“Ah! MOTHER! MOTHER! MOTHER!”

These were the first words exclaimed in reaction to MOTHER 64’s video reveal at Shoshinkai 1996. Broadcasting for an episode of Game Catalogue II, Hikaru Ijuin and his host interviewed series creator Shigesato Itoi about the footage. The first thing they noted was how different this MOTHER looked; with lush 3D environments, and a much more epic tone. 

Gone were the iconic hippies and greaser gangs of previous entries, with the (then called) Pig Warrior Army now standing as the main threat to Lucas and friends. The entire worldview was replaced too, now being presented in what seemed to be a much more agricultural setting!

Itoi admitted to Ijuin this was all intentional: “I was hoping to include it (at Shoshinkai) in a way no one would notice. But people started going, “Hey, wait! That’s MOTHER!”

That incredible sense of excitement was shared amongst all who witnessed MOTHER 64’s debut. 64 Magazine wrote, “Gone is the world and atmosphere of the second game. MOTHER 64 has a more hard-edged game environment.” As expected, most media publications focused on the massive graphical upgrade the series was receiving. Planet 64 described the visuals as, “incredibly detailed and a graphical style on its own.”

Starting in 1997, Shoshinkai was then rebranded to “Spaceworld.” The development team announced MOTHER 64  would be playable at the event on November 21st. In the October issue of Dengeki Nintendo 64, a message was relayed from the graphics team:

“We still have a long way to go before MOTHER 3 is ready for the November show, as there are one or two technical challenges to overcome. Hopefully, we can exceed expectations!”

In the following pages, a discussion was published between the MOTHER 64 Performer Contest Selection Committee. Among its members were Atsushi Kakuta (Director), Toshinao Aoki (Enemy Designer), Benimaru Itoh (Art Director) and Shigesato Itoi!

Towards the end of trying to decide a winner of the contest (who would become an NPC in the game), the committee began to discuss progress on the Spaceworld ‘97 demo. Kakuta claimed seven programmers were at work creating the demo, hoping to showcase the flow of combat. One thing that crossed Itoi’s mind was how to communicate the demo’s restrictions to the player:”It’s more interesting to have fun with things rather than just say, “you can’t go beyond this point.” Maybe you (Itoh) could create a character called the “Game Eraser Machine” for the event?” 

Alas, with Spaceworld ‘97 only being a month away, the team was unable to reach the deadline in submitting a demo. An apology was issued in the included brochure:

“While it is unfortunate, this time the exhibition was only a video introduction, but development is progressing. We will surely be able to give everyone more detailed information in the near future. Stay tuned!”

Just like the previous year, a video was put on display in a sizzle reel of upcoming games. Many of MOTHER 64’s key elements were first shown here, including: 

• Flint, the intimidating looking, yet soft-hearted father of Lucas and Claus.
• The monstrous two headed kraken of Great Scale Village.
• The Pig Warrior Army’s dismal “Clayman” Factory.
• The battle system and its “sound battle” mechanic.

The video was made available in a company report sent to Nintendo investors, but wouldn’t make its way overseas until E3 1998 in North America. Simply dubbed “EarthBound,” the few publications that covered the footage were impressed. Computer and Video Games Magazine declared it “the best looking RPG ever,” blowing Final Fantasy VII and its SNES predecessor out of the water. Unfortunately, no Spaceworld was held in 1998 due to a lack of software. During this period, MOTHER 64 shifted from a disk title over to cartridge – due to both manufacturing and development issues. However, next year at Spaceworld ‘99, a full fledged demo would finally make its debut!