In November 2019, Shigesato Itoi was interviewed about Iwata-San (localized in English as Ask Iwata), a book published by Hobonichi that compiles the words of Satoru Iwata. Itoi talks about his time with Iwata and explores what MOTHER 4 could’ve been like, even though he wouldn’t make another MOTHER game himself.

The following is a translation of a selection from the Weekly Playboy website on November 8, 2019 that features an interview with Shigesato Itoi. This translation is by Kody NOKOLO. Please credit MOTHER FOREVER and Kody NOKOLO if you report or repost this translation.

Iwata-san passed away four years ago, so why publish a book about him now?

— Itoi-san, you supervised Hobonichi’s publication of a book, Iwata-San: As Satoru Iwata Would Have Told It, which went on sale in July of this year (2019).

This book is about former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who passed away in July 2015 at fifty-five years old, and who we’ve spoken with in past interviews. Why publish a book like this four years after his death?

Itoi: We never forgot what Iwata-san did. Even after he passed away, his words would permeate our daily lives, and Nintendo fans didn’t seem to forget him, either. So, we compiled the words of Iwata-san into this book.

But, right after his passing, we were mourning him, so it didn’t seem right to go ahead and sell something like that. We thought that the feelings of Iwata-san’s family should come before all else when deciding to do it. 

I handed the book to Iwata-san’s wife and she basically said, “I don’t think I would’ve been able to read something like this a year ago.” That meant four years was the perfect amount of time to wait.

— Speaking of Iwata-san, he was a big-time game creator and producer. I’d like to know more about when you both met to develop MOTHER 2.

Itoi: That’s right. When the development of MOTHER 2 was falling apart, Iwata-san, who was the president of HAL Laboratory at the time, came in to support us as a programmer.

Right away, Iwata-san suggested to me, “It would take two years to adjust everything in the state it’s in now. If I just rebuild it from scratch myself, I could have it done in half of a year.”

— Just hearing those words makes it seem like that was a very heavy atmosphere…

Itoi: It was actually fine. In hindsight, that wasn’t overconfident (laughs). 

After that proposal, I thought, “who is this guy?” I trusted my team enough to let them choose what to do, and they understood right away. Even the first time I met him, I believed in what he said.

— So, you chose to finish it in half a year.

Itoi: When Iwata-san first started working, he was able to fix each of my team’s tools. That was surprising. Thanks to his help, we recovered and had a higher morale. The entire team was thankful. Iwata-san was someone that wanted to make people happy. I think he wanted to make people he worked with and the customers who played his games happy.

I think Iwata-san and I had a lot in common since I’m the type of person that will leave whatever I’m doing behind to make someone happy, too. From the perspective of our team, him and I would come up with these great ideas, and we’d hear them think, “How did you think of something so interesting!?” Iwata-san might have been the most fun to work with.

— You two seem to work in similar ways, so I guess you worked together well.

Itoi: Whenever I’d meet with him, I’d talk to Iwata-san for so long (laughs). I’d talk about whatever I was thinking about, and we’d just keep talking. Back when we were able to talk together, I thought of him as my best friend.

It’s a gift from myself. And, MOTHER 4 could’ve been about love.

— For the MOTHER series, the final bosses were the backbones of its story. They were heart-wrenching.

Itoi: They really were. You wouldn’t want a young player to feel that kind of thing, right? Like a textbook about happiness, a game is a collective of the person who made it.

When it comes to the MOTHER series, I think of it as a kind of “gift” from myself. 

— I haven’t heard either way yet, are you working on MOTHER 4 now, Itoi-san!?

Itoi: Oh… I think it would be fun to make.

— Huh!?

Itoi: I wouldn’t make it (laughs). But, if it happened now, I think it would be in a different way. I’d like it to feature a love story. …But I wouldn’t make it (laughs).

— Well, why would a love story fit well for MOTHER 4?

Itoi: Even if it were ever done as a love story, I wouldn’t make it (laughs). It’s a pretty ordinary feeling that still leaves more to be explored. Like, take songs for example. There’s more to love songs that make them famous. So, that theme of romantic love would definitely be at the heart of it. 

Although I’m emphasizing the idea now, I still wouldn’t make it (laughs). That’s how I’d imagine it from my perspective in retirement.