Anyone else here play Mother 2/Earthbound?

Mr. Bluntman

Mr. Bluntman

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I have lots of fond memories of this game. I loved the personality and quirkiness of the story and dialogue, the awesome music, and some of the battles are truly epic. The Cave of the past and the final battle with Giygas is one of the most memorable experiences gaming has ever offered me. Been having a blast re-playing it the past couple of days.

It's a shame this game never got the sales or recognition it truly deserved. Who else here has played this undiscovered gem?
 
absolutely one of my favorite jrpg

I believe the mother series was a lot more popular in japan than anywhere else. Also, if you haven't, they have mother 3 for the GBA (I think it was on the GBA). It was a while ago...

But back to mother 2, and I agree about the personality and overall feel of the game. I love how a lot of the side quests were really side quests that were NOT obvious like most current games (you know, big yellow question mark on quest givers, etc.). I'll say my favorite feature of this game was the ability to "insta-kill" lesser enemies once you've out-leveled them. Why don't more rpgs have this feature?

*spoiler*
I admit to "cheating" against the last boss. I had no idea how to finish off the boss because at this point my only rpg experience was final fantasy, where you just "beat on it till it dies". Mother was different and I liked that.

Anywho, a new mother game would be nice imo
 
I got it. I remember having like a $10 off coupon in Nintendo Power. The game came in this big box that included a strategy guide or something.
 
Another Mother game would be great. Unfortunately, Shigesato Itoi (the series creator) already said he wasn't making another since Mother 3 was the end of the trilogy for him, but did say in an interview that he would love to see someone else make another title.

And even if that happened, it wouldn't be likely that we would see an offical localization since NOA got "burned" on lousy sales of Earthbound and seems to be holding a grudge because of that. A shame, more people need to play this wonderful and unique experience.

makmatsu said:
absolutely one of my favorite jrpg

I believe the mother series was a lot more popular in japan than anywhere else. Also, if you haven't, they have mother 3 for the GBA (I think it was on the GBA). It was a while ago...

But back to mother 2, and I agree about the personality and overall feel of the game. I love how a lot of the side quests were really side quests that were NOT obvious like most current games (you know, big yellow question mark on quest givers, etc.). I'll say my favorite feature of this game was the ability to "insta-kill" lesser enemies once you've out-leveled them. Why don't more rpgs have this feature?

*spoiler*
I admit to "cheating" against the last boss. I had no idea how to finish off the boss because at this point my only rpg experience was final fantasy, where you just "beat on it till it dies". Mother was different and I liked that.

Anywho, a new mother game would be nice imo
Click to expand...
 
Mr. Bluntman said:
And even if that happened, it wouldn't be likely that we would see an offical localization since NOA got "burned" on lousy sales of Earthbound and seems to be holding a grudge because of that. A shame, more people need to play this wonderful and unique experience.
Click to expand...

Shame too, cause Mother 3 is an amazing game.
A little weird, but still great funtimes. I'm actually almost finished with that game, been stuck in New Pork City, but that was mostly cause i haven't had the time to continue.

A Wii or 3DS Mother game would be awesome, but that probably never going to happen.
 
I never played it although I remember the Scratch n' Sniff ads in gaming mags back in the day. Squaresoft pretty much spoiled me as far as SNES RPGs went so I never gave this game the time of day.
 
Even as a biased fan towards WRPGs, Earthbound/Mother 2 and Mother 3 are one of the most enjoyable games I have ever played.

I'm often conflicted of which game I liked better. I enjoyed the locations in Earthbound more (I especially loved exploring the cities/towns), but preferred the emotional story of Mother 3 more.

I'd put Mother 3 slightly ahead just because I found the story amazing and heartbreaking at the end.
 
Earthbound is an amazing game, I can't even counter how many times I have played through it.
 
I've heard so many good things about this game, I need to try it out one day.
 
I loved the game and had the strat guide but was never able to beat it as a kid. The furthest I got was the metropolitan type city.

I loved the atmosphere of the game, It is one of the FEW RPG's I have ever played that I didnt dread having to redo all of my equipment at every shop.
 
Truly a fantastic game that doesn't get enough recognition...
Bumblebee Ness and Ginger Lucas are still my main characters in Smash!
 
masamune said:
I got it. I remember having like a $10 off coupon in Nintendo Power. The game came in this big box that included a strategy guide or something.
Click to expand...

It also included a scratch and sniff sheet for different characters and monsters... I can still smell them just thinking about this game.

Definately in my top 3 games of all time.
 
Mr. Bluntman said:
"The exhausted Barrier Trio struck one final barrier pose..."

"It was spectacular."
Click to expand...

