EarthBound series

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The EarthBound (known in Japan as Mother) series is a role-playing game series created by Shigesato Itoi for Nintendo. The two-game series started in 1989 with Mother for the Famicom/NES and was followed up by a sequel, Mother 2 (known as EarthBound in America) for the Super Famicom/Super NES system.

Although most RPGs depict knights and wizards in pseudo-medieval settings (such as Final Fantasy), Mother is set in a suburban 1988 America and Mother 2 is set in 199X in EagleLand. Enemies consisted of everything from aliens, to possessed cars, to evil hippies. Instead of swords and shields, weapons consisted of household items, from Yo-yos to frying pans. The series became extremely popular in Japan, and merchandise for the game was produced, including shirts, handbooks, and even a fully-orchestrated and performed soundtrack. Its popularity matched and even surpassed that of Dragon Quest.

1 Mother
2 Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back! / EarthBound
3 Other games
4 Notable characters
5 External links

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Mother

Translation of opening text:

In the early 1900s, a dark shadow covered a small county town in rural America. At that time, a young married couple vanished mysteriously from their home. The man's name was George, the woman's name was Maria. Two years later, as suddenly as he left, George returned. He never told anyone where he had been or what he had done. But, he began an odd study all by himself. As for Maria, his wife... she never returned. The year is 1988, in the outskirts of Mother's Day.

Mother told the story of a young boy who had to journey around the world to save the planet from an evil race of mind-controlling aliens. Along the way he was joined by several friends, and met many unusual characters and visited strange settings before ultimately confronting the leader of the aliens. The game was a smash hit in Japan, and gamers appreciated its unorthodox and refreshing take on the often formulaic role-playing game genre.

Nintendo of America planned to translate and release the first Mother game in the United States under the title EarthBound. The game was ultimately deemed unprofitable for a US release, however, and the project was cancelled after the game had already been translated and all packaging and advertising was ready. It was confirmed by former Nintendo employee Phil Sandhop, that Nintendo refused to release EarthBound (Zero) in America because the Super Nintendo had already been released in America and they thought that no one would notice a new NES game because a large number of gamers had already shelved their Nintendo Entertainment Systems for their new Super Nintendo. Simply put, it was due to marketing.

In recent years, one of the auctioned beta cartridges of the game was made into a ROM and circulated for download on the Internet. To avoid confusion, the game was dubbed EarthBound 0 by fan translation group Neo Demiforce, as Nintendo had since released the Super Nintendo sequel to Mother in America under the title EarthBound.Template:-

Fans of the series and other video game enthusiasts still debate today as to the origin of the original development cartridge. Some people claim that the original beta cartridge is just an elaborate hoax in which a translated rom of the original Mother was burned to a blank EPROM chip and passed off as a prototype. Other less skeptical fans contest that the original prototype is a legitimate relic that managed to be saved from destruction.

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Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back! / EarthBound

Template:Main Mother 2 is a distant sequel to the original Mother, with many characters, themes, and tunes borrowed from its predecessor. Many of the characters and settings are very similar, but the only explicitly returning character is Giygas, who swears revenge at the end of the first game (evidenced by Mother 2's Japanese subtitle: "Gyiyg Strikes Back!").

Though Mother never saw the American marketplace, its sequel for the Super Famicom/SNES, Mother 2, did. It went by the name of EarthBound in the US and starred a young psychic boy by the name of Ness. It too was extremely popular in Japan, but it did not sell as well in the US, as RPGs were generally unpopular with the American market at the time, and this game was released just as strong RPG titles such as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger appeared, whose graphics and sound made EarthBound's look dated. However, the game has since developed one of the strongest cult followings in North America, a community which is still thriving today.

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Other games

A compilation for the Game Boy Advance, called [[Mother 1 + 2]], was released in Japan Q3, 2003. The game was meant to promote the upcoming Mother 3 (also for Game Boy Advance) as the rebirth of the franchise. Mother 3 had been in development for the Nintendo 64, but it was cancelled due to production problems. The game's story had already been developed, along with the main characters, but the game's creator reported in a series of interviews that he has written a new script, so it is unknown what, if anything, will be kept from the cancelled project.

Mother 1+2 is not expected to be released in North America, and Mother 3 was released in Japan on April 20, 2006.

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Notable characters

The first two games feature four main characters who are largely the counterparts of the other:

Image:Mother-1.png

Ninten / Ness - The main protagonist in both games is a boy in a red cap who never speaks. He is gifted with telepathy which gives him magical powers.
Lloyd / Jeff - The main character is later joined by a smart boy with glasses who is very skilled at building inventions.
Ana / Paula - Both games likewise feature a female character in a pink dress who is also a skilled psychic.
Teddy / Poo - The last party member in both games is a skilled fighter. In Mother he is a street gang leader, while in Mother 2 he is an oriential martial arts master.