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EarthBound Beginnings

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EarthBound Beginnings
MOTHER Mother
Mother boxart.png
Mother boxart
File:EarthBound Beginnings banner.jpg
Banner from the Nintendo website
System Famicom, Wii U Virtual Console
Genre RPG
Rating T for Teen (ESRB rating, EarthBound Beginnings rerelease)
Publisher Nintendo
Developer APE Inc.
Release dates
Japan July 27, 1989
June 14, 2015 (Wii U Virtual Console)
North America June 14, 2015 (Wii U Virtual Console)
Europe June 14, 2015 (Wii U Virtual Console)

EarthBound Beginnings (Japanese: マザー Mother, stylized as MOTHER), is a 1989 roleplaying video game originally released on the Famicom. It was developed by Ape Inc. and was published by Nintendo, and is the first game in the EarthBound trilogy. Originally created by Japanese copywriter Shigesato Itoi, EarthBound Beginnings follows the travels of four children — Ninten, Lloyd, Ana, and Teddy — and their attempts to stop an intergalatic alien's invasion of Earth. Gameplay takes place within an overworld consisting of Americana themes and tropes, where random encounters trigger turn-based battles with menu interfaces.

Mother was released to positive reception and commercial success in Japan, although some noted its difficulty. In 1990, Nintendo of America commenced and completed localization of the game under the name Earth Bound. However, the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and other difficulties resulted in the game not being released for the NES. Prototype cartridges of the localized version were discovered and uploaded to the Internet in 1998. Mother would later be succeeded by Mother 2 and Mother 3, of which only Mother 2 would be released internationally as EarthBound. Mother was later part of the Game Boy Advance compilation Mother 1+2, and would finally be released in North America on the Wii U Virtual Console as EarthBound Beginnings, following the original prototype version.

Plot

During the 1920s, a cloud forms over a small American town, during which a couple, George and Maria, are abducted. Years later, George quietly returns, and begins a study of powers called PSI.

In the year 198X, Ninten, a young boy north of the city of Podunk, has his house wracked by a doll, which holds a tune that he memorizes. His father calls and instructs him to go on an adventure to realize his PSI skills. In the town, he rescues Pippi, a girl missing in the graveyard, and calms the Zoo, where animals had gone crazy due to the influence of a cosmic Starman. Heading east, Ninten comes across an entryway to Magicant—a mystical world ruled by Queen Mary. She explains the importance of finding eight melodies to complete a song. Returning to the normal world, Ninten finds a boy named Lloyd, who joins Ninten's party. They head to the wintry town of Snowman, where a psychic girl named Ana joins the party. The children find the melodies along canaries, haunted houses, a talking cactus, and dragons beneath Magicant.

Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana arrive in Ellay. The leader of the Bla-Bla Gang, Teddy, attacks the group, but soon becomes amiable after losing to Ninten. At the base of the nearby Mt. Itoi, Ninten and Ana profess their love. A large robot attacks their cabin, and the party is saved by Lloyd. Teddy is severely injured. The party continues to climb Mt. Itoi, and meet George's benevolent robot, EVE. Their quick ascent ends after EVE sacrifices herself to defeat a large robot. After learning the final melody at the summit of the mountain, the party is teleported to Magicant. Queen Mary, recalling the Melodies, tells the party of her adopted young alien child named Giygas, and reveals herself as Maria. Magicant, a result of her own conscience, disappears, along with Maria herself, leaving the children to face the alien threat at the peak.

At the top, Giygas reveals himself, telling how George stole the ability of PSI, unknowingly "betraying his people". Giygas attempts to unleash an attack on the party, but the children sing the Eight Melodies to him. Giygas, recalling Maria and her motherly love, is overwhelmed in emotion, and departs from the Earth. Lloyd, Ana, and Teddy return to their normal lives, while Ninten returns home. His father calls, and while waiting for Ninten to answer, states that "something has come up".

Blurb

The year is 198X. As Ninten, a young boy from Podunk with psychic powers, you must locate the eight melodies to aid the Queen of Magicant. Armed with your trusty baseball bat, you'll fight crazed hippies, zombies... and the occasional Magic Snail? Find out what's causing these strange phenomena in the first-ever US release of the EarthBound Beginnings game!

