The MOTHER Series Topic (No Crying Until The Lock)

[Soniman]

All right then, guess it's time to see what all the buzz is about.

[Jolt_TH]

All right then, guess it's time to see what all the buzz is about.

Don't you mean all the Buzz buzz

I really need to play this, I've always been interested and have tried... Twice! Everything just seems stronger than me to progress the story or even grind!

[Spin Attaxx]

Behold, a trailer! (skip to 19:02)

 

...well, it's better than the one that originally played in video stores when it first came out.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Spin Attaxx

[Thigolf]

The Beatles reference is still intact! O__O

THat kind of surprises me, but it's very welcome.

[Nintendoga]

I awoke to see people talking about Earthbound and almost had a heart attack thinking a new game was announced.
Tears were shed.
 

All right then, guess it's time to see what all the buzz is about.

Earthbound is pretty fun to play. It ain't like amazing or anything like that, but you'll have a pretty good time experiencing it.

Now if you really want to see what all the buzz is about in the Mother Series

[PSI Wind]

I forgot that I was the one who started this topic. It was a looooooooong road.

[Ravenfreak]

I played through Mother 2 for the first time a few months ago. It was an incredible game, it's a shame that it didn't sell too well here. (But heck it's an expensive game even for today's standards!) Honestly though, The Cave of the Past's theme is so much creepier than Giygas' full battle theme. I have yet to try Mother 1 or 3, however I will do so soon.

[Xenos]

Mother 1 is incredibly dated. It has terrible difficulty balance (even moreso than EarthBound ever did), minimal story in comparison to the sequel unless you play the GBA translation, and it's even more confusing on where to go than in the later games. Using a guide is practically mandatory at several points.

I had the advantage of playing Mother 1 before EarthBound, so I wasn't phased by these differences quite as much as I would been had I played EarthBound first like most people.

Also, here's a tip for anyone who's playing EarthBound the first time. Minor non-story spoilers, but I'm adding the tag just in case people don't want to know, but I still recommend looking into it if you want to avoid making a dumb mistake later on.

There's a point in which the game asks for your name. Input your real name (just your first one). Don't use a nickname or some jokey name. You'll regret it if you do.

 

 

Until my whole name decides to not fit....Xenos is the next best thing.

 

Also, according to this game my favorite food is Meatlo.

[Autosaver]

 

Now I have to picture this every time I play.

[Nintendoga]

Since this thread's bumped, we can also talk about how they created a Mother/Earthbound series announcement community for Miiverse the other day.

Mother 1/3 VC worldwide release incoming.

 

[Chaos Warp]

Since this thread's bumped, we can also talk about how they created a Mother/Earthbound series announcement community for Miiverse the other day.

Mother 1/3 VC worldwide release incoming.

 

MOTHER 3?

 

Is this an actual fact or just speculation?

[Nintendoga]

Speculation.

Although they did announce GBA VC support for Wii-U awhile back, and they did ask a question on Miiverse few days ago "What does Earthbound mean to you?"

Mother 3 VC in Japan is likely, but for the rest of the world, I dunno.

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

So some time ago, in the mid-nineties to be precise, America was blighted with some sort of kiddy RPG named Earthbound for the Super Nintendo. It had crude, un-realistic graphics, it was tremendously childish, and really, to paraphrase one ardent reviewer, it fit better in Ronald McDonald's Playland than it did in the hip video game climate of the nineties. Plus, the advertisement campaign kept telling people the game stunk, which wasn't so great an idea even if it WAS a fantastic pun in-context. Except for a tiny few, most people would forget about Earthbound for a while and all its babby ways.

 

Somewhere along the line, though, something pivotal happened. People started looking closer at it.

