Mother

Mother
Developer	Ape, Inc. & Nintendo TRD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	NES
Release Date	NES JP: July 27, 1989
Gallery	None
Rating	CERO: A

Mother is an RPG for the NES. It has only been made available in Japan, though Nintendo had plans to release in America and even completed a translation and other changes, the game was delayed due to marketing and eventually was canceled as it reached the end of the NES's lifespan. A group known as Demiforce were able to obtain a pre-sell copy of the translated game and distributed to the emulation community and added Zero to the name, thus giving it the name Earthbound Zero to differentiate it from the sequel, Earthbound

Mother was unique among the RPGs of the time (and any time, really) by doing away with the medieval setting.

Story

When strange things start to happen in his home, a young boy (Ninten), investigates and sets off on a journey. Along the way he learns more about his psychic powers and his family's strange past, eventually being set on a quest to collect eight melodies and foil an invasion spearheaded by an alien being known as Giygas (or Giegue in the original translation). As he journeys, he is joined by loyal friends in the form of Lloyd, Ana and Teddy.

Gameplay

The game is quite different from other RPGs. The game has no overworld where the player moves in a map to reach towns, instead, everything is connected, the player can talk to people, search for items, and buy stuff in the same map where he fights enemies. In battle, the game used a turn based system. The player has the option to fight, use goods, attack with PSI (the games equivalent of magic), and to run. The HP scrolls down when the character is hurt, giving the player the opportunity to heal before the countdown reaches 0.Perhaps the most interesting option is Auto, which lets the computer control your characters.

Legacy

The Mother series is high praised for its soundtrack, which exploited the very cartridge of the NES, to have a big selection of music. Ness and Lucas appear as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. series of videogames.Starman appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Sequels

Mother was followed by Earthbound.

Ports and Remakes

• In Japan, Mother was ported to the Gameboy Advance in Mother 1 + 2.