On this day 15 years ago, the latest entry of the MOTHER series made its debut in the world of RPGs!

Indeed, the Game Boy Advance MOTHER 3 is now 15 years old since its release within Japan. Acting as a loose follow-up to Earthbound (i.e. MOTHER 2), the game saw players in the shoes of a new child with budding psychic powers – named Lucas. Like a majority of the series, MOTHER 3 would see players fighting and meeting a colorful cast of weirdos, as they guide Lucas and his party to save the world.

Sadly, MOTHER 3 has still not seen a release outside of Japan to this day, unlike its predecessors Earthbound or Earthbound Beginnings (i.e. the original MOTHER). The only way to play the game in English right now is through unofficial fan-translations. This infamous lack of an official localization has become such a recurring gag that even Nintendo poked fun at it during E3 several years ago:

Nevertheless, Lucas and MOTHER 3 are still beloved by Nintendo and RPG fans worldwide – thanks in part to his debut as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii console. Currently, Japanese planner Hobonichi is also celebrating the entire MOTHER series with a bunch of exclusive merchandise. We can only hope that Nintendo and the series’ creators can find it in themselves to give the game an official western release in the future.

Happy 15th Birthday, MOTHER 3!