No jokes about playing your mom, please. Let's Play Mother!

Would you say that he is your idol?



But then my lamp would keep attacking me.



What? Oh, I get it. Because I'm telepathic. Sure, why not?



For fixing the spoon, the resident of this home extends his kindness.



Wow, this person really dislikes the word "no".



He also gets a bit too excited if Marty agrees.



Ocarinas? Hahaha, who needs that? I can travel back to the future without silly gimmicks like that!



Well. I guess.



The ocarina lets you hear all the melodies that you have remembered in one continuous tune. It then goes straight to Marty's closet at home.



That's because the guy who makes them gives them away to anyone who doesn't want one.



Yum, just like mom distills it! Magicant is the land of free healing actually. The first that we found was the Broken Spoon House (that's actually a good name for a tavern). This is the second.



The free doctor is the third.



You mean because you have a corny jingle just like businesses in the world outside?



The armor system in Mother consists of being able to wear a coin, a ring, and a pendant. It is a very basic system, and Magicant is the only place in the game that you can buy this armor. Some would probably refer to this system as broken because the only thing stopping me from buying the best armor in the game at this very moment is money. Marty is currently unable to buy anything though since he has not wandered across a Magicant branch of his bank.

NEXT: I Wish I Could Hear the Queen Sing Again.

This is about where I got with Mother (might have completed the Queen quest) when I stopped. The game froze up and I didn't have a saved game or save state for quite awhile so I got discouraged and never came back.

I know we're just beginning, but I'm curious as to the length of Mother.

The length of game is hard to say. I guess I'm about 25% through. There is a lot of dialogue and other stuff in this game that is completely unnecessary to the game as a whole. The game can go by really quickly if you know what to do, but I'm talking to everyone and all that jazz for everyone's amusement, so it takes quite a bit longer.

The main bulk of play time, of course, is the menu-based battle system that I sort of gloss over due to the strategies being extremely simple at this point in time.

Outside of the central town of Magicant is the queen's castle and other outlying territories. The road leads to the castle.



Well, okay! I'm ready for it!

...

Actually that's all he says. That must be the riddle. Maybe I'll figure something out later. For now, I will explore the countryside.



Marty takes some red weed to try out the rumor about throwing it in the fountain.



In the woods to the west of the town, Marty accosts a monkey. It turns out not to be the key thief though.



Maybe all humans look alike to monkeys.



Someone told me that the inhabitants of Magicant talk about the weirdest things. But, I don't remember who.



Okay, that other cat was swimming in the water, but is this one swimming on the ground?



You mean, you won't tell me? Maybe I can force it out of you!



Oh, telepathy lets me read minds, of course! Maybe I can use that to get into the castle! Now I get it! The problem is that Mother is not like Golden Sun, in which telepathy works on every single thing. 90% of the time it does absolutely nothing in this game; however, most of its uses are bunched up in this section (perhaps appropriately due to this area's otherworldly nature).

Still in the woods, Marty enters a house.



This must be that totally awesome guitar-playing hermit I heard about.



I'm ready for it. Lay it on me.



I really hope that's not the secret. This is like the city hall's receptionist all over again!

Northwards is the famous fountain.



You know, walking advertisements would probably work better before I already get to the place.



Holes? Another world? I like the sound of that.



Free healing number four.



Free medicine also!

There's something else about this fountain, right? Oh yes! I remember. Soulful cry!



Soulful cry!

Let's talk to him.



Ooh, he is benevolent! He's the teller of my bank. Those tellers are always nice. Now I have some money and buy the best armor in the game worth 28 defense. This is awesome because it more than doubled Marty's defense which was at 18.



North of the castle and east of the fountain is this unassuming house.



I'm pretty sure these men have beaks.



The Flying Man joins my party.



The other guys can't wait to join me. They should all just join me now at the same time!



Current music: ♪Battle 1♪

Now that I have this computer-controlled companion, it's time to take out some enemies. The Flying Man is a nice little cannon-fodder tool.

Magicant isn't all about free healing. There are also a couple tough enemies mixed in with some easy ones. The BigWoodoh is particularly strong. His attacks can dehydrate Marty causing a big loss in both in offense and defense and he can confuse you.



The biggest trouble is this. When he is destroyed, he bursts into flames. This is before rolling HP meters existed, so this flame stings.



