Mother 3, the celebrated final part of the EarthBound trilogy (as it's known in the West), is available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in Japan.
As of 21st February 2024, the 2006 Game Boy Advance title is available as part of the Switch Online service's library to anyone with a subscription at the Expansion Pack level — even if you're not in Japan, although accessing it without a Japanese Nintendo Account requires jumping through some hoops.
In this guide, we'll show you how to access Mother 3 on Switch wherever you happen to be in the world.
How to play Mother 3 on Switch Guide
First, remember — it's in Japanese
Before we get into it, please be aware that while you can access and play Mother 3 on any Nintendo Switch system with an active Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription, the game will remain in Japanese regardless — Mother 3 is not playable in English on Switch.
The game was never officially released outside of Japan, and while an excellent fan translation exists, an official English localisation has yet to see the light of day. So, while you're able to play it, you'll need a working understanding of Japanese to understand its quirky, rich, heartfelt writing (or a lot of patience to translate it on the fly using your translation tool of choice).
How to access Mother 3 on Switch outside Japan
First, you'll need two things: An active Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription, and either:
an existing Japanese-region Nintendo Account, OR
a Nintendo Account of any region with no Switch eShop balance or pre-orders attached
