Like most things Fangamer made—the Mother 3 Handbook, for example, or their sundry t-shirts—this Earthbound-ish get up comes with any number of unique pins, adding additional flair to your Ness cosplaying. There are even ultra-rare pack ins that might net the lucky Earthbound/Mother enthusiast a special yo-yo or badge. On top of that, Fangamer is offering your choice of hat embroidery, further making the combo pack uniquely yours.

There are men and women's sizes of the Awesomeness Combo Pack, both priced at $54. (But there does appear to be some discrepancy about the pre-Halloween availability of the thing. The site says you can rush order a pack as late as Tuesday night, but the rush shipping option appears to be unavailable. Act accordingly!)

Awesomeness Combo Pack [Fan Gamer]

Here's Ness. Since we used "exquisite" already, we'll have to use something else for this guy. "Delightful"? Yeah, that'll work.

Ness Figure [Tiny Cartridge]

Because you can browse and download the book for free. While the luxurious book costs $20, and a hi-res .pdf file of the thing costs $6, there's a low-res version up on Fangamer's website that can be read and, if you're short on can-reading material, downloaded then printed off.

Isn't as nice as the real thing, but then, some of you are cheap bastards.

[Mother 3 Handbook, via Go Nintendo]

Art and design website Tokyo Zokei University has launched a special site to promote its Open Campus event for high school students. The page has a Mother (Earthbound in the West) vibe to it. Very cool.

Zokei University alumni include luminaries like Oscar-nominated director and current Zokei instructor Koji Yamamura (Mt. Head, Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor), mechanical designer Kunio Okawara (Gundam, Votoms, Gaogaigar), manga creator and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Evangelion, Nadia - Secret of Blue Water, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), Sunrise president and producer Kenji Uchida (Zeta Gundam, The Big O, Code Geass), among others.

University's Open Campus Site Includes K-On! Cameos [ANN via Japanator]

Presented as, basically, a strategy guide for the cult Nintendo title (which has never been released in the West), were this from Prima or BradyGames you'd be shocked by the quality and attention to detail. But the fact this is a labour of love, the product of a bunch of super-dedicated fans of the series and, well, it's just simply astonishing.

The book is lavishly detailed with maps, item checklists and tips, along with illustrations of each character/enemy and even shots of some luscious, hand-made Mother 3 statues.

Because it's a strategy guide, I've avoided taking shots of anything too detailed from inside the book, but for a quick taste of what the finished product is like, check out the gallery below.

Like what you see? The Mother 3 Handbook is selling for $20, and is available from Fangamer. Don't know what the hell I'm talking about and have never heard of Mother 3? This should help.

To be exact, the final amount was $1,025.01. For an unopened, store-bought copy of the 1995 classic, is that a steal? We'd say no, but then, as the headline says, Earthbound/Mother fans are crazy.

Crazy in a good way.

Unopened copy of Earthbound sells for over $1,000 on eBay [Go Nintendo]

These Mother 3 clay statues were crafted by Camille Young, the wife of Reid Young, of Starmen fame. They were made for use in Starmen's delicious Mother 3 Handbook, but really, they deserve their own time in the sun.

Mother 3 Handbook [Camille Young, via GameSetWatch]

According to the article, "A surprise, big title is also slated to appear." Below that is a picture of classic Japanese role-playing-game Mother, better known as Earthbound in the West.

Next to the picture is a capture stating that new titles are scheduled for ROID — like perhaps that RPG.

Mother first went on sale in 1989, and was created by Shigesato Itoi, who's a famed copywriter and TV personality in Japan. He also voiced Mei's father in anime My Neighbor Totoro.

In 2006, Mother 3 was released in Japan, but hasn't gotten an official English localization.

Earthbound Central last week threw up a post outlining how many of the game's tunes are catchy little homages to actual, real-world tracks by artists like The Who, Chuck Berry & The Beatles. Not exactly news, since Mother fans will already know of the existence of most, if not all of the midi tributes, but in light of Starmen's rumours it's worth pointing them out.

And remember, those are just the tip of the iceberg; there are renditions of TV show theme songs and even the US national anthem hidden in the game. But it gives you a good idea of why Nintendo may be hesitant over the whole thing. From their point of view, satiating a few thousand Mother fans with a re-release isn't worth the potential broadside of lawsuits from overbearing law firms such a release would invite.

EarthBound Music Similarities [Earthbound Central, via Offworld]

According to the folks at Starmen.net, who might just know everything there is to know about EarthBound and the rest of the Mother series, that rating just wasn't supposed to happen. It was, to be clear, a mistake. A big, soul crushing mistake.

That, combined with legal worries on behalf of Nintendo of America about pop culture references—including song samples from popular, litigation-happy artists—and an unwillingness to alter the game on the side of Nintendo of Japan, make for an unlikely release. We can't imagine you were still holding out hope for Nintendo of America to get on the Mother support train, unless you're incredibly naive, but if so, we'd hope you finally put those hopes aside.

Earthbound (nee Mother 2) "was, and will continue to be, withheld due to legal issues" according to folks at Starmen.net.

