Editing EarthBound (universe)
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Itoi returned to design a sequel for the Super Famicom, ''Mother 2'', though the title's development was troubled by a new inexperienced development staff and was stretched across five years, nearly facing cancellation. The project was only saved when late veteran programmer [[Satoru Iwata]] joined the development team, now making the ''Mother 2'' project a joint effort by Ape and [[HAL Laboratory]] (HALKEN at the time), separate studios based at separate locations (employees would regularly have to travel between studios to work). It was released in August 1994 in Japan and, unlike its predecessor, actually saw a Western localization the following June, under the first public occurrence of the name ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}''. This game saw new protagonist [[Ness]] and his friends and their adventures across time and space to save the world from Gyigas. However, while the game's Japanese sales figures were relatively close to the original's, it sold poorly in the West because of an unusual and ineffective marketing campaign and the fact that American audiences were largely indifferent to JRPGs at the time (this would only end with the 1997 release of ''[[Final Fantasy|Final Fantasy VII]]'', which brought the genre to the mainstream). These poor sales even prevented the game from being released in the PAL regions. Critical retrospectives, however, portray it as not only one of the best RPGs in the 1990s, but also one of the most original, both in its approach to established JRPG mechanics and in its uniquely quirky humor, storyline (which is comparatively more light-hearted than its forerunner), character, and bizarre psychedelic aesthetic, as well as its many parodies of American culture and JRPG - and science fiction - storytelling conventions. Some publications have named it the defining example of a cult classic, with substantial fanbases in both Japan and North America. | Itoi returned to design a sequel for the Super Famicom, ''Mother 2'', though the title's development was troubled by a new inexperienced development staff and was stretched across five years, nearly facing cancellation. The project was only saved when late veteran programmer [[Satoru Iwata]] joined the development team, now making the ''Mother 2'' project a joint effort by Ape and [[HAL Laboratory]] (HALKEN at the time), separate studios based at separate locations (employees would regularly have to travel between studios to work). It was released in August 1994 in Japan and, unlike its predecessor, actually saw a Western localization the following June, under the first public occurrence of the name ''{{b|EarthBound|game}}''. This game saw new protagonist [[Ness]] and his friends and their adventures across time and space to save the world from Gyigas. However, while the game's Japanese sales figures were relatively close to the original's, it sold poorly in the West because of an unusual and ineffective marketing campaign and the fact that American audiences were largely indifferent to JRPGs at the time (this would only end with the 1997 release of ''[[Final Fantasy|Final Fantasy VII]]'', which brought the genre to the mainstream). These poor sales even prevented the game from being released in the PAL regions. Critical retrospectives, however, portray it as not only one of the best RPGs in the 1990s, but also one of the most original, both in its approach to established JRPG mechanics and in its uniquely quirky humor, storyline (which is comparatively more light-hearted than its forerunner), character, and bizarre psychedelic aesthetic, as well as its many parodies of American culture and JRPG - and science fiction - storytelling conventions. Some publications have named it the defining example of a cult classic, with substantial fanbases in both Japan and North America. | ||
More development and release date woes awaited the ''Mother'' franchise following ''EarthBound''. Ape Inc. would immediately disband after completion, though most would come back to form the modern day [[Creatures]] to assist [[Game Freak]] to develop ''{{iw|bulbapedia|Pokémon Red & Green}}'', which why they share ownership between Game Freak and Nintendo. Itoi immediately began development of the series' second sequel for the Super Famicom in 1994, which was then moved to the Nintendo 64DD add-on for the [[Nintendo 64]], popularized by the media as the then-upcoming ''EarthBound 64''. When the ill-fated disk drive peripheral was met with commercial failure, the game was cancelled and restarted its development cycle on the Nintendo 64 itself, where it was initially expected to be a launch title for the console's Western release. But Itoi's development team was inexperienced with developing three-dimensional titles and the Nintendo 64 hardware itself, and the project remained unreleased even as ''EarthBound'' was included by [[Masahiro Sakurai]] as an unlockable franchise in the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' in 1998. Itoi eventually announced the official cancellation of ''EarthBound 64'' in August 2000, citing that he did not want to make anything other than "something truly special" in addition to the project becoming too complex with its interest in three-dimensional graphics. [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] subsequently became interested in finding ways to salvage