Robots are everywhere, and Ninten can't beat them alone. You'll have to team up with a colorful cast of unexpected characters–including Lloyd, Ana, and Teddy–to win intense battles with psychic attacks. PK Fire! PK Thunder! PK Freeze! Sound familiar? Well, Ninten isn't the only one with psychic powers–his companion Ana also uses offensive PSI attacks to help out in battle.

But that's just the beginning of your epic team-ups. On Ninten's journey between Magicant and Earth, you'll join forces with the Flying Men too! Have a blast exploring an abandoned zoo, saving the world, and more!

Characters

Playable characters

EarthBound Beginnings has four different characters that can be controlled by the player. At the beginning of the game, the player must give a name to the following four characters. Only three can be in the party at a time.

Template:Party list} Template:Party list/cell |- Template:Party list/cell |- Template:Party list/cell |- Template:Party list/cell |}

Non playable characters

EarthBound has a variety of non playable characters. The following are important factors to the storyline:

  • Maria is Ninten's great grandmother. She and her husband were abducted by aliens in the 1900s. Her consciousness appears in Magicant, where she rules as Queen Mary.
  • George is Ninten's great grandfather. While abducted by aliens, he studied and stole the knowledge of PSI.
  • EVE is a robot created by George to defend Ninten. Residing at the base of Mt. Itoi, EVE possess the seventh melody.
  • Giygas is an vengeful alien that was sent to retrieve the information of PSI. He is the main antagonist of the game.

Gameplay

The game utilizes random encounters, similar to other early RPGs, such as the Final Fantasy series. When Ninten takes a certain number of steps, the screen will transition to the battle screen, displaying a random enemy. In battle, Ninten must defeat the enemy simply by attacking or using PSI, short for Psionics. Additionally, Ninten has the option to run if the enemy is too powerful to fight. If Ninten defeats the enemy, he and any members in his party will gain EXP. Once Ninten gains a certain amount of EXP, his level increases, allowing for greater stats and new PSI powers. A high level is mandatory to finish the game, as the enemies progressively get more and more powerful as Ninten progresses.

Status ailments

Status ailments are conditions that hinder the player or an enemy in battle. They can usually be cured with certain items.

  • Asleep - renders the player unable to do anything.
  • Asthema - renders the player unable to attack. This ailment is exclusive to Ninten.
  • Blindness - decreases the accuracy of an attack.
  • Bound - similar to paralysis, can only be afflicted with a rope.
  • Cold - causes the player to lose 1 HP for every 8 steps in the overworld.
  • Confusion - confuses the player, making them able to attack anyone, even those in their party.
  • Faint - occurs when the player's HP reaches zero. The player gains a Game Over if their entire party has this ailment.
  • Paralysis - renders the player unable to do anything.
  • Poison - same as Cold.
  • PSI Block - renders the player unable to use PSI
  • Puzzled - causes the player to daydream.
  • Stone - renders the player unable to do anything.

Statistics

  • HP (Short for "Heart Points") - Shows the amount of damage Ninten can withstand. Any healing item replenishes this.
  • PP (Short for "Psychic Points") - Shows how much PSI Ninten can use.
  • Offense - Shows the maximum amount of damage Ninten can deal with a normal attack.
  • Defense - Shows how much damage Ninten can resist from an enemy attack.
  • Speed - Determines how fast Ninten can attack. If he has the greater speed, he attacks first.
  • Strength - Determines how much HP is gained when a character levels up.
  • Fight - Determines the likelihood of an attack being successful, as well as the likelihood of it being a Smaaaaash! hit.
  • Wisdom - Shows how likely a status ailment can be inflicted on an enemy.
  • Force - Determines how much PP is gained when a character levels up.

