MOTHER 3

Released: April 20, 2006 (JP)

Platform: Game Boy Advance

Introduction

Hello! Today I'm going to look at MOTHER 3 (or to use a less aggressive spelling, Mother 3). Mother 3 is the sequel to EarthBound, which I covered in my first post. I recommend you read it, because there are some continuities between the two games that are vital to understanding Mother 3. If you don't want to, you can still read the art, gameplay, and music sections; you might just be confused about the story/characters section in this post.

Mother 3 is unique in that it has not been released internationally. It released in 2006 exclusively in Japan, but has no official English translation. A group of dedicated fans, most prominently the professional translator Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, worked hard for two years until they made a fan translation available. And it's an amazing fan translation that feels just like the English version of EarthBound. If you'll recall, EarthBound was known as Mother 2 in Japan, which is why Mother 3 is named the way it is.

Gameplay

Unlike EarthBound, I really love the gameplay of Mother 3. It feels like a modern game, the overworld movement is smooth, and the battles are very strategic and fun.

Battle

Mother 3 uses a very similar battle system to EarthBound, with the rolling health meter and the psychic attack system. But by timing button presses to the beat of the battle music, the player can get up to 16 hits in at once. This kind of turn-based battling is more involved than simply selecting an attack, and it reminded me of action commands from Paper Mario.

Overworld

I mentioned in EarthBound that it was easy to get characters caught on the edges of objects and buildings. In Mother 3, this was fixed, as there are no crevices for the characters to get caught on, and there's even a little satisfying 'bump' noise when you run into a wall or an object.

Speaking of running, that's another gameplay aspect that VASTLY improves this game. As much as I love EarthBound, it took SO LONG to get places. So this is a much welcomed improvement, especially because there was running in Mother, just not Mother 2/EarthBound.

Music

Mother 3's soundtrack reuses a lot of themes for different songs. This is true for the two main themes of the game, but also for a bunch of minor themes as well. When I played the game, there were times when I thought, "haven't I heard this before?", and I had. I feel like it really ties the soundtrack together, and establishes a clear 'style' that's different from EarthBound's. This may also be because Mother 3 has a different composer than the first two games.

Porky's Theme/His Highness' Theme

This theme is the theme of the antagonists of the game, Porky (Pokey) Minch and the Pigmask Army. I'll talk about Porky later, but yes, it is the same Pokey that was Ness's neighbor in EarthBound.

This theme is a march, and really gives the image of an army marching into battle. It can be heard usually when pigmasks (the soldiers in the Pigmask Army) are present. But later in the game, when the characters travel to the army-controlled New Pork City, there are a bunch of variations of the song in different styles, such as "Life's an Inner Circle Gap":

MOTHER 3 Theme of Love

This is the game's most well-known theme. It is comparable to the "Eight Melodies"/"Smiles and Tears" of EarthBound. Hinawa, the main character's mother, plays a very important role in the story, and this theme (and variations of it) often plays when there are moments with her or the rest of the family:

The love theme

Reprise of the theme

Like the Pigmask Army theme, it has been adapted to use in different situations in the game. Take this theme from the ending, which is supposed to have a creepy-yet-sad feel:

Another adaptation I really like is the version in the fighting game Super Smash Bros:

16 Melodies

I really love this song because it's a medley of the Eight Melodies from Mother 1, Smiles and Tears/Eight Melodies from EarthBound, and the Mother 3 Love Theme. It takes place at the end, and it really wraps up the whole series (the feels!):

Story/Characters

Much of the storytelling in EarthBound was done subtly, through dialogue and character interaction. Mother 3, however, has a very deliberate, dramatic, and emotional story.

**SPOILERS FOR MOTHER 3**

Overall Plot

Mother 3 takes place over a thousand years after EarthBound, as you find out in the game. The world has ended because humans have destroyed it, and the only place on the planet left is the Nowhere Islands, where this game takes place. The main character, Lucas, his twin brother Claus, his father Flint,  his mother Hinawa, and his dog Boney live in a small town known as Tazmily Village. The game kicks off with Hinawa and the kids at Hinawa's father's house, getting ready to head back home. But as they begin their trip back through the forest, a mysterious army starts burning down the forest. The Drago (friendly dinosaur creatures) start acting violent, and Hinawa sends Lucas and Claus down the river.

