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

What is a gag weapon? Yes I do want to see them! How has the grinding been so far, not too bad. This is always my question with old RPGs.

Though it seems interesting enough that I want to go back and play it before I sit down to actually play Earthbound on SNES.

One more question, isn't it a little early in the game to get the best weapon for the main character? Or do you start to rely on psychic powers late-game?

They are just items that just say something goofy or something useless when you use them. I was going to relate them to the Ruler and Protractor of Earthbound, but you say you haven't played it yet. The Ruler is also in this game too. They are just items added for atmosphere or for a silly joke.

The Mother series loves to play with the established notion of what RPGs are. This is just the beginning for the series. It leads to Mother 3 which actually has present boxes that only have a musical beat or fireworks inside (spoilered because I thought it was cool when I first saw it without knowing). Actually even established RPGs have gag items. Like Final Fantasy 4 has the hidden Smut magazine that serves no actual gameplay purpose.

As for grinding, it hasn't been too bad yet, but partly that's because I know what I'm doing. I was a higher level the first time I played this game. But it does get terrible later on. This game is not well-balanced.

Short answer: yes. Like I said earlier in the playthrough, I've already been to the town that sells the best armor, I just don't have the money yet. This goes into the balance issues I mentioned. There is a better bat in a present box much later though. But Marty's offense will continue to go up as he levels. Leveling is very important.

Itoi has stated that near the end of production he just wanted to be done with the game, so he skimped on little things like "playtesting" and "balancing".

Like if someone offers you a key item, and your inventory is full, you can't take it. But the game will think you have, and won't offer it to you again. Congratulations, your game is now unwinnable! That kind of thing really should get caught in QA, but this game had little if any.

This wasn't an issue in Earthbound or Mother 3 was it? That'd be a terrible blow to the game if so...

Almost every time I was given a key item in Earthbound with a full inventory, the NPC would say something like "Oops, you have too much stuff. Come back when you can carry this."

The only exception is when Buzz Buzz gives Ness the Sound Stone at the beginning of the game. If you're full of Cookies and Bread rolls, Buzz Buzz actually sends the Sound Stone straight to Tracy's Escargo Express storehouse, and she'll hand it over to Ness the next time you talk to her in person. The trick is to never meet Tracy in person afterwards; the Sound Stone will still record the Eight Melodies as you beat the appropriate dungeon bosses. There's no real reason to haul that thing around for the entire game when your inventory space is so precious.

Yeah, Earthbound and Mother 3 are honed to near-perfection. Game-breaking bugs are nil AFAIK.

Current music: ♪Field 2 ~ Bein' Friends♪

Now that Doc has joined Marty, they have planned to check out Duncan Factory where Doc wants to see the rockets, and Marty wants to use the rockets to clear a landslide blocking the way. But first it's time to raid the previous factory for treasure.



I see a lot of these screens since Doc begins at level 1.

The treasure includes such items as magic herbs, a butter knife for a character I won't get in a long time, some antidotes--all fit to be sold!



There are also capsules like this that boost stats.

After stuffing my characters' pockets, I return to town and sell. I then come back to get the rest of the stuff. I don't skimp on cheap treasure. It's also a convenient way to get Doc a bit up to speed by killing the easy rats.



Bottle rockets are like a nice little PK Fire for Doc, so I raid the never-ending garbage can.

Looting the Sweet Little's Factory gets Doc up to level 6. And I have a bit of money to go buy some more armor in Magicant.



It is easy to return to Magicant using the Onyx Hook that I found in the cave underneath Magicant. Just connect the hook to the back of the car, so I can hit the wire at the correct time as the lightning hits...



Current music: ♪Magicant♪

And BAM! Marty has teleported back to Magicant. This time he brings a friend.



Do you remember this swimming cat from before who wanted to help out a helpless child? Well, now the helpless sissy is with me.



It is a one-time free stat boost.



I have enough money to buy Doc the strongest Ring in the game. Now Marty and Doc both have a Gold Ring for one of their armor slots.



Here is the grave of the Flying Man who helped me out by being cannon fodder as I wandered through Magicant.



