Mother 1 / Earth Bound

Started by HVC-Man, February 27, 2015, 12:09:12 am

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HVC-Man

Any fans of Mother 1 / Earth Bound in here?

In case you don't know, my avatar is the Hippie enemy from Earth Bound. I'm a huge fan of the game and is one of my favorite NES/FC games, yes even though it was never officially released. It's also the only NES/FC RPG I've actually completed. I guess I liked the theme and story of Earth Bound better than DQ. Having played a bit of DQ3, I now clearly see why people call Earth Bound a DQ clone, because it is a very shameless one.

There's also that 25th Anniversary hack that was recently released. It improves the graphics and the dialogue, I have yet to determine if it's all for the better. I thought the original NES prototype was very playable, I didn't have trouble reaching the end.

P

Yes, I am! As a fan of RPGs the Mother series is given. I love the story, music and all the weirdness of the series (I played all three), and the first game is real art although a bit badly balanced, especially near the end. The English prototype is better balanced than the Japanese original though. I can't decide which is better out of Mother 1 and 2, they are both masterpieces.

About every Japanese RPG was a DQ clone at the time (including Final Fantasy) since DQ defined the genre (I love DQ too btw). But yeah it's really kind of an RPG/DQ parody, and Mother 2 is even more so.

There's a fantastic OST of the game with lyrics for most of the songs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBbRJoHTJAM, Itoi is truly a genius.
Even people that never played the series might recognize the most iconic songs Pollyanna and Bein' Friends from the Super Smash Bros series.

kiwidaveinjapan

Played through a translated cart on my famicom a few months back. :) now working on Earthbound on my SFC, (another translated cart) very cool.

zmaster18

I played all the way through Earthbound Zero on an emulator and loved it. For it's time, it was huuuge. The overworld map felt bigger than Earthbound on SNES. The music was also awesome. I also liked MOTHER 1 more than MOTHER 2 because the story and setting was much more consistent than M2. In M1, the setting for the whole game was suburban towns and citys, with nature areas in between. In M2, the setting and story got very weird after Fourside and I just stopped playing because I wasn't interested anymore. I never finished MOTHER 2 and never played MOTHER 3. The new fan-made MOTHER 4 looks pretty dang good!

I also am not a fan of RPGs, but I liked Mother. Sometimes the long battles in M2 pissed me off, especially when enemies call other enemies into the battle... I know that Mother 3 has some kind of rhythm-based mechanic that makes the battles a little more action packed than your standard turn based system. The best turn-based battle system I played was in Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi RPGs!

BaconBitsKing

I love the game. I feel like it's very underrated compared to EarthBound on the SNES and Mother 3.

zmaster18

Quote from: BaconBitsKing on February 28, 2015, 03:35:18 pm
I love the game. I feel like it's very underrated compared to EarthBound on the SNES and Mother 3.

I agree. It's very underrated. My brother who loves Earthbound and Mother 3 refuses to play Earthbound Zero because of the graphics, the fact that its an 8 bit game, and that it's 'too basic'. He also hates most games that involve action, or even dying, because dying is unfair and boring? He's a pessimist.

L___E___T

 
Side note - Rose Colored Gaming are making some more Mother / Earthbound Zero carts I believe - they were pretty spectacular.  

Check their FB page for updates:  https://www.facebook.com/RoseColoredGaming

My for Sale / Trade thread
http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=9423.msg133828#msg133828
大事なのは、オチに至るまでの積み重ねなのです。

P

Quote from: zmaster18 on February 28, 2015, 07:58:38 pm
He also hates most games that involve action, or even dying, because dying is unfair and boring? He's a pessimist.

Too bad 99.99999% of all games involves dying or loosing in some way. What's the point of a game you can't loose?

DDCecil

It's decent, but I'm more of an Otaku no Seiza guy. Someone translate it (and its PC Engine sequel), please!

zmaster18

Quote from: P on March 03, 2015, 03:44:29 am
Quote from: zmaster18 on February 28, 2015, 07:58:38 pm
He also hates most games that involve action, or even dying, because dying is unfair and boring? He's a pessimist.

Too bad 99.99999% of all games involves dying or loosing in some way. What's the point of a game you can't loose?

He mostly plays J RPGs, which you rarely die in. These games don't take that much skill, just hours and hours of reading and patience.
He also doesn't like racing. He says the game gets boring after you finish the first lap, and that it's boring to go around the same course.
And he's not a little kid, he's like 23.

P

I see. It's understandable, in older RPGs you die more often and may potentially loose lots of time you spent grinding. Mother 1 is no exception. Yet I highly recommend it!

zmaster18

Quote from: P on March 03, 2015, 01:40:31 pm
I see. It's understandable, in older RPGs you die more often and may potentially loose lots of time you spent grinding. Mother 1 is no exception. Yet I highly recommend it!

I recommend it for the fact that this game has large environments to explore and that you aren't forced to read too much text. I like the simplicity in this game.

maxellnormalbias

Quote from: P on March 03, 2015, 03:44:29 am
Quote from: zmaster18 on February 28, 2015, 07:58:38 pm
He also hates most games that involve action, or even dying, because dying is unfair and boring? He's a pessimist.

Too bad 99.99999% of all games involves dying or loosing in some way. What's the point of a game you can't loose?


On the other end of the debate, what's the point of a game if you can't tight?

P

You may need to clarify. I only know tight as an adjective not as a verb.

Quote from: zmaster18 on March 03, 2015, 03:44:45 pm
Quote from: P on March 03, 2015, 01:40:31 pm
I see. It's understandable, in older RPGs you die more often and may potentially loose lots of time you spent grinding. Mother 1 is no exception. Yet I highly recommend it!

I recommend it for the fact that this game has large environments to explore and that you aren't forced to read too much text. I like the simplicity in this game.

Yeah, this simplicity is one thing I like about old RPGs. Newer RPGs are sometimes TOO linear in its main quest. In older RPGs cut-scenes are rare and the plot is driven mainly by talking to NPCs. You will have to think a bit more what to do next (but it's often still quite obvious) to advance in the game, which is part of the fun.

nusilver

Mother 3 is the greatest RPG of all time. So yes, I'm a fan of the series :)