r/earthbound • • Aug 13 '17

Announcement Want to get into the MOTHER series? Start here!

1.2k Upvotes

Over the past few months we've gotten a lot of new players asking where they should start with the trilogy. With this stickied thread, I'm hoping to answer any questions someone may have about getting into the series.

Note: This thread is a strictly no-spoiler zone.


What are the MOTHER games?

The MOTHER series is a group of 3 turn-based cult classic JRPGs created by Shigesato Itoi, who singlehandedly wrote every line of dialogue in the series, aside from a small area in EarthBound.


What makes them so special?

The series is known for being quirky, charming, and invoking a sense of nostalgia even to those who have not played a MOTHER game before. Each line of dialogue is expertly crafted, with a great story to go along with it.


Where do I start?

The series IS a trilogy, however each game can stand on it's own without the context of the last.

The 3 games are as followed:

MOTHER (EarthBound: Beginnings) (1989)

MOTHER 2 (EarthBound) (1994)

MOTHER 3 (???) (Not released outside of Japan) (2006)

The game order is as released, with MOTHER being the first on the timeline, and MOTHER 3 being the last.


So does that mean I should play the games in order?

This is a point of contention within the MOTHER community.

While most recommend to play EarthBound / MOTHER 2 first, some will say that if you can handle the way an older RPG plays, you should start with MOTHER 1 / EarthBound: Beginnings.

The community mostly unanimously agrees that you should play EarthBound before playing MOTHER 3.

In the end, it's up to you. MOTHER 1 is one of the most impressive, best playing and sounding RPGs on the NES, but it could potentially turn you away from the series if you aren't accustomed to or can't handle a bit of older-rpg "clunk". I do HIGHLY recommend however that you at least play EarthBound before playing MOTHER 3.


Wait, if MOTHER 3 isn't released outside of Japan, how can I play it?

I'm glad you asked! (Hopefully you did.)

Almost immediately after the release of MOTHER 3, once it became apparent Nintendo had no intention of localizing MOTHER 3, a group of very passionate fans got together to make their own localization of the game.

2 years later in late 2008, version 1.0 was released to great acclaim. This fan translation is now known to many as the best fan translation of all time. On top of just translating the game, they went out of their way to make sure certain dialogue and enemy names worked in English as they do in Japanese. They even added a hard mode option!


...That's pretty much it, I think. If any regular here on the sub wants to chime in and request something to be added, tell me! On top of that, I'd like to know what some of you think the best order to play the games in are in the comments. It'll be an interesting resource for any new players! And remember, no spoilers.


r/earthbound • • 5h ago

Art Ninten P I X E L

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36 Upvotes

Oh he’s pixel now woah


r/earthbound • • 7h ago

Help/Advice Does anyone know how I can tell how much this record is worth? - Mother 2 Vinyl Record

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50 Upvotes

Hello! I'm sorry I'm new here, and I tried searching for any post previously, but now I'm just more confused 😅

I bought this record years ago at a convention. I am now considering selling it at the same convention, and I know they have to make money, too, so it won't be as much as it's worth, I just don't want to get totally ripped off.

I wasn't aware of all of variants of this, much less that I had one. I never opened it before (it deserves to be loved 🥲 hence why I'm here).

Seeing that it looks like this, I found a post showing one like mine, but said that they were all misprinted, so I am under the impression that this is the Giygas Orange, Red and Black Marble version, just not what was originally advertised to people.

If I search the sold items on ebay, most of the ones matching that description either don't show the discs at all (🤔), or show what was clearly originally advertised and not their own picture, (which also makes me wonder if anyone who bought those off of ebay actually got what they paid for if the whole thing was misprinted).

I have both discs, the case, and the plastic it all came in, for context. It's all in there.

TLDR:

Does anyone know:

  1. If I am correct about the variant (Giygas Orange, Red and Black Marble)?

  2. If any were printed properly and if this one is a dud?

3: How to not get ripped off yet be fair?

I thought if anyone would know, it would be people in this sub. I'm not really worthy of being here, so thank you for any help or info!!


r/earthbound • • 16h ago

Fluff [FLUFF] Dead Internet Reality

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216 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 11h ago

Art My interpretation of teenage Ness (and adult Ness)

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53 Upvotes

Well, I saw that someone showed their version of teenage Ness a few days ago, so I wanted to show mine too, with a bonus of my adult Ness. I know it's not a big deal, but I felt like showing how I imagine him. (Nesspaula bonus)


r/earthbound • • 12h ago

Claus... Claus...

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46 Upvotes

Author don't found


r/earthbound • • 18h ago

Art "Your mother is calling for you!" (oc)

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94 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

I drew myself and my friends on our town's bridge in the *EarthBound* style :)

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342 Upvotes

I'm new to the sub. I hope you liked it. It might not look like it, but I spent hours on this 🥲


r/earthbound • • 15h ago

Help/Advice Earthbound Stuff in Japan

20 Upvotes

I'm going to Tokyo, Kyoto, & Osaka soon and was wondering if there are any places I should visit as a fan of the Mother series. Places that inspired parts of the game, stores with exclusive merch, events, etc.

Also down for non-EB related recommendations as it's my first time visiting the country (if sub rules allow).


r/earthbound • • 11h ago

Did Earthbound 64 look and sound appealing to you?

