History of EarthBound Rumors

Mother series rumors over the years; the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Credits:
Written & Directed by MonkeyNess
Animatics and illustration by RK-d: / arcadenonsense
Winters Remix by Melo: / @runningshine
Additional Translation help by Micheal Discord: / discord
Additional Help by Alpha Theories: / @alphatheories2843
Additional Help by SnowWood: / snowwood_
MonkeyNess Pixel Art by MapleMoriko: / @maplemoriko
Music:
EarthBound - Buy Somethin' Will Ya!
Melo - You Can Always Make a Snowman in Winters (EarthBound Remix)
EarthBound - The Jolly Flying Man
Mother 3 - Mom's Hometown
Mother 3 - Going Alone
EarthBound - The Lost Underworld
Jake Chudnow.- Moon Men
Mother 3 - Monkey's Delivery Service
EarthBound - The Metropolis of Fourside
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Unfounded Revenge
EarthBound Beginnings - Hippie Battle
Mother 3 - To Sunshine Forest
Mother 3 - Butch and the Villagers
Mother 3 - Passing Down Secrets
Mother 3 - Happy Town?
Twitter: / primateness
TikTok: / primateness
Discord Server: / discord
Second Channel: / @primateninten
Backup Channel: / @monkeynessshorts

[@atwistedb]

Imagine being a psychic and the first thing your client asks is if Mother 3 will ever get translated

[@castor2880]

I’d be honored

[@RandomHomoSapiens]

*psychic

[@oliviaanderson6249]

I would say Really go please go

[@spudsbuchlaw]

That would be the easiest clap: No nigga it ain't, that'll be $9.99

[@RandomHomoSapiens]

@@spudsbuchlaw *client starts crying out of pain

[@kwisowofer9872]

Earthbound Re-entry would’ve been cool and all, but Luigi’s Pie Factory would’ve been the goat

[@rennythespaceguy7285]

I trust Luigi's cooking with my life

[@RemnantCult]

I love Mother, I love Earthbound, but man, being an international Mother fan means inhaling large amounts of copium just to not go insane.

[@piyushmenon4987]

Absolutely.

[@reneablackheart9563]

the way i dont go insane is go "yeah this is a dead series but on the bright side that means most of my headcanons can't be proven wrong" ninten is short and really mad about it by the way. because i said so

[@robyjacker]

Can't you guys just emulate the fan translation ROM? Pardon me if I sound really stupid here, but you guys are like wallowing in sorrow while neglecting the translation that's been sitting there for about a decade already. Just give it a try and stop crying about it so much.

[@Vichroma]

honestly it'd be so funny for Nintendo to start a direct with an Earthbound announcement, "A certain beloved RPG is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch..." gameboy advance startup jingle appears on screen, and as the fans anticipate something great No we're localizing Mother 1+2 sorry guys

[@mwiah46]

salt on the wound would be that those games are literally on the switch already

[@kwisowofer9872]

Nintendo already put salt in the wound by bringing Mother 3 to NSO… in Japan only

[@jialin7]

@@kwisowofer9872I saw that live and forgot that my switch is us

[@maximyllion]

i'm imagining the "Dr. Andonuts" door to just be a weird, non-euclidean portal to his lab from the second game.

[@reneablackheart9563]

no it's just a room where he sits on a chair hunched over eating olives straight out of the jar in the dark

[@Sagern17]

Nice to see you back again. Another popular rumour was that Porky was originally gonna die in Earthbound 64/Mother 3, mainly because of unused sprites showing him inside a broken mech.

[@joshshrum2764]

Even if he did the world would just be reset.

[@Crimson-Hat]

I've wanted to know more about the, 'Ruined Onett" image. It's by far my favorite gaming mystery. How would it have fit in? Why? What happened? A flashback for the Leder reveal? Some opening? A tie-in to EarthBound? I need to know!

[@cat_ann_]

it's either post-timeskip Tazmilly or New Pork City, during the ending cutscene. My bet is Tazmilly because Porky remodeling it to resemble Eagleland just makes sense.

