N64 Lead Character Artist Benimaru “Ashura” Itoh. In this sheet, while the style & look of the character had already been decided upon, they were still deciding on what clothes he would be wearing. Option A would eventually be chosen, and would be the design seen at the game’s reveal at Shoshinkai 1996 in November.
The second row features the redesigned & finalized design of Lucas made during the N64 era, also by Benimaru “Ashura” Itoh . Itoh mentions that the design was changed to something more straightforward due to the first design looking too similar to himself, which the developers did not like. His design could possibly be based on a young Leonardo DiCaprio or Macaulay Culkin, as multiple characters were designed to share likenesses with real life actors. This design & model would stick until the end of development, with only his textures being changed.
The third row features the designs made for the Gameboy Advance version of the game. Once development restarted in 2002, Brownie Brown artist Shinichi Kameoka made brand new designs for all the characters, with the intention of surprising fans & subverting their expectations. In 2003, a prototype was made, and while screenshots have been released, none of the characters there are listed as “Lucas”, which is why I have left it out. What’s notable about the prototype is Itoi’s response to the visuals, simply stating, “I knew it, this isn’t it.”
Nobuhiro Imagawa would be responsible with Lucas’ final design, going to something much closer to previous MOTHER designs while still keeping his blonde hair from his N64 design. While concept art of this Lucas has never been released, we can assume by Imagawa’s previous concept art pieces that he began drawing Lucas much more realistically before converting his designs into Sprite Art.
“An eerie subterranean scene with glowing roots providing illumination. An early look at the caves in a more distant view. ” - Nintendo.com (Mother 3: From Sketch to Game)
A glimpse into the creative process of N64 MOTHER 3. On the left, we see an early design of Lucas wandering around a dimly-lit cave, knife in hand, using a root to light the path forward. This piece is attributed to Benimaru “Ashura” Itoh, lead character artist & environment artist for the Nintendo 64 version of MOTHER 3.
On the right, we see how the cave is translated into 3D using the Nintendo 64. We see Lucas, using his finalized N64 design, standing in front of a Hot Spring surrounded by a variety of mushrooms. You can also get an idea of how vertical they would want maps to be in the game.
“The map is in 3D, whether on a flat surface or on a hill, and the speed of the character changes. It is thus hard to apply a logical variation to the character’s speed. To make the character move on the N64, we first have to create the basic algorithm that corresponds to the sequence. For instance, when the character tumbles down a hill, we have to decide what the speed of their fall should be. Once the rules are established, no matter if the angle of the hill is 30 or 45 degrees, the equation does the rest. As such, the way to create a game, in comparison to the SNES, is completely different.” - Akihiko Miura (Nintendo 64; January 21st, 1998)
Flint, after attempting to climb up a steep slope, slides down & falls on his back. During his sliding & the beginning of his falling animation, you can see Flint desperately holding onto his hat before collapsing. Once the player is fallen, they would stay on the ground for an unknown amount of time before getting up (one fan, JINKO, described it as feeling almost like a minute). The environment is unknown, looking very foresty with what might be a smallish river on the right & another slope in front of Flint.
The quote above is taken from Akihiko Miura, MOTHER 3 N64/Earthbound 64′s CG Designer. In the same interview, he mentions that many ideas on the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo were hard to pull off, with many needing to be abandoned due to it. Before development of the project, Mr. Miura bought mathematical & physics book to improve his knowledge.
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The Sunshine Forest is on Fire! (MOTHER 3: For Those who Waited; 2000)
“Get a grip! Get a grip, Lighter!”
Two of Tazmily’s villagers attempt to help Lighter up after a flaming tree collapses on him. This scene is present in the released GBA version, located in Chapter 1. In said version, Lighter is laying on the ground a far bit away from his house. The villagers of Tazmily (with the exception of Flint & Thomas) also don’t go this far in the forest fire, waiting outside the burning forest.
This final 2000 build is also the first known build to feature the black letterboxing on screen, adding onto the game’s cinematic angle. The two other villagers in the photo are theorized to be Bronson & Jackie.
“I can only tell you one thing…an upper jaw filled with joy, and a lower jaw filled with sorrow. Life just so happens to gnash these two things together. “
Unlike the snobby, selfish Mayor Pusher of the GBA version, Mayor P.K. Pirkle is kind, caring greatly of Tazmily Village & all of its inhabitants. This scene here seems to follow right after Hinawa’s funeral, with Flint talking to the Mayor & his wife at Tazmily’s Wellside Square. This scene does not have a GBA equivalent, nor does the dialogue appear in the game in any form.
