http://starmen.net/ebvc/

Apparently there are legal issues preventing the game from being released, due to the fact that the music apparently references/rips-off a great many real bands (Mother itself being named after a John Lennon song, it is fitting), and that makes NoA lawyers rather antsy. They had requested to modify those parts of the game, but Nintendo Japan was rather intransigent about the whole thing, refusing, for some unknown reason, for the game to be modified for a legal hassle-free release in the States

Also the ESRB rating that everyone cited as proof of its arrival was apparently a mistake

boo for lawyers

Aren't there laws protecting parodies?

dam ...to many stupid suers in the states

That's a good question. Parody is a legal grey area, though, especially in music i would think. But that is a good question. Of course, all this is based on an inside source that Starmen apparently has with NoA, so its credibility isn't entirely there

that sucks, this game should be on VC.

There is but you can't sell a parody claiming it's your own. In the case of Earthbound, Nintendo must be claiming rights on all the music.

It sucks because Nintendo at heart isn't a kid friendly company (Earthbound has a lot of twisted themes into it) but they need to keep that image in America. That's because of our stupid news network that fears anything related to video games (remember Mortal Kombat, Hot Coffee, etc.)?

It's legal to parody something in the US however it's also legal to file suit in the US for no actual reason. So if Nintendo estimates maybe half a million or less in profits due to VC sales the potential legal fees involved might not make it worthwhile.

sigh.......God damn it......

Ya imo that's bs. It wasn't a problem in 1995, and it shouldn't be a problem now.
Key word, "shouldn't." It seems now a-days people/companies just go sue-happy to make a quick buck.