History YMMV / MOTHER3

* MisBlamed: Nintendo often gets railed at by fans for not releasing this game in America and the rest of the world. Except the game is a landmine of licensing issues, from the direct AC-DC parody to riffs from popular shows. Additionally, it was released near the end of the Game Boy Advance's lifespan, and sales in Japan were somewhat lackluster.[[note]]This game was released in 200''6''. The Nintendo DS was released in 2004, and by 2006 had already established itself on the international markets, with stores beginning to phase out Platform/GameBoyAdvance titles as early as late 200''5''.[[/note]] Not to mention the fact that ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' itself was a commercial failure at the time, which likely soured any attempt made. This doesn't stop the fans, though, including one memorable instance where [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] himself claimed it would sell better than ''VideoGame/MarioKart''.

** King P [[spoiler:is Porky Minch]]. It has long become common knowledge, especially after his appearance as a boss in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''. Ditto the Masked Man, [[spoiler:pretty much everybody knows he's Claus]].

** Just like [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]] with his purple eyes, Lucas is almost always drawn with blue eyes in fanart. This is due to his appearance in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' giving his BlackBeadEyes blue irises at the bottom. While, Lucas's model in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' onwards no longer includes this detail, fans still draw him with blue eyes.

** 90% of fanart where the Masked Man[[spoiler:/Claus]] is unmasked, he will have mismatched eyes [[spoiler:on the basis that Claus lost his left eye in the battle with the Mecha-Drago and when reconstructed as the Masked Man, it was replaced with an artificial red one]]. Some also think that he had [[spoiler:lost his arm]], given the presence of his ArmCannon.

** An [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMROw_0HSnI unused track]] is commonly believed to be Giyga's theme, which is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cDsiN7hOg8 supported by several unused backgrounds]] that look very much like Lucas and [[spoiler: Claus]] in addition to some placeholder enemies, and both the backgrounds and enemies are believed to be an unused boss fight against Giygas. WordOfGod however claims that the final battle was always intended to be [[spoiler:brother against brother]], and that the final battle was originally going to be darker than in the final game. The "unused Giygas" theory turned out to be disproven, when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8_huZmO0aQ a video was released showcasing an alternate version of the final battle]], showing that the unused backgrounds were intended to be used for the final Masked Man fight. The unused music and its intended purpose however, remains a mystery to this day.

** The Barrier Trio, a BarrierChangeBoss that has a strong physical defense stat and is immune to all but one element of offensive PSI once their Barrier Poses go up. They possess several strong PSI attacks of their own, up to PK Starstorm. Their battle theme also has a [[UncommonTime nonstandard rhythm]].

** The Masked Man. He hits incredibly hard with both physical and PSI attacks (including the aforementioned PK Love), uses two attacks per turn, has a ton of HP, and a battle theme like the Barrier Trio's, but with a little skip just to mess with your rhythm. And don't even try of using shields against him - he'll instantly dispel them with the Shield Killer, before hitting you with a PK Love Gamma to rub it in.

** Mr. Genetor has a ton of HP, deals CollisionDamage when hit with a physical attack, and has a Discharge Zap attack that deals massive thunder damage to the whole party. Unless you bought lightning-resistant rubber coats from the vending machine in King P's playroom, you'll be in for a world of hurt against him.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Well, [[SilentProtagonist a lot of characters]], but a few special mentions go to:

** Claus and Fuel being best friends is a near-universally accepted headcanon, despite the two never interacting on screen. There ''is'' some basis to this though as their fathers Flint and Lighter are very close friends themselves.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Do not say that the Magypsies are the sole reason the game was never officially localized outside of Japan. While there are experienced analyzers that have come to this conclusion, Nintendo has never made an official statement confirming or disconfirming this. That they are firmly on the good side [[spoiler: (with the exception of one)]] makes them some of the better (if flawed) depictions of queer characters in a Nintendo game.

* {{Fanon}}: 90% of fanart where the Masked Man[[spoiler:/Claus]] is unmasked, he will have mismatched eyes[[spoiler:on the basis that Claus lost his left eye in the battle with the Mecha-Drago and when reconstructed as the Masked Man, it was replaced with an artificial red one]]. Some also think that he had [[spoiler:lost his arm]], given the presence of his ArmCannon.

