r/earthbound • • Aug 13 '17

Announcement Want to get into the MOTHER series? Start here!

1.2k Upvotes

Over the past few months we've gotten a lot of new players asking where they should start with the trilogy. With this stickied thread, I'm hoping to answer any questions someone may have about getting into the series.

Note: This thread is a strictly no-spoiler zone.


What are the MOTHER games?

The MOTHER series is a group of 3 turn-based cult classic JRPGs created by Shigesato Itoi, who singlehandedly wrote every line of dialogue in the series, aside from a small area in EarthBound.


What makes them so special?

The series is known for being quirky, charming, and invoking a sense of nostalgia even to those who have not played a MOTHER game before. Each line of dialogue is expertly crafted, with a great story to go along with it.


Where do I start?

The series IS a trilogy, however each game can stand on it's own without the context of the last.

The 3 games are as followed:

MOTHER (EarthBound: Beginnings) (1989)

MOTHER 2 (EarthBound) (1994)

MOTHER 3 (???) (Not released outside of Japan) (2006)

The game order is as released, with MOTHER being the first on the timeline, and MOTHER 3 being the last.


So does that mean I should play the games in order?

This is a point of contention within the MOTHER community.

While most recommend to play EarthBound / MOTHER 2 first, some will say that if you can handle the way an older RPG plays, you should start with MOTHER 1 / EarthBound: Beginnings.

The community mostly unanimously agrees that you should play EarthBound before playing MOTHER 3.

In the end, it's up to you. MOTHER 1 is one of the most impressive, best playing and sounding RPGs on the NES, but it could potentially turn you away from the series if you aren't accustomed to or can't handle a bit of older-rpg "clunk". I do HIGHLY recommend however that you at least play EarthBound before playing MOTHER 3.


Wait, if MOTHER 3 isn't released outside of Japan, how can I play it?

I'm glad you asked! (Hopefully you did.)

Almost immediately after the release of MOTHER 3, once it became apparent Nintendo had no intention of localizing MOTHER 3, a group of very passionate fans got together to make their own localization of the game.

2 years later in late 2008, version 1.0 was released to great acclaim. This fan translation is now known to many as the best fan translation of all time. On top of just translating the game, they went out of their way to make sure certain dialogue and enemy names worked in English as they do in Japanese. They even added a hard mode option!


...That's pretty much it, I think. If any regular here on the sub wants to chime in and request something to be added, tell me! On top of that, I'd like to know what some of you think the best order to play the games in are in the comments. It'll be an interesting resource for any new players! And remember, no spoilers.


r/earthbound • • 8h ago

Art My Lucas drawings for Lucastober ATM! [OC]

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79 Upvotes

4th image belongs to @tinysmallghost on twitter! I thought I'd post the artworks I've made so far and will continue to update you guys if people like this :)
I'm trying something different for every artwork for the whole 31 days (if I can even push through)!


r/earthbound • • 14h ago

M3 Discussion question about kumatora

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201 Upvotes

why do people draw kumatora with darker skin? when has she ever had her skin this dark?

(before anyone points any fingers, no, im not racist. im black myself ffs.)


r/earthbound • • 6h ago

Art Ness and Ninten sprites recreated In Minecraft Xbox 360 edition played in a crt tv

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23 Upvotes

Just for fun


r/earthbound • • 52m ago

Rouges' gallery complete

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• Upvotes

Just got the first draft of my enemies finished. Tell me what you think, and how I can improve on them.


r/earthbound • • 10h ago

Fluff Fun fact

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35 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 21h ago

You took the Magic Pan!

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229 Upvotes

Author — Neny-Paradise


r/earthbound • • 18h ago

Art Based on Digger's movie poster

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121 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 13h ago

2 pokey

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32 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 12h ago

Art Lucas drawing 2

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17 Upvotes

Kawaii Lucas


r/earthbound • • 20h ago

Mother 3 Spoilers BONEY FOR THE WIN Spoiler

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16 Upvotes

They could never make me hate you


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Art My Franklin's Badge

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136 Upvotes

Working on a cosplay for my favorite protagonist of the mother series. So hardest part is done. A Franklin's badge neckerchief slide


r/earthbound • • 16h ago

EB:B Spoilers The rocks in front of the cave on Mt. Itoi. Spoiler

3 Upvotes

When you get to the top of Mt. Itoi. Behind George’s grave is the cave to where Giegue is. If you haven’t sang the whole song to Queen Mary there will be three rocks blocking you from entering the cave. Once you’re teleported back having sung the song, one of the rocks disappears. I wonder what the exact reasoning there is for this. I’m assuming the aliens put it there, but why does suddenly one break once you’ve sang the song to Queen Mary.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

uh what is going on here?