 

 

Without a doubt, the MOTHER series comprises some of finest RPGs of all time. Created by Shigesato Itoi, a copywriter by trade, the series is a cult hit in the west thanks to its quirky characters, unique settings, and surprisingly able, deep storytelling, all dressed with fun, easy-going gameplay. As to the individual games, I'll let the fine folks from Starmen.net take over:

 

MOTHER/Earthbound Zero:

 

 

"In the early 1900's, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America. At that time, a young married couple vanished mysteriously from their home."

With those cryptic words begins MOTHER, EarthBound's moodier, more verbose, less scrutable older brother. In 1989 strange things begin happening to a boy named Ninten, who realizes he and his family are more involved in what appears to be an alien invasion than he could possibly have realized.

What follows is a cross-country adventure through the desert, the big city, ominous Mt. Itoi, and a dream world called Magicant. Ninten, a stand-in for the player, learns about friendship, and love, and—well, and singing, while also uncovering the true story of the mysterious disappearance of his grandparents and the strange vendetta of the alien Giegue.

It's famously a slog through random encounters and 1980s gameplay mechanics, but those EarthBound fans with the courage to get past the Podunk graveyard will be rewarded with a surprisingly complex story, an enormous, non-linear world to explore, and a look at characters and concepts that would later be refined or repurposed for the 1994 release of MOTHER's sequel.

 

 

Released for Nintendo's Famicom in 1989, MOTHER's novel setting—a Japanese conception of modern America, not a Japanese conception of medieval Europe—wasn't all that set it apart. Its creator and author, Shigesato Itoi, was an industry outsider, a famous copywriter and professional dilettante. Its musical direction was spearheaded by Keiichi Suzuki, founder of an extremely experimental rock band called Moonriders. Its cute, simplistic characters were designed by the artist Shinbo Minami.

Itoi's minimalist quirkiness, stylized humor, and spare sentimentality resonated immediately with Japan's RPG-hungry gamers, and MOTHER sold over 400,000 copies in its initial release.

 

MOTHER 2/Earthbound:

 

 

In 1995, RPGs were stuck in a rut that Dragon Quest had dug. Most were still set in medieval times, with knights and mages battling mythical monsters with swords and magic. Few games dared to defy this mold until EarthBound (MOTHER 2 as it is known in Japan). No other game was like it, except maybe its prequel, MOTHER, which had not been released outside of Japan. EarthBound introduced, and even today continues to introduce, RPG fans to an entirely different experience.

 

The story is set in the 1990s in Eagleland, a kitschy and romanticized parody of America (perfect lawns and quiet suburbs). No dragons, mystical knights, or staff-wielding wizards appear in this game. You are just an average 13 year old kid from the suburbs...until the night a meteor lands in your backyard. The local wildlife start attacking you, a gang of local hoodlums begins causing trouble downtown, you realize that you have psychic powers, and a mysterious messenger from the future tells you that you are destined to save the world.

 

But, before you face any of this, your mom reminds you to change out of your pajamas.

 

 

Armed with a cracked baseball bat, a lucky charm for protection, and whatever food you can find (including whatever gets thrown into the trashcan outside the burger joint), you begin your quest to stop the evil alien Giygas from destroying the world.

In addition to this, the EarthBound universe draws heavily from pop culture. Some references/hat-tips you might pick up if you're paying attention:

 

*The Beatles

*Chuck Berry

*Monty Python

*Blues Brothers

*Little Rascals

*The Loch Ness Monster

*Stonehenge

*More Sci-fi-Horror B-Movies from the 1950's than you can count

 

The massive success of MOTHER 2 in Japan prompted Nintendo of America to give EarthBound a pretty heavy-duty marketing campaign - posters in video game stores and rental chains, ads in magazines, coupons for $10 off the purchase of the game, and even TV commercials (still pretty rare for video games back in 1995). The best part is that the campaign's slogan was "This Game Stinks."