[@ExaltedUriel]

I also felt like it would have been used as a flashback in Leder's lore dump, but unless we get some kind of official statement I don't think we'll ever know, unfortunately.

[@AluminumFusion22]

It would confirm that MOTHER 3 is set in the same universe as EarthBound and takes place in the far future. The final game is ambiguous in regards to its time period, as Porky doesn't come from the past or future definitively and has irreparably damaged his body due to excessive time travel.

[@jimmyrcg4966]

Knowing now that earthbound USA is finally starting to come out is surreal

[@MasterZebulin]

Wait, that's actually a thing?

[@Darvoth]

It’s interesting that the BrownieBrown image featured a man with a Darth Vader mask because the Masked Man is clearly based on Darth Vader.

[@Yakkymania]

I’ve always figured that, along with Lucas being based on Luke, Duster being based on Han, and Kumatora being based on Leia

[@danielsebald5639]

Meanwhile, Boney=Chewbacca and Porky=Palpatine

[@kumatorahaltmanndreemurr]

@@Yakkymania I never made that connection but now I can’t unsee it

[@alphatheories2843]

Homie said "I'm finna drop the hottest 30 minute piece of mother content this year"

[@tiggywoovit5955]

At 5:19, you can hear Monkey talk about the Brownie Brown blog posts and the possibility of a future video about it. This is a reference to how he is actually still alive, and enjoys to create content.

[@MonkeyNess]

Deep lore!

[@Random_Dude999]

that "hulk funko pop is bigger than the rest" bit hit me like a flashbang, was not expecting an OneyPlays reference in this video. Mega based

[@nintendorkds]

I concur. the jarring refference was mega based

[@gringusgaming]

11:04 THANK YOU FOR DEMONSTRATING THAT GIYGAS UPSIDE DOWN LOOKS LIKE HIS MEWTWO FORM

[@POSTELVIS]

you're telling me that "My uncle who works at nintendo" isn't a valid historical source!?

[@MonkeyNess]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGjPYYWnbqprg7s

[@teruteru6673]

Maybe your. uncle who works at Nintendo isn't a valid historical source. However, mine is and he says SSB4 was originally supposed to feature 7 different Mother characters before Sakurai had them all replaced with Fire Emblem nobodies.

[@tripplea_3338]

@@MonkeyNess I approve

[@voltron77]

@@teruteru6673Fire emblem is great too don’t disrespect it.

[@DeterminedBlade]

@@MonkeyNessperfection response

[@user-lf5xq4gu1g]

I want Luigi's Pie Factory + Waluigi's Taco Stand on Switch

[@MonkeyNess]

Crossing my fingers for an announcement at the Nintendo Direct!

[@PROPLAYEN]

I had a dream that SSBU2 Released and it had a dedicated mode where you dodge Giygas' attacks as long as possible

[@reneablackheart9563]

i had a dream my cat died

[@pksprite6401]

Ugh I remember the 2016 mother 3 rumors. Pain 😞

[@trascendentalsunset]

Honestly what Ive always loved about the Mother series is its esoteric status, the fans and their endless quest is what made it great for me.

[@boingobrungis5216]

as a MASSIVE fan of contact and Mother seeing the doctors sprite was trippy af cause I hear no one talk abt that.

[@ToddM_arts]

Say it with me everyone, "THE HULK FUNKO POP IS BIGGER THAN THE REST"

[@violentviolett]

I stayed home because I got sick today. I love earthbound and it will always be my favorite game of all time. When I saw this video was just released, i audibly said “oh my god, this is awesome!” There aren’t enough earthbound videos out there. Keep doing great!! Fuzzy pickles! ✌️

It's on the thumbnail but no ones talking about it but damn I love Contact, it's a nice game and it's pretty short, and it have great music, even if it wasn't the topic of the video I'm always happy to randomly see stuff about that game I'm still very sad it failed and never got a sequel, the ending is stupidly open and it was for sure designed to let a sequel happen

[@soda3185]

Silksong fans: we are the most neglected videogame fans. Mother 3 fans: Hold my fanmade english translation.