* MisBlamed: Nintendo often gets railed at by fans for not releasing this game in America and the rest of the world. Except the game is a landmine of licensing issues, from the direct AC-DC parody to riffs from popular shows. Additionally, it was released near the end of the Game Boy Advance's lifespan, and sales in Japan were somewhat lackluster.[[note]]This game was released in 200''6''. The Nintendo DS was released in 2004, and by 2006 had already established itself on the international markets, with stores beginning to phase out UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance titles as early as late 200''5''.[[/note]] Not to mention the fact that ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' itself was a commercial failure at the time, which likely soured any attempt made. This doesn't stop the fans, though, including one memorable instance where [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] himself claimed it would sell better than ''VideoGame/MarioKart''.

* SacredCow: While it was always a ContestedSequel in its home country, for the first five years after the release of the FanTranslation, the game was widely considered by western audiences to be one of the greatest video games ever made, to the point where any attempt at criticizing it was harshly looked down upon. This eventually dissipated during TheNewTens after ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' finally got its first official re-release outside of Japan via UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole. The NewbieBoom brought about by this resulted in an influx of people unfamiliar with the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series' high regard, leading to them being more willing to scrutinize both this game and its predecessor.

* CommonKnowledge: At the end of the game, someone tells Kumatora that she looks cute when she cries. Many people believe that Duster is the one saying this despite the game not giving any hints as to who it actually is.

** Many players catch on to the {{foreshadowing}} regarding the fact that [[spoiler:the Masked Man is Claus]]. Yet the final battle still impacts many players, regardless if they caught on to TheReveal. Same goes for [[spoiler:Porky]], especially if you've played ''[[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 EarthBound]]'' beforehand. To be fair, the creator mentioned he would be in the game ''way'' before it actually got published.

%% * MoralEventHorizon: If some fans didn’t think he crossed it back in [[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}, then they think [[spoiler:Porky Minch]] crossed it with the ''very first action he partakes in'' by [[spoiler:being responsible for the creation of the chimeras, and by that extent, Hinawa's death]]. Others think he crossed with the reveal of [[spoiler:what he did to Claus]].

** Kumatora's waitress alter-ego gets named Violet instead of Yoshikoshi, and Duster's name when he's with the DCMC [[ShoutOut is]] [[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}} Lucky]] instead of Tamekichi. Their aliases were changed because their Japanese names were too long to enter into the naming screens in English.

* FairForItsDay: The Magypsies today have been criticized for embodying various [[CampGay negative stereotypes]] associated with gender-nonconforming people, on top of looking like mocking caricatures of Drag Queens that are often used to mock UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} people. However, not only were they added in according to Itoi to give representation of his gender non-conforming friends at the time, but it's worth noting that the game still portrays the Magypsies as nice and likable characters who are allies to the heroes, have slightly distinct personalities, and are largely crucial to the plot. Also, while the game itself ''does'' describe the Magypsies as "strange, but well intentioned", which some feel holds UnfortunateImplications, none of the other characters ever really outright talk bad about the Magypsies.

%%* EsotericHappyEnding: [[GainaxEnding Well, that's]] ''[[ApocalypseWow one way]]'' [[BreakingTheFourthWall of looking at it]].

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Funnily enough, this game is far more universally praised internationally than in Japan. See the ContestedSequel entry above. Also, the international fanbase of the series in general is constantly growing with younger fans who weren't even alive when the first two games came out, [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros in no small part due to]] Ness's and Lucas's inclusion in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games. By contrast, Japanese fans of the series aren't really united into a fanbase and mostly consists of people who remember the games from when they were originally released. International fans often assume that the series has a fanbase in Japan comparable in size and nature to theirs, but this is not the case.

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: There are loads of theories about that freaking doorknob. The people at starmen.net are insane. The best one is it's a metaphor for happiness. Funnily enough, it made sense. In an interview shortly after the original Japanese release of the game, Itoi hinted that he [[TheWalrusWasPaul included the doorknob specifically to see all of the crazy interpretations people would invent]]. One in particular he liked was that the doorknob is meant to be the doorknob to the world of ''Mother 3'', and you can use it to go back any time on it.

** The scene where Lucas is in the hot spring with Ionia, the [[WholesomeCrossdresser Magypsy]]. It cuts to black, and Ionia says things like "Don't struggle" and "Just endure it for a little bit", it can be interpreted the wrong way. Although given the game's darker and more mature themes, the symbolism of a fever awakening inside you might very well be intentional.