Mother (video game series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mother
Genres	Role-playing
Developers	Ape HAL Laboratory Brownie Brown
Publishers	Nintendo
Creators	Shigesato Itoi
Composers	Keiichi Suzuki Hirokazu Tanaka Shogo Sakai
Platforms	Family Computer Super Nintendo Entertainment System Game Boy Advance
First release	Mother July 27, 1989
Latest release	Mother 3 April 20, 2006

Mother (also known as EarthBound outside Japan) is a fun video game series. It has three role-playing video games (RPGs). These games are Mother (1989), Mother 2 (1994), and Mother 3 (2006).

Mother was first released on the Family Computer. Mother 2 came out on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Mother 3 was for the Game Boy Advance. Outside Japan, Mother is called EarthBound Beginnings. Mother 2 is known as EarthBound.

The series was created by Shigesato Itoi and published by Nintendo. It's famous for its humor, unique ideas, and funny parodies. Players use weapons and psychic powers to fight strange enemies. These can be animated everyday objects, aliens, or even brainwashed people.

Some special things about the Mother series include its lighthearted stories. It also has battle scenes with cool, colorful backgrounds. A unique feature is the "rolling HP meter." This means your health ticks down like a car's odometer. You can quickly heal or finish the battle before all the damage is taken. The series is very popular in Japan. In other countries, especially America, it has a dedicated group of fans who love EarthBound.

What is the Mother Series About?

The Mother series is known for mixing funny moments with emotional ones. The games often have a cartoonish art style. They also feature colorful, moving backgrounds during battles. The music in the series is unique and memorable. It often sounds quirky and fun.

How Do You Play Mother Games?

The first two Mother games let your party members follow behind the main character. In Mother, you save your game by calling Ninten's father. You can also store items with Ninten's sister. There's an automated teller machine (ATM) to keep your money safe.

Battles in Mother happen randomly. But in EarthBound and Mother 3, you see enemies on the map. Touching an enemy starts a turn-based battle. This means you and the enemy take turns attacking. The battles are shown from a first-person view.

A special move in the series is the "SMAAAASH" text and sound. This appears when you land a powerful hit on an enemy.

Who Are the Characters?

Some characters appear in more than one game. These include Giygas, Mr. Saturn, and Pokey/Porky.

• Giygas: This alien is the main bad guy in Mother and EarthBound. In Mother, Giygas shows some feelings. But in EarthBound, Giygas is an "indescribable" force. In both games, Giygas is defeated by love and prayer, not just weapons. This is different from many other games.
• Mr. Saturn: These unique creatures appear in both EarthBound and Mother 3. They look like an old man's head with feet, a big nose, and one hair with a bow. They are peaceful and smart. Even though they are often attacked, they have pure hearts.
• Pokey/Porky: Pokey starts as Ness's shy neighbor in EarthBound. He doesn't like to fight. But by Mother 3, he becomes a mean and powerful villain named Porky. He doesn't care about anyone's life.

Music in the Mother Series

The music for Mother and EarthBound was made by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka. Many people compare the Mother soundtrack to music by the Beatles. It also sounds like music from children's television shows. Some songs from Mother were used again in later games.

For Mother 3, Shogo Sakai composed the music. He made sure it still felt like the other games in the series. Fans loved that the music kept the unique and quirky style of the previous soundtracks. The music is often described as a mix of 20th-century pop music.

How the Mother Games Were Made

Mother (First Game)

A Famicom cartridge for the first game in the Mother series.

The creator, Shigesato Itoi, had an idea for an RPG set in modern times. This was unusual for RPGs back then. Shigeru Miyamoto, a famous Nintendo designer, liked the idea. Itoi then put together a team to make the game.

The first game, Mother, was released in Japan on July 27, 1989. It came out for the Famicom (known as the Nintendo Entertainment System in other countries). An English version was planned but was stopped. Years later, fans found this English version online. It became known as EarthBound Zero. In June 2015, Nintendo officially released the game in English as EarthBound Beginnings for the Wii U Virtual Console.

Mother is a single-player RPG. It takes place in a slightly strange version of the late 20th-century United States. Instead of fantasy places, you fight in warehouses and labs. You use baseball bats and psychic powers instead of swords and magic. The story follows a young boy named Ninten. He uses his psychic abilities to fight hostile objects and other enemies.

EarthBound (Mother 2)

Mother 2 was made by a different team. Itoi again wrote the story and helped design the game. The game took five years to make. It almost got canceled many times. But then, producer Satoru Iwata (who later became Nintendo's president) helped save the project.

Mother 2 was released in Japan on August 27, 1994, for the Super Famicom. It was translated into English for North America. To avoid confusion, its English title was changed to EarthBound. It was released on June 5, 1995, for the North American Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Nintendo spent a lot of money (about $2 million) to market EarthBound in America. However, it didn't sell very well. At that time, RPGs weren't very popular in the United States. The game's unusual "this game stinks" marketing campaign, which included smelly scratch-and-sniff ads, also didn't help. Because of poor sales, the game was not released in Europe.