[@chibi2239]

I feel like Mother 3's localization, if/when real, will just totally be dropped out of no where :D like no warning, no breadcrumbs leading us to it. It's just announced and dropped kinda out of nowhere.

[@takeruashi]

Nah they would announce it on twitter

[@chibi2239]

Boy, this comment comes across even more possible with Metroid Prime's remaster shadow drop 😀

[@heliax9924]

i mean yeah it would defenently happen cause they can save money on marketing and well i am pretty sure any nintendo has heard about mother 3 lol at this point

[@just._.a._.little._.monster._]

I swear we would lose our shit at the single sight of a non-fan translation, even if it were a SINGLE screenshot we would eat that shit up

[@GarryDumblowski]

I remember I had an old friend who claimed that older plans for Mother 3 tied in a lot more to M2, including stating that the Dark Dragon was originally supposed to be Giygas and Flint was originally going to be a grown-up Ness. I know it'sn ot true but he really seemed to believe it, so ???

[@oilyspoilyyt]

this video was so good... you're such an underrated content creator omg

[@MonkeyNess]

Thank you for the kind words, hopefully one day I can become properly-rated lol :)

[@seanmcbay]

I’ll never forget the day the first GBA screenshots released. I was so happy it looked more like Earthbound/2 vs. the 64 style.

[@mommypapa9135]

I know this is only one part of the video, but I think Itd be cool and possible for Gigue to be in smash. His special could turn him into giygas and it'd slow everyone down and start spraying out random particles that arent any particular shape

[@Blastkin]

im really glad your channel grew to the amount i was expecting at the time. Still remembering when you had only 100 subs. Great job my dude, love your stuff!

[@MonkeyNess]

Thanks for sticking around :)

[@oshabot1646]

I keep coming back to this video, its really good

[@MonkeyNess]

I'm glad you like it!

[@TheNonTripleEntente]

He's back yes

[@redshell9205]

Good to see you back. Honestly I like rumours even when they seem obviously false. I believed year of Luigi 2 was gonna come this year… oh boy was I wrong.

[@rennythespaceguy7285]

We can make it a year of Twoigi, by the people for the people

[@getbuckposse]

Thanks for more Mother 3 edutainment!

[@MonkeyNess]

More to come!

[@leninvasco]

My god 5k subscribers already! I dont know why but youtube suddenly stopped recomending your videos and now I found you again. Im happy this great channel is geting the atention it deserves!

[@Fabian.J]

You’re back! :D

[@stoic_rose]

being a mother fan comes with its downsides, (being ravenous for any hint of a rerelease or new game or localization) and its upsides,

[@sokoTV2]

Great and fun video. I'm surprised it actually cleared up some misinformation for me since like the "won't be released due to controversy" rumor. That's what sucks about rumors. Some just get picked up into the public consciousness and become accepted as fact, even when it's so easy to disprove. (like Kimba the white lion was the original Lion King). Also I loved the original assets made for this video. But yeah, the most important takeaway from this video is that the Hulk Funko Pop is Bigger than the rest.

[@BrandonTheFanGuy]

Everytime Rogers claims to have a leak I remind everyone about the Mother 3 incidents. "Unprofessional punk" sure is a set of words that could be used to describe someone.

[@zgct3648]

"Kraken(Child's Rendition)" would be a good title imo

[@Takxicity]

Dude that transition to the outro was SMOOTH

[@sjlopez8588]

Great video as usual, awesome music choice at 9:56 btw I thought Vsauce took over your vid for a second.

[@WitherVideos]

27:48 Nice Oneyplays reference

[@marsybarz]

i shouldn't have giggled at 25:02 lmfao 😭

[@NukeOTron]

(sees the professor from Contact on the thumbnail) This gonna be good. Of course, to be fair, Contact's a good experimental DS game from some of the developers of Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (yes, THAT Moon RPG which Toby Fox loves so much), but it suffers from the old "It looks like an action-RPG, but I'm not allowed to button-mash to attack like a sane person" problem. Then again, it also suffers from the FF2 level-up system being applied in an action-RPG, and the stomach meter. Yes, I have a copy. Also, all that, and nobody mistook any Ni no Kuni games that suspiciously resembled the Mother games AS Mother games?