Flint, fearing for his family's safety, organizes a search party. His kids wash up in the river, and the searchers make a fire for them. Finally, in a beautifully created scene, Flint is informed that Hinawa has been killed by a Drago. Flint breaks down, lashing out at everyone, and is thrown in jail after assaulting a few members of the search party.

The real story begins 5 years later, following Lucas. Claus has disappeared to avenge his mother's death, and is assumed to be dead. It becomes apparent that the Pigmask Army is creating combinations of animals known as chimaeras, and their leader is Porky Minch.

When the main characters finally confront Porky, he seals himself in a capsule that he can never escape, so they reach a stalemate. But Porky's minion, the Masked Man, is still trying to perform a final task to destroy the world.

The Masked Man turns out to be a cyborg the Porky made out of Claus. Upon realizing this, Flint is devastated. But through the final fight between Lucas and Claus, Lucas, unable to attack his brother, calls on his mother's spirit to convince what was left of Claus to stop trying to kill his brother. Claus realizes what he has done, and commits suicide.

It's a very emotional ending, and I teared up when I saw it the first time. As I said, this story is a lot more direct than the subtle themes of EarthBound.

Porky (Pokey) Minch

The story of Porky Minch is the main continuity between EarthBound and Mother 3. If you'll recall, Pokey Minch (known as Porky in Japan) was the kid that lived next door to Ness in EarthBound. He started out as just a mean kid who was abused at home. He wanted to be friends with Ness but didn't know how to show it. Throughout the game he became power hungry and corrupted under the evil influence of Giygas, and disappeared at the end.

New Pork City theater with a scene from EarthBound

In Mother 3, it is revealed that Porky is the leader of the pigmask army. He used his time machine to travel across eras and recruit for his army, his body aging thousands of years in the process. He still had the mind of a child though, and wanted to use the Nowhere Islands as his personal playplace by taking over with his army and making the animal chimaeras. In his personal city, New Pork City, there are grotesque monuments to Ness, and robotic replicas of Porky's family members.

Looking back on how Porky started out as Ness's neighbor really shows how the abuse and power affected him. The game does a good job of frustrating you, because Porky is about to end the lives of Lucas, his family, and everyone else on the Nowhere Islands for his own amusement. When Porky is finally beaten near the end of the game, he seals himself in a capsule that no one will ever be able to get into and he will never be able too escape. I thought this was a perfect end to the awful story of his life, and shows how twisted he had become.

Background/Context

As I said in the beginning, this game has not been brought out of Japan as of now. There are rumors that it will happen soon, in the form of a digital version on the Nintendo Switch, but nothing has been confirmed. The president of Nintendo of America has given a strong hint, though.

Mother 3 is currently the only Mother game that has not been released worldwide. EarthBound, or Mother 2, was released in the U.S. in 1995, and later released on the Wii U in 2013 where the whole world had access to it. In 2015, Nintendo released EarthBound Beginnings on the Wii U, which was a translated version of the first Mother game that had never been released outside of Japan. Mother 3 was released on the Japanese Wii U shop, but not anywhere else.

The Mother 3 fan translation is a professional-grade translation, as I mentioned. It came out in 2008, two years after the game's Japanese launch. I played the translation, and it's really amazing. If you feel intimidated by figuring out how to use the fan translation, you can always watch someone play the game on YouTube, or watch someone stream it. I recommend Lauren the Flute's playthrough, as it was her first time playing the game and I like how she breaks the game down as she plays it.

Notes

Next is Wind Waker! I extended the Up Next list to 10 games, and I added a Sometime In The Future list for games that I plan to do sometime but not in order.

EarthBound

Released: August 27, 1994 (JP), June 5, 1995 (USA)

Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Introduction

EarthBound is a role-playing game that was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. I've played it twice, once in 2015 and once last year. It was written by Shigesato Itoi, a Japanese celebrity copywriter, and has gathered a cult following over the years.

While most Japanese RPGs at the time were fantasy themed and set in medieval times, EarthBound was distinct because it took place in 1990s America. Instead of potions, there are pizzas and burgers, and instead of swords and knives there are baseball bats and frying pans.

Impressions

As a game, EarthBound grew on me. It started out pretty slow, but what sticks in my mind about this game is the bright setting, memorable moments, and the feel-good story. I also remember the darker undertones that are prevalent throughout the game, which add depth and meaning to the overall positive message.