There are four more Flying Men in the house, but I would feel bad having them die, so I leave them alone. If I were to kill off the rest, their tombstones would read:

"To Marty's great sorrow,"
"Marty's benevolent buddy,"
"Marty's strong and powerful ally,"
"Marty's faithful and loyal servant,"

Although I was able to warp here to Magicant, I am forced to take the normal way back. I make my way through the cave and back to Merrysville. All this has gotten Doc to level 8 and a huge boost in defense from the ring.

Time to go north to Duncan Factory. It is west of the landslide.



Current music: ♪Battle 3♪

On the way to the factory, we meet up with some crazy automobiles. Truck battles are awful. If they spurt exhaust at you, Marty's asthma kicks in and he can't do a thing.



On the way, Marty finds some sort of Pass.



Oh, well that is convenient.



Marty and Doc make it to the Factory where they see what appears to be a guard dog.



Oh ho! Well, looky what I got!



But I found it on the ground!



Look me in the eye!!



This dog is clearly insane. After telling me to look him in the eye, he does a little dance.



And then attacks! So, with all your RPG knowledge you think this will be a tough mini-boss, right?



Nope. Just a stray dog. One of the very first enemies you meet in the game.



It dies.



Current music: ♪Factory♪

This factory is huge (and gray). Multiple ladders leading to multiple pathways. The first time I played this game, I made my own map. It's a lot easier to map games when they are tiled; the isometrics here made my final product kind of funky looking. There's a bit of treasure here too, but right now I'm on a dash to get the third character in the game. I also like coming back later because of the same limited pocket-space excuse I keep using.



Eh heh heh, I guess I was rushing a little too much. Whoops! I suppose Doc needs a bit more seasoning (and I need to be quicker on the PK LifeUp, I was being a bit too miserly in my PP usage). I quickly run back to town.



Of course, I go back and tell her yes after hitting up the ATM.

Current music: ♪Battle 2♪

There are some new enemies here as you may have seen when Doc died. Dr. Distorto has blood on his jacket in the original game.



I do pick up a few items. The Super Spray is a multi-use insecticide. And the bomb...



Well, the Bomb is a stronger Bottle Rocket for Doc.



I find a Laser Beam on the enemy.



It is an item that Doc--I mean, that sissy--can use until it breaks.



It broke on my first use.



This path just keeps going.



The duo finally reaches the end. What can be behind that door? When I first played this game, I thought for sure there'd be some scary boss here. Especially since that guard dog was certainly not a scary boss.



But no. In a way, I guess you could call this realistic. So far the only real boss has been the Starman whose presence was actually causing the animals of the zoo to go crazy. In real life, I guess there would be some engineers or something at the factory, but no super-engineer boss. I suppose Dr. Distorto is crazy enough.



This rocket most likely requires 1.21 gigawatts to run.



There it goes.

You then hear a small boom sound effect as the only indication you've finished here.



They are nice enough to put an exit here, so you don't have to walk all the way back down.

Haha, just kidding! All the doors say exit, and this is just an empty room. Time to walk.



When Marty and Doc get back to town, the townspeople are bursting to tell Marty the news. It's amazing how the villagers get so caught up in Marty's quest. Maybe this is this guy's way of saying he wants us to leave.

In any case, it's time to move past those rocks!



NEXT: You Need a Ticket to Ride.

The music in this game is so fun, I'm glad you've included it in your LP. As I asked earlier and people answered, perhaps you can point out the game breaking parts as they come up?

I don't really have anything to contribute just wanted to share my appreciation is all!

Keep it up

Oh, the animated gifs are a nice touch too!

I love the Melee remix of this song because it somehow sounds sinister.

After setting off a rocket to clear out a landslide that was in their way, Marty and Doc embark north to the train station.



On the way, they stop to admire their handiwork with the rocket. The big pile of rocks is now rubble with a rocket sticking nose-first into the ground.



They follow the tracks to the station.



Interestingly the eastern bridge is out, so it looks like this train will only go south. This station had some extreme bad luck to be stuck between a rock and broken bridge.



I suppose this man has been trapped in the station due to all this, but he does not seemed concerned.



I don't know why the employee doesn't know how far the train goes through. I guess he's just assuming that with their luck rocks and broken bridges abound.