[@6scar911]

What I love about your videos is the growth youve obviously had over the years. I've been watching since the Michael Jackson one and the quality has grown from just being creepy or disturbing, to being having more of a modern internet twilight zone cautionary tales vibe. I LOVE that. Could make an anthology series with all the videos.

[@pixelatedmess9269]

27:46 THANK YOU! 👏👏👏

[@Kosmicant]

How the hell are you still at 5k subs, that's actually insane how underrated you are

[@rafaelcosta7427]

Oh hey you're back

[@davidleon7918]

I know that my comentary has nothing to do with that video but Man. I have a super creepy mandela effect about the video that you have talked about deltarun chapter 2. I remembered that the video was posted 9 months ago but then i realize that it was posted just 2 months ago.

[@MonkeyNess]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...?

[@davidleon7918]

Ehhh... that a weird response but i dont know.

[@sephvswurld]

He's back!

[@Jelly_shy_guy_man]

Guygus looks like a Dragon ball Z character in mother 1

[@Jelly_shy_guy_man]

Dr. Andonuts room

[@spudsbuchlaw]

Hello, obsecure Smash lore expert here, Lucas main and MOTHER3 fan, Lucas was ALSO supposed to replace Ness in brawl. according to Sakurai, when he was deciding the roster in 2005, he learned of the decision of to not localize it, and so decided to keep Ness in for everyone else. In an alternate timeline where MOTHER3 was released in the west, Ness might've not made in into Brawl.

[@MonkeyNess]

Interesting, is there any source on this information?

[@spudsbuchlaw]

@@MonkeyNess Also, that's odd but my original reply seems to be missing...odd... All it said was I didn't know at the time, and now I do. Hope this helps!. I knew I knew if from somewhere, but this information can get Damn obscure sometimes. What can I say? I'm a lifelong Lucas main (except Ultimate but shh)

[@raditudesydney]

the monke is back

[@MonkeyNess]

🐵

[@aminearife9509]

I am happy that you returned

[@orangegouice]

seeing that vader guy, i wonder if that subtly influenced the mother 3 story? claus' tale parallels darth vader pretty clearly

[@MonkeyNess]

Judging by references to Star Wars being present throughout the whole series, I think it's definitely possible.

[@DeterminedBlade]

One thing to note though that it was VERY possible that the main team for N64 Mother 3 was Lucas Claus Flint and Boney.

[@MonkeyNess]

May have been less. Some fidings have pointed to Boney not being a party member, and some sources seem to suggest only 3 party members were ever had at a time.

[@TheRealMicheal]

he cooked.

[@MonkeyNess]

omg it’s Micheal Discord! :o

[@yoshikoopa9545]

This is crazy

[@drsnoes6337]

27:56 i remember this one i was so hyped

[@johndronio]

My goat has returned

[@GeorgeLifo]

Melee's mewcomer should've been Luigi's Pie Factory, change my mind

[@gooseteeth5455]

Wasn't expecting a random ass oneyplays reference in this video but I'll take it

[@ExaltedUriel]

I feel like for my own health I have to remind myself that that skater guy supposedly owning a Mother 64 demo cart is false, not only because there was simply no evidence of it but also because few things make my blood boil more than collectors who are NOT preservationists and refuse to dump their ROMs just to ensure their copy retains its """value""".

[@AnAverageGoblin]

I for one am happy that Mother 3 isn't officially localized since it means I can get it in english for FREE on any hardware that can emulate a GBA.

[@minermole101]

Funny how I didn't get into Mother/Earthbound until 2018, 2 years after the supposed hypest rumors.

[@LuluFluffs]

Guys my dad works at Nintendo and he says he had the E3 Prototype of Mother 3 very real and true

[@Periwinkleaccount]

I misread the title as “earthbound runners” instead of “earthbound rumours” so I thought that it might have been a speedrunning history video. My brain is broken.

