The two-part and nine-year development of Mother 3 took place between 1994 and 2006 with a three year gap in-between, and spanned four consoles and multiple delays. Following the commercial success of its predecessor, Mother 2 (EarthBound outside of Japan), Mother series creator Shigesato Itoi was given the previous game's development team. Inspired by Super Mario 64, the team set out to create an unprecedented 3D game that ultimately exceeded the capabilities of the platform and changed their console focus from the Super Famicom to the Nintendo 64 and its 64DD magneto-optical drive expansion peripheral, for which it was expected to be a 1998 launch title. Upon the commercial failure of the 64DD, it was converted to the cartridge-only format. Itoi thought of the game's concept during Mother 2's development and built a 12-chapter story with player-characters that rotated between chapters. Having been a producer during Mother 2, Itoi served as a scriptwriter during Mother 3's development...