Killing Groucho yields only a few experience points, but it's nicer to not attack such a nice-looking face, right?



Oh, sure. Like he needed it.



It's time to attempt this riddle now. Soulful cry!



Having read the guard's mind, Marty is now able to pass through.



Pretty castle.

Current music: ♪Queen Mary's Castle ~ Wisdom of the World♪

It's even better looking on the inside. With a pretty song in addition!



Oh no! Is our dear queen a mute?



Oh, I see. But one question. What kind of way to scold a child is that? "Stop whining, you miserable little brat! I'm scared!"



I heard the story already from that other guy. You guys either really love your queen or really love gossip.



You know my name? You are a great queen.



I'm really happy you said that because I saw a nice little treasure room behind the throne room...



8 notes? Lady, I know you're stretching the truth a little. I've heard three of these "notes" already; and, in those three melodies, there are already like 15 notes. I understand, I understand. You thought I'd say no, huh? Don't you worry. I love music. I'm gonna play this song with The Pinheads when I get back home.



You mean like a gig? Awesome! Totally!



The chancellor is as sweet as the queen.



Everyone loves Marty? This place is full of happiness, huh? If I ever get that hook thingy, I'll come back one day!



One of the treasure rooms in the castle, but here you can only choose one present.



After one, they all become empty! I got a FightCapsule which raised my stats. I could've gotten something stupid like a Rope if I had chosen a different box. There's more minor treasure, but I will wait until I return with more inventory space.



It's time to find the exit to Magicant. These are the holes I heard about. Time to walk over every single one until I find the correct one.



(It's this hole, by the way.)

Current music: ♪Cave♪

Marty descends a ladder into a room with two holes. This is what the cave looks like for a while: the ladder you came down and two holes to choose from.



Sometimes the path that is chosen ends like this. So Marty just scurries back up the ladder and chooses a different hole. Sometimes you are lucky enough that the dead-end you chose has a present of a Herb.



Choosing the right combination of right and left holes eventually leads to the lower level of the cave. The layout of this cave is pretty straightforward, but in the Japanese original it was brutally annoying.



Sometimes you run into easy enemies. But Marty's beaked friend has taken a beating this whole time and finally dies. It is a sad day, and I will visit his grave next time I am in Magicant.



Marty fights through tears as he realizes he must kill this cloud-man without his friend.



Along the way, Marty runs into a sleeping dragon. For some reason, he decides to walk up to it. Luckily for Marty, he is too weak for the dragon to even care.



This hole holds a nice little present box. But guarding it is...



Current music: ♪Battle 2♪

The Fish!

The Fish is a fairly strong enemy who can attack twice in one turn with high offensive power. But a simple DefenseUp α combined with my new armor turns him extremely weak. I could also use Def.Down α on him to destroy him faster, but really there's no point when he's only doing 1 HP damage with every hit.



With that strategy, the Fish is easily beaten.



Marty ventures down the hole where his reward is the Onyx Hook! Now I can just use this anywhere to teleport straight on over to Magicant. This is useful because it's the only place to buy armor!



This present contains a nice bladed weapon that Marty is unable to use. He only goes for blunt objects. There is no need to waste inventory space on it now.

At the end of the cave, Marty sees a man in front of a door.



I'd love to. Except you're blocking what looks to be the only way out of here. So Marty talks to him again.



Well, that's good that you don't exist because you're in my way. Since you don't exist I should be able to go through you, yes? So Marty talks to him again.



But, but, but, then how were you born? So Marty talks to him again.



I don't know what to say. So Marty talks to him again.



Thus begins a series of questions that you must answer correctly or you have to start at the beginning of the conversation again. If you tell him "yes" here, he calls your bluff and calls your response garbage.



If you say "no" to him, he reminds you that the very first thing he said to you is to ignore him.



Ignore your problems, and they will disappear.

Marty enters the exit not knowing where he will be.



Current music: ♪Mystery♪

Marty ends up in another cave. It looks similar to the previous pink rock cave, but it is shaped differently. Perhaps this is not Podunk.



Current music: ♪Field 1 ~ Pollyanna (I Believe in You)♪

This cliff face does not look familiar. Neither does that industrial looking building to the west that Marty cannot access due to the cliff face. Time to discover our location.



