Mother 3 Impressions (SPOILERS WARNING)

[KyoZaber]

This thread's purpose is for impressions on the game (as far as you've played it.)
Due to the nature of impressions, there will probably be SPOILERS om this thread, so keep your eyes peeled.
I hear any complaints that something got spoiled for someone, then I've got one word for that complainer...

READ

Anyway... back to what I was talking about...
Mother 3.

I finally got my hands on this bad boy Monday. So far, I'm highly impressed. Despite the fact that I can't understand a word they're all saying, this game is still showing itself off as a treat. Itoi, the game's creator and writer, seems to have struck a chord with his latest story.

At this point, I'm sorry to say, that folks expecting something closely like EarthBound may be a little disapointed by the beginning. Believe me, the introduction does not stay quiet for long. While in EarthBound all you had to do was go to a meteorite, then take you evil friend home, in this game trouble seems to hit you and your characters fast.

I'm not going to fully spoil anything... but from the looks of it...
... Let's just say that Buzz Buzz's death is peanuts in comparison with the person who's lost at the start of this game.
I'm hopeing it'll turn out that she'll be ok some how... Yet... I honestly don't know...

One thing that I'm feeling strongly is that Mother 3 ties in with EarthBound. I could be (and probably am) wrong, yet I've seen things at the start here that look like stuff Pokey would've stolen from Dr.Andounuts. One of the bad guys can be seen flying around in what looks like a rip-off of the Sky Runner. While one of their camps has the instant revitalizer machine only with a piggy nose on it. ... I smell Pokey all over this... and I don't like it...

As I had thought, this Mother game seems to be focusing on Man and Nature. The main bad guys seem to be developing a bad habit of screwing with nature. ... And it's turning out really bad results. ... Well... good for the bad guys anyway.
A forest fire is started when they release some kinda monsters into the forest. Even when the fire is put out by rain, the animals are still screwed up and mean that are there.

Anyway... That's all I've got for now.
Current Impressions: Not a full blown knock-off from EarthBound, yet not looking too bad. I've got high-hopes for this game.

[NPC]

Where'd you get that ROM

I remember originally the story was supposed to have something to do with an antagonist known as "The Pig King" This, however, has nothing to do with Pokey since (and here I'm guessing Itoi kept the main idea of Mother 3) this installment takes place before the other two games. The main protagonist was also a cowboy named Flint, who had two sons and a dog who got into the action at a certain point. In the N64 version, Flint wakes up in the middle of the night (which seems to be a trend in Mother) and hears some loud noise, gets out of the house and finds something from space. That's about all I know, except for this interesting fact: Flint is apparently the first to encounter that race called Mr. Saturn.

...OH, I've GOT to play this...

[D-Mac]

Where'd you get that ROM

ROMs art evil! EVIIIILLL! A pox on thee, I say! 

He hath imported yonder game! 

[KyoZaber]

Where'd you get that ROM

I remember originally the story was supposed to have something to do with an antagonist known as "The Pig King" This, however, has nothing to do with Pokey since (and here I'm guessing Itoi kept the main idea of Mother 3) this installment takes place before the other two games. The main protagonist was also a cowboy named Flint, who had two sons and a dog who got into the action at a certain point. In the N64 version, Flint wakes up in the middle of the night (which seems to be a trend in Mother) and hears some loud noise, gets out of the house and finds something from space. That's about all I know, except for this interesting fact: Flint is apparently the first to encounter that race called Mr. Saturn.

...OH, I've GOT to play this...

No rom for me. =3

Unless you've played fully through you really can't say that it may not have anything to do with Pokey. And claiming that it takes place further in the past strengthens the possibility that Pokey could be behind it due to the fact that the porker was in a Time Machine and escaped durring the final battle in Earthbound. Which if you remember also took place in the past.

And yes, Flint does wake up in the middle of the night, yet he doesn't find anything from Space.
He wakes up to Gilligan banging on his door due to a fire caused by Dark Helmet wanna-bee's.

If I get anything or find any way to take some screen shots from my own system, I'll be sure to get 'em. up. But for now I'm very limited to what I can fully describe. -_-

Where'd you get that ROM

ROMs art evil! EVIIIILLL! A pox on thee, I say! 

He hath imported yonder game! 

