What the heck is this?
Let's be clear about one thing right off the bat: this isn't a fangame (so don't expect to play it!).
MOTHER 3: Tribute is a fan project that celebrates MOTHER 3 by exploring the visual aspects of what a modern, 3D remake of MOTHER 3 could be. Our goal was to develop a visual style, imagine how various systems in the game would be visually represented, and recreate a handful of key moments from the game, free of the constraints of the GBA.
The capstone of the project is a mock game trailer that aims to give a taste of what it might feel like if a real MOTHER 3 remake were to be announced. In addition to the trailer, we've also created a variety of high-resolution promotional renders to further represent our vision of a modern installment in the MOTHER series.
We've painstakingly created dozens upon dozens of assets, including character models, props, environments, and even typefaces and user interface elements, taking great care to capture the essence of the original game. Our hope is that any fan can look at the results of our work and feel that it authentically represents the world of MOTHER 3.
Who the heck made this?
This project was produced by the folks at Curiomatic, though to leave it at that would be grossly insufficient. It may not seem like it at first glance, but the scope of this undertaking was absolutely massive, and it undoubtedly wouldn't have been possible without the brilliant team that we've had the privilege to assemble.
The team comprises nearly 2 dozen creatives from around the globe, including artists, animators, and musicians from all walks of life. Some of us are industry artists who have worked in big game studios, and some are passionate hobbyists. Some of us have been fans of MOTHER for decades, while some were newcomers to the series when they started on this project—though it's safe to say that after working on this project for the past couple years, we're all fans today.
Why the heck did you make this?
It probably goes without saying, but we really love this series. But a lot of people can say that, so it's more than that.
Curiomatic, as a channel, was born out of an obsession with taking beloved characters and worlds—many of which have fallen into obscurity—and inject them with new life by reimagining them in a modern context. We had made plenty of 3D renders of characters in a series called Smashified, and had even dipped our toes in the waters of game development in a series called Game Bites.
But in 2019, we had an idea so big that the only sufficient adjective to describe it would be "stupid."
"What if we made a fake trailer for a MOTHER 3 remake as an April Fools joke?"
As the project began to take shape, we realized that the 15th anniversary of MOTHER 3 was looming on the horizon, so we endeavored to complete the trailer in time to release it on April 20th, 2021—15 years after the original game released on the GBA. As the months wore on, it became clear that our plans were too ambitious, so we settled for releasing a smaller video in April, and resolved to complete the full trailer before the end of 2021. Unfortunately, we didn't quite make it, but it felt almost as poetic to launch the project on the anniversary of the video that jumpstarted our channel.