Difference between revisions of "Ninten"

|jpkana={{tt|ニンテン|Ninten}}

|age=yes

|years=12 years<ref name=SomeNintenInfo>[[:File:SomeNintenInfo.jpg|Excerpt from Ninten's Encyclopedia Mother Entry]]</ref>

|relatives=[[Ninten's father|Unnamed father]]<br>[[Ninten's mother|Unnamed mother]]<br>[[Mimmie and Minnie|Mimmie]] <small>(sister)</small><br>[[Mimmie and Minnie|Minnie]] <small>(sister)</small><br>[[Mick]] <small>(dog)</small><br>[[George]] <small>(great-grandfather)</small><br>[[Maria]] <small>(great-grandmother)</small>

'''Ninten''' (named '''Ken''' in the novelization of Mother)<ref>[http://earthboundcentral.com/2011/03/ninten-isnt-exactly-ninten/ EarthBound Central: "Ninten isn't Exactly Ninten"]</ref> is the main character and protagonist in [[Mother (video game)|Mother]], the first game of the {{se|Mother|Mother series}}. He lives together with his [[Mimmie and Minnie|sisters]], his [[Ninten's father|father]], his [[Ninten's mother|mother]] and his [[Mick|dog]] in a [[Ninten's house|house]] in the northern outskirts of [[Podunk]].

Ninten weighs 42 kg, is 152 cm tall and has blood type A.<ref name=SomeNintenInfo/> He has short, black hair, although he usually wears a red cap with a blue brim, likely due to his interest in baseball, making his hair unable to be seen in-game; in his clay model, he is also shown to have visible forelocks. He wears a striped t-shirt, with the colors blue and yellow; however, the t-shirt of his Japanese sprite was originally colored blue with one black stripe. He also wears blue shorts, blue shoes with white edges, and a pair of red socks, which together make a portion of his legs visible. Red blushes can also be seen on his cheek on his clay model, being a typical feature of several Mother characters.

Ninten is often compared with [[Ness]], whom appears to be based on Ninten. Because of this, Ninten is often overshadowed by him, as [[EarthBound]] and Ness are overall much more known. In the fan community, Ninten is usually depicted with a bandana around his neck and with more variety in the coloring of his shirt, in order to distinguish him from Ness, which is due to his appearance in a Japanese commercial for Mother where these features were added.

Even though Ninten and Ness share many similarities, they have several differing qualities, mainly being visible in their official clay models. The brim of Ninten's cap is pointed to the left of his head, whereas Ness's points to the right, although Ness's brim is directed backwards in his American clay model for unknown reasons, being slightly pointed to the left. Ninten's forelocks have a more spiky look, while Ness's are more rounded, although his American model has been altered to be more spiky-looking. While Ninten has red socks and blue shoes, Ness instead wears white socks and red shoes. Ness additionally carries around a backpack, whereas Ninten does not.

His physical appearance is compared with [[wikipedia:Luke Skywalker|Luke Skywalker]] from the Star Wars franchise by several of his female classmates.<ref name=kenisu>[http://kenisu.webs.com/motherencyclopedia.htm MOTHER Encyclopedia - The Suburbs of kenisu's Magicant]</ref>

Ninten displays few distinct traits and little personality throughout the game, due to him having the role of a typical [[wikipedia:Silent protagonist|silent protagonist]]. He has only one sentence of actual dialogue in the entire game, being in the ending sequence of the game, where he merely states that it would be nice to have some rest, as the Earth's crisis is over. He is however shown to be the only main character in the game who is [[Status ailment#Asthma attack|asthmatic]], being a property which affects him negatively in-game if he is exposed to exhaust gases, and can only be cured by the use of [[List of recovery items in Mother#Asthma Spray|Asthma Spray]]. He and [[Ana]] are also the only party members that can utilize [[PSI]], although Ninten is known for only being able to use defensive PSI moves. His main weapons are [[Baseball bat]]s, being the only items in the game that are unique to him, and which is also a trait that is succeeded by [[Ness]] in [[EarthBound]]. His personality has been expanded and elaborated on in several guides and books, though the degree of canonicity in these are debatable.

