Around "Mother 3" 2006 release, Itoi stated that he had no plans to make "Mother 4", which he has reaffirmed repeatedly. Itoi has said that, of the three, he had the strongest drive to create the first "Mother" video game, and that it was made for the players. He made the second game as an exploration of his personal interests, and wanted to run wild with the third. While reflecting on "Mother 3" 2000 cancellation, Itoi recounted the great efforts the team made to tell small parts of the story, and felt this was a core theme in the series' development.