You got that right chief. ^_^

[NPC]

ROMs art evil! EVIIIILLL! A pox on thee, I say! 

He hath imported yonder game! 
[/quote]

97.43% of my games are ROMs. Yes, I am shameless.

Another thing I remembered from the orginal was it took place during a time period where PSI was no longer available to humans. Along the way, Flint was supposed to have learned what he called "Magic." :3 I don't know how he learned it... I read that article years ago.

[Methid Man]

I have the ROM for Earthbound. Nobody saw a problem with that. :p

-- Sam the 'Microscopic Man'

[Supersonic]

I have the ROM for Earthbound. Nobody saw a problem with that. :p

-- Sam the 'Microscopic Man'

tsk tsk tsk.

I'm even worse, I have the ROM for Mother 3 XD

[NPC]

I have the ROM for Earthbound. Nobody saw a problem with that. :p

-- Sam the 'Microscopic Man'

tsk tsk tsk.

I'm even worse, I have the ROM for Mother 3 XD

ROMs for Mario 64, Super Smash Bros. and Donkey Kong 64 = PWNDED

[KyoZaber]

MAJOR SPOILER


I KNEW IT! GALL DANG-IT I KNEW IT!
HE'S BACK! The little turd that should've been shot is back!
Pokey! That little son-of-a-gun! *Takes Aim.* I knew he'd be the one screwing everything up!

And for those of you who still doubt...
http://students.dsu.edu/smithd/pokey.png

This was taken from Chapter 8 in the game. My guess is that Pokey loved all the attention that Foreside was giving him... Figures he'd go for a similar one. I swear... If I get the chance this time... *Takes aim.* I gonna cap him!

[NPC]

Pokey's back?? Kill time. I'm surprised that he's in it...
(Loads shotgun) Point me to him.

[Thunderbees]

That's not the only cameo.

Trust me, this game is "strange, funny...and heartrending." Sure, I can't understand half of what they're saying. There's a  translation project going on at gamefaqs and at the starmen.net forums.

Do yourself a favor and don't spoil yourself on the game.

[NPC]

What? Starmen.net is STILL alive??

I haven't been there in years...Confounded school filter... I've GOT to get my own Web connection...

Edit- poik007.googlepages.com

Has a few translations as well as some info. Check it out.

Edit#2- W00T I found teh R0M!
My afternoons are now booked from 1 to 5. ^_^

[NPC]

Well, I played through the game a bit.

As soon as I saw the tall dude ringing the bell I KNEW I would like this.

I'm glad that this game is not like the other two that much. I personally liked Flint better than Ness or Ninten. You can tell he's a rockin' guy by the way he tugs on his hat.

The wierd pig things running around being bad(and being on drugs) somehow remind me of Pokey. I wonder why.

The dash attack kicks butt, as well as the music. Gotta love Earthbound's tunes.

I hope this story deals with Giygas in some way, but it looks like he won't be popping out of his little planet for a few thousand years...

Good game, hope it sells.

[NPC]

Without being able to read a word of this game, I have come to the conclusion that it is better than both of the previous Mother games. Now, I could be wrong except I'm never wrong since I'm only halfway through it. But it has snake-chickens, Nazi-Piggies, a band whose merchandise causes certain Piggies to forget how to fight, Mr. Saturn, walking tables, a pudgy monkey-zapper and an annoying kid with an oversized helmet who commands the Pig Army.

This game has it ALL.

[NPC]

Well...

I beat the game last night.

VERY BIG STORY SPOILER

...and the Pig King turned out to be Pokey. A very bleached Pokey. He obviously hasn't been eating his veggies, judging from all the boxes of candy in his room. So, it seems that Pokey went into the PAST when he left the fiasco with Ness. He wanted to make himself an Empire(it's called "Empire Porkey," since that's his name in Japan.), so he carted different people to this time period to do his work for him, even Dr. Andonuts! LOL But-- Pokey was not the final boss!(Pokey, after he had been beaten, goes all "Cliched RPG End-Boss on us as gives a monologue about how he can never die... especially when he gets into this "Absolute Saftey Capsule." Uh, it worked... but Dr. Andonuts, who crafted it, neglected to tell him on thing. It grants absolute safety for the occupant, but it also keeps everything else safe from whatever's inside the capsule. >:DDD Pokey was curiously silent when this became clear to him. >:DDDDD)
Anyway, the final boss turned out to be--------- not Giygas. ;_; I won't tell you who. Just play it and see for yourself!

