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{{All Game Nav|game=Mother|num=3}}
{{Header Nav|game=EarthBound Beginnings}}
{{Infobox
{{Game
|title = Mother
|completion=3
|image =
|image=EarthBound Beginnings boxart.png
|developer = [[APE]], [[HAL Laboratory]]
|title=Mother
|publisher = [[Nintendo]]
|developer={{colist|APE|Pax Softnica}}
|designer = [[Shigesato Itoi]]  
|publisher=[[Nintendo]]
|engine =  
|year=1989
|version =  
|systems={{syslist|nes}}
|released = <small><sup>'''JPN'''</sup></small> [[July 27]], [[1989]]
|ratings={{CERO|A}}{{ESRB|T}}
|genre = [[RPG]]
|title1=EarthBound Beginnings
|modes = [[Single player]]
|developer1={{colist|APE|HAL Laboratory}}
|ratings = n/a
|publisher1=[[Nintendo]]
|systems= [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Family Computer/Famicom]]<br />[[Game Boy Advance]] (port)
|year1=2015
|requirements =  
|systems1={{syslist|wiiu|switch}}
|input =  
|designer=Shigesato Itoi
|genre=[[RPG]]
|players=1
|modes=[[Single player]]
|followed by=[[EarthBound]]
|series=Mother
|seriesDisambig=Mother
}}
}}
{{series disambig}}
{{Wikibound|EarthBound Beginnings}}
'''Mother''' (also called '''EarthBound Zero''') is the predecessor to [[EarthBound]] (Mother 2), the first game in the Mother series to be released in English. An English prototype exists but was never released. Mother has since been released on the [[:Category:Game Boy Advance|Game Boy Advance]] as part of the [[Mother 1&2|Mother 1+2]] compilation; this also has not been localized.
'''EarthBound Beginnings''', known as '''Earth Bound''' in-game and in Japan as '''Mother''', is an [[RPG]] developed by [[Ape]] and [[Pax Softnica]] and published by [[Nintendo]] for the [[Famicom]] in [[1989]]. It is the first entry in the {{c|Mother}} series. It is modeled on the gameplay of the {{c|Dragon Quest}} series, but is set in the late 20th-century United States, unlike its fantasy genre contemporaries.


==Table of Contents==
Writer and director Shigesato Itoi pitched ''Mother'''s concept to Shigeru Miyamoto while visiting Nintendo's headquarters for other business. Though Miyamoto rejected the proposal at first, he eventually gave Itoi a development team. A North American version of the game was localized into English under the moniker ''Earth Bound'', but was eventually abandoned as commercially nonviable. A copy of this prototype was later found and circulated on the Internet under the informal title ''EarthBound Zero''. The game was eventually released globally as ''EarthBound Beginnings'' for the [[Wii U Virtual Console]] in June 2015 and [[Nintendo Switch Online]] in February 2022.
{{:Mother/Table of Contents}}
{{-}}
This guide is written with the English language prototype in mind, although most of the time it will fit the Japanese version as well.


=== Naming confusion ===
''Mother'' was the sixth best-selling game of 1989 in Japan, where it sold about 400,000 copies and received a "Silver Hall of Fame" score from Famitsu magazine. The game was praised for its similarities to the Dragon Quest series and its simultaneous parody of the genre's tropes; however, many considered its sequel [[EarthBound]] to be similar and a better overall implementation of Mother's gameplay ideas, with the game's high difficulty level polarizing critics, along with balance issues. The game was re-released in Japan on the single-cartridge compilation [[Mother 1+2]] for the [[Game Boy Advance]] in 2003.
:''See [[Mother/Naming differences]] for a complete list.''


These are the names most commonly given as the names of the four main characters and the final boss, respectively:
<gallery>
* Ninten
File:Mother FC title.png|Japanese title screen
* Ana
File:Earthbound Beginnings NES title.png|International title screen
* Loid
File:Mother Box Art.png|Japanese box art
* Teddy
File:Nintendo Power Earth Bound Preview.png|A Nintendo Power preview for Mother in #18
* Giegue
File:Mother Japanese Flyer.jpg|Japanese flyer
</gallery>


Instead we prefer the following names:
==Story==
* Ninten
The game follows the young Ninten as he uses his great-grandfather's studies on psychic powers to fight hostile, formerly inanimate objects and other enemies. The game uses random encounters to enter a menu-based, first-person perspective battle system.
* Anna
* Lloyd
* Teddy
* Giygas


The form "Ana" for a child born to English-speaking parents is rare, and the form "Loid" is even less common in English. We made these changes because the names would almost certainly have been localized this way. The Giegue/Giygas change is to make it clear that the alien menace in Mother and [[EarthBound|its sequel]] are the same. In Japanese, his name is Giigu, which might be rendered "Geeg". The EarthBound Zero prototype cartridge transliterates this as "Giegue" (still pronounced "Geeg"). When the sequel, EarthBound, was being prepared for its North American audience, he was tentatively named "The Geek", then when the game was released, the name was finalized as the more alien-sounding "Giygas" (pronounced GUY-gas).
From the title screen:
{{story|In the early 1900s, a dark shadow fell over a rural town in America. Shortly after, a married couple mysteriously vanished.


