Mother 3 fan translation

The Mother 3 fan translation was a translation project for Mother 3. It was completed on October 17, 2008. The scripts and translations were written by Clyde Mandelin, and are often praised by many players and professionals. A large amount of time during the translation project was spent on properly displaying sprite text, such as including a variable-width font, and bug-fixes to prevent the game from crashing. During the development of the patch, the translators wrote a development blog detailing their progress in the hacking.

Changes
In addition to text-related changes, graphics hacks were used to maintain continuity with EarthBound, and names were sometimes changed to maintain jokes or features between languages. A beta memo feature was also translated and undummied from the game, and can be accessed by holding the L- and R-Buttons while entering the Status screen. Additionally, sound clips with Japanese phrases were translated and re-recorded by the fan translation team and inserted into the game to make them more accessible to the English-speaking audience.

Hard mode
In the Mother 3 fan translation, when the player is asked for their name, naming themselves HARD MODE significantly raises enemy stats in an effort to make the game harder.