Enemies

Normal enemies

Image Name HP PP EXP Money Location
Lamp.gif Lamp 6 0 1 $0 Ninten's house
Rat.gif Rat 10 0 3 $2 Ninten's house
Choucream Zoo
Sweet's Little Factory
Centipede.gif Centipede 12 0 1 $1 Podunk
Choucream Zoo
Crow.gif Crow 22 0 3 $4 Podunk
PseudoZombi.gif PseudoZombi 30 0 8 $12 Podunk
South Cemetery
Snake.gif Snake 18 0 2 $8 Podunk
StrayDog.gif Stray Dog 16 0 4 $10 Podunk
Merrysville
Duncan's Factory
Reindeer
TheHippie.gif The Hippie 25 0 6 $35 Podunk
Wally.gif Wally 20 0 5 $35 Podunk
GangZombie.gif Gang Zombie 34 0 12 $32 South Cemetery
Ghost.gif Ghost 20 0 5 $10 South Cemetery
MrBat.gif Mr. Bat 20 0 4 $7 South Cemetery
Alligator.gif Alligator 30 0 21 $18 Choucream Zoo
BionicCenti.gif BionicCenti 35 0 18 $14 Choucream Zoo
Elephant.gif Elephant 70 0 60 $99 Choucream Zoo
Fly.gif Fly 10 0 1 $1 Choucream Zoo
Gorilla.gif Gorilla 40 0 23 $52 Choucream Zoo
Hyena.gif Hyena 30 0 12 $20 Choucream Zoo
Tiger.gif Tiger 35 0 24 $47 Choucream Zoo
BigWoodoh.gif BigWoodoh 70 0 100 $140 Magicant
Dadseyes.gif Dadseyes 40 0 35 $53 Magicant
Magicant Underground
Foureyes.gif Foureyes 40 0 32 $26 Magicant
Magicant Underground
Groucho.gif Groucho 35 0 3 (If defeated)
60-80 (If left alone)
$12 Magicant
Magicant Underground
MagicSnail.gif Magic Snail 50 0 42 $28 Magicant
Momseyes.gif Momseyes 40 0 35 $34 Magicant
Magicant Underground
RaebYddet.gif Raeb Yddet 40 0 25 $27 Magicant
SkyYddet.gif Sky Yddet 74 0 40 $23 Magicant
Watcher.gif Watcher 30 0 5 $20 Magicant
Magicant Underground
Woodoh.gif Woodoh 40 0 40 $38 Magicant
Ullrich.gif Ullrich 40 60 50 $65 Magicant Underground
BagLady.gif Bag Lady 90 0 63 $150 Merrysville
Eagle.gif Eagle 45 0 36 $30 Merrysville
Fugitive.gif Fugitive 60 0 60 $350 Merrysville
LilSaucer.gif Lil Saucer 32 20 20 $22 Merrysville
Reindeer
Spookane
File:MadCar.gif Mad Car 40 0 55 $32 Merrysville
Reindeer
File:MadTruck.gif Mad Truck 60 0 57 $30 Merrysville
Reindeer
File:ManiacTruck.gif ManiacTruck 80 0 75 $58 Merrysville
Reindeer
File:PsychoCar.gif Psycho Car 40 0 61 $45 Merrysville
Reindeer
File:PsychoTruck.gif Psycho Truck 58 0 24 $37 Merrysville
Reindeer
Rope.gif Rope 80 0 48 $80 Merrysville
Reindeer
Barbot.gif Barbot 60 40 32 $45 Merrysville
Sweet's Little Factory
Spookane
Bear.gif Bear 80 0 70 $250 Merrysville
Spookane
Cougar.gif Cougar 42 0 32 $25 Merrysville
Spookane
Skunk.gif Skunk 40 0 32 $32 Merrysville
Spookane
Wolf.gif Wolf 50 0 34 $31 Merrysville