Giygas is the only direct connection between the plots of Mother and EarthBound, so we feel it's important to cement this link. If you're playing the EarthBound Zero prototype, everywhere we write "Giygas", think "Giegue".
The man's name was George. The woman's name was Maria.


== The characters ==
Two years later, George returned home but never told anyone where he had been or what he had done. Instead, he deeply immersed himself in strange research.
=== Ninten ===
That's you! Ninten is strong all around, his only weakness being that he never learns any PK attacks, and his Lifeup is weak (he has only Lifeup &alpha; throughout most of the game, and only gets Lifeup &beta; near the end).


Preferred weapon: Hank's Bat
As for his wife, Maria...she never returned.


=== Anna ===
80 years have passed since then.}}
Anna is weak, and will never do serious physical harm to your enemies using a weapon. However, she can use the PK attacks, such as PK Fire and PK beam, and she learns Super Healing, which allows her to revive fallen comrades.


Preferred weapon: Iron Skillet (but boomerang is almost as good)
From the manual:
{{Story|It happened at the beginning of the 1900s. A black cloud-like shadow fell upon a town in rural America and a married couple went missing. The husband’s name was George; the wife’s name was Maria. People grieved for them, but there was nothing they could do aside from pray to God. Perhaps their prayers were heard, for about two years later, George unexpectedly returned to his home. However, he made no attempt to speak to anyone about where he had gone or what he had been doing. They saw George immerse himself in a mysterious research, and all sorts of rumors began to fly. But time stole past, and even the gossip train died away from people’s speech. Even so, what they did not forget was that in the end, his wife Maria never did return home…Then, 1988. It’s terrible! It’s terrible! What’s terrible, you ask? A lampstand is clattering around Minnie’s room, and a milk-drinking doll is spinning around through the air in Mimmie’s room! I mean, is there anything more terrible than this? I’m guessing it falls on me to protect my still-little sisters, doesn’t it? And I’m hardly one to talk, as I’m just a twelve-year-old kid myself, but I’m the only man in this house. I’ve got three ladies I have to protect. Which reminds me, where’d Mom run off to?


=== Lloyd ===
Phew! Things have managed to quiet down here in the house. My mom was flustered, but even she’s calmed down now. I know! Let’s call Dad. “It was a form of poltergeist, I guess. I believe your great-grandfather once researched psychic powers (PSI). Taking a look through the storage room might clear something up here.” Sure enough, Dad came through for me, although he did sort of drop the ball by forgetting where he left the key to the storage room. But I knew right away. In the storage room there was an item that seemed like it could be pretty useful, my great-grandfather’s diary or something like that. Huh?! Useful for what, you ask? I’ve made a resolution: I’m gonna use my own strength to pin down the source of these mysterious happenings, and protect my mom, Minnie and Mimmie.<ref name="Kenisu Manual">[https://forum.starmen.net/forum/Games/Mother1/I-ve-translated-the-original-game-manual-and-Ninten-s-mom-HAS-A-NAME/page/1#post2143521 Kenisu3000's english translation of the Mother manual]- Starmen.Net</ref>}}
Lloyd is the "weakling", although he is much stronger than Anna. However, he has no PSI powers. Instead, he can use items such as bombs and plasma guns. Unfortunately, these rarely prove useful (the weapons are always either one-shot or broken easily). However, you should be glad he's around because he is needed to get through various parts of the game -- and he saves your life. He's also a decent attacker, nearly rivaling Ninten towards the end of the game.


Preferred weapon: Air Gun
{{ToC}}


=== Teddy ===
==References==
The Big Bad Boss of the Bla Bla Gang. He replaces Lloyd for the penultimate segment of the game. Although the B.B. Gang is generally incompetent, Teddy himself is downright dangerous with a bladed weapon, and will easily surpass Ninten in attack strength. He cannot use PSI.
{{Reflist}}


Preferred weapon: Katana
{{Mother}}


== Items ==
[[Category:Nintendo]]
=== Armor ===
Every character should be equipped with a Magic Coin, Gold Ring, and Water Pendant (H<sub>2</sub>O Pendant). The Water Pendant defends against fire attacks. Fire attacks are the most common elemental attacks you'll face, because certain enemies (Big Woodoh, Dust Ball, Energy Robot, Super Energy) will explode after you defeat them, dealing fire damage to each character. While you can always run away from them instead, the damage isn't that bad if everybody has a Water Pendant.
 