The game truly lives up its previous stated motto.

The game has become one of my new favorites, not for the gameplay(on which its lacking) or for its visuals(which are out-performed by many other 2D RPGs.

I'm pretty sure it's because of the game's 'heart.'

Now, said out loud, that probably sounds ridiculous. But this game actually connects you with these characters, characters more 'real' than many I've seen.

I took this quote from a review I read. It describes my feelings a bit better than I can.

Mother 3 is an unusual RPG not in the sense that it is unique or different in terms of gameplay and execution, but in the sense that it is completely orthodox, and knows it. The game does not feature any unique gameplay system or character growth systems, it does not feature an indepth complicated minigame of any sort, and it definitely does not have an amazing battle system. So why would anyone be interested in such a game? The answer is that not everyone would immediately be interested in the game, but those that ignore it will have missed out of the entire point of Mother.

Where the game lacks in innovation, it makes up triplefold in charm. Where the game lacks in technical power, it makes up triplefold in actual quality. Every moment in Mother 3 from the beginning spills with charm and invites the player to love and treasure it. The characters are well written and likable, with a very strong narrative that decides to be more personal than epic, which is a fine choice for a game with such strong characters. The actual tale of the game revolves around a family living in the mountains of an isolated island called Nowhere Isle. The two brothers live with their mother and grandfather on the top of the mountain where there are talking dinosaurs, while their father works in the town below. One day an alien invasion tears the town apart and makes everyone realize that in other to survive the changes ahead they must stick together. The story is pretty much a mix of sci-fi, supernatural, off-beat jokes and some very strange antagonists. Like any other Mother game it features stock elements like alien invasions and psychic powers, but everything is also crafted lovingly to be special and different.

The game this time is divided into several different chapters, with each chapter featuring a unique theme, different characters in your party and telling a different side of the ongoing story. In this sense the game allows itself to jump around through the timeline and covering all the important characters much more closely and allowing the player to bond with each major character and fully develop them to their maximum narrative potential. It is clear that Itoi is a professional writer first and foremost before a game designer, and his unique brand of humor seperates the game from any other RPG product on the market today.

Being a game means it is an interactive piece of media, and Mother 3 takes full advantage of that. Although the writing is definitely the strongest point, the actual art design, music, interactivity and story sequences are definitely not forgotten. The game sports some of the most fluid animation ever seen on the GBA in the event sequences. The sprites are large enough to have nice visible details, but it is when they actually move to perform actions in a story sequence where they truly shine. I am in no way a Brownie Brown fan after their other disappointing projects, but I have to tip my hat to them for putting together a solid engine and excellent art resources for Mother 3. I guess it really shows that when a technically capable developer is teamed with an excellent designer, the results can be very different. The music and sound effects courtesy of HAL Laboratories is also outstanding with some of the best tunes I have heard on the GBA. While there are still limitations based on the hardware, they definitely went all out to push it as far as it can go. The narrative of the game never forgets that someone is playing the game, so there are constant nods to the player being different from the characters in the story even though you're allowed to name every single major playable character in the game. It constantly invites the player to get involved with the story and that really makes all the difference when the story is one on a more personal level between characters instead of an epic quest which you just follow along with.

In the end, how much you actually enjoy the game will depend largely on your expectations going in. Mother 3 is not a revolutionary RPG title that shows off the latest state-of-the-art gameplay mechanics and high-tech forms of storytelling. It is simply a very well crafted tale of scifi humor revolving around a family's struggle against an invasion on their lives, presented with a normal 2D RPG engine with above average art and sound. If Final Fantasy is the latest Hollywood blockbuster, than Mother 3 is simply something like the Simpsons or King of the Hill. An alternative voice, telling a different kind of story.

To add my two cents: the music is indeeded some of the best I've heard on the Advance. The game is worth a play, even if you disliked Mother 2. However, I don't forsee a US port at all, due to just sometimes things may be too offbeat. =(

(The review called them, "various politically-incorrect content issues. You draw your own conclusion... :3)