Spookane
Bomber.gif Bomber 60 0 56 $32 Duncan's Factory
DrDistorto.gif Dr.Distorto 60 0 45 $40 Duncan's Factory
FireBall.gif Fire Ball 58 50 61 $35 Duncan's Factory
OldRobot.gif Old Robot 60 30 54 $38 Duncan's Factory
Scrapper.gif Scrapper 70 30 65 $38 Duncan's Factory
BigFoot.gif Big Foot 90 50 150 $48 Snowman
LoneWolf.gif Lone Wolf 80 0 100 $41 Snowman
PolarBear.gif Polar Bear 100 0 160 $50 Snowman
LoneWolf.gif Silver Wolf 80 0 66 $43 Snowman
AlarmGhost.gif Alarm Ghost 50 0 80 $27 Rosemary's house
Armor.gif Armor 120 100 200 $300 Rosemary's house
BionicBat.gif Bionic Bat 50 0 40 $34 Rosemary's house
DustBall.gif Dust Ball 78 0 80 $100 Rosemary's house
NastyZombie.gif Nasty Zombie 90 0 68 $58 Rosemary's house
Shroudley.gif Shroudley 90 0 58 $34 Rosemary's house
Zombie.gif Zombie 70 50 48 $43 Rosemary's house
BionicScorp.gif BionicScorp 100 0 61 $56 Yucca Desert
EnergyRobot.gif EnergyRobot 80 0 202 $70 Yucca Desert
Gabilan.gif Gabilan 100 0 70 $43 Yucca Desert
Nancy.gif Nancy 120 60 68 $50 Yucca Desert
OmegaSaucer.gif OmegaSaucer 65 50 82 $57 Yucca Desert
Rattlesnake.gif Rattlesnake 100 0 57 $54 Yucca Desert
Scorpion.gif Scorpion 75 0 50 $36 Yucca Desert
StarmanM1.gif Starman 80 50 165 $68 Spookane
Yucca Desert
Swamp]
Mt. Itoi
Tarantula.gif Tarantula 120 0 205 $85 Yucca Desert
UltraBarbot.gif UltraBarbot 80 50 220 $87 Yucca Desert
RedSnake.gif Red Snake 150 0 500 $37 Youngtown
Spider.gif Spider 80 0 48 $40 Youngtown
Swamp
Ellay
Titanees.gif Titanees 130 40 78 $50 Youngtown
Swamp
Bison.gif Bison 160 0 186 $63 Swamp
Buffalo.gif Buffalo 150 0 103 $95 Swamp
Crocodile.gif Crocodile 120 0 172 $88 Swamp
Kelly.gif Kelly 120 80 102 $88 Swamp
Mook.gif Mook 85 80 166 $42 Swamp
Seagull.gif Seagull 90 0 100 $44 Swamp
Mt. Itoi
BBGang.gif B.B. Gang 80 0 72 $60 Ellay
BlueStarman.gif BlueStarman 100 80 150 $91 Mt. Itoi
Cerebrum.gif Cerebrum 200 180 89 $80 Mt. Itoi
Gargoyle.gif Gargoyle 180 60 110 $86 Mt. Itoi
GrizzlyBear.gif GrizzlyBear 340 0 250 $65 Mt. Itoi
Megaborg.gif Megaborg 160 60 197 $109 Mt. Itoi
Rockoyle.gif Rockoyle 120 60 162 $93 Mt. Itoi
SuperEnergy.gif SuperEnergy 120 0 230 $260 Mt. Itoi
File:Titanian.gif Titanian 320 0 180 $130 Mt. Itoi
OhMook.gif Oh-Mook 160 250 175 $110 Mt. Itoi
GigaBorg.gif Giga Borg 180 80 98 $143 Mt. Itoi
Juana.gif Juana 300 200 270 $362 Mt. Itoi
LastStarman.gif LastStarman 120 100 330 $389 Mt. Itoi
StarMiner.gif Star Miner 200 0 209 $138 Mt. Itoi