 

In addition to the marketing materials, the fine folks at NOA poured their heart and soul into one of the funniest and most thorough players' guides ever to come with a game. It even came with scratch 'n sniff trading cards at the back, one of which was a 'mystery scent' (that turned out to be pizza) that you could mail in to Nintendo and get a free air freshener (which bore the image of a pizza man from the game). Even EarthBound's box was an advertisement: instead of a regular SNES game box, EarthBound came in a huge, brightly colored box which held both the game and the free player's guide.

 

Despite the hype and effort, EarthBound did not sell well in America. This was due partially to EarthBound's simple graphics, which weren't designed to push the graphical capabilities of the SNES like other titles of its era (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI). Even today the simple graphics serve as a stumbling block for many potential gamers, but they belie EarthBound's brilliant plot and dialogue.

 

MOTHER 3:

 

 

MOTHER 3, the follow up to the fan-favorite RPG EarthBound(MOTHER 2) and third in the MOTHER series, is an RPG that breaks the mold used by the two previous games in the series. You won't find an imitation of America in this game, but you will find many familiar themes, a wonderfully written diaglogue, a unique cast of characters, a new rhythm-based battle system, and a gripping story described by MOTHER series creator Shigesato Itoi as Strange, funny, & heartrending. By the time you finish MOTHER 3 you will laugh, you will cry, and you won't want it to end.

 

Set in the Nowhere Islands, you start off this adventure on a remote island in an unusually utopian town called Tazmily. The people are friendly. Everyone knows each other. It's a lifestyle that many people can only dream of. But that dream slowly turns into a nightmare when one day explosions set the forest ablaze and the animals become more aggressive. From that on day things are never quite the same in Tazmily. The story unwinds and only becomes more intense as your party progresses through the ever-evolving environment.

MOTHER 3 began its development in the mid-90s. A sign posted in the town of Fourside in EarthBound stated that a meeting was in progress for a sequel. It was more than likely a joke at the time, but there was news of a game in the works slated for the Nintendo 64DD not too long after EarthBound's release. A video and playable demo were unveiled in 1999 at Nintendo's Spaceworld Event. A few screenshots, the demo footage, and two music samples are all that we ever got to see of that unreleased version of the game. It was cancelled due to development problems.

Shigesato Itoi shelved the game, but he didn't abandon the project. When commercials for the Game Boy Advance compilation MOTHER 1+2 started airing in Japan in the summer of 2003 they also included a teaser message stating that a new MOTHER game was in the works for Game Boy Advance. News about the game was slim until the fall of 2005 when Itoi started posting about travelling to work on a project on his website. The place he was going to was the location of development team Brownie Brown. Shortly thereafter Itoi opened a website for the Game Boy Advance version of MOTHER 3 and gave an estimate of the release for the summer of 2006.

 

 

The website, updated weekly, gave glimpses of the game and showed an RPG reminiscent of EarthBound, but clearly a fresh new title. The main character, Lucas, looked eerily similar to Ness, but everything and everyone else seemed completely new. Certain characters unveiled, such as Flint, showed that this game had something in common with the abandoned Nintendo 64 title. It was clear, through comparisons of screenshots, that much had changed in the time since the cancellation of the old title and the development of the new. Exactly how much was changed may never be known.

MOTHER 3 was basically the last hurrah in the Game Boy Advance's life in Japan. The DS was already released, so Nintendo's focus was changing. In that shift, MOTHER 3's localization chances diminished. The poor sales of EarthBound didn't help the situation either. Although the game sold fairly well in Japan and received excellent reviews, Nintendo has shown little interest in releasing the game outside of Japan.

 

 

MOTHER 3 content in Super Smash Bros. Brawl has shown us that Nintendo acknowledges the series, but the removal of the EarthBound demo which was featured in the Japanese version doesn't paint a bright future for the series. In the mean time, a team of dedicated fans have made it their mission to get a professional quality translation of MOTHER 3 to English-speaking gamers denied the privilege of playing this wonderful game. The translation patch, released on October 17, 2008 is currently the only way fans outside of Japan can fully enjoy the game without the assistance of a translation guide. Though the chances may be very slim, if Nintendo does decide to officially give us the game we are waiting for, we will willingly discontinue the distribution of the translation patch.

