Review Corner - Mother 3 (Earthbound 2)

The Mother series has been something of a cult following in the US. The sole entry released there was "Earthbound" for the SNES. The entire 3 entries were created by Shigesato Itoi, and each game loosely ties into one another.

The other 2 games in the series were so demanded that fans translated the original Mother for the NES and the Japan only Mother 3. (You can go here for more Mother 3 info and translation - http://mother3.fobby.net/ )

Mother 3 is reported to be the final entry in the series, and still maintains the stylized humor and fun that the series makes for using typical RPG tropes, and also making fun of them at the same time.

The Game's First Chapter

Story:
The story starts out as most Mother games do: with a family. You choose names for the entire family members (and play as most of them).

The game separates itself into Chapters. Chapter 1 starts off with Flint, the father of Lucas and Claus having to rush off to help stop a fire burning down one of the villager’s homes.

The island they inhabit is called the Nowhere Islands, and the people live in a very rural, woodsy environment, free of any modern-day technology. The people live in harmony with one another, knowing nothing of money, crime, hatred or sorrow.

This all changes when mysterious men wearing pig-masks come along and set fire to the forest. Tragedy strikes the village and things are forever changed.

Jumping ahead to Chapter 3, a man known as Fassad (Yokuba in the original Japanese) and his monkey (Salsa) ask the village if they want to increase their happiness and offer them “happy boxes” (computers basically), which soon begins to bring about advancement and technology to the peaceful town.

The story has many wonderful elements that give players thought. Not only the clash of the village’s simple outlook in the beginning to how it evolves over the course of 4 chapters, and what changes within.

The Pig-masks themselves are causing monsters to appear because they are attaching machines to the natural animals of the Nowhere Islands, making them cyborgs, and also making many of the tame animals to become hostile.

Gameplay:

Hanging out in a club and Odometer health bars

Mother 3 utilizes its system established from the first game in the series. Your Hit Points and Psi-points are on an odometer that roll up or down depending on damage taken, so it is possible to save a character from a fatal blow if you time yourself correctly.

New to Mother 3 is the combo hit system, where if you time your attacks right with a button press, you can cause a combo to rack up, adding more and more damage the greater the combo becomes. This adds a little more flavor to the typical singular “attack” feature and keeps you more involved, as does the odometer life/psi bar.

Outside of combat the characters earn DP (Or Dragon Points) in the game, which is used as the games currency. Instead of chewing up Medical Herbs and Potions, the Mother series sets you in a modern-era setting where your recovery items are sweets, junk food, bakery items, etc. This also transfers to weapons and armor, the characters often equipping t-shirts and wielding yo-yos and baseball bats as their arsenal of choice.

The game adds in a much appreciated dash function to run about and to even barrel through weaker enemies. Unlike Earthbound (Mother 2), you do not earn EXP for dashing through the weaker foes.
Approaching enemies also affects how you tackle combat, as the game screen will turn red if surprised, blue if a normal encounter, and green if you manage to sneak up on an enemy. If strong enough, the battle will conclude without going into combat at all.

Just like any RPG, the game also includes status effects, despite a few staples of poison, paralysis, and such; there are others like being full of tears and crying, nauseated, dizzy, etc.

Graphics:

There is not much to tell within the graphics. The Gameboy Advance replicates the SNES era style well and for the most part it is reprised here in all the sprite glory that those consoles gave us.

The colors are vibrant and never clash with one another. The game also shifts from day to night scenes during the storyline and compensates with light or dark tones to accentuate the mood or atmosphere.

The characters are all represented from their SNES counterparts from Earthbound and prior players of the game can tell a few models were recycled, but many are new and different, showcasing a variety of human appearances.

Music/Sound:

Composed by Sh ōgo Sakai, The music of Mother 3 accentuates the local you are entering, but also manages to add in a bit of quirky spice to its songs. Some areas that are odd-ballish or weird have music sounding out of sync with its original tune.

Almost ever song is catchy and will leave you humming a few bars now and then, or at the least causing you to remember it in your head.

Overall:

The Mother series is an experience, and it can easily be seen the games were given careful detail and love in creating what experience they are meant to show us.

The story is quirky and silly, but also maintains and depth that makes you feel for the characters. The enemies you encounter are the most random and unusual things you will run into, but despite giving you a chuckle at their appearance, many have individualistic attack patterns like a robot that “loses a gear and misses its turn”.

If you like RPGs, or just want a different type of game experience, give Mother 3 a try, or any of the 3 in the series for that matter. Love it or hate it, it is definitely an experience you will remember.