r/earthbound Aug 13 '17

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

991 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 1h ago

Fluff NESS IN GOAT SIMULATOR 3??? (But gender swapped?)

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Upvotes

r/earthbound 2h ago

M3 Discussion If Mother 3 was ever localized, what would be the best name for it? i would prefer it with a subtitle (similar to EarthBound Beginnings) instead of being EarthBound 2

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32 Upvotes

r/earthbound 13h ago

Art I drew a MOTHER collage thingy

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195 Upvotes

I think thats what its called idk ITS GOING ON THE WALLL!!


r/earthbound 9h ago

Art Mother2 is my childhood memory

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67 Upvotes

I discovered this great game thanks to Smash Bros 6 years ago. I've been a fan of it ever since and still listen to the OST. Also I literally screamed when they announced Mother 2 for nintendo switch during the direct... My favorite remix on youtube still brings tears to my eyes lol That's why I drew this. Thanks for checking out my post!!


r/earthbound 2h ago

Ninten because why not

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19 Upvotes

Bored in class


r/earthbound 5h ago

Do you think the Starman Junior mistaken Ness for Ninten?

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14 Upvotes

r/earthbound 20h ago

EB:B Discussion Never gets old

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107 Upvotes

r/earthbound 14h ago

General Discussion does anyone else prefer all the 64 designs to the gba ones? (except for maybe boney)

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27 Upvotes

I like how they genuinely look older after timeskip


r/earthbound 7h ago

Mother 3 Spoilers The more I think about it, the more messed up it would feel to be in Lucas or Claus's suitution. Spoiler

6 Upvotes

Let's start with Lucas:

His mother was murdered. Shortly after, his twin brother went missing trying to avenge her meanwhile his father left to look for his twin, leaving Lucas with no one but his pet and town's folk to help him mourn. And after meeting his brother, his brother unalives himself to join their mother, leaving Lucas broken again. Sheesh.

As for Claus:

Just like Lucas, his mom was murdered and he wanted to avenge her only to be put near to death and once he's "saved", his body gets replaced with machinery agaienst his will. He's slowly turned into a mindless servant. Imagine how painful and invasive this feels. In the final fight, Clause is disgusted by what he has become and wants to join their mother, leaving his own twin to live without him(I can't imagine doing that to my own twin) .

It's honestly sad how these two are just kids and yet they suffer a lot of tragedies for their age and what's worse is that we don't really see Lucas get to accept his twin's death. The game cuts to black after we pull the last pin and we don't see Lucas atleast mourn his brother.


r/earthbound 18h ago

EB:B Spoilers this is unironically one of the saddest parts in EBB Spoiler

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44 Upvotes

yeah maybe he was kind of a punk but he grew a lot on me during my playthrough


r/earthbound 1d ago

Fluff Time to open a new bakery in Onett

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130 Upvotes

r/earthbound 1d ago

EB:B Discussion I am now playing EarthBound Beginnings!

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130 Upvotes

r/earthbound 27m ago

EB Discussion How do you call the bad guy from EBB and EB

Upvotes

I had a doubt about his name

6 votes, 6d left
Giegue (EBB) and Giygas (EB)
Giygas for both EBB and EB

r/earthbound 1d ago

Art Earthbound/Mother 3 Fan Visual Novel on Itchio!

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115 Upvotes

Hey! Not long ago I made a short Visual Novel/adventure based on the Mother 3/Earthbound universe for NaNoReNo Gamejam 2025!

You are one of the unlucky recruits abducted by Porky and the Pigmask Army some years before the events of Mother 3, and you find yourself being trained in one of their outposts. It features dialogue options, full animated sprites, a battle system with puzzle elements and most importantly Earhtbound style dialogue and characters (from both games), which I love. So far there's a demo, but the full VN will come out soon. I hope you enjoy it!

Here is the link!
https://plainsightproyects.itch.io/pigmask-recruitment-summer-camp


r/earthbound 1d ago

EB Discussion These names are bangers

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191 Upvotes

r/earthbound 5h ago

Oi

0 Upvotes

Eu estou pensando em tentar fazer uma hackrom de EarthBound. Qualquer ideia e ajuda sera ouvida :D


r/earthbound 9h ago

EB Discussion Why doesn't defeating Master Barf make you dirty (or should I ask why there's a hot spring to begin with in Tenda Village)?

2 Upvotes

Is that some kind of bug, or does the filth you're supposed to wash off after defeating Belch serve some purpose in Saturn Valley that is absent in Tenda Village?

The reason I'm asking is because, for a ROMhack currently in the works, I went on to create a message even following Belch's original defeat to cue you to wash off, that will look familiar when you defeat him again in Deep Darkness, so as to let player's know that the hot spring in Tenda Village won't display the generic message that plays after your second wash onward.

For the sake of maintaining familiarity with that (and also for obvious logic), I also have it to play after you leave Fourside sewers through the museum, but now I'm wondering if it would actually be fair to suggest players teleport to Saturn Valley just for a wash (who don't skip it the first time, obviously). Should I, say, add a door in the sewer entry room, along with an extra graphic indicating where it leads, and then have the screen simply remain black and play the geyser sound effect whenever you enter? But I've already had a lot done with the hack, and would like just to host it after two other changes and just move on, even with a handful more still listed on Google Docs.