NEXT: You Want to Be My Friend?

This game is of the same series, and written by the same man, as Earthbound and Mother 3, where every word is carefully chosen and intentional. What does the Forgotten Man really mean?


Also, that fish was always one of the hardest fights in the game for me. I guess I must've been doing it wrong this whole tie.

That's why I wanted to do this LP, for people who like Itoi's stories for Mother 2 and 3 and might be able to get something out of this game (and perhaps start discussion?) without having to trudge through the less fun aspects of the game.

I tend to think that he might be some sort of metaphor about the existence of Magicant itself since he appears as we try to leave it.

As for the Fish, yeah, stat spells work wonders in this game. A simple DefenseUp turns his attacks from taking 30HP per turn down to 2HP per turn. This is amazing considering HP is in the 80s at the time. I used these stat boost spells a lot in Mother 3 also, but I don't remember ever using them in Earthbound. But I was a stupid kid when I played Earthbound and never used stat boosting spells in any RPG.

Yeah, buffs will save your bacon in Mother and Mother 3... not so much in Earthbound. But I don't remember debuffing enemies being very useful in Mother, but it becomes a lot more useful in Earthbound and Mother 3.

I guess Mother 3 gives you the best of all possible worlds if you're a strategy kind of fighter.

(And remember: soulful cry!)

After winding his way down the cliff, Marty remembers to check his map to find out just where he has appeared after exiting Magicant.



Marty isn't sure how he got to Merrsyville from Magicant, but it's probably just because he's not thinking fourth dimensionally. This place is where the bridge that the cops were blocking leads to. You may remember that the town names in the Japanese version were named after holidays. Merrysville was originally Thanksgiving.



The first thing that Marty runs into in Merrysville is a school.



Current music: ♪Twinkle Elementary School♪

This school is a fairly large building compared to other buildings in the world of Mother.



In one of the rooms, Marty is able to use the school nurse. She'll fix up your HP, but I'm not sure they have many psychics in this part of the world, so Marty's PP remains unfilled.



The teachers monitoring the hall spout out the rules of the school. This teacher says this same thing in the Japanese version even though the run button was not added until the localization!



Marty somehow manages to sneak his wooden bat past the teacher. Anyway bats are playthings not weapons, right? This encounter does remind me that I should check the local store to see if there is a stronger-than-wood bat.



Marty is not allowed in this room. Perhaps one day is dream will be fulfilled and he will be able to enter... this room.



Marty begins entering classrooms and interrogating various unattended children.



Well, let's see. I went back to the future and played... hmm, wait, I guess that would be... Galaxy? World is 4, Mario 64 is 5, Sunshine is 6, New Super Mario Bros. doesn't count because it's a bad game. So yes, Super Mario Galaxy! I have played Mario 7!



I did enter what looked to be a science lab, but there was nobody in it.



No you! I mean, come on, there's not even a teacher in here!



But can any first grader carry over in subtraction?

Marty continues exploring the interesting classrooms of the elementary school. This little girl wants to hang out on the school roof. Most likely she wants to smoke.



He's probably trying to find where he hid the time machine for me when he was in the past!



Why thank you very much, Miss Merrysville.



Wow, Suzy. Wow. Well, at least Marty has Pippi for now.



Why is every kid obssessed with the roof?



Well, I was hoping we could play two-player Tetris. You have a link cable?



Strawberry Tofu is, in fact, an item I will come across later.



Uh, have your people call my people.



You're a cute little blonde girl.



I love how this game uses the gameplay mechanism of pressing a button to advance a conversation as a comedic timing device.



I suuppose she is attempting to sing, but she's not good enough for me to want to remember the melody for the Queen.



This actually cause Marty to get a cold, which is the equivalent of poison. Dirty, dirty children.



On the second floor a couple bullies are hanging out in the hall. But at least one child believes in Doc, unless this is his way of saying, "Haha, what a dork!"



I guess those children were right about the roof being locked.

The only door Marty has not entered was the one that he was not allowed to enter, but now it is open for us to meet the janitor.



The janitor then goes off on an immense rant about his life. Throughout, he asks questions of Marty, and Marty must answer correctly or start from the beginning. It's like the Forgotten Man except much more amusing.




