Japan is getting slightly different titles included with the Super Famicom Classic, such as Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and Konami’s The Legend of the Mystical Ninja. There is one glaring omission.
It is not getting Mother 2, which is included on the SNES Classic as Earthbound.
Mother 2 was originally released in Japan in August 1994 and localized as Earthbound the following year for North America. The Mother games have a cult following in Japan, where Mother 2 previously got a Virtual Console release. It seems like an obvious inclusion for the Super Famicom Classic. People noticed that the game isn’t included!
Japanese site IT Media asked Nintendo why Mother 2 was not included with the Super Famicom Classic. A Nintendo spokesperson said the lineup was created to suit each country, adding, “We cannot comment on individual titles.”
Nintendo added that in selecting the games, it attempted to strike a balance between four factors: Popularity, familiarity, gameplay volume, and appeal to a wide user base.
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