 

----

 

MOTHER has been a great influence on a number of independent games and works since the fanbase sprung to life, and will more than likely continue to do so in the future. Thanks to the most dedicated fanbase in videogame history, the series is well-preserved and continues to gather new fans even now, nearly ten years since its final game. It's not a series for everyone, of course, but the importance of it is hard to deny. It's a series-wide rags to riches story, and with the release of Earthbound on the Wii U and the return of Lucas to Smash Bros., it's never been a better time to be a fan.

 

And with that we have it. Or rather... we would have it, if fans weren't already hard at work making MOTHER 4, due this June. I told you, these guys are nuts.

 

 

So with all that now said, what are your thoughts on the MOTHER series? 

Edited April 12, 2015 by Diz
Topic Merge: The MOTHER/Earthbound Series -> The MOTHER Series Topic

[Thigolf]

I LOVE the Mother series to death. Probably one of my favorite RPG series of all time - it just hits all the right spots.

 

My first experience with the series was back in 2009 or 2010 (can't remember for sure) - I was checking the first message board I was registered on (a Spongebob one) for old time's sake, and someone made a new Topic in the Videogame section, gushing wildly about a certain Mother series, simultaniously advertising his Let's Play of Mother 3. From the description alone, I was immediately interested, and I checked his LP out. What I got was one of the best experiences in Video games I ever had.

 

Seriously, I adore Mother 3. It's my favorite Videogame of all time, actually. The gameplay, while simple, is still pretty dang fun because the rhythm System, which is just a simply fantastic Addition and I really love the slotmaschine health bar mechanic since it also brought an exciting factor in battle to the table ("Can I keep this character alive in time so they dont have to waste more PP for reviving him?"). It's not the most complex battle System in an RPG, but it is still immensly entertaining and satisfying to me.

 

And then there's the rest of the game - plot, characters, music, design of Areas, enemies and characters etc....All of these incredients mix into the amazing Story and atmosphere that make Mother 3 so endearing - it's just wonderful. Mother 3 sends you through a wonderful rollercoaster of emotions. You will laugh, you will cry, you will guess - it is written so incredibly well, I just adore it. I was devastated, laughing out loud, tearing up, being super angry at the villain's Actions, I had my mind blown - again, it was one of the wildest emotional rollercoasters I had in gaming, some of the funniest and also some of the saddest moments are all in this game. It can be so down-to-earth when it tries to be sad, while being really weird and bizarre at other times to make you laugh at the sheer randomness of things. I also cared immensly for every Major character, heck, even the minor characters like towns People I cared for a lot. Your main Party is so entertainingly diverse - you got Lucas, a pretty average Boy with some psychic powers, the tomboyish princess Kumatora, the handicapped, limping thief Duster and Boney, the dog of Lucas - and that's not even counting the other characters that you play as or join you momentarily when you switch perspectives. That's another Thing I really enjoy: You switch characters throughout the first half of the game, giving you lots of new, interesting angles that you would've never gotten when you would just stick with Lucas all the time, while simultaniously keeping things fresh .The world itself is also really interesting and keeps constantly changing throughout the story, even in places that aren't that important for the plot anymore. There are chapters where you really have to go out of your way to go back to past Locations like the main village Tazmily, but if you do, People will say something different, react to things in the plot that just happened, or went another step in their own, tiny little side story that a lot of the minor characters have - it makes the whole world feel so alive and breathing.

 

I could keep talking about this game for hours. I just adore it through and through, its quirky sides, its heartwrenching sides, all of it.

