Photo : Nintendo

“In the early 1900's, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America. At that time, a young married couple mysteriously vanished from their home. The man’s name was George, the woman’s name was Maria. Two years later, as suddenly as he left, George returned. He never told anyone where he had been or what he had done. But, he began an odd study, all by himself. As for Maria, his wife... She never returned.”


As this ominous introduction fades to black, the pixels on our screen suddenly rearrange themselves, presenting us something quite strange. There is no bloodied battlefield filled with iron clad warriors charging at sinister dragons that have returned from ancient mythos, or seasoned mages sitting in their chambers, solemnly sharing the lore of the land and the disasters that brought a once mighty continent to ruin. Rather, the player is met with a young boy sitting in his bedroom- the picturesque antithesis of the typical 90's JRPG setting.

With titles like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest dominating the market at the time of its release, it was no wonder that Mother (known as Earthbound Zero or Earthbound Beginnings in the west) became extremely popular with Japanese players. Medieval settings, characters, and tropes have always been staples of the genre, and in all honesty, were essentially the main identifiers of a roleplaying game during the late 80's and early 90's.


Itoi years later, marveling at the popularity of his series Photo : Game Watch

Not very many developers were willing to break the mold, until a man named Shigesato Itoi came along. Itoi had been contacted by Nintendo to work on marketing for a dating sim titled Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School. (which was only released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System, if you’re interested in getting your hands on it) During the development and release of the game, Itoi realized he had finally received the golden opportunity to pursue his own projects, and quickly drafted a proposal for what would later be known as Mother.


Nintendo giant Shigeru Miyamoto wasn’t initially invested in the project, due to his belief that Itoi was just another celebrity using the entertainment medium to gain his fifteen seconds of fame. However, Hiroshi Yamauchi (CEO of Nintendo at the time) decided to give Itoi’s game a chance, believing that he could breathe a little fresh air into the stagnant video game industry of the time. And so, the Mother series was born- pun intended.

So what makes this game so special? Besides its modern, yet simplistic take on the turn based roleplaying niche, Mother encapsulates the feeling of eldritch eccentricity and cognitive dissonance. You play as a young boy named Ninten who suddenly gains psychic powers as a result of the alien conspiracy hatched by his grandfather . He must embark on an arduous journey in order to defeat an evil extraterrestrial named Giegue, who has been plotting the destruction of Earth from the safety of his cosmic realm. It’s up to Ninten and his rag tag group of allies to unearth the mystery behind Giegue, and stop this intergalactic evil once and for all. (Until the sequel, of course)


The game’s charm lies in it’s mix of playful whismy and disheartening verisimilitude. Unlike it’s sequel, Mother has a lot more of those somber moments, the brief lapses into the harshness of reality that incite a sense of self-reflection and mediation in the player. While the game features minimal dialogue and interactions between characters, the world building created in those brief correspondences, as well as conversations with NPCs, truly sets the mood and tells the player that there is more than meets the eye in this title. In addition to the visuals, the game’s soundtrack is mindblowing, a mix of nostalgic rhythms and upbeat romps that will likely be stuck in your head by the end of the adventure.




Many things are left to player interpretation, which allows you to create your own cognition and interpretations of many characters and events in the game. With the exception of Ninten, the other main characters all have have distinct backstories and personalities, as well as their own motivations for embarking on the journey. Despite the story and overall progression feeling rather bare bones in some instances, I enjoyed the game’s plot, finding it’s simplicity and linearity rather endearing. In a game like Mother, less complexity meshes well with the story’s overall messages and themes.


Fun fact: this enemy was censored in the English release due to the implications of having cigarettes in a family friendly Nintendo title.

The gameplay is typical for its’ era, with a basic magic and turn based combat system, as well as the option to equip or consume items that will increase/decrease your stats. In each area you have the option to visit shops and purchase new gear and items, find shelter or healing for your party, interact with locals and various other NPCs, or be thrust into a barrage of random encounters. I can say with 99% confidence that the majority of your Mother experience will be spent engaging in the latter. The difficulty curve, especially towards the later half of the game, is particularly steep and requires a bit more grinding than most contemporary titles.


In that moment, players everywhere rejoiced

Now, I’m not saying the gameplay is a slog. In fact, I find it quite challenging, albeit frustration inducing in some parts, but still enjoyable. You can take my opinion with a grain of salt though, considering I’m one of the five people in existence who had a lot of fun with Persona 2. If you’re not really into having to grind endlessly for the necessary EXP and cash that you need, there is a solution that will completely cure your woes. The Easy Ring. If you’re playing the prototype (Earthbound Zero) or the e-shop version, you should be able to obtain the easy ring quite... easily.


Speaking of convenience, Mother is extremely accessible to modern players. Since the game never saw an official English release, players had to resort to emulating the prototype version of the localization. The data on the cartridge was the final product that was meant to hit American shelves in 1991. Due to advertising blunders amidst other extenuating circumstances, the game was never ported outside of Japan, until a surprise Wii U virtual console release several years ago.


If you don’t have a Wii U, like most people, there are other ways for you to experience Ninten’s adventure. A famous translator and blogger in the Mother community has translated the Mother 1 portion of the Japan-only GBA collection, Mother 1 + 2. There is also a 25th Anniversary hack that’s been going around the internet for awhile, which features updated graphics, map design, and other nifty features.



If you are interested in the wacky, wonderful world of Mother, I implore you to give the game a chance. Sure, it’s a little rough around the edges, as well as a product of an era long past, but the game will fill you with a myriad of emotions by the time you find yourself trekking up the difficult, soul-crushing summit of Mt. Itoi and facing off with the destroyer of mankind.


Just remember, no crying till the end.