In Encyclopedia Mother, he is depicted as an energetic and adventurous boy, being compared with [[wikipedia:Indiana Jones|Indiana Jones]]. His dog, [[Mick]], is very close to him, especially during his years as an infant. He is very popular in school, and has been chosen as "Mr. Leader" by his fellow classmates. He also displays a strong interest in baseball, being a "team regular" in the boys' baseball team, and thus plays baseball routinely; his favorite baseball team being the [[wikipedia:San Francisco Giants|San Francisco Giants]]. Being kept a secret from his mother, he enjoys playing the electric guitar that his father has gotten for him, especially when being accompanied by Mick. His [[favorite food]] is prime rib, which his mother serves for dinner once a week.<ref>[[:File:PrimeRibRef.jpg|Excerpt from Ninten's Encyclopedia Mother Entry]]</ref> Ninten also loves penguins, even owning a penguin toy, which is one of his most cherished possessions.<ref name=kenisu/>

Among Ninten's favorite things are his baseball cap, a ticket to the Tokyo Giants, a photo of [[Maria|his great-grandmother]], a ball signed by [[wikipedia:Shigeo Nagashima|Shigeo Nagashima]], a bent spoon, and a penguin toy.<ref name=NintensFavoriteThings>[[:File:NintensFavoriteThings.gif|Excerpt from Ninten's Encyclopedia Mother Entry]]</ref> He got the baseball cap from his father, and it is considered to be his trademark; he rarely takes it off, being mainly when he showers, when it comes off as a result from a powerful swing when playing baseball, or when he sleeps, as can be seen in the ending of {{vg|Mother}}. The Tokyo Giants tickets were brought back by his father after a trip to Japan, which Ninten believes is the "sister team" of the San Francisco Giants, being his favorite team. The sepia-colored, elliptical-bordered photo of his great-grandmother is kept in his desk, and is something he really treasures. The right half of the photo, which is thought to depict her husband, [[George]], has been torn off. Ninten received the ball signed by Shigeo Nagashima when he was watching a match in the "big leagues", and thereafter noticed that Nagashima sat next to him, recalling him from a special feature in a baseball magazine. The bent spoon became curved when he played with it during a dinner, when he already was full due to earlier having eaten at a hot dog stand, and as a result was unable to restrain himself, and bent the spoon through unknown means. Lastly, Ninten keeps the penguin toy due to his interest of penguins. When penguins were introduced at the [[Choucream Zoo|local zoo]], it made a really big impression on him, as he previously only had seen them on pictures and TV.<ref name=NintensFavoriteThings/><ref name=kenisu/>

The game starts off with Ninten's [[Ninten's house|home]] being invading by a poltergeist. Several inanimate objects are brought to life during the paranormal phenomenon, including [[lamp]]s and one of Ninten's [[Mimmie and Minnie|sister]]s' [[doll]]. After defeating the doll, he finds a music box inside of it, which starts to play a [[Eight Melodies|melody]], whose significance is left ambiguous, but still is memorized by him. After the event is over and the poltergeist has disappeared, Ninten gets a call from his father, who vaguely expresses that it is time for Ninten to go on "a little adventure" in order to explore the potential of his powers. He also tells Ninten that there is something in the house's basement that might assist him during his journey, although he has forgotten where he put the key that is needed in order to make it accessible. After Ninten has retrieved the [[List of key items in Mother#Basement Key|key]] from [[Mick|his dog]] and obtained his [[Great-Grand Father's Diary|great-grandfather's diary]] from the basement, he initiates his journey by heading to the closest town, Podunk.

On the way there, Ninten spots a [[Mrs. Lindgren|woman]] in panic in front of her home. Asking what is wrong, the woman tells him that her daughter, [[Pippi]], has gone missing. He continues into town and learns that several odd occurrences has struck the settlement; poltergeists intruding people's homes, zombies roaming around in the town, animals that are running amok in the town's zoo, and a girl who is lost somewhere in the cemetery. After talking to the [[A. Goodman|mayor]] of Podunk, he implores Ninten to rescue the missing girl. Ninten eventually finds her in a casket deep inside of the [[South Cemetery|cemetery]]. Pippi shows a liking to her rescuer, giving him a [[Franklin Badge]] if he acknowledges his bravery and modesty. Going back into town and leaving Pippi in the hands of the mayor, Ninten and Pippi part ways. The mayor then requests him to go the zoo, hoping that he will take care of the issues occurring there.

*The [[bulbapedia:Red (game)|protagonist]] of another game released by [[Nintendo]] was originally going to have one of his default names be Ninten.

*Ninten's name comes from the first few letters in Nintendo.