 

Since I fell so in love with Mother 3, obviously, I tried out the other games in the series, starting with Earthbound. I had a pretty rocky relationship with it in the beginning. Coming from Mother 3, I  expected Mother 2/Earthbound to be similar - which they kind of are, but in many ways also aren't. Let me try to put it this way: Mother 3 is your Mom telling you this super exciting, sometimes crazy story that has you hooked and listening to her for hours, while Earthbound is basically your Mom saying "Go outside and explore! Go nuts!". Earthbound, while still giving you a basic plot line (that is still pretty dang interesting, I might add), is much less story- and characterdriven and has you just - well, go out and explore the wonderful world that Eagleland has in store. Is that worse? Is it better? That's up to everyone - but in the beginning, I was really turned of by that fact. The more simplistic sprite work, no run button and the old battle System (still the Scrolling Slots, but much faster, so you cant react that well anymore, also no rhythm system) also didn't help in that regard - I was just too focused on being disappointed what Earthbound didn't do like Mother 3 instead of focusing what great things those  differences bring to the table. Luckily, the more I played it, the more of an open mind I got, and I could finally accept it for what it was, giving me another fantastically gaming experience.

 

Earthbound is a wonderfully nutty game. Mother 3 had tons of quirky Humor, sure, but Earthbound really cranks it up this time, delivering weird, hilarious line after weird hilarious line. On top of that, it's just a wonderful journey - you really dont need that much plot, the super interesting, unique Environments really keep you going on your own. Most of my drive to play more Earthbound really wasn't that much of fighting bad guys to save the world, but rather just go and see all the wonderful Scenarios that the world has in store - doing a giant Videogame Sightseeing tour! With that approach, I enjoyed Earthbound immensly. The atmosphere of it that often switched between super happy and kind of unsettling (and dont even get me started on the final area...) also always kept you intrigued. The modern, really unique setting, locations and items, along with some really weird, wacky, completely surreal locations was also just tremendously unique and well executed and just leaves you wanting to see more and more... Earthbound is a game you really should just go experience yourself, get your own, special, crazy journey, that will (I can almost guarantee it) leave you super emotional once it is over. Anyone with a Wii U should really give this one at least a try. It's kind of slow in the beginning, but really, it is worth it.

In the end, personally, I prefer Mother 3 a little more, because of the emotional Impact it had on me (though don't get me wrong, Earthbound has super emotional parts too), but that doesnt make Earthbound any less fantastic. Just a wonderful, one of a kind game, that anyone should at least play a little of at least once.

 

And then there is...Mother 1. Okay, Im not too fond of this one. It is a shame, because it has a really, REALLY interesting plot in there. The Problem is: It's an 80s RPG. Like Earthbound and Mother 3, it looks rather simplistic, but this time around, it feels more barebones than simplistic, and the gameplay with its random encounters (and TONS of them) and it being much of a grindfest and really criptic at times really make it too oldschool for me to really enjoy. The plot is really great though. If youre willing to put up with arbitrary 80s design, give it a shot, there is an awesome story buried underneath there.

 

So yeah, I just love those games. It's such a fantastic, charming, unique series, and Im so grateful for being able to experience those games. Thanks, Mr. Itoi. <3

[Celestia]

I love the Mother series. Everything about them appeals to my tastes, particularly in terms of aesthetics (graphics, music, etc.) and writing. The worlds of each game have so much charm that won me over pretty much within minutes of first playing Earthbound, and despite being more "standard RPG setting kind of", I think Mother 3 still managed to be unique in that regard. I mean, come on, you save by talking to frogs.

 

Admittedly I still have yet to play the first game in the series since it...wasn't exactly recommended to me. I think there's a recent fanmade edition that fixes some of the issues or something, so I should get around to trying that I guess and then replay the rest of the series afterwards since it's been a while since I played them!

 

It's a shame the series and it's fans have been through a lot of stuff, and it makes me sad that Mother 3 in particular has yet to get the international release it deserves.

 

Someday...maybe...

 

*prays* ... *prayer is absorbed by the darkness* fr*ck

 

 

 

Anyway, on a happier note, Mother 4 is probably one of the things I'm most excited for at the moment. It looks so great! Fan works these days blow me away, and I hope it lives up to the hype. At the very least, the music is amazing, can't wait to hear more of it.