[@Sprited]

I caught that oneyplays reference. Based

[@jeremyabbott4537]

Okay but do you think Itoi knows the Hulk Funko Pop is bigger than the rest?

[@mello-0341]

wait…they announced gb and gba for the switch this february direct… _gasp_ *MOTHER 3 WORLDWIDE RELEASE ON THE SWITCH??!?!?!? :OOOO*

[@MonkeyNess]

Chances are higher than ever...at 0.001%!

[@optimer44]

average mother fan

[@rainbowmacaroon9189]

Haha, see you "soon" too...tho that was a bit threatening...wait who's standing outside my window-

[@MonkeyNess]

👁

[@Skypatroller_BenCD]

I know that most of those rumors are fake but at least I'm happy to see that Mother 3 was at least referred officially as Earthbound 2 even though it was a joke

[@flintfrommother3gaming]

the rumor of all: Doorknob was made to symbolize the downfall of Lucas' life.

[@arielmunizaga4064]

Pero que video tan genial.

[@MonkeyNess]

Thank you, I appreciate it! :)

[@FzeroVaporeon]

oh good your back youre

[@amazinggrapes3045]

Giygas could work as a stage in Smash Bros

[@Ranixo286]

Hey maybe we'll get it for the 20th anniversary...right?

[@MonkeyNess]

We got EarthBound Beginnings about 26 years later, stranger things have happened!

[@1istheloneliestnumber]

Plagued Moth strikes back!

[@dynamon911nz]

To let me think you mentioned contact is probaly the closest as we ever got to an earthbound like game during thr ds era. But it was developed by another studio than brownie brown. Alought it would planed to have the same sprite style in a ds game that didnt came out either.

[@flippant_foe]

(19:08) This isn't an rumor its a semi pretty well known fact. Similar to how Lucas was originally planned to replace Ness in the roster for Smash Melee in order to promote MOTHER 3's N64 version, during Brawl's development Masahiro Sakurai legitimately thought MOTHER 3 would be localized for the western audience by the time Brawl would come, so he decided to cut Ness from Brawl's roster for Lucas as well. This is one of the main reasons why Lucas has such an similar moveset to Ness in Brawl (and by extent later smash games), because he was meant to replace and why waste a good moveset. Later in Brawl's development Sakurai learned that MOTHER 3 wouldn't be getting an localization any time soon, so to not alienate western MOTHER fans with a character from a game they can't even officially play over a game they he added back Ness along with Lucas. Essentially if MOTHER 3 N64 was never cancelled and MOTHER 3 GBA had a localization back when it first released in Japan, then its a huge bet that we wouldn't see Ness back in Smash Bros until Smash Ultimate with it's everyone is here gimmick

[@MonkeyNess]

Any source on the first part? I'm aware of the latter, that he thought M3 would be localized and that's why he included Lucas, but about him replacing Ness? It's known this was the case for Melee, but I've seen no such confirmation this was the case for Brawl.

[@joshuacoley7453]

🤓

[@gaminevilmushroom7571]

I was born 2 days after mother 3 came out

[@mrdrsirman3168]

Emily Rodgers, now there’s a name I haven’t heard in awhile 😅

[@sobek6735]

27:47 did you just reference oneyplays? I swear this is light the fifth creator I watch dogwhistle them lmao

[@foursidekm]

Pretty sure the Giygas leak is implying Porky in smash, not Giygas. Giygas would have probably been the final smash or stage inclusion

[@MonkeyNess]

It was reported by the supposed “leakers” and some outlets as being specifically about Giygas, though unknown how his inclusion would’ve been realized. People did however speculate it was connected to Porky in some way.

[@foursidekm]

@@MonkeyNess In the video at least you can see porky (in his mother 3 mech) so I'm guessing it was made with porky in mind.

[@MonkeyNess]

More than likely.

[@kazmakazii]

27:47 chris say it with me now

[@eyitsmattyyy616]

This is just a really depressing display of how desperate Mother fans are for a new game

[@MonkeyNess]

It's the Mother fandom experience. C'est la vie.

