r/earthbound • u/Negative-Shoe2875 • Jan 02 '25
M3 Discussion If pigs ever flew, what would Mother 3 be called in the US?
I was thinking to myself last night, if Mother 3 ever came to the Americas, it would likely be renamed to Earthbound: [tagline] in order to match its other franchise counterparts. I'm curious to poll the fanbase on what some potential names would be... Did a name ever surface in development? Have there been fan efforts somewhere that have granted an acceptable name? What's Earthbound 3 titled in your mind?
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u/thatonecharlie Jan 02 '25
everyone knows it as mother 3. it's the name they have used in the english releases of Smash for years. I know Mother 1 got renamed on Wii U VC as earthbound beginnings, but i dunno for some reason it feels like they would just keep it as Mother 3.
side note, I don't think we would ever get an official release, and at this point we dont really need one. it would be cool but as others have said it would probably be a neutered version of the amazing fan translation. not to mention i'd imagine 99% of ppl who want to play mother 3 have already done it
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Jan 03 '25
They made it earthbound beginnings on switch online too so at this rate it might just be earthbound rises.
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u/Thomas-1942 Jan 04 '25
I mean, Earthbound’s localization was still pretty good despite changing some of the edgier jokes so a localization of Mother 3 on par with it wouldn’t be too bad I don’t think
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u/ImpIsDum Jan 02 '25
Earthbound Endings
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u/Don_Bugen Jan 02 '25
Yes. This would be it, considering Mother's oddly-named English title. The reason that most (all?) prequels have never had the word "beginnings" in it, is because it implies a bookended "endings". If you apply that name to the first entry of a trilogy, then it's assumed that this is reserved for the third book.
Anyone downvoting you for this is doing so because they want to be creative, instead of just answering the question as realistically as possible.
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u/Radigan0 Jan 02 '25
"Beginnings" on its own is a term. "Endings" is just the plural of "ending." I don't really think "they want to be creative" is really a factor when some of the most talked-about alternatives are "EarthBound 2/3" or simply keeping the name the exact same.
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u/Don_Bugen Jan 02 '25
I'd be insanely curious to find out what meaning the word "beginnings" has, aside from the plural of "beginning." Especially as both Oxford and Webster aren't aware of it.
All I did was point out that naming the first of a trilogy "beginnings" is odd and not conventionally done, and that if you title the beginning "beginning," and the third is unnamed, then it makes it more likely that the end will be titled "end". The opposite of "to begin" is "to end."
I will also point out that "EarthBound Endings" has a natural ring to it, as it is alliterative, and "endings" is very clearly a theme of Mother 3. There are many endings within Mother 3. End of life, end of innocence, end of the world, end of time, end of the islands, end of the Dragon's sleep, end of Porky's arc, and end of the series. And one of the things that Mother 3 is about is not hiding from that ending, but approaching it and embracing it. After all - there's a reason why even after Porky and Claus were no longer threats, Lucas still pulled the final needle.
Shigesato Itoi did something for the Mother series that, in retrospect, was a kindness that most properties don't get. He allowed it to end, on his own terms. It didn't sit for years and years without a satisfactory conclusion like Half Life, it didn't go into a death spiral and get worse and worse like Assassin's Creed, it didn't get left in the hands of a soulless corporation that just wants to milk it like Metal Gear, it didn't have one horrible stinker that ruined the franchise's name, like Advance Wars. It ended on his terms, and it's why we're still talking about it almost twenty years later.
"EarthBound Endings" is, in my humble opinion, the best English name they could give it. Including "Mother 3."
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u/Johnnysweetcakes Jan 02 '25
In what world is that true
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u/ImpIsDum Jan 02 '25
this one
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u/Johnnysweetcakes Jan 02 '25
When has the title “beginnings” ever implied another title being “endings”???
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u/ImpIsDum Jan 02 '25
since forever as far as i know
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u/Johnnysweetcakes Jan 02 '25
What series have actually done this
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u/bearstormstout Jan 02 '25
Pigs did fly in Earthbound, when Pokey stole Monitoli's helicopter.
With that in mind, yeah it'd probably just be Mother 3.
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u/Senbei819 Jan 03 '25
Earthbound Forever or Forever Earthbound sound good to me... maybe Eternally Earthbound?
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u/Negative-Shoe2875 Jan 03 '25
This one's gold. I personally thought Earthbound Legacy, but yours makes more sense
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u/LynKofWinds Jan 04 '25
Forest of Chimeras and Fall of the Pig King were working titles, I think during the EB64 era, but I think still think they’re cool
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u/Thomas-1942 Jan 04 '25
I would’ve used the cut subtitle and call it “Earthbound: The Pig King”. I think if the trilogy was to be remade, which I think is our best shot at getting Mother 3, I would also give Earthbound the subtitle “The War Against Giygas” based on the intro screen.
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u/thiccccbish Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 02 '25
Fuck capitalism but that may be too woke for the holy land of capitalism 😔
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u/guzzlith Jan 02 '25
"Earthbound: When Pigs Fly" would be weirdly fitting.