Bosses

Image Name HP PP EXP Money Location
Doll.gif Doll 12 0 10 $50 Ninten's house
StarmanJr.gif Starman Jr. 52 16 32 $5 Choucream Zoo
TheFish.gif The Fish 65 0 140 $180 Magicant Underground
Dragon.gif Dragon 650 220 500 $1,200 Magicant Underground
R7037.gif R7037 1,000 0 205 $71 Yucca Desert
BBBoss.gif B.B.'s Boss N/A 0 0 $0 Ellay
R7038.gif R7038 1,000 0 430 $101 Mt. Itoi
R7038XX.gif R7038XX 1,000 0 550 $180 Mt. Itoi
Giegue.png Giygas N/A 0 0 $0 Mt. Itoi

Release

Mother was originally released in Japan for the Famicom in 1989.

The game was translated into English by Nintendo of America in 1990 and slated for a 1991 release, but marketing delays prevented the translated game, to be titled Earth Bound in English, from ever seeing release. The fan group Demiforce, who had been working on their own translation of the game at the time, discovered that a prototype cartridge had been sold to Kenny Brooks, a game collector, and made a deal with him to release a ROM of the game to the public in 1998. The released ROM featured minor alterations from the prototype cartridge to get around the copy protections Nintendo had placed on it, as well as the addition of "Zero" to the title screen to differentiate it from its sequel, which had received an English release in 1995. Since then, four other cartridges with the prototype have been found, one of which resides in Nintendo of America's headquarters.[1]

Unlike the original Japanese release of Mother, the prototype English translation contains detailed enemy descriptions, some redesigned areas, and an ability to run, among other differences. A few of the changes were requested by Nintendo of America producer and scriptwriter Phil Sandhop, who stated that there were plans to release the game with an 80-page instruction manual and a separate release of the game's soundtrack, but the production costs ended up having the game cancelled. Most of the alterations later saw official release in Mother 1+2.

On June 14, 2015, Nintendo announced and released Mother for Wii U Virtual Console, in Japanese as well as its first ever English release, under the title EarthBound Beginnings. While the English version is the same as the unreleased English prototype, the Japanese version had several changes from Mother 1+2 backported to it. Notably, the Crow's cigarette was removed and a line in Twinkle Elementary School that mentioning Dragon Quest 4 had the reference to that game removed.[2]

Reception

Mother was a commercial success in Japan, receiving the "Silver Hall of Fame" score of 31/40 from Weekly Famitsu. According to a Famitsu poll, it was considered the 9th best Famicom game and the 38th best game of all time. EarthBound Beginnings also received strong positive reception in the west, similar to its successor. It was one of the most bought NES game on the Wii U Virtual Console during its lifespan, and was the only NES game with a 5 star rating during the first few months of the release. Critics praised its originality, music, and artstyle, while saying how it "parodies" other more "serious" RPG games such as the Dragon Quest series.

Balance issues

However, the game has recieved criticism, one of the most noted is the balancing problems. Many parts of the game give the enemies a sudden increase in difficulty (most infamously Mt. Itoi) which causes many players to go through long periods of level grinding in order to progress, other complaints also include the random encounter rate. Nevertheless, EarthBound Beginnings remains one of the most popular downloadable games on the virtual console behind its successor.

Gallery

For the subject's image gallery, see Gallery:EarthBound Beginnings

Trivia

  • Mother was named after the John Lennon song of the same name.
  • It took 26 years for Mother to get an English release, making it only the second game in the series to be released outside of Japan.
  • Prior to its official English release, the game was commonly called Earthbound Zero.

References

External links

Starmen.net complete walkthrough


EarthBound and MOTHER
by Shigesato Itoi
Ninten Ness Lucas Mr. Saturn
EarthBound Beginnings (Mother) EarthBound (Mother 2) Mother 3 Mother 1+2

Unreleased titles
Flint Ness
EarthBound 64
(EarthBound 64)
Untitled EarthBound game (Nintendo GameCube)
(Nintendo GameCube)


Mother Characters of
EarthBound Beginnings
Mother
Main Party
Ninten sprite.png
Ninten
Lloyd sprite.png
Lloyd
Ana sprite.png
Ana
Teddy sprite.png
Teddy
Allies
GeorgeMaria
Mimmie and MinniePippi
Queen MaryFlying MenEve
Villain
Giegue
Others
MickMrs. LindgrenA. GoodmanAbbottMysterious Goods-KeeperMysterious MimickerBenevolent Old ManForgotten ManGoldrich DuncanOld Sawbones BennyMysterious TeacherSuzyBuggerror RosemaryTom GarricksonGarrickson babyLloyd's fatherBla-Bla GangAbleBaker
List of all characters

Template:Mother locations