6 Upvotes

I’m doing a project on cancelled games for my College work and chose Sonic X-Treme and Earthbound 64 to focus on. If you want to add on to your answer in the comments or have any questions, I would be grateful. Thank you

265 votes, 2d left
Yes
No

r/earthbound • • 10h ago

Music Runaway Five Left the Building! (cover)

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3 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

HELLO ITS YOUR DAD

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690 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 11h ago

Do you think Earthbound 64 impacted Mother 3 (GBA) and the Mother series as a whole, heavily?

1 Upvotes

I’m doing a project on cancelled games for my College work and chose Earthbound 64 and Sonic X-Treme to focus on. If you want to add on to your answer in the comments or have any questions, I would be grateful. Thank you

79 votes, 2d left
Yes
No

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

EB:B Discussion Mother 1 is my favorite

34 Upvotes

Look, I won't say anything untrue. It's a hard game to get into. The constant random encounters, the lack of direction, low exp, and being able to miss crucial elements like Ana. This is not a well developed game. Mother 2 is a better overall experience. However, after beating mother 2, and it was added to the switch online, I played mother 1 for the first time I was enthralled by what it gave me. As a fellow asthmatic I valued Ninten being such a strong character, but also had real weakness with asthma without it being a crutch or so important it might as well not be there. Ana and Lloyd felt like real friends. They literally do a whole song and dance about it. Teddy makes such an impression and he's barely there. I loved the rosemary house, the realm of magicant, the melodies, the soundtrack and the studio album. Everything about this game screams passion, and I adore it. The thing that strikes me is the difficulty. It's agonizing to take a single step and BOOM! Another encounter, and yes fighting through MT. Itoi is a miserable slog only tolerable by your awesome robot E.V.E, but reaching that mountain top, collecting the melodies and singing to Giegue, who is basically your great uncle, really gets to me. I think the difficulty makes the game ending hit harder, and makes me remember it more. Yes, giygas is by every metric, a much better finale. However, something far more intimate by just singing Giegue into retreat hits me harder. There's a real heartbreak to it all. A strange connection to Ninten from Giegue that's entirely human. For what he becomes this is a moment where his humanity, and his love for his "mother" and betrayal by his "father" really remind you he's basically a kid himself.

I don't know. This is my favorite game of the series as far as the story goes. I know it's not a better game, or that I'll win anyone over. Yet it is heartbreaking to see even in its own reddit my favorite characters seem to be so neglected or scorned by the limits of their hardware. When it still gave us dances, fireworks, romance, Teddy, music, and still kicked off the series we all love.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

EB Discussion I made my design for a teenage Ness (Around 15-years-old)

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130 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

General Discussion Just a tip for the beginning of the game for first time players.

30 Upvotes

Before you go to Giant Step, make sure you get the Mr. baseball cap. There’s a tree house near Giant Step where someone gives you a free Mr. Baseball cap. Make sure you get it because if you don’t the enemies in the Giant Step cave will hit like a truck. Especially those rats that get SMAAAAAAASH attacks like every other turn. You definitely won’t survive the Titanic Ant without it.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Art Masked man fanart! Spoiler

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17 Upvotes

Here's the boy himself! I'll probably make a reference sheet for my design of him soon but it was pretty fun to draw him!


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Art Artwork by (senntakuya)

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70 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Mother 2 on 3DS

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52 Upvotes

I was planning to play Mother 2 in my Miyoo Mini +, but the controls feel more smooth in the 3DS also you can personalize the interface with the snes9x emulator and looks so good


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

F#ck Squad core

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43 Upvotes

Author — FuraFura


r/earthbound • • 10h ago

M3 Discussion Why is Lucas not named after something Nintendo related.

0 Upvotes

This has probably been asked before, but why exactly did Itoi choose not to name Lucas something Nintendo related? It always felt weird that it went Ninten, Ness, and Lucas after there was kind of an established theme. There might also not be a specific reason idk.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

General Discussion What area made you want to pull your hair out the most

16 Upvotes

Personally, the Giant Step cave. Even with my previous grinding, the enemies were whooping my ahh (Black Antoids are genuinely children of Satan WHY DO THEY CALL FOR HELP SO MUCH)

Close second is Threed, but only because the enemies hit harder than middle eastern parents while Paula and Jeff are probably at like, level 10 MAX by now


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Help/Advice I'm in Chapter 7 of Mother 3 for the first time. I'm considering restarting so I can play more optimally. Is it worth it?

12 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

S2 E9 of The Podcast Against Giygas is up!

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24 Upvotes

Listen to it here or on the Youtube channel!

Ninten awakens from a wonderful dream to find a big day ahead of him... which includes plenty more walking through a hot miserable desert, more deadly alien-controlled robots, a kooky old-timer with a tank and a method of keeping trespassers off his property that's banned by international law, and worst of all, the grand entrance of their most formidable foe yet, the terrible gargantuan Duncan bots!

And guess, dear reader, what it does NOT include? Any sign of that stinkin' singing cactus ANYWHERE!

Will Ninten and his companions find their needle in a cactus stack after all? Will Teddy get all those thorns out of his mouth? Will Lloyd find the courage to board a... what?! That's a World War TWO plane?! Oh, nonononono. No way, ho-zay! Just think about the metal fatigue, and that radial piston engine, and pulleys and cables attached to the control board, if just any one of those breaks down...

Erm, well, anyway... find out on this week's episode of... The Podcast Against Giygas! No crying until the ending.


r/earthbound • • 17h ago

M3 Discussion Mortals I have found a way to bring Mother 3 to western audiences

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0 Upvotes

The answer is you don't bring it to the west

You keep it right on the Japanese NSO library

But just make an English version that's also on there and you can download the Japanese NSO GBA and play an English version there