EarthBound continues the story of Mother. You play as a young boy named Ness. He discovers that an alien force, Giygas, is filling the world with hatred. This turns animals, humans, and objects into evil creatures. A bee from the future, Buzz Buzz, tells Ness to collect melodies in a Sound Stone. This will help stop Giygas.

Ness meets three other kids on his journey: Paula, Jeff, and Poo. They join his party. Along the way, they visit many strange places. When the Sound Stone is full, Ness goes to Magicant. This is a surreal place in his mind where he fights his dark side. After that, he travels back in time to fight a young Giygas. This final battle is known for being very emotional.

EarthBound is a Japanese role-playing game inspired by Dragon Quest. It's known for its modern, satirical setting and its funny characters and enemies. For example, you might fight enemies like "New Age Retro Hippie." The game also has many jokes and puns. It even plays pranks on the player, like giving you useless items.

Mother 3 (Final Game)

Mother 3 was first announced in 1996. It was planned for the 64DD, an add-on for the Nintendo 64. However, the game faced many problems during development. It was eventually canceled in 2000. This was partly because the 64DD didn't sell well.

A signed, boxed copy of Mother 1 + 2

Three years later, Mother 3 was announced again for the Game Boy Advance. A combined game, Mother 1 + 2, was also released for the Game Boy Advance. Itoi decided to release Mother 3 because fans really wanted it. The new Mother 3 used 2D graphics instead of 3D. It was released in Japan on April 20, 2006, and became a bestseller. It was not released in North America because Nintendo thought it wouldn't sell well.

Mother 1 + 2 was released in Japan on June 20, 2003. This game cartridge includes both Mother and EarthBound.

Unlike the earlier games, Mother 3 is told in chapters. The story begins when the Pig Mask Army starts a forest fire. They bring strict rules to a peaceful forest village. A father named Flint tries to protect his family. The game's hero, Lucas, becomes important in the fourth chapter. Lucas, his dog, a thief, and a princess fulfill a prophecy. They pull "Needles" from the Earth to wake a sleeping dragon. This will decide the world's future. The game has a lighthearted story with funny characters.

Mother 3 is a single-player RPG. You use two buttons: one for talking and checking objects, and one for running. It updates the turn-based battle system with a "rhythm-action mechanic." You can tap buttons to the music to get more attacks. The "rolling HP meter" from EarthBound also returns.

Will There Be a Mother 4?

Around the time Mother 3 was released in 2006, Itoi said he had no plans to make Mother 4. He has said this many times since. He felt the strongest desire to create the first Mother game for the players. He made the second game for his own interests. For the third, he wanted to be very creative.

Because there are no official plans for more games, EarthBound fans have created their own projects. They have made petitions for English releases. They even created a full fan translation of Mother 3 themselves. This shows how dedicated the fans are. Other fan projects include a documentary and a fan-made sequel called Oddity.

Nintendo released EarthBound for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013. Mother (as EarthBound Beginnings) was released for the same platform in 2015. In 2022, Nintendo added Mother 1 and 2 to their Nintendo Switch Online service.

Legacy of the Mother Series

The Mother series is known as "one of Japan's most beloved" game series. It also has a very strong and lasting fan community. The "Eight Melodies" theme from the series is even used in Japanese elementary school music classes.

Many critics consider EarthBound a "classic" or a "must-play" video game. It has appeared on many "top games of all time" lists. IGN ranked it 13th among its top 100 SNES games. They praised its unique world and 1960s-inspired music. When EarthBound was re-released, many new players loved it.

Critics also say Mother 3 is one of the best RPGs for the Game Boy Advance. Some even say it's one of the closest games to literature.

Mother in Super Smash Bros.

Ness, the main character from EarthBound, became very well-known because he appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series. He has been in every game in the series. In Europe, where EarthBound was not originally released, many people know Ness more from Super Smash Bros. than from his own game.

In Melee, Ness returned. The game also included Mr. Saturn, which players could throw at enemies. There's even a Fourside level in Melee, based on a location from EarthBound.

Originally, Lucas, the main character from Mother 3, was supposed to replace Ness in Melee. But Mother 3's first release was canceled. So, Ness stayed in Melee. Later, Lucas joined Ness in Brawl. Both characters have been in all the newer Super Smash Bros. games. Players can even fight in the Magicant stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, which shows clips from the Mother series in the background.

Images for kids

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  The official logo for the Mother series.

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  A Famicom cartridge for the first game in the Mother series.

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  A signed, boxed copy of Mother 1 + 2.

See also

In Spanish: EarthBound (serie) para niños