TOKYO--Nintendo's next installment of the Mother role-playing series (known as Earthbound in North America) is finally coming out this spring. Producer Shigesato Itoi revealed on his official site that Mother 3 will be released for the Game Boy Advance on April 20 in Japan. The game's release comes right before Japan's Golden Week period, a string of national holidays and a good period for retail.
The original Mother was released on the Famicom (the Japanese Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1989, and Mother 2 was released on the Super Famicom in 1994. The new project wasn't exactly smooth sailing for producer Itoi, who originally planned to release the game on the Nintendo 64. The N64 project was canceled after six years in development, and in 2003, Nintendo revealed that the sequel would get a second chance on the GBA.