Hello, this is Nagata from Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun. Three years after the production of MOTHER 3 was restarted, I interviewed MOTHER 3 creator Shigesato Itoi. This wasn’t a conventional interview, with a third party lobbing questions, because I accompanied Itoi on most of his visits to the team during development. As a result I feel that we were able to set aside the usual pleasantries and atmosphere-building and reach the genuine core of the matter without embellishment. Consider these the liner notes for a new work, released after a twelve-year hiatus.

This article is available in Japanese, English. ＞ Japanese（日本語）

Part 5

Something that’s not MOTHER 3

It ended up being three years from the time the original MOTHER 3 was cancelled before development was restarted for the Game Boy Advance.

Itoi
Yes, three years.

When you decided to restart development, did you think it would take three years?

Itoi
I had no idea. Three years doesn’t feel that long, but even if we’d finished the game right away, it wouldn’t have felt short.

I see.

Itoi
I’m a pretty strict judge of quality when something has just finished, but I’m hopeless when it comes to judging how long something will take. With that said, it took a long time for things to get on track, just like with the cancelled MOTHER 3. (Laughs)

Yeah. I was able to visit the development site during those three years, but the first year basically just involved throwing spaghetti at the wall. There was a lot of work happening, but the game wasn’t really taking shape yet.

Itoi
That’s true.

Looking back, what would you say was the point where things really got on track? Or perhaps the turning point in the development process?

Itoi
At the start of development, we made a decision that I realize now was a pretty big one. We decided that the standard of the visuals would continue from the rest of the MOTHER series.

I see.

Itoi
We realized as we tried out different styles that creating something new made it feel “off.” Once we opted to revive the artistic tone from the previous games, we figured we could just adjust it from there. That at least gave us a measuring stick for the game’s art.

I’m sure it was difficult in the first two years starting out without those measuring sticks, even outside of the art.

Itoi
At that point, all we had to go off was the original MOTHER 3, and sticking with that would have really complicated things.

You said something back then that made sense to me. Planning for the original MOTHER 3 began immediately after development for MOTHER 2 wrapped up, and you mentioned you went into it ready to really catch MOTHER fans off guard. If that game had made it to release, it would indeed have served as something that really surprised fans. But since it was cancelled and there was a period of time until it was brought up again, it ended up as something that’s “not MOTHER.”

Itoi
Yes, exactly. It was extremely difficult to adjust from that. Say there’s a musician who releases a huge hit song. If they make another one like it, some people might be glad about that, while others might scoff and say “Really? Again?” I tend to feel that way pretty quickly, so I felt like I wouldn’t be able to surprise anyone. So from that perspective, yes, it’s technically different from MOTHER and MOTHER 2.

Yeah.

Itoi
But the mood and the world are the same. Twelve years ago, when I first decided to make MOTHER 3, I approached it from an incredibly brazen desire to douse MOTHER fans in ice water, and then make friends with them. Part of that desire still lingered by the time we resumed development, so I had a hard time figuring out what to do with the ending.

That issue seemed to remain a major one up until the very end.

Itoi
It really was. But ultimately, after a lot of dogged persistence, I can confidently say that it settled into just the right spot, where that sentiment hadn’t faded away completely, but it hadn’t hung around in an unpleasant way, either. But... it was tough! (Laughs) It was the hardest part of the whole process, and once it was finished, I could see it’s what made the creative process so interesting. Because the staff and I were able to overcome that difficulty together, the game was not just geared toward existing fans, but instead became the true MOTHER 3.

(To be continued)

2006-04-24-MON