Game Club 199X #31: Mother (NES)

[Deleted]

We feel a bit bad that those people who voted for Mother and got screwed by William Shatner. So we've decided to just make Mother the game of May. Don't just celebrate Mother's Day, make it a Mother's Month too!

Mother (NES)



PRO TIPPZ:

• Here's a tip for Magicant that's not that obvious: the Groucho/Bonus Swoosh enemies have a chance of leaving the battle on their own and giving a random character a big Exp. boost as they leave. Keep defending and it'll happen eventually. ~ Jungyin

Voting technically ended on April Fools' Day 2014. :V

*NOTE*: When voting, please choose a game that you want to play - and will play - but have not beaten entirely or beaten recently, say, within the last 5 - 10 years.

You may not vote for a game that you have played or spoiled within the last year! It's also best to vote for a game that you have not played before.

All votes are final, so no going back if you change your mind. If you're going to vote, we'd like to have you along for the ride!

Previous 3 GC9X Threads:

• GC9X Episode #30: William Shatner's TekWar
• GC9X Episode #29: King's Field II
• GC9X Episode #28: Fallout 2

[kal]

William Shatner's Mother

[vnisanian2001]

I was waiting for this game to come.

This is one of those games in which you gotta have as much patience as possible to be able to sit through all those enemy encounters. It doesn't seem too bad at first, but then when you reach the Advent Desert, the game's difficulty throws a huge curveball at you. And unless you are at a reasonable enough level, forget about fighting the Dragon early for the 6th melody.

[Deleted]

Hmm..I could join in this one. Is the GBA translation of it easy enough to find? :\ Could be up for playing it on the go.

[zerker]

I've of mixed feeling about this. On one hand, I'm not really interesting in splurging for a copy of Mother 1. On the other hand, this might get me in the mood to pick up Earthbound on Wii U VC and play that instead

[cardinalfang]

May 3, 2014 12:03:22 GMT -5 @gmbison said:

Hmm..I could join in this one. Is the GBA translation of it easy enough to find? :\ Could be up for playing it on the go.

Found the GBA translation pretty quick: mother12.earthboundcentral.com/

It does look like the author included an item that may be considered a "cheat". He calls it the Easy Ring, and it majorly increases the amount of money/exp you get from killing enemies. My guess is, we probably want to avoid using that if we're trying to play the game as is. Still, this website also includes some tips that might be good to keep in mind.

[The Great Klaid]

Are we free to play any version, because I have a cart of Earthbound Zero, that could use a bad excuse to get some real play. I think I only ever saved Pippi.

[cardinalfang]

Since nobody else has replied on this one, I'm going to assume that yes we can play any version of the game. Not like there's that many to choose from, and that's usually been the case anyways.

[Deleted]

It's been ages since I played this, so I have a question: Is there any special method of storing items you don't need like Escargot Express in Earthbound? I'm sure there has to be, since only having room for eight items is bogus.

I can at least impart this advice: After saving Pippi, meet her at her house, then say "No" then "Yes," and you'll get a very special item which should come in handy down the line.

ADD: And I just realized you can consult your sister at your house to leave behind your deadweight. I forget if there'll be any reliable storage later in the game or if you'll have to keep coming back there.

[xerxes]

May 4, 2014 12:09:56 GMT -5 cardinalfang said:

May 3, 2014 12:03:22 GMT -5 @gmbison said:

Hmm..I could join in this one. Is the GBA translation of it easy enough to find? :\ Could be up for playing it on the go.

Found the GBA translation pretty quick: mother12.earthboundcentral.com/

It does look like the author included an item that may be considered a "cheat". He calls it the Easy Ring, and it majorly increases the amount of money/exp you get from killing enemies. My guess is, we probably want to avoid using that if we're trying to play the game as is. Still, this website also includes some tips that might be good to keep in mind.

Here's my take on it: If you think you might want to try the "easy mode," play the GBA version so you can remove the cheat when you're done grinding. The low-exp aspect of this game is not really elemental to the gameplay. The high encounter rate, however, is. It encourages careful planning and preparation before entering dungeons, for example, or before traveling long distances on foot (which is normal throughout the game).

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Earth Bound's magic system is designed around the high encounter rate. What I loved about it was how absolutely crucial PSI powers were to survival late in the game. Unlike most JRPGs, your characters will never really get physically powerful enough to forego magic use.

[Deleted]

There's a large chunk about this game that I don't quite remember. What do you do with the canary chick? I came across this graveyard that has a weird dude and lots of birds in it and I think I'm supposed to give the chick to one of them, but none I've checked seem to work with it. There's also this gray stone that stands out from the yellow ones and I have no idea what to do with it either. This part is located south from the zoo, for the record.

[Jungyin]

You give it to the canary that's in the zoo itself, I believe. Can't remember if the grey stone is significant or not.

[Deleted]

I realized that you could go behind the gray stone to actually talk to the real canary, and I got the third song. However, now I can't remember how to get into Magicant through the pink shell thingy in the cave. I seem to need some sort of tail, but I can't remember for the life of me what item I need to present...

[Jungyin]

I recall you have to use Telepathy on it and need your GGF's Diary, or need to USE it while in front of it.

[Deleted]

May 8, 2014 21:43:40 GMT -5 Jungyin said:

I recall you have to use Telepathy on it and need your GGF's Diary, or need to USE it while in front of it.

... oh, I do need the diary after all. Son of a brisket. Thanks for the tip!