[@aden2276]

It is bigger than the rest

[@nonymouswisp8176]

When are we gonna get luigis pie factory

[@thejester2934]

I have contact :D it's made by one of my favorite game devs Suda51

[@MonkeyNess]

I'd imagine it's good! Atlus, a quality company. Just played Persona 5 Royal, might try Contact sometime!

[@thejester2934]

@@MonkeyNess it's... strange, to say the least but when I was shopping for ds games it was continuously called an amazing game

[@MonkeyNess]

I'd never heard of it until making this video, but a friend of mine who had said it was underrated!

[@thejester2934]

@@MonkeyNess the story has the doc being chased by someone until they meet your character. Your character joins them in their ufo house, and the doc talks to you, real you, as in playing the game you. Hence the name contact, he made contact with you

[@thejester2934]

It's the kind of game I expect from Suda51, the same guy who helped make no more heroes (my favorite of his) and a game called lollipop chainsaw. Yes it's as silly as it sounds It also turns out that it had drastically low sales in Japan because everyone was awaiting a new hit game: Mother 3

[@Morgil27]

I really, _really,_ hate that lying rumor-monger Emily Rogers.

[@kumatorahaltmanndreemurr]

EarthBound: Re-Entry sounds like it was made up by someone who knew nothing about the game and just assumed it was about space travel or something

[@LandonEmma]

Any link to the fishcam website?

[@MonkeyNess]

www.1101.com/otama/index.html

[@oscarstrokosz2986]

People just needed to accept that no one else really cares about the franchise

[@FzeroVaporeon]

where is the fish tank website??

[@MonkeyNess]

www.1101.com/otama/index.html

[@darknega75]

what does Itoi even do as work?

[@MonkeyNess]

Copywriting.

[@Blaineworld]

i need help. PLEASE SOMEONE GIVE ME THE LINK TO WATCH THE FISH

[@MonkeyNess]

www.1101.com/otama/index.html

[@Blaineworld]

@@MonkeyNess feesh 🐟

[@schlydops6352]

Vsauce?

[@MonkeyNess]

Micheal here

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

It’s funny watching this JUST AS Mother 3 has released on NSO in Japan. Mother fans always were the desperate types.

[@MonkeyNess]

Idk if “desperate” is the right word.

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

@@MonkeyNess I say desperate as there is mass salt over it not coming to our NSO.

[@MonkeyNess]

@@thefrubblewarrior4678 I still don’t think that’s the word. The connotation just seems off.

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

@@MonkeyNess Understandable, have a nice day. It’s also coincidental that the Mother 3 thing happened JUST as I was getting into other “phase” with this series after watching a playthrough of encore… after watching the paula boss fight in Deltatraveler… after listening to the soundtrack of that fan game again.

[@bob-so2oy]

Where can I find the n-dude blog posts? Been trying to look for them but can't seem to find em

[@MonkeyNess]

You can find archives of some via the Wayback Machine using the link at the top of the screen at 5:04.

[@bob-so2oy]

@@MonkeyNess thank you!

[@Jakepearl13]

PK haha no localization

[@7niahceulb]

I wonder if they translated Mother 3 yet but just haven't released it.

[@AnAverageGoblin]

doubt it. the resources to do that would be wasted, and I could only see that being a possibility if it was officially announced as Earthbound 2 by Nintendo and then scrapped.

[@7niahceulb]

@@AnAverageGoblin I mean it literally happened with Earthbound beginnings. They translated it but didn't release for over 20 years

[@AnAverageGoblin]

@@7niahceulb EBB's scrapped localization was briefly advertised. if Mother 3 had one then people involved with it wouldn't have talked about how much they wanted M3 to be internationally released. M3 was never officially teased for the US audience. keep on coping.

[@7niahceulb]

@@AnAverageGoblin people involved with it? You mean the creators in Japan? They wouldn't know anything about Nintendo of America translating it in secret. It was teased the first time because they actually had plans to release at that time and changed their mind. The reason why they wouldn't have teased it yet if they actually translated it is because they have no plans on releasing it yet if at all.

[@AnAverageGoblin]

@@7niahceulb keep on coping. Mother 3 will NEVER come out in america.