The canned N64 sequel to EarthBound might have been closer to reality than what was previously thought.
The original Nintendo 64 version of Mother 3 was at least 80 percent complete before it was canceled. This information comes from an interview conducted by Shigesato Itoi with Shigeru Miyamoto in 1999 in which the famed Nintendo creator was giving a status update on the then in development title. After commenting on the response from gamers at Space World in 1999, Miyamoto commented that, “It's pretty responsive now. I think it's at about 80 percent currently. Once we got these graphics that were completed a while ago in, tuned it and played it with our own hands I got the feeling that this is different from what we'd make in Kyoto (Nintendo).”
Ultimately, the Nintendo 64 version of Mother 3 was canceled in August of 2000 due to developmental difficulties in the jump from 2D to 3D and Itoi having other projects he needed to complete. It was originally in development for the Nintendo 64DD and then later moved to the Nintendo 64 before it was canceled. The game was reimagined and released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan in April 2006.
