Ever since I found the Starmen.net community (then Earthbound.net) a decade ago, I've been amazed by both the devotion and productivity of the insane (in a good, fun way) Mother/Earthbound fans who call the site home. Since the beginning of Starmen.net, the community has certainly been through its ups and downs, from the disappointment of Mother 3's original cancellation to the elation caused by the announcement that the game was in the works for the Game Boy Advance--then, back to disappointment again when we found out Nintendo had no intention of publishing it here. The Mother 3 translation released last October was unquestionably the group's biggest labor of love; thanks to talented superhumans like Tomato, we Earthbound fans were given a complete localization of a fantastic game far more polished than the work produced by so-called professionals.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Mother 3 translation now has a bit of competition in the category of "most ambitious, insane, and amazing Earthbound projects to reach completion:" now that I finally have the Mother 3 Handbook in my hands, it's impossible to decide what work is more mind-blowing.
One thing that must be stressed about the Mother 3 Handbook is that it's just as good, if not far better, than just about any professionally-made guide on the market--though, this isn't too surprising, given the amount of time it took to write and the people involved in the Handbook's creation. While the Handbook takes a few design cues from Earthbound's pack-in strategy guide, Fangamer's take on Mother 3 is really in a league of its own. I finished playing through the game on my own back in January, but I've been reading the guide on and off like a traditional book; the little details about characters, events, and locations added by the guide's contributors are entertaining and interesting regardlless of reading context--though I am planning on another playthrough with the guide by my side this summer, when it's open season on free time.
Really, if you're a fan of Mother 3, or just plan on playing it one day, you owe it to yourself to pick up the Handbook. Mother 3 isn't a game that necessarily needs a strategy guide, but the Handbook still adds a lot to an already amazing experience. And if my endless fawning hasn't convinced you, take a look at the following commercial produced by the cranstastic people over at FanGamer.
Related Links:
The Mother 3 Strategy Guide: Fandom Done Right
Some Games Nadia Played In 2008 Instead of Working: Mother--Awwww...
Mother 3's Soundtrack Disassembled