After letting him use Marty to blow off steam, the janitor agrees to open the roof. For your enjoyment, here are the janitor's reactions to the incorrect answers.



And the best response from the janitor:



Anyway, back to the real timeline in which Marty perfectly made friends with the janitor, who leads Marty to the roof.



Have I got stories to tell you about the current Miss Merrysville!

Oh, thank you.



The roof!



The view!



The trashcan?



Yes, trashcan, I wish to see if you have any Hamburgers (or perhaps Pepsi Free) in there.



It appears Doc's bullies chased him to the roof, and he hid in the trashcan not knowing the door had been locked behind him.



That's all he says. It appears we have to buy Doc's friendship. The factory is the building that Marty saw down the cliff as he left the mysterious cave. But really Marty has seen no reason to help Doc except out of kindness, so I'll explore the town of Merrysville a little.



Before he leaves, Marty checks out more of the scenery.

NEXT: They've Started Building Huge Rockets.

You take that back!

NSMB is decent enough, but I don't consider it a "main line" game. It's more of a pseudo-remake of the 2D Mario games. I couldn't call it "Mario 7" with a clear conscience, anyway.

This is quite possibly the most aggressively beige game I've ever seen.

I'm with you on that. I think the two big flaws with NSMB is the map (you can't just play straight through world 1-8, WTF) and the fact that the new power ups are kind of "meh." I get what they were trying to do with the shell, but I don't think I should dread getting a power up! It's worse than the frog suit on dry land.



Oh, and nice smoking volcano. No way that'll be important later.

Did Itoi do the character and monster design as well? Many of the enemies in this game are just terrible looking or bizarre (I'm thinking the baby's head with the body on top of it, the eyes, and noses, the fish as a boss). I'm tryng to wrap my head around what they're doing there. The design seems eerily disturbing at times.

I concur on biege complaint as well, I also wanted to comment on the psuedo 3d designs in the game as well, instead of doing a straight up top down view that was the standard in 8-bit RPGs (was Mother the first to do so?)

What has Itoi done besides Mother? Isn't he an author? Before I made statements about what the forgotten man means I'd like to take a deeper look at his work I don't think the writing in the game is enough to make any kind of declarative statements about meaning...

The credits for Mother can be found here. Itoi is credited with Direction and Game Design. Though he didn't personally do the character designs, I'm sure he had more than enough input.

Itoi's other work is wholly inaccessible for people who cannot read Japanese, but yes he's an author. He's most known for his essays, interviews, and copy writing. His work as a copywriter include writing one-line slogans for numerous products including Miyazaki movies (and I assume he's responsible for the slogans for the Mother games). He even made his own album.

Mother is certainly rougher than Mother 2 and 3. Nevertheless, I think the writing in the games are enough to make declarative statements since he's pretty notorious about making sure the words he uses perfectly represent what he wants to say. And, although the translation is dry, it's fairly faithful to the original.

Anyway, guys, sorry for the delay in updates, but I'm mired in work. I will come back as soon as possible. Don't worry, I will never quit.

He's a nationally famous copywriter?! This is how you know that Japanese culture is vastly different from American Culture. Can you name one Copywriter? Let alone one who has become famous?

I'm surprised a devout Mother fan hasn't translated any of his works into english... Wait I haven't actually checked so, for all I know someone has.

I understand work getting in the way of fun. Excited to see more.

This is Itoi's site if you want to run it through google translate or something.

Just like your mom!

Just like your Earthbound-- uh, I mean, like your Mother Too!

Having just saved the dork named Doc from a trash can, Marty decides to explore the town. I mean, really, he wants me to go get a bottle rocket for him? I'm sure I can move on without him.

So it's time to explore Merrysville and chat with its merry residents.

Current music: ♪Field 1 ~ Pollyanna (I Believe in You)♪



Hooray, now I can cross that bridge that I don't need to cross anymore!



I'm fairly certain Marty has never met this guy before. Unless all people with the same sprites are actually the same person.



I'm guessing the emphasis is on "playing games after you're done studying" but it sounds like she may be ordering her kid to play Nintendo. I find these references to Nintendo interesting. There has been Gameboy, Mario, and Nintendo references. They were really trying to drive in the idea that this is the modern world.