[Agie]

I honestly only played EarthBound. I want MOTHER 1 and 3 to be released on the Virtual Console so I can finally play them.

[azoo]

I honestly don't know what to say in this topic, but I feel the need to.

 

EarthBound is probably my favorite game of all time. All time. Considering how big I get into Sonic stuff on here and how much I love the best games in this series, for me to give it to that feels like it means something.

 

MOTHER3 isn't far behind either on my charts. That was also fantastic.

 

Ugh, I just don't know what to say other than play them. There's no other way to describe them well enough.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

I honestly don't know what to say in this topic, but I feel the need to.

 

EarthBound is probably my favorite game of all time. All time. Considering how big I get into Sonic stuff on here and how much I love the best games in this series, for me to give it to that feels like it means something.

 

MOTHER3 isn't far behind either on my charts. That was also fantastic.

 

Ugh, I just don't know what to say other than play them. There's no other way to describe them well enough.

[MegasonicZX]

I actually just recently played through earthbound (got it off of club nintendo) and while I did really like it quite a few things really bothered me from time to time (really unfair enemy setups, instant death moves, RNG literally being my only hope half the time) but outside of those I thought the story was really good, the gameplay for all of my niggles with it was a whole lot of fun and good god were the characters and writing perfect, I can't even really begin to describe how much I loved each of the characters and dialogue in this game (especially the runaway gu- I mean five).

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

One thing I love about MOTHER 3 in particular is the way gameplay and story interact with one another. A favorite instance of mine is the Cactus-Wolf fight, or really most of the fights, from Salsa's story. The game's mechanics lead the player to take a support role during the fight, using skills and items while Fassad deals out the damage. Essentially you end up doing a bunch of tricks and just trying to survive as the powerful characters duke it out, all the while pondering just what your place in all this is. That almost precisely sums up Salsa's character on the narrative side of things, and it's fascinating to see how Itoi and everybody managed to put the player so squarely into their character's shoes just using the mechanics. There's a bunch of smaller moments like that in the game, like how characters' movesets inform their personalities and vice-versa, etc.. Simple stuff when you get down to it, but still stuff I love to see in games.

[azoo]

I just wanted to pop in and say that EarthBound has some of the best vg music I've ever heard. Ever. I don't think I've ever played a game where the music/story/visuals all come together and move you that much. MOTHER3 gets there at times and so does MOTHER1, as they both also share that flavor. But EarthBound... I just don't know what it is. It's music is captivating.

 

Also, on a sorta related note, I wanna say something about EB's ending..

 

 

No, really. Major MAJOR spoilers ahead. I sincerely hope you played it before reading this.

I can't tell you completely why, but I bawled like a baby at it.

 

Freaking waterfalls of tears.

 

You may think since MOTHER3 is so dang overwhelmingly sad that I would find that more easy to cry a lot to, but no. For some reason, the entirety of the endgame to EarthBound tears me apart.

 

I think it's the fear you go through. The Cliff that Time Forgot is this massive, foreboding turn in the story line that signifies that shit just got REALLY serious really fast. I mean.. your spirits are practically lobotomized into robots to go the past. Holy shit, dude.

 

Meanwhile, the Cave of the Past's music and atmosphere is simply terrifying. Like, soul shiveringly scary. It's a void of total emptiness, of this disturbing color scheme, and holy god that music. It's unbelievable how scary it is.

 

Then.. of course... the battle.

 

Which is incredibly stressful. You can feel how tense everything is. From the dialogue, to the bg music, to the events going on.. it just continues escalating in tensity. 

 

And then the prayer sequence. Holy shit dude, the prayer sequence is when I felt the tears start coming out of the floodgates. Something incredible about those scenes, and how dang emotional it turns with that.. and then when Paula prays... and it's consumed by darkness... oh my god. Oh my god.