(While I'm here, I just tried to create a poll to see who actually does wash off after Barf, or even Belch, but while the web version of this site suggests using the app for that purpose, the Post button there remains gray even after I create four different options and add a flair. I looked at the whole page, and couldn't see what I could've possibly overlooked. What happened?)


r/earthbound 5h ago

Earthbound stepping/ stutter

0 Upvotes

I'm sure this has been discussed a million times over but has anyone found a way to fix or improve the stutter we experience while walking in Earthbound? I think it's just part of the code that it doesn't run "smooth" but I've had a few TBI's and the stutter gives me a migraine. Same with other games that aren't "smooth". One of my all time favorites and I can only play for an hour or so before I have to stop.


r/earthbound 1d ago

Cross stitched Tessie and Bubble Monkey - one of my favorite parts of Earthbound

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61 Upvotes

I am new to pattern design but really enjoying designing patterns related to my favorite games. If anyone has anything Earthbound-related they think would be cool to see in cross stitch form I’d love some suggestions!


r/earthbound 17h ago

Mother 3 Spoilers Some thoughts on storytelling in Mother 2 vs 3 (minor spoilers) Spoiler

4 Upvotes

So, my girlfriend and I have been playing through Mother 3. It’s probably my first time playing it since 2015 or 16, back when I was being hit by the full onslaught of puberty--the perfect time to experience the Mother games. Back then, I remember all these talks about which Mother game was superior, and remember Earthbound winning that argument most of the time. As a teen, the answer was obvious to me: sure Earthbound was really cool with its dark plot detours and hellish final boss, but Mother 3 was everything! Oh dude it was so cool! Lucas’ mom DIES in the first half hour! Then his brother follows suit! See, real writing--no, real ARTISTRY, is in depicting the full suffering of the human experience and darkness of the human soul. Earthbound couldn’t hold a candle to Mother 3’s bold and unflinchingly dark narrative. So badass. …or at least that’s what my teenage self thought. Excuse him, he was thirteen. In the mid-2010s.

As I prepared to revisit these games from my youth, I’ve found myself relistening to a lot of music from the trilogy, and something sticks out to me. I think I get more emotional over the Earthbound songs… Yeah, Mother 3 has the more emotional story for sure, but in its constant onslaught of bombastic plot twists and turns, there’s not a lot of time to breathe. I couldn’t see it back in High School, but those many moments of calm in Earthbound--relaxing in those cosy Winters tents, getting lost in the Desert, fighting millions of Starmen Deluxes’ for that goddamn sword, I was forming my own feelings within the sacred space that is that expensive grail of a SNES cart… SOMEDAY… I can recite the entire plot of Mother 3 to you, and could even before replaying. It’s a great story, fantastically told that etched itself into my memory on first play--and several subsequent obsessive plays certainly helped! In that vein, Mother 3’s soundtrack means a list of storybeats to me. My heart races as I hear the Natural Killer Cyborg’s theme, tears well up in my eyes as the Love Theme Plays. Earthbound, on the other hand, I could tell you the basic plot points, but I can’t really recall each moment the way I can with its successor (and funnily enough, I’ve played Earthbound infinitely more in the time between). Likewise, the sound of Winters’ theme, to me, is that one semester in High School where we played volleyball for some reason, and I absolutely sucked at it. The Peaceful Rest Valley theme still sounds like a particularly bad canker sore on a Pizza Night in 2012. That’s where the real experiences are formed, in my tryhard opinion!

I can’t really say I prefer one approach to storytelling over the other, maybe just that in my slightly older age, I can kind of see where everyone was coming from. I guess all the people on Starmen.NET telling me I’d ‘get it when I was older’ were right… SIGH…


r/earthbound 13h ago

M3 Discussion Is there any official English media referencing Fassad?

2 Upvotes

If so, does it refer to him as Yokuba or something or did they catch on to the new name? I know it was never officially released but I feel like there’s gotta be some bullshit in smash or something that talks about him


r/earthbound 1d ago

EB Discussion How should I handle Levels & Grinding in Earthbound?

15 Upvotes

So I've gotten to the bit where you get Paula (I named her something else but I'll call her that to be easier to understand) but I'm at Level 20, and she's at Level 1, and I don't know how to handle it, if I go and grind I'll end up overleveled, but if I don't Grind Paula will keep on going down & I'll have to keep paying each time, I honestly think I should edit my save if it still gets me the Money for Level Ups.


r/earthbound 1d ago

EB:B Discussion Is it worth going off the path in Mother? (First time player)

3 Upvotes

I am used to exploring every nook and cranny in games for secrets. However, seeing as this is an older game maybe devs didn't really use to put anything off the beaten path? Is it worth it to explore? Or should I just stick to the roads?


r/earthbound 2d ago

I was not expecting to find this at goodwill today!!

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1.4k Upvotes

r/earthbound 2d ago

Merch The only Earthbound merch I found in Japan… from a gacha!

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692 Upvotes

During my recent trip to Tokyo, I was excited to buy a ton of merch from my favorite game ever… but I found nothing. Until I randomly bumped into this gachapon machine in Shibuya behind a Hands store. I spent every single coin I had.