Yes, you read that correctly. No, she doesn't mean a strip mall is outraging the populace. See:



I suppose this would have been hastily changed had this game actually been released. The surprising part is that this game was already edited for America: cigarettes, crosses, and gunshot wounds on zombies were all taken out. Perhaps this would have slipped through?



I like this roaming hotel critic. He really knows that these places are far too expensive. If I need a hotel, I can just cross the bridge to Marty's house.



Standard Mother series dialogue existed even in the first game.



what



Hmm, maybe I don't need to go back home! This restaurant above the hotel has everything I need!



I like to think that this is the janitor's wife. His complaint that she never packs him a lunch really just stems from a misunderstanding. She thinks he's an important executive who doesn't even have time to eat.



I guess this is why you lose exactly half your money whenever you die. I understand if the Hippie is the one stealing your money. But why does an elephant not only steal your money but take exactly half? I guess this is why my mom taught me to put some money in my sock in case I am ever robbed. The elephant won't check your socks.



I think I met your daughter at the school.



Yep. Same sense of timing.



After answering a couple of silly questions:



I get a Telephone Card! Now it won't cost Marty a whole dollar to call his dad to save the game!

Amazing advertisement. I need to see this doctor.



Dr. Benny looks at your wallet and then decides on his rate.



Because I came in with $0, he charged me a percentage of it for an overall cost of $0. You may think that this actually shows the doctor to be a kind, beneficial socialist. But no, his reaction shows that he is really trying to rip you off if you come in with lots of money.



This guy knows what I'm talking about.



I think the exact news has been twisted by the grapevine.



Trying to leave the town leads to rocks blocking the direction to get to the train station, and at this point trying to walk through the train tunnel is absolute suicide. It looks like we'll have to get rid of those rocks.



These mentions of the school are the game's signposts telling me where to go. But I've already done that part of the story.



Hmm, that may pose a problem. Speaking of signposts of what to do next...



Huge rockets at Duncan Factory? Hmm, I think Doc wanted smaller rockets from a smaller factory.



How, indeed? Progress is most likely his middle name.



Rockets for rocks seems to be the prevailing notion. I bet Doc would know how to use it too. I guess the only option left is to help him!



You got what? Is it a rocket? Can I have it? Unfortunately, that's all he says.



Before I head off to Sweet's Little Factory, I buy Marty a new bat. This is the best bat that money can buy in the entire game. It raises Marty's current offense from 45 to 63.



Current music: ♪Battle 2♪

Some new enemies along the way.



I don't think this was a purposeful pun, but it amused me.

Marty reaches a gray building...



The sign confirms his destination!



Current Music: ♪Factory♪

There's nothing but rats in here, so it's not a scary place. There is also plenty of treasure here that I will return to get when I have another person's pockets to fill. It'll also help since new party members start at level 1.



Marty digs around in the trash can for what Doc wants. It's not stealing if you take it from a company's dumpster, right?



Sounds dangerous. But, let's go. You're the doc, Doc.

Current music: ♪Fanfare♪

Doc joins the party!



Oh good. He suggested it himself, now I won't feel bad for using him.



Yeah, but you called me "future boy" and didn't believe my story.



Uh...?





Great Scott!



After running away and entering, the place seems to have been cleaned up in quite the hurry. That teacher sure looks mysterious. I think one of the students mentioned a creepy guy hanging around the lab. He secretly lives in the lab...



I can't tell if he's saying that he wants me to give him my candy money, or if he thinks that I'm saving it for candy instead.



If you say yes, you see that this is a scary man, who sells scary things to mere children. As it is, all that is far too expensive for Marty and friend right now.



So instead of high-powered explosives, I go to the department store and buy Doc a gun!



NEXT: 1-2-3 Fire!!

I don't know why I thought Doc's lab experiment blowing up in his face was so funny... Perhaps because I've never seen it in a game before. The more I learn about the game the more a RPG set in the modern, if not bizarro, world.

The weapons that the mysterious scientist sells, I'm guessing are the best in the game?

Not really. The Super Bomb is powerful though. It's a one-time Doc item that kills all the enemies in battle. StkyMachine (Sticky Machine) is a multi-use Doc item that paralyzes the enemy.

Last Weapon and Real Rocket are simple gag items. I can show them off for you guys later when I have the money.