[[Category:July 27]]
[[Category:1989]]
[[Category:RPG]]
[[Category:RPG]]
[[Category:Single player]]
[[Category:Single player]]
[[Category:NES]]
[[Category:APE]]
[[Category:HAL Laboratory]]
[[Category:Nintendo]]
[[Category:Mother]]

Latest revision as of 03:10, 20 March 2024

This is the first game in the Mother series. For other games in the series see the Mother category.

Box artwork for Mother.
Box artwork for Mother.
Mother
Developer(s)APE, Pax Softnica
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Year released1989
System(s)NES
Followed byEarthBound
SeriesMother
Designer(s)Shigesato Itoi
Genre(s)RPG
Players1
ModesSingle player
Rating(s)CERO All agesESRB Teen
EarthBound Beginnings
Developer(s)APE, HAL Laboratory
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Year released2015
System(s)Wii U, Nintendo Switch
LinksEarthBound Beginnings ChannelSearchSearch

EarthBound Beginnings, known as Earth Bound in-game and in Japan as Mother, is an RPG developed by Ape and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo for the Famicom in 1989. It is the first entry in the Mother series. It is modeled on the gameplay of the Dragon Quest series, but is set in the late 20th-century United States, unlike its fantasy genre contemporaries.

Writer and director Shigesato Itoi pitched Mother's concept to Shigeru Miyamoto while visiting Nintendo's headquarters for other business. Though Miyamoto rejected the proposal at first, he eventually gave Itoi a development team. A North American version of the game was localized into English under the moniker Earth Bound, but was eventually abandoned as commercially nonviable. A copy of this prototype was later found and circulated on the Internet under the informal title EarthBound Zero. The game was eventually released globally as EarthBound Beginnings for the Wii U Virtual Console in June 2015 and Nintendo Switch Online in February 2022.

Mother was the sixth best-selling game of 1989 in Japan, where it sold about 400,000 copies and received a "Silver Hall of Fame" score from Famitsu magazine. The game was praised for its similarities to the Dragon Quest series and its simultaneous parody of the genre's tropes; however, many considered its sequel EarthBound to be similar and a better overall implementation of Mother's gameplay ideas, with the game's high difficulty level polarizing critics, along with balance issues. The game was re-released in Japan on the single-cartridge compilation Mother 1+2 for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

Story[edit]

The game follows the young Ninten as he uses his great-grandfather's studies on psychic powers to fight hostile, formerly inanimate objects and other enemies. The game uses random encounters to enter a menu-based, first-person perspective battle system.

From the title screen:

In the early 1900s, a dark shadow fell over a rural town in America. Shortly after, a married couple mysteriously vanished.

The man's name was George. The woman's name was Maria.

Two years later, George returned home but never told anyone where he had been or what he had done. Instead, he deeply immersed himself in strange research.

As for his wife, Maria...she never returned.

80 years have passed since then.

From the manual:

It happened at the beginning of the 1900s. A black cloud-like shadow fell upon a town in rural America and a married couple went missing. The husband’s name was George; the wife’s name was Maria. People grieved for them, but there was nothing they could do aside from pray to God. Perhaps their prayers were heard, for about two years later, George unexpectedly returned to his home. However, he made no attempt to speak to anyone about where he had gone or what he had been doing. They saw George immerse himself in a mysterious research, and all sorts of rumors began to fly. But time stole past, and even the gossip train died away from people’s speech. Even so, what they did not forget was that in the end, his wife Maria never did return home…Then, 1988. It’s terrible! It’s terrible! What’s terrible, you ask? A lampstand is clattering around Minnie’s room, and a milk-drinking doll is spinning around through the air in Mimmie’s room! I mean, is there anything more terrible than this? I’m guessing it falls on me to protect my still-little sisters, doesn’t it? And I’m hardly one to talk, as I’m just a twelve-year-old kid myself, but I’m the only man in this house. I’ve got three ladies I have to protect. Which reminds me, where’d Mom run off to?

Phew! Things have managed to quiet down here in the house. My mom was flustered, but even she’s calmed down now. I know! Let’s call Dad. “It was a form of poltergeist, I guess. I believe your great-grandfather once researched psychic powers (PSI). Taking a look through the storage room might clear something up here.” Sure enough, Dad came through for me, although he did sort of drop the ball by forgetting where he left the key to the storage room. But I knew right away. In the storage room there was an item that seemed like it could be pretty useful, my great-grandfather’s diary or something like that. Huh?! Useful for what, you ask? I’ve made a resolution: I’m gonna use my own strength to pin down the source of these mysterious happenings, and protect my mom, Minnie and Mimmie.[1]

Table of Contents

edit

References[edit]