EarthBound Beginnings

EarthBound Beginnings ＭＯＴＨＥＲ Mother
EarthBound Beginnings boxart (Nintendo Switch Online)
System	Famicom
Rereleases	Wii U Virtual Console (initial platform outside Japan) Nintendo Switch (Nintendo Switch Online)
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) February 10, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)
North America	June 14, 2015 (Wii U Virtual Console) February 9, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)
Europe	June 14, 2015 (Wii U Virtual Console) February 10, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)
Other boxart Mother boxart

StrategyWiki guide for Mother.

EarthBound Beginnings, also known by its Japanese name Mother (Japanese: マザー, stylized as ＭＯＴＨＥＲ) and is sometimes retroactively referred to as Mother 1 when using the Japanese titles, 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 Mother series. 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 intergalactic 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 localized the game under the name Earth Bound. However, the release of the Super Famicom and other difficulties resulted in the localization not being released for the NES. It was later released in 2015 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of EarthBound releasing in North America, where it was retitled as EarthBound Beginnings to distinguish it from its sequel, despite the title screen still referring to it as Earth Bound. Despite this, in 1998, prototype cartridges of the localized version were discovered, and their ROMs were subsequently uploaded to the internet for fans to play. While these prototype cartridges did contain the complete localization of the game, they also contained notoriously easy to trigger copyright protection screens that could cause the game to become unplayable. Because of this, a patch was released by fans to remove these triggers. For confirmation that the patch worked, the patch also changed the title to Earth Bound Zero, which became a common name used by fans to distinguish the game from its sequel, with some still using it even after it was officially released as EarthBound Beginnings.

Mother would be succeeded by Mother 2 (released internationally as EarthBound) in 1994, which itself was followed by its own sequel Mother 3 in 2006. In 2003, Mother was also released as part of the Game Boy Advance compilation Mother 1+2. On June 15, 2015, in celebration of the game's 20th anniversary, Mother was officially released in English on the Wii U Virtual Console as EarthBound Beginnings, making it the second installment of the series to be released outside of Japan. In February of 2022, EarthBound Beginnings was rereleased for the second time internationally, this time being made free for owners of Nintendo Switch Online.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article or section may contain major plot or ending details! Proceed with caution.

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 1988, Ninten, a young boy north of the city of Podunk, has his house wracked by a poltergeist causing his lamp and sister's doll to come to life. Once the poltergeist left he examines the doll, which holds a tune that he memorizes. His father calls and instructs him to go on an adventure to realize his PSI skills. He advises Ninten to find his Great Grandfather's diary left in the basement. In the town, Ninten searches for a young girl named Pippi, who had gone missing in the graveyard. After rescuing her, Ninten is tasked by the mayor to calm the Zoo, where animals had gone crazy. Along the way he returns a lost canary chick to its mother, who sings a song which Ninten memorizes. At the zoo the animals became hostile due to the influence of a cosmic Starman. After defeating it and calming the animals, he learns another melody from a singing monkey. Heading east, Ninten comes across a cave with a strange pink rock where he hears a voice speak to him telepathically. He reads the Great Grandfather's diary which opens 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 after receiving a bottle rocket from the nearby factory. After this they head north to find a way to clear a landslide which is blocking the train station past the town's northern exit. After traveling through the large Duncan's Factory, Lloyd fires a bottle rocket to blow up the rocks to clear the way. They head to the wintry town of Snowman, where a psychic girl named Ana joins the party after Ninten returns her hat. Ana informs Ninten that they must check on the town of Youngtown. Along the way the children investigate a haunted houses, where a piano plays a melody for Ninten all on its own. They then head through a vast desert where a talking cactus sings another melody. At Youngtown they find that all of the childrens' parents have been abducted by a large spaceship and taken to Mt. Itoi, beyond a swamp and to the town of Ellay.

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 and joins the party leaving Lloyd behind to rest. They continue to find the rest of the melodies, where one is guarded by a dragon beneathe Magicant. Their next destination is Mt. Itoi, where inside a house at the plateau, Ninten and Ana profess their love. A large robot attacks their cabin, and the party is saved by Lloyd. Teddy, however, is severely injured, forcing Lloyd to rejoin the team. 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, however the wrecked EVE is revealed to contain a melody for Ninten to learn. At the peak of the mountain they find George's gravestone. Suddenly crystal fragments appear to teach Ninten the final melody. The party returns to Magicant to sing the full song to Queen Mary. She recalls the Melodies along with 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 summit.

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.

Sprite

Name

Description

Ninten

Ninten is the game's protagonist. A 12-year-old boy from the town of Podunk, he is sent by Queen Mary of Magicant to locate the Eight Melodies. Ninten can use special PSI abilities like 4th-D Slip and Quick Up. He can also use various baseball bats to attack opponents.

Lloyd

Lloyd is an 11-year-old weak and nerdy boy from Merrysville. Although lacking PSI, Lloyd can attack enemies using various types of guns and explosives.

Ana

Ana is a 12-year-old girl from Snowman. Ana joins Ninten to look for her missing mother. She possesses many powerful offensive PSI abilities. Additionally, Ana can use frying pans as weapons.

Teddy

Teddy is the boss of the Bla-Bla Gang. Teddy joins Ninten to avenge his murdered parents. Although he lacks PSI, Teddy excels in physical combat, especially with blades.

Non playable characters

EarthBound Beginnings 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.
Asthma - 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 a character can withstand. Any healing item replenishes this.
PP (Short for "Psychic Points") - Shows how much PSI a character can use.
Offense - Shows the maximum amount of damage a character can deal with a normal attack.
Defense - Shows how much damage a character can resist from an enemy attack.
Speed - Determines how fast a character can attack. If they have the greater speed, they attack 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 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

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

Bosses

Name	HP	PP	EXP	Money	Location
Doll	12	0	10	$50	Ninten's house
Starman Jr.	52	16	32	$5	Choucream Zoo
The Fish	65	0	140	$180	Magicant Underground
Dragon	650	220	500	$1,200	Magicant Underground
R7037	1,000	0	205	$71	Yucca Desert
B.B.'s Boss	N/A	0	0	$0	Ellay
R7038	1,000	0	430	$101	Mt. Itoi
R7038XX	1,000	0	550	$180	Mt. Itoi
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 under the new title of Earth Bound, but marketing delays prevented the game from being released. 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 ROM was released with a patch that 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 for confirmation that the ROM was patched, as well as to differentiate it from its sequel of the same name. 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 (minus the copy protection), 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 mentioned 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 games 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. Around the time of its initial release, EarthBound Beginnings was the best selling downloadable game on the Wii U in America and Europe, surpassing Splatoon in digital sales^[3].

Balance issues

While positively received, there are still various criticisms with the game - namely, the infamous difficulty spikes. Many parts of the game have enemies far more powerful than the previous section's (most notably Mt. Itoi) which forces grinding. Another complaint is also the random encounter rate, with enemies appearing far more frequently than other RPGs of the time.

Gallery

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

Boxart

English boxart for EarthBound Beginnings used for Nintendo Switch Online

Japanese boxart for Mother

Promotional art

Nintendo eshop card artwork

North American banner from the official website

European banner from the official website

Title screens and logos

English title screen

Japanese title screen

EarthBound Beginnings logo from the E3 2015 trailer

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.