Being immortalized through a video-game is a surreal honor very few get to experience. One of the most famous examples often cited is the Chris Houlihan room from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but little do most MOTHER fans know that MOTHER 3 was nearly added to the list!

Featured below is a snippet from the MOTHER 3 Times Volume 3, where the game’s producer Shigesato Itoi, Atsushi Kakuta (Director), Toshinao Aoki (Enemy Designer) and Benimaru Itoh (Art Director) got together to review applications for the Spaceworld ’97 “MOTHER 3 Performer Contest.” This small portion focuses on an application from a certain individual who made a huge impression, but sadly did not end up winning the contest:

Itoi: The person who sent me a bunch of photos of himself and told us about his life story is amazing. He used to wear a Mohawk, but then got a job and found a girlfriend.

Aoki: That person’s letter is really amazing, isn’t it?

Itoi: It’s so many pages long…it’s something that couldn’t be captured with a single face, but an attempt would be interesting. Maybe something along the lines of a “special award.”

Aoki: If we were to use his face, would it have to be for an NPC?

Itoi: I don’t think you can make an enemy out of him. Don’t enemies have to be killed after all?!

Itoh: Yeah, wouldn’t you hate it if you were killed? I’m sure they’d say, “this isn’t what I expected!”

Itoi: On the other hand…I do love to betray expectations like that (laughs.)

However, that’s not the end of the story…as two decades later, this exact applicant had the chance to reflect on almost being in MOTHER 3!

Below is a translated version of a 2020 interview with the above applicant for the “MOTHER 3 Performer Contest” from 25 years ago, who goes by the name MT. The original interview was conducted by the Japanese media site Netlab. Please check out the original link below, and enjoy the interview!

I knew about this project at the time and wanted to send an application, but I wasn’t confident about my face, so I couldn’t send one in. Why did you apply for this project, MT?

MT: When I first saw the photos in the magazine, I thought it would be impossible for me to apply because my face isn’t unique enough. But then I remembered I had a photo of me with a Mohawk, so I decided to send in an application.

So you just happened to have a photo of you with a Mohawk?!

MT: I insisted it was made in Photoshop since I didn’t want my relatives or co-workers to find out, but it’s a real photo. The reason I had a Mohawk is because I was really addicted to Street Fighter II at the time and played Zangief in that game. I was in my second year of college and wasn’t looking for a job just yet, so during the summertime I thought, “Huh, well let’s do something I can spend my time with right now.” So, I grew a Mohawk and broke out into the fighting game scene. I was later told by a complete stranger that there was a Street Fighter II player with a Mohawk around, so I guess it became an urban legend in the region (laughs.) 

I’m sure you would’ve won if they were hosting a Zangief contest. In the article from that time, Itoi-san commented, “The person who sent me a bunch of photos of himself and told us about his life story is amazing...” But, do you remember what you said in the letter you sent him?

MT: I’m not sure if the odds were really in my favour, but I sent an application anyway because I thought I could leave an impact. I also wrote in the letter that I chose to send the Mohawk photo because an ordinary one wouldn’t suffice, and how I started dating Ayako Katagiri from “Tokimeki Memorial” (who is now my wife) after I grew a Mohawk.

I see. I’m more interested in the crossover where Zangief and Ayako Katagiri got married, but that’s getting away from the main topic at hand! So getting back to it, how did the judges react?

MT: It was worth the effort to write all about myself, because it left a great impact on all the judges. I’m glad they talked all about it in the planning and selection articles. However, it seems maybe my character came across “too strong” so in the end I wasn’t chosen. But yeah, I feel like I won on the inside just from being a conversation topic.

I’m assuming you were eating up any piece of information about MOTHER 3 on the Nintendo 64 like we all were back then. But, how much do you remember from the content and articles of that time? 

MT: Nowadays, I only faintly remember it. Nonetheless, I remember being excited at the time because it seemed like it was going to be a really innovative experience on the advanced N64 hardware. Of course, we don’t know what it would’ve been like, but I do feel remnants of it can be felt in the final scene of the GBA version.

I have a lot of memories of that final scene. It certainly would’ve left the same impact too… it’s a huge shame that the N64 version never came out. So did you end up playing the GBA version yourself? 

MT: I did play it! Generally I’m not a fan of turn based RPG battles, but in MOTHER 3 I was bumping into all the enemies just to read every single post box on Tanetane Island. Each line was oozing with Shigesato Itoi’s signature writing style, and I savored every word of it. As the tagline says, it was “strange, funny, and heartrending.” Although it’s a vastly different game from MOTHER 2 with a more visceral approach, I do think it’s a unique masterpiece made with the same artistry that defines the MOTHER series. 

Yes! That’s absolutely right. After all, MOTHER 3 is my favourite…

Of course, seasoned MOTHER fans are familiar with the applicant who did end up winning the contest – Hiroki Mukodani! Although efforts were made to locate him by Netlab, they were unable to find his whereabouts. It seems like after all these years, he’s still lost somewhere in MOTHER 3 Land. Hopefully one day he’ll be found just like MT was!

Source to original Japanese article