Difference between revisions of "Ninten"

|jpkana={{tt|にんてん|Ninten}}

|size=120px

|age=yes

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

|games=[[Mother (video game)|Mother]]

|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.

 

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.<ref>"Well, now that the Earth's crisis is finally over, I think I'll just lay down for a moment and Zzzzzzzzz" - Ninten</ref> 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 only capable of using 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. 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 to him by his father after a trip to Japan, which Ninten believes is the "sister team" of the [[wikipedia:San Francisco Giants|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=kenisu/><ref name=NintensFavoriteThings/>

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]]s. 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.

Even though no reward will be given from the mayor for the deed, a cave to the east of the zoo will become accessible. Inside of the cave, Ninten will come across a strange rock-like object, that telepathically will ask him a vague riddle-like question. When he finds a corresponding answer in his great-grandfather's diary, and then says it out loud, he will be transported to the mysterious land of [[Magicant]]. Upon entering a [[Queen Mary's Castle|castle]] in the northern portion of Magicant, Ninten will meet the the governing figure of the land, [[Queen Mary]]. She requests him to retrieve the eight notes of a song, which she herself has forgotten, and then return to sing it for her. Ninten then exits Magicant through an [[Magicant Underground|underground maze]], and is sent to another rock-like object located inside of a cave.

The party returns to Union Station, where they discover that a small portion of the tracks leading to the east are demolished, making it impossible for the train to transport them beyond that point. They do instead make a detour around the cliffs north of the tracks, leading to them ending up in [[Yucca Desert]]. In the desert, the party come across a cactus with some facial features. After using [[Telepathy]] on it, it will start to sing the fifth melody. To the east of the cactus resides a man, who will let Ninten and his friends borrow his tank once they have obtained ten [[List of key items in Mother#Ticket Stub|Ticket Stub]]s, which can be purchased from him from prices between {{$}}5 to $15. After the tank has been obtained, the party heads further to the east, to the [[Ruins of Desert]], whose entrance is guarded by an [[R7037|enormous robot]] that must be battled in order to enter; the tank must however be sacrificed during the battle with it. The ruins are inhabited by various monkeys and has a maze-like layout; when the party manages to traverse the ruins and reach an entrance leading to a cave with yet another rock-like object, they will yet again be transported to [[Magicant]].

{{Gallery}}

{{Gallery/cell|Ninten sprite.png|Ninten|Ninten's regular appearance.}}

{{Gallery/cell|Ninten(Japanese).png|Japanese|Ninten's regular appearance from the Japanese [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]] version.}}

{{Gallery}}

*The [[bulbapedia:Red (game)|protagonist]] of [[bulbapedia:Pokemon Red and Blue|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.

*Ness was designed to be similar to Ninten in appearance to allow the player to choose whether they were the same person or different.