That's not confirmed from Nintendo, mind you. But if you're still one of those folks holding a torch for the thing to grace North America's Virtual Console service, we'd suggest distinguishing that torch. How much disappointment can you handle?

(Thanks to every frowning Mother fan who sent this in.)

The Sad Story of EarthBound on the Virtual Console [Starmen.net]

Import a copy of the game, if you can find one. It’s not cool to brazenly pirate stuff! Itoi, Nintendo, HAL, and Brownie Brown worked hard on this game. Can’t find a copy? Consider buying some official merch (below).

Ignore the can't find a copy bit. Buying official merchandise in no way excuses pirating a copy of the game. Honestly I was hesitant to even mention the project due to such concerns, but now an entire page of my email client is filled with Mother 3 subject lines, so there you go.

The Mother 3 Fan Translation [Official Site - Thanks Everyone]

The Entertainment Software Rating Board [Official Site - Thanks Andrew!]

The man responsible for the Mother series of role playing games, known as Earthbound in the West, Shigesato Itoi, has made a handful of appearances on the TV show Iron Chef, poetically evaluating the culinary skills of master chefs from around the world. If you've ever wondered how a famous writer/game designer would judge a vicious bell pepper battle, your curiosity can easily be satisfied by clicking the play button. This clip comes courtesy of the YouTube surveying prowess of the Select Button forums.

This is my personal theory, but all living creatures bear the task of passing down their DNA through reproduction. To reproduce, there's the necessity to show your superiority. The individuals who can do this well are the ones that were able to pass down their DNA... So I think it's natural for us to try to show that we're better than others. That's why we tend to compare our strengths with other people's weakness. This happens in any type of social organizations, such as in companies.

I'm always envious when people show off their really cool game related objects that their partners make for them be it cakes, crafts and other objet d'art. My ex's hatred of video games knew no boundaries and I probably would have received a million dollar check for my birthday before anything game related. So I will sit here and seethe with jealousy over Lauren's sweet Earthbound DS case, lovingly handcrafted in the lost art of needlepoint. The recipient of this awesome gift was her fianc on the occasion of the Baby Jebus' birthday. Congratulations, man, you've got yourself a keeper. Flynn De Marco

Lostmitten's DS case [Wonderland]

You know, it's a testament to how amazing Earthbound is that even something this gleefully incompetent fills me with pining for more innocent, carefree gaming days. I think you probably have to adore Earthbound to get it though: the digging through the trash for food, the battle noises, the simplistic victory crescendo. I just can't wait to see how they handle Mr. Saturn. Florian Eckhardt

Previously: A Mother Film Years In The Making

Back in 1995, Shigesato Itoi's Mother 2 (known as "Earthbound" in the West) was released for the SNES in America. The film made a huge impact on young Robbie and Jeff Benson, who set off to make a feature film of the game. They didn't get very far. One of the Bensons adds:

We hadn't gone far before we gave up. In the last year however, we dusted off the tape and decided to continue the otherwise unsatisfying 3 minute video.

The result is fascinatingly silly and worth a view for the kids' age progression and sensibility shift alone. Plus, the battle scenes are pretty annoying, just like in the Mother/Earthbound games. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Sodoshiraso Blog]

CNET has a bizarre little slideshow of the top-eleven vaporware titles, with the mysterious inclusion of those who are no longer vaporware (Prey is #3). I think someone is confused about the definition of "vaporware", despite the literal definition being pasted above the article itself.

Here're their complete picks:

1. Duke Nukem Forever
2. The Phantom Game Console
3. Prey
4. Starcraft Ghost
5. Sam and Max: Freelance Police (listed as cancelled...whuh?)
6. PlayStation 3 (say what?)
7. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (this is getting ridiculous)
8. Team Fortress 2 (jesus christ)
9. Fallout 3 (I actually hope this is true; I don't want to see Bethesda fuck my sunshine on this one)
10. Earthbound 64/Mother 3

In fact, I think the only actual vaporware items on that list are the Phantom, DNF, and maybe Fallout 3. Although the latter doesn't really count because it hasn't been cancelled or delayed; it's barely even been announced. Get the fuck out of my comic book shop, CNET. Eliza Gauger

See list here [CNET, not sure where I got this link]

Earthbound-like RPG Contact for the DS is odd. It should be. The game is courtesy crazy Japanese game studio Grasshopper Manufacture, who also brought us Killer7. The game is getting English localization thanks to publisher Atlus. Game site Siliconera talked with Tomm Hulett, the game's localization director:

I'm not sure why it didn't do well in Japan, though I do suspect its release just before the highly anticipated Mother 3 had something to do with it. However, Contact's US release will be the only wackiness infusion American Earthbound fans get for a while, so we can at least corner that demographic. I also think most of the DS users in this country are still gamers (as opposed to Japan, where a large majority are non-gamers), so there should be more people who will appreciate the humor featured in Contact. Which isn't to say non-gamers won't enjoy Contact; they totally would.

Is it me or did Tomm contradicted every single thing he said? Regardless, cool game and worth picking up if you are into RPG and even if you're not. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Siliconera]