EarthBound is a balance of surface-level quirkiness and dark undertones, all draped in a cartoony depiction of American culture. It is also a heavily self-aware game, and it frequently satirizes the common tropes of other RPGs. The game is beloved by its cult following (and me) for all of these reasons.

Gameplay

EarthBound's main weakness is its gameplay. There are a bunch of frustrating aspects of this game that would never be seen in a modern game. For example, in order to talk to someone, you have to stand next to them, bring up a menu, and select 'talk' from the menu. If you want to read something, you have to do the same except select 'check' instead of talk.

Another problem I ran into was that when moving around, I would get my characters caught on trees, buildings, and rocks because of the poor collision detection. It wasn't a huge deal, but for me it made the game seem less 'finished'.

One thing I found great about the gameplay, however, was the battle system. When you get hit in a battle, your HP is not lowered right away, instead using an 'odometer' that gradually rolls down after the attack. For example, if you get hit by an attack that will kill you, you still have time while your counter rolls to 0 to heal yourself or to defeat the enemy and end the battle:

Music

Another aspect of EarthBound that everyone seems to love, including me, is the music. Taking inspiration from classic rock and jazz, the music really adds to the "small-town America" vibe. Some songs even sample all sorts of pop songs, from "All I Need is Love" to the theme songs of Monty Python or The Little Rascals. This video shows how each one is incorporated into a song from EarthBound, and I think it's worth a watch:

Aside from the music that samples pop songs, the rest of the soundtrack stands on its own. There are songs that capture the feeling of an American town (see "Boy Meets Girl"), songs that provide a sense of sci-fi unease (see "Threed, Zombie Central"), and the triumphant, feel-good song that has variations throughout the game and finally plays in full during the credits (see "Smiles and Tears").

Art/Visuals

Some examples of the sprites

When it was released, EarthBound was criticized for not having the best graphics. But as the game aged, the bright, Charlie-Brown-esque art style has remained just as vibrant as it was back in 1995, while other games that aimed for high-quality graphics quickly looked outdated. I like how the cartoonish style lets the designers exaggerate the features of the characters to reflect their personalities.

Story/Characters

I've mentioned this a few times before, but EarthBound is hiding some dark undertones. The main story, of four friends setting out to save the world from evil, includes some subplots you would never expect in a Nintendo game. Towards the beginning of EarthBound, you have to rescue one of the main characters, Paula, from a group known as the Happyhappyists. Happyhappyism is a religious cult bent on painting the world blue, and the leader takes Paula captive and intends to marry her. Right after you walk into Happy Happy village, a woman approaches you and asks for you to donate money. If you refuse, she follows you wherever you go. Everyone you talk to has been brainwashed, and they all try to get you to join, claiming that their lives have been a lot better since joining. They also sort of resemble the KKK, so that's something.

Another troubling part of the game is the story of Pokey Minch, Ness's (the main character's) neighbor and the main villain of the game. Early on, we see that he has physically and emotionally abusive parents, and that even though he's mean to Ness, he wants to be friends with him. When that doesn't work out, he spends the rest of the game gradually succumbing to his lust for power. At the end of the game, Pokey has completely deteriorated emotionally, and plays a role in the terrifying final boss fight:

Impact/Context

When it was released, the game sold very poorly. EarthBound is actually the second game in a trilogy, and until very recently was the only one released out of Japan. There, the series is known as Mother, and EarthBound is Mother 2. In America, however, it seemed that the game would die out in obscurity.

But EarthBound started to develop a dedicated fanbase. It started out when a few fans started a website, today called starmen.net. Over the years they grew in size and made fan art and music, and today are famous for being one of the most welcoming and dedicated fanbases in the video game community. They even have their own Wikipedia article.

Because of the EarthBound community, the game has gained much greater recognition, and the first game, Mother 1, has even been released worldwide. The community’s greatest achievement, however, has been creating a fan translation for Mother 3, the game that still hasn’t been released outside of Japan. The translation, which I have played, is professional grade.

Notes

Well, this was EarthBound, and frankly I probably should have done a smaller game as the first post. I had a lot to say about this game and I couldn't fit it in a blog post without it being VERY long. Next up is Metroid Prime, so stay tuned.