Mother 4 Is Thankfully an Oddity Now

The Mother/Earthbound series wasn’t one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, but the RPGs garnered an extremely vocal and dedicated audience over the years. The series was created and directed by Shigseato Itoi, the earliest installments in which lionized classic American suburban culture. The American-style townships in the first two games were unique settings for Japanese RPGs then, a genre that relied heavily on medieval fantasy (and fantasy-ish) locales at the time. The setting aside, it was the appealing gameplay, characters, and overarching story that helped place them among the most memorable classic RPG experiences. Mother 3 took place on Nowhere Islands, but still inherited key features that made the series’ installments memorable.

It’s a shame the series didn’t become popular in western territories until years after the last installment was made. Earthbound sold badly on Super Nintendo in the US, partly because of their misfire of a marketing campaign. It scared Nintendo of America from localizing Mother 3, though it fortunately received a damn good fan translation. But they realized how popular it was by the time they localized the original NES/Famicom Mother as Earthbound Beginnings in 2015. They apparently still don’t feel it’s enough to officially localize or, I don’t know, remake Mother 3. They sure love referencing it, though.

Itoi is done making video games these days. He didn’t deny the potential existence of a fourth, but if one happens, he won’t be part of it. So, an indie team took it upon themselves to make a replacement, to the point of naming it “Mother 4.” It looked nice, but the name didn’t sit well for good reason.

Merely calling it Mother 4 set high expectations for the project, given the pedigree it would have to live up to, an easy way to raise skepticism. Other fans felt it was simply wrong for a small western developer to make a game bearing this name instead of a team helmed by Itoi himself or a director anointed by him. Besides those factors, there was always a good chance Nintendo would send the team a cease and desist letter. Nintendo is very protective of their IPs. They won’t let fans do anything with them, even if it’s free, and likely planned to come for this when its production got too far.

The team always claimed to have plans to change the name in the event of such a letter, but they’ve fortunately gone through with the change already. The developers confirmed the new name at the end of a teaser released for the new year: Oddity. The name sounds bizarre when you first hear it, but the Mother/Earthbound games were hardly conventional. But it fits its setting, an urban fantasy set in the 1970s.

The main character here is 13-year-old Tavis Fields, who vows to save the world. He starts with a baseball bat and pellet gun, but realizes he’s developing special powers that will assuredly help him. He’ll be joined by three other kids: Meryl, Floyd, and Leo. Together, they’ll discover why demons are suddenly popping up in their town, and why a secret society known as the “Modern Men” exists.

Oddity’s sprites were always good-looking, but the new trailer put into perspective just how timeless good sprite work can be. The Mother inspiration for the characters, enemies, and backgrounds still couldn’t be clearer given the character design style, but they’re nonetheless distinct enough that they, like the entire game now, have an identity of their own. It’s more “inspired” than “rip-off.”

It’s remarkable to consider just how long the team has been working on this project. They started development mere years after Mother 3 released in Japan, based on how there was a working pre-alpha version from 2009. It was officially announced in October 2010, and first planned for a winter 2014 release. The game, of course, didn’t come close to making that date. The team is clearly dedicated to the project given how they’re still ardently working on it over a decade after it first started development, which will hopefully be reflected in its quality.

One element working in their favor these days is how the perception of indie titles has changed in the last decade. It was a little difficult to believe that a small team could make even a halfway-decent Mother-inspired game in 2010, even though there were several indie projects releasing around that time. But several other developers have shown how it’s possible to make good Mother-inspired games. Undertale from Toby Fox is one of the biggest, but notable others include Citizens of Earth and LISA: The Painful. Oddity will ideally be among the better examples.

We’ll find out when we’re able to play it — whenever that will be. The Oddity teaser says it will release “when it’s ready,” meaning it’s still a while off. From what I can see, the team still intends to release this as a free game, but there wouldn’t be a problem with them charging for it now given all the work they’re putting into it. Hopefully it won’t go dark again.