The game is actually pretty open-ended at this point, and you can do stroy events in pretty much any order. You can even walk around that broken bridge to the east if you manage to survive the monsters. Actually the game pretty much becomes open-ended before you clear the rocks out of the way, but walking through the train tunnels is pretty brutal.

In any case, Marty and Doc travel to Reindeer because it's the closest stop.



Current music: ♪Train ~ The Paradise Line♪

The train safely traverses the dark tunnel and brings the duo to Reindeer station.



Inside the station an old woman asks them if they are going to Snowman, but they say no because they just arrived in Reindeer.



Current music: ♪Field 2 ~ Bein' Friends♪

After a long train ride, they have arrived in Reindeer. This is their location on the world map. This is one of the two towns that was not renamed for the English version. Not coincidentally, it is one of the two towns not directly named after a holiday. Incidentally, the Union Station that we just left from was named Santa Claus Station in the Japanese version.



Perhaps this man outside the station is telling me I should have told that old woman I was going to Snowman.



Hmm, an old man who has lived for a long time and gives you as much as you can carry? And in a place called Reindeer?



Doc and Marty take in the bucolic atmosphere one the road down to town from the station.

The dirt roads turn into paved sidewalks.



I met a guy in a cave you might like to meet.



Oh fine, I'll see what you want.



You seem way excited. Maybe I will listen.



Current music: ♪Unknown Song♪
I love this joke from the game. The game plays a special song for him, and then relates it to your main quest.



Oh yeah? Well...



Oh. I guess you're right.



Hmm, do you believe in Psychic Powers?



Oh, wow, the ellipses do mean you were thinking at me. Well, no, I didn't. I did try though, but my power wasn't strong enough to wake him. Which is a good thing because Marty would have been destroyed at the time when he tried.



Okay, okay!



Oh, a flea bag. A bag of fleas. Thank you.



If you were wondering what it is, it causes the enemy to become itchy all over, lowering its offense and defense a bit.



I suppose these two statements are connected somehow in her mind.



There's not even a Yes/No option on this question.

Outside the hospital, a man talks about death. This town is actually obsessed with two things: colds and Spookane. I suppose this has to do with it being the first stop before Spookane and the cold town of Snowman.



Inside the hospital, there are more cold victims.



This man even gives you a cold by talking to him. It's odd for them to have such a cold problem when apparently there's a man who lives up in the mountains who has not had a cold in 300 years.



I suppose this is a joke on the poor citizens of Spookane.



Not the Pepsi Frees!



Hey...



Um, well I could tell you where she is.



Interesting. I'll be on the lookout!



And suddenly my pocket cash increases by $423.



Oh good. I'll, uh, just keep this money then.



Hey, mustache man, how's it going?

Inside the hotel is an expensive rate and a man who seems to know Marty. Maybe he's from Podunk. I don't know so many men share that sprite.



In one room is an old woman who gives Marty a cold.



In the other is one angry man.



The restaurant on the roof of the hotel features the standard advertising jingle.



And the customers are inane as ever.



The top floor of the mall features an astounding shop. I can understand teachers clandestinely selling weapons in a classroom, but upfront plasma beams in the mall? Truly troubling times ever since the animals have gone crazy in this world.



North of the paved sidewalks is the residential area of town.



They apparently banish the poor to this area. Although, after seeing the cops in town, I'm sure he could easily turn to a life of crime.



Sorry, you have to wait until Mother 2.



Well, what have we here? A peeping tom looking in that window?



He's lucky the police only care about car violations.



Either she's really strong, or the monsters did not exist then.



A ghetto? More Spookane talk from the populace.



Okay, I'll try not to. That's one vote against going to Spookane then.



That is the second time in this town that the fourth wall has been broken. Listen, lady, if I had more pocket space, I wouldn't be throwing food away.

North of the town, past the healer's house are the mountains.



A couple of new enemies here. The Mad Car and Mad Truck were blue. These Psycho variety are Red.



At the top of the mountain lies a house. There seems to be a sign that Marty cannot read from up here.



The old man there just babbles. This is the man who hasn't had a cold in 300 years?



The child also has no clue.



Marty's rarely used skill allows him to know the reason why.



Marty notices the cliff on the other side of the house and decides to wend his way around the mountain.



He makes it to the sign!



Gross? Or is this the way to avoid colds? Throw your dentures out into the germ-ridden outdoors?



