Mother (video game) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mother |
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Japanese Family Computer box art
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| Developer(s) | Ape Inc. Nintendo Tokyo R&D Products |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Shigesato Itoi |
| Producer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Designer(s) | Shigesato Itoi Miyuki Kure |
| Programmer(s) | Kazuya Nakatani Takayuki Onodera Motoo Yasuma |
| Artist(s) | Shinbo Minami Tatsuya Ishii |
| Writer(s) | Shigesato Itoi |
| Composer(s) | Keiichi Suzuki Hirokazu Tanaka |
| Series | Mother |
| Platform(s) | Family Computer Game Boy Advance (Mother 1+2) |
| Release date(s) | Family Computer
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| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mother, is a classic role-playing video game (RPG) that came out in 1989. It's also known as EarthBound Beginnings outside of Japan. The game was made by Ape Inc. and Nintendo, and Nintendo published it for the Family Computer (which is like the Nintendo Entertainment System in other countries). It's the very first game in the popular Mother series.
The story follows a young boy named Ninten. He uses special psychic powers that his great-grandfather studied. Ninten needs to stop strange, paranormal events that are causing trouble across the country.
Contents
About the Game Mother
Mother is a unique RPG because it's set in a modern world, not a fantasy one. It makes fun of typical RPG ideas by using everyday things. For example, instead of magic potions, you use medication to heal. You visit hospitals to get better.
Story and Gameplay
In Mother, you fight enemies using things like baseball bats and toy guns. Your enemies are also unusual, including aliens, robots, objects that are possessed, and animals or humans who have been brainwashed.
When you meet an enemy, the game switches to a first-person view for battles. You choose actions from a menu, like attacking or using items. These encounters happen randomly as you explore the game world.
How the Game Was Made
The idea for Mother came from writer and director Shigesato Itoi. He suggested the game to Shigeru Miyamoto, a famous game designer at Nintendo. Miyamoto first said no, but later gave Itoi a team to make the game.
The game's style was inspired by the Dragon Quest series. However, Mother changed things up by being set in a funny version of the late 20th-century United States. Itoi wanted to mix standard RPG features with a modern setting. He also wanted to playfully make fun of Western culture and American life.
Game's Impact and Sequels
When Mother first came out, it sold about 400,000 copies. People liked how it was similar to Dragon Quest but also made fun of RPG rules. Some players found the game quite difficult, which caused mixed opinions.
Nintendo planned to release Mother in North America as Earth Bound. However, they decided not to because they thought it wouldn't sell well. A finished test version of this game was later found and shared online. Fans called it EarthBound Zero.
Many people thought Mother's sequel, EarthBound, was a better game overall. But Mother was still important. It helped people get interested in video game emulation and saving old, unreleased games.
In 1994, the sequel, Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū, came out in Japan. It was released in America in 1995 as "EarthBound". EarthBound didn't do well at first in the U.S. but later became a cult classic with many dedicated fans.
Another sequel, Mother 3, was released only in Japan in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance. To celebrate 20 years since EarthBound came to the U.S., Mother was finally released worldwide as EarthBound Beginnings in June 2015 for the Wii U Virtual Console. It was also released on Nintendo Switch Online in February 2022, along with EarthBound.
See also
In Spanish: Mother (videojuego) para niños