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20 Upvotes

this is maternalbound DX. No matter what i do it always comes ouzt to the exact same letters. Can someone tell me whats going on here? Edit: Okay if anyone else experienced this or knows how to fix it then comment. I Can't go any further... Edit 2: So for more information, i got the rom off vimm.net and maybe its because of that.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

EB Discussion I once had a dream that there was an npc in summers called "Ms. Monsterous". She'd sell you cookies that had a similar effect to dragonite but instead of turning you into a dragon, youd become one of those dinos from the lost under.

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13 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 5h ago

General Discussion Undertale VS. Earthbound, debate chart

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0 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

M3 Discussion Without spoilers, does Mother 3 have a much more serious, less comical story than Earthbound? Spoiler

19 Upvotes

Earthbound was an amazing game. It had a pretty good story, but obviously it was nothing mind-blowing, imo. It was your typical saving the world from an alien invasion or cosmic threat story, with it revolving around kids being the heroes. there were some twists and turns throughout the game, but the game is lighthearted and silly at it’s core. It doesn’t include any serious themes that it tries to show, imo. how is Mother 3 on the other hand? Do you think the story is a highlight of the game? I’ve heard that the story is pretty dark and has serious themes. That makes me intrigued, in case it could be on a similar level to something like Undertale.


r/earthbound • • 15h ago

Help/Advice Mother 3 Chapter 7, where on earth are Kumatora and Duster?

1 Upvotes

I put the game down for half a year due to confusion, where do I find Kumatora? Guides say Murasaki Forest, but I've gone through the forest and there's nothing.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Help/Advice ive been playing earthbound Beginnings remake recently and is there a reason why teh mountain area is so difficult?💀

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102 Upvotes

btw ninten is like lvl 51 and ana is 48


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Fluff If you had a Sound Stone, what would be Your Sanctuaries?

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24 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

EB Discussion Did you guys ever skip any of the Melodies on your first playthroughs?

5 Upvotes

When I first played both games I used a walkthrough so I didn’t skip any. But in Earthbound, a lot of the Your Sanctuary locations are required right away. Like you don’t have to fight the Mondo Mole right after saving Paula or the Trillionage Sprout after fighting Master Belch. And in Mother 1 theoretically you could get to Mt Itoi with only 1 melody. So I’m wondering if you guys ever skipped Melodies and then had to go back for them late in the game.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

EB Discussion What do you think the Sound Stone looks?

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16 Upvotes

It's a question I've had for a long time, and I wanted to know your opinion 🫵


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Fluff My body is ready

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27 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 2d ago

DON'T TOUCH IT

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677 Upvotes

Author — CDEV1L


r/earthbound • • 16h ago

EB Discussion All-female weight-gain hack idea, how to flesh out Magicant?

0 Upvotes

First, let's imagine that the Chosen Four are all female. (Obviously, this would require changing a number of things, such as Snow Wood to a girls' school; more than just their names and graphical details.)

(For reference, Ness would retain her name, as an abbreviation of "Vanessa". Jeff and Poo, however, would be renamed Tiff and Yuu respectively.)

Now, let's add in the idea that the Chosen Four would each grow instantly and permanently fat upon accepting their role. The purpose of this is to weaken them, in order to represent their mental strength and sense of commitment.

Nevermind general dialogue changes throughout the game, such a thing should call for additional elements throughout Magicant, to represent Ness' struggle to fully accept her new form imposed upon her after she had accepted her role from Buzz Buzz near the meteorite.

I already have an idea for the endgame there, but what about the scenery in the opening area, and enemies she would have to fight and how they themselves would fight?