 

Then the final prayer..... your name..... oooohhhhh my goooodddd that shook the hell out of me.

 

With that final hit, let me just say that the last scene of the battle is heartstoppingly tense. Just.. that last scene. With that music loop that constantly is elevating. The distortion into fragmented pieces, and soon white/red noise. Absolutely terrifying in every sense, my heart was racing like effing crazy at that part.

 

Then... it cuts off. Like a TV. 

 

"The war against Giygas.. is over".

 

That whole part. Their souls going to the present. The music. I was bawling. Tears like rain, man. Tears like rain.

 

Everything from there only brought that around even more. The gushy goodbyes, the emotional come back, the letters which tore my heart apart with how bittersweet they were to read... Everything about the game to this point combined with the ending...

 

And then you take Paula home.

 

It's too much, man. It's too damn much.

 

;____; I love this game so much.

[...]

Bumping this topic since I have my share of stuff to say. 

 

I've had my share of exposure to the MOTHER series for years, particularly thanks to the Super Smash Bros. series and Ness being a character in all four games. I knew he was from some sort of game called "EarthBound" but I never payed him any mind, personally hating playing as him in Melee and Brawl. Although, thanks to a lot of people on here talking about how great EarthBound and the rest of the MOTHER games were in general (particular thanks to Azoo!) I finally decided to check out EarthBound for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I'm already loving the heck out of it. Ness is even now one of my mains in Smash 4!

 

The art style is beautiful, the music is catchy and memorable, the battles are fun, and the characters and kooky dialogue are just so infectiously imaginative. I'm going into Twoson soon, and I can't wait to see what lies ahead for me once I start playing more of it once summer vacation starts for me. This is shaping up to already be a great game. Can't wait to play MOTHER 3. Also looking forward to MOTHER 4, since that also looks pretty damn rad and I'm totes planning to play it once it comes out this year.

 

I don't know if you all knew this, but this dude on Starmen.net is also developing a remake of the first game. It's still deep in development but doesn't have a release date as of yet, but I'm pretty excited for this as I tried to play MOTHER 1 and couldn't get into it at all as I personally found it pretty damn boring and at times frustrating thanks to the sheer amount of random encounters. Hopefully this remake will make the game for accessible to me and others who had problems with the game. Here's the opening title and a video sampling some gameplay:

 

 

 

[DBZHedgy]

I don't know if you all knew this, but this dude on Starmen.net is also developing a remake of the first game. It's still deep in development but doesn't have a release date as of yet, but I'm pretty excited for this as I tried to play MOTHER 1 and couldn't get into it at all as I personally found it pretty damn boring and at times frustrating thanks to the sheer amount of random encounters. Hopefully this remake will make the game for accessible to me and others who had problems with the game. Here's the opening title and a video sampling some gameplay:

[Sean]

The Mother series is probably what I would call a good experience, but not a good game. There's a lot of things I like about them, but all of those qualities tend to be offset by the archaic battles, the obnoxious difficulty, and a very common tendency to get lost. As much as I like EarthBound, I wouldn't call it a favorite RPG of mine by a long shot. There are other games I think do similar things the Mother series attempts, but in a much more fun way.

I'm glad I played them, but they're not that fun honestly. I get much more frustration out of them than enjoyment. I would buy a collection if it were released, but mostly due to its novelty. Itoi is a very talented storyteller, but I feel his abilities would be much better complemented in an RPG better suited for the masses. I don't blame Nintendo for not wanting to risk another physical release in the west.

 

I pretty much take all of this back because the last time I replayed EarthBound a couple years ago, I had a blast. I think I just didn't have fun with them in my first playthroughs because I abused savestates. The game also isn't that hard for the most part as long as you don't skip battles.

[...]

MOTHER 1 is finally getting an English localization under the name EarthBound Beginnings! It's on the Virtual Console today at 9 PM EST!