some of the work, though this had to be put on hold because the ''Mother 3'' development team was put on Nintendo GameCube projects. Meanwhile, the translated prototype of the Western version of the NES game was discovered and purchased by a fan translation group, which was modified, retitled "''EarthBound Zero''", and distributed through the Internet as a ROM image. | More development and release date woes awaited the ''Mother'' franchise following ''EarthBound''. Ape Inc. would immediately disband after completion, though most would come back to form the modern day [[Creatures]] to assist [[Game Freak]] to develop ''{{iw|bulbapedia|Pokémon Red & Green}}'', which why they share ownership between Game Freak and Nintendo. Itoi immediately began development of the series's second sequel for the Super Famicom in 1994, which was then moved to the Nintendo 64DD add-on for the [[Nintendo 64]], popularized by the media as the then-upcoming ''EarthBound 64''. When the ill-fated disk drive peripheral was met with commercial failure, the game was cancelled and restarted its development cycle on the Nintendo 64 itself, where it was initially expected to be a launch title for the console's Western release. But Itoi's development team was inexperienced with developing three-dimensional titles and the Nintendo 64 hardware itself, and the project remained unreleased even as ''EarthBound'' was included by [[Masahiro Sakurai]] as an unlockable franchise in the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' in 1998. Itoi eventually announced the official cancellation of ''EarthBound 64'' in August 2000, citing that he did not want to make anything other than "something truly special" in addition to the project becoming too complex with its interest in three-dimensional graphics. [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] subsequently became interested in finding ways to salvage some of the work, though this had to be put on hold because the ''Mother 3'' development team was put on Nintendo GameCube projects. Meanwhile, the translated prototype of the Western version of the NES game was discovered and purchased by a fan translation group, which was modified, retitled "''EarthBound Zero''", and distributed through the Internet as a ROM image. | ||
Itoi and Nintendo eventually decided to rerelease both ''Mother'' titles in Japan as ports compiled on one Game Boy Advance cartridge, ''{{iw|wikibound|Mother 1 + 2}}'', which was released in June 2003 in Japan and included all of the enhancements the English prototype had made to the original ''Mother''; to the dismay of fans, this was never released in the West either. However, Itoi realized he would once again be pressured into reviving his shelved project, an idea he was initially opposed to, but encouragement from fans led to his decision to restart development for the game for Game Boy Advance, which he approached as though he were developing his magnum opus. After three years of development, ''{{iw|wikibound|Mother 3}}'' (essentially now a Game Boy Advance recreation of ''EarthBound 64'') was finally released in Japan in April 2006, twelve years after development began and over a year after the launch of the handheld's successor, the Nintendo DS. This Game Boy Advance title returned the series to a two-dimensional aesthetic but placed more emphasis on a serious plot and character interaction and tweaked gameplay elements of its predecessors. The game saw new protagonist [[Lucas]] and his adventures with his family and later his newfound friends as they try to save the world from being destroyed entirely. It was released to critical acclaim that praised its new rhythm-based but otherwise simple approach to turn-based combat and, most significantly, tragic storytelling and characterization that achieved a rarely seen degree of depth in titles in the genre. | Itoi and Nintendo eventually decided to rerelease both ''Mother'' titles in Japan as ports compiled on one Game Boy Advance cartridge, ''{{iw|wikibound|Mother 1 + 2}}'', which was released in June 2003 in Japan and included all of the enhancements the English prototype had made to the original ''Mother''; to the dismay of fans, this was never released in the West either. However, Itoi realized he would once again be pressured into reviving his shelved project, an idea he was initially opposed to, but encouragement from fans led to his decision to restart development for the game for Game Boy Advance, which he approached as though he were developing his magnum opus. After three years of development, ''{{iw|wikibound|Mother 3}}'' (essentially now a Game Boy Advance recreation of ''EarthBound 64'') was finally released in Japan in April 2006, twelve years after development began and over a year after the launch of the handheld's successor, the Nintendo DS. This Game Boy Advance title returned the series to a two-dimensional aesthetic but placed more emphasis on a serious plot and character interaction and tweaked gameplay elements of its predecessors. The game saw new protagonist [[Lucas]] and his adventures with his family and later his newfound friends as they try to save the world from being destroyed entirely. It was released to critical acclaim that praised its new rhythm-based but otherwise simple approach to turn-based combat and, most significantly, tragic storytelling and characterization that achieved a rarely seen degree of depth in titles in the genre. | ||
