Although Mother 3 was never officially released outside of Japan, in many ways it is almost a synonymous title with the system. Of course the Mother series has had a long history of elusiveness, the release of the third installment in 2006 had American fans holding their breath in anticipation of a stateside release. Of course within a year the GBA would see its demise for all intents. But that certainly didn’t — and hasn’t stopped fans from enjoying a game just as quirky and outstanding as the first two entries in the series.

Fan communities have gone out of their way to create merchandise such as unofficial strategy guides to help players make it through the Japanese release, while another has made an incredible translation of the Japanese ROM so that English-speakers can experience it on a variety of hardware. A half-decade later collector forums are still discussing English translated reproductions of the actual Game Boy Advance cartridges as Vizzed has reproduced here. Further proof that this is one of the handheld’s most important releases.