AH! Thats the part I just passed!
Had to replay that fight, since Kumatora decided to die the first time.....
I should go ahead and finish the game. I'm starting to forget parts of the story, since I havent played it in a few weeks.

BTW, great site on Mother 3:
http://starmen.net/mother3/

and of course...
http://mother3.fobby.net/
(Where the game is completely translated. I HIGHLY recommend playing on a real GBA, if you have the capability...)
 
LeviathanZERO said:
AH! Thats the part I just passed!
Had to replay that fight, since Kumatora decided to die the first time.....
I should go ahead and finish the game. I'm starting to forget parts of the story, since I havent played it in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

I laughed so hard the first time I saw that text. Like they needed to get in one last flex. So funny. :p Anyways, that boss fight is a real PITA. But here's a trick that seems to work well:

When first starting out, have Kumatora cast PK Defense Down α and have Duster use the tickle stick. Have Boney and Lucas attack. After you do it enough times it won't work anymore and the Barrier Trio will try to raise it's defense up again (and again and again... See where this is going? ;)). Counter with defense down again if the trio tries to raise it and keep attacking. Do not let them raise their defense otherwise they will attack.

This should make the fight much easier (albeit cheap). Much better than trying to heal after every round of getting hammered with 150-300 HP PK attacks.

EDIT: http://starmen.net is a great Mother/Earthbound related fansite and it has tons of cool information there, not just about Mother 3. Also, Earthbound Central is another good resource.
 
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KamelRed said:
I never played it although I remember the Scratch n' Sniff ads in gaming mags back in the day. Squaresoft pretty much spoiled me as far as SNES RPGs went so I never gave this game the time of day.
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if i remember right, earthbound was released after final fantasy 6, and considering how much praise that game was getting in its heyday for its "zomg" mode 7 intro (i'm not bashing ff6, just saying... MODE 7) and super clean sprites, extensive story line, wonderful character development, etc. that this game just got lost in the mix

i think even back then people were swayed by games with superior graphics and since earthbound didn't look up to snuff by the then-current standards of jrpg set by square and enix (DQ6 was another great game), i mean just a quick glance at earthbound and i doubt anyone serious into rpgs would have even bothered with it unless they heard about it from a good friend or read an actual review, also the cartoony look probably didnt help (i love the art style myself)

to me, the mother series really hits the nail on the head about games not requiring crysis level graphics or natal/wii motion control gimmicks, it had an awesome story with real character development and gameplay that didn't try to revolutionize and overly complicate the simple process of hitting 1 button (FF13 anyone?)
 
makmatsu said:
if i remember right, earthbound was released after final fantasy 6, and considering how much praise that game was getting in its heyday for its "zomg" mode 7 intro (i'm not bashing ff6, just saying... MODE 7) and super clean sprites, extensive story line, wonderful character development, etc. that this game just got lost in the mix

i think even back then people were swayed by games with superior graphics and since earthbound didn't look up to snuff by the then-current standards of jrpg set by square and enix (DQ6 was another great game), i mean just a quick glance at earthbound and i doubt anyone serious into rpgs would have even bothered with it unless they heard about it from a good friend or read an actual review, also the cartoony look probably didnt help (i love the art style myself)

to me, the mother series really hits the nail on the head about games not requiring crysis level graphics or natal/wii motion control gimmicks, it had an awesome story with real character development and gameplay that didn't try to revolutionize and overly complicate the simple process of hitting 1 button (FF13 anyone?)
Click to expand...

For me it wasn't the graphics but the art style that just rubbed me the wrong way as far as what a JRPG should look like (I was a naïve 13 year old) after playing the Final Fantasys & Dragon Warriors (Quest). Back then I was just old enough to work a paper route and most games started at $60 new so I had pick my games carefully (the used VG shops in my area sucked as far as selection went). All in all it sounds like I missed out on a great game but I have no regrets.
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KamelRed said:
For me it wasn't the graphics but the art style that just rubbed me the wrong way as far as what a JRPG should look like (I was a naïve 13 year old) after playing the Final Fantasys & Dragon Warriors (Quest). Back then I was just old enough to work a paper route and most games started at $60 new so I had pick my games carefully (the used VG shops in my area sucked as far as selection went). All in all it sounds like I missed out on a great game but I have no regrets.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Click to expand...

I too, passed by those big Earthbound boxes in the store until a friend got me turned on to the game, and eventually, the whole Mother series. Ignorance is bliss, but seriously, you're doing yourself a disservice not playing this game.

You could go and buy the boxed set now, but that'll run you about $400-500, just for the game. (Boy am I hating myself now for trading in my copy and many other SNES games to buy a PlayStation...) Or you can go the cheap route and emulate it. ;)

With that in mind, seriously, at least check it out. You will be glad you did.
 
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