Abandoned by Mother.

Earthbound. Probably of the most awesomely bizarre games of all time. I remember playing it on SNES when I was a kid. I thoroughly loved every minute of it. It was totally different than anything else available at the time, and it was chock full of all manner of quirkiness. Needless to say, I was, and am a big fan.

Cut forward several years to the age of the N64. I never was all that huge of a fan of the last relic of the cartridge era, but one game I looked forward to more than anything else, was the fabled Earthbound 64 that never came to be. I got so hyped from the few little promotional pictures that were posted in magazines, but of course, I was disappointed when the project got shot down with little fanfare. I pretty much gave up hope on there ever being another Earthbound.

Fast forward once more to just a few years back. Mother 3 for the GBA. (Mother = Earthbound in Japanland.) I was giddy as a schoolgirl. It retained the same visual style of the SNES classic, it looked to maintain the same level of off-kilter humor, and I wanted it. I NEEDED it. But, by the powers that be (That would be Nintendo.), I was again denied my fix. Why? WHY? I mean, I know back in the day it wasn't uncommon for many games to go unreleased stateside, but times have changed. Gaming is supposedly "mainstream" now. Not to mention that Earthbound has a highly devoted, fairly sizable following! There are many a website completely devoted to the series, and tons of ravenous fans. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Nintendo opted to deny the U.S. audience one of the most original and enjoyable experiences in gaming. I've read online that when Nintendo's U.S. icon, Reggie Fils-Aime was asked about the possibility of localizing Mother 3, that he pretty much dodged the question, and seemed to hardly know of it. Look at the GBA, or for that matter the DS or the Wii. They're flooded with all manner of crappy crap crap. I don't see why they would neglect a devoted fanbase, just to release boatloads more casual party games to the masses.

Of course, as many may know, the fans have released a fan-translation now, and it's awesome. But it still doesn't make up for Nintendo's lack of gumption to release what could have been a big hit in the states. Not to mention all that sweet promotional junk they made to celebrate it. I want a Franklin Badge, too. *sob*