I have an idea for a video but it will require input from YOU! I'd like to discuss some hot takes regarding the MOTHER Series, so if you have a take you feel like is worth discussing, leave a reply to this post and I may just cover it.
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As we know there was clearly more plans for King to have some kind of further involvement in EarthBound, I think it was a bad decision to cut that concept. I do not find EarthBound's start to be difficult, but to an inexperienced player, it can be a nightmare. I think King should've (1/3)
stuck through the entirety of Onett. Then, by the time Ness leaves south to head to Twoson, Ness' family should've stopped him, King would leave the party, and they'd bid Ness a farewell as he'd move on with his journey. The transition from Onett to Twoson feels like a moment where (2/3)
I personally feel nothing special, other than when the Twoson music hits. So adding the additional King gameplay plus the scene with Ness' family (and more like said cutscene idea) would have made EarthBound feel like a proper story. Most of the time, EarthBound is very point A point B imo. (3/3)
The lack of character interaction in MOTHER 1 and 2 is more of a strength than a hindrance. While the subtext in both games indicate personalities with the cast (especially with M1 with more defined motivations), the lack of explicit personalities allow more role-playing elements from the player.
i dont think another MOTHER game after 3 would be as bad of an idea as people make it out to be in the context of it being a completely separate story from 3. i think itoi's love story and original detective concept would work fine
george did not "steal psi." if anything, he stole EVEs schematics. i dont get where the conception that george stole psionic powers from aliens and somehow spread them to the children of the world actually came from but its a weirdly contentious topic.
Not sure how relevant this take is anymore, but I don’t think Earthbound would look good in HD-2D as I saw quite a few people suggesting back in 2017-2018. Chrono Trigger on the other hand…
a lotta fans dislike how mother 3 is so different from mother 2, but i think it's awesome. imo mother 1 is also very unlike the other two in its tone & storytelling. it's cool having a little anthology game series, where each installment stands on its own - and even exists in its own world.
mother games are united by their overarching themes (like growing up, the power of human compassion, familial love), which each game explores in new ways. they don't have to follow the same plot or characters, or even tell the same kinds of stories, to keep building on those messages. i love that.
itoi was really bold to craft each game as its own thing imo, rather than rehashing through the obligatory stuff you'd expect of a