Mother: ADA approved. Marty decides to return the dentures he found to the old man.



Gargle often.
Gargle proud.
Gargle strong.



He fills up my inventory with Mouthwash.



Thank you.



There's no more free Mouthwash, but the kid will sell you some for $10. And he seems to do an on-site demonstration.

Mouthwash cures all those pesky colds that people cough upon you. It's useful for this town and our next stop, the cold town of Snowman.



But I'm gonna listen to this man. He knows what he's talking about.



I sell each one for $87. And that kid is selling more for $10! I suppose that's the cost of trekking back and forth, up and down the mountain.



Back to this old woman. She gives me a hat.



I suppose now I have a reason to choose Snowman over Spookane.



NEXT: The Boy in My Dream Looked Just Like You.

What do colds do to you?

Colds are identical to poison (loss of HP every few steps with a nice red flash of screen) except that it requires a different item to heal it and no Healing PSI can cure it. Mouthwash and Hospitals are the only fixes.

So isn't that price difference game breaking? Sure it'd take some time but you could buy all the most expensive weapons for your party now...

Now I'm trying to remember if this happened in any other NES game I can recall... I can't think of one.

I suppose it's as game breaking as grinding for money by killing monsters is. At this point I'm making 30-40 dollars per enemy killed anyway.

Doc and Marty have a hat to deliver. Surely this hat will help save the world. Onward to Snowman!



But first they examine the hat that the old woman gave them to make sure it's not a bomb sent by the Kingdom of Baron to destroy the town of Mist.

It turns out that the name Jenny has been embroidered. Now they have a destination and a name.



Current music: ♪Train ~ The Paradise Line♪

The train passes through Spookane station on the way to Snowman. Perhaps we will have some fun at this town later.



The train comes out of the tunnel into a land of snow. And as soon as the two heroes enter the station, the player is treated to

Current music: ♪Snowman♪

This piece of music is one of the few melodies that makes an appearance in all three Mother games.



The map tells us that we are to the west of town. Snowman is another town that retained its name in translation.




The two people in the train station are discussing Youngtown. If you recall, the bridge to the east of Union Station in Merrysville is broken, so these travelers are out of luck.



Like all fat psychics, this woman just randomly guesses at my future. She's right though. I will eventually return to the area of Union Station.



The town of Snowman is conveniently located past a canyon that is no doubt filled with furry monsters.



Such as four Silver Wolves. Marty and Doc are woefully under-leveled for this area, and they cannot safely handle four of these enemies at once. They are just here to return that hat and escape as quickly as possible.



So Marty runs!

The trees mark the thankful beginning of the town.



The verbal signposts of the game are continuing to direct me to Youngtown as the next destination.



There are also more hints within these first mentions of the Yucca Desert, which lies near Youngtown.



I suppose the natural reaction to losing your deserty camel friend is to move to the snow.



But there is still one reminder of the haunted house in case I skipped Spookane. Marty and Doc make a note to check that area next.



This area may be beating me down terribly, but I'm still a cheapskate. So I'll try my luck with running and my remaining PK LifeUps.



You know, you're right. I should go save the game. Especially since I could easily die in the canyons around here. There's a healer's house here with a telephone.



Hi! I'd like to save!



No, I want to save the game!



"But thou must."



Marty's dad asks the player's name. Yes, the person sitting behind the controller.



He gets what he needs and then slams the phone. I then call him back and actually save the game.

Jenny, eh? Well, I have her hat.



This man knows from experience what it is to die of a cold, as he gives Marty one. What I have learned from Mother: keeping my mouth clean with toothbrushes and mouthwash will keep me cold-free.



This man is not only nice enough to tell me how to continue my adventure, but he also coughs on Marty. The chateau, which the old lady told us was Jenny's house, is in the mountains.



And, finally, this man is just malicious. To prove his point, he gives Marty a cold.



Yes. As is half the town's noses.



Oh come, come. With the immune systems you guys house around here, I bet every kid misses half the year.



By "straight ahead" the sign means I will need to go through another canyon like the one that lead from the train station to the town.



But this one is not just a canyon, it's a winding canyon.



Current music: ♪Battle 2♪

Wolves and wolves and polar bears are the new enemies of this whole Snowman area that block the way.



Current music: ♪Battle 3♪

Even Big Foot exists. Many of them actually.

The boys finally reach the building which seems to be neither a chateau or mansion, but a church.



Jenny's father tells anybody who enters his home about his daughter.



Jenny herself has been dreaming about Marty, but curiously that is all she will say unless you give her the hat. Perhaps the hat was part of the dream.



Jenny also wishes to go to Youngtown, marking that as our definite next destination after Spookane.



Jenny bids her father to fare well, and joins the end of my single file journey through the world.



Her father saves us a nice large hotel fee.



As he sees us off, it is time to look at our new companion. She is a nice level 1. I go back to Snowman to buy Jenny a Frying Pan. After I get it, I realize it's stupid to try to walk out of this place alive with my weak characters so I take the Onyx Hook to Magicant. I could have stayed around her house for free healing, but there is no phone there so I most likely would have died without being able to save. Magicant provides a place to buy some armor and easier enemies.



In the various levelings of Jenny, this message is one thing you see multiple times. She has a nice repertoire of psychic skills.



Current music: ♪Magicant♪

The first thing the trio does is return to the second swimming cat of Magicant.



The cat gives up the ribbon this time because I have a girl with me.



It appears she must tie it in her hair.



Free stat increase!



And now the cat just sleeps. (While swimming. On the ground.)



Because they are nearby, they check up on the hermit. But he still says the group is not strong enough to hear his song, so they leave.

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

It is time to finish looting the Queen's Castle now that I have a third character's empty pockets.



What is a Flashdark, you ask?



I'm happy you asked. It's the opposite of a flashlight, of course.



More treasure. Marty gets a Bullhorn so he can call his own enemies "yellow" before they say it to him. After retrieving the treasure, the children make their way back to Merrysville. The group first buys the armor that they can afford from Magicant, and now everyone has the best Rings, and Marty has the strongest protective Coin. Jenny leaves Magicant at level 5.



Current music: ♪Factory♪

Duncan's Factory also needs to be robbed of its valuables. The factory holds LifeUp Creams, a PSI Stone, Bombs, Bottle Rockets, and Ropes. In the end, selling the stuff I didn't want to keep made the trio $1715.



This room contains a Physical Capsule, Quick Capsule, and a Wisdom Capsule. The trio quickly drink down their stat-boosting drugs, which I can only hope are non-addictive.



Another present of interest is the one contains a Franklin Badge. This item has become a sort of trademark for the series, and this is the only Mother game in which more than one Franklin Badge exists. It quickly goes into Jenny's inventory.



Current music: ♪Field 2 ~ Bein' Friends♪

After I sell off all the treasure, I walk west of Merrysville on the bridge that was blocked in the beginning of the game to go back home for free healing. I'm not purely being frugal; Marty has to introduce his mother to his new friends! They'll love her Pepsi Free.



The free healing helps out, as Jenny has risen to level 11 in the course of raiding the factory, and now her PP and HP have bumped back up to maximum. Marty has also been keeping everyone alive with LifeUp.



It is now time to make our stop in haunted Spookane.



NEXT: The Piano Still Plays a Haunting Melody.

Why Spookane? I thought we were suppose to go to Youngstown and the Yucca Valley? Is Spookane a "bonus" area or at this point has the world opened up and we can do things in any order?

Yes, the world opened up as soon as I blew up the rocks. But there is a rough order based on the places the townspeople talk about as you move along the game and if you base it on the strength of the monsters.



If you noticed, I passed through Spookane on my way from Reindeer to Snowman. I can pretty much go anywhere at this point, but the correct order after Reindeer is to either go to Spookane or Snowman. You get Jenny's hat in Reindeer, but Spookane is also in between the two. I chose Snowman first because I wanted the third character for the dungeon that will be in Spookane.

In other words, it's not that I'm doing Yucca and Youngtown out of order, it's that I skipped Spookane earlier. Basically, if you look at the map, I'm gonna finish up all the stuff in the south before I go up north.

Ah, gotcha. So going to Youngtown (much like Snowmen) you'd be facing enemies too powerful for your current party. You broke sequence to pick her up to make the Spookane segment of the game easier... Gotcha!

Snowman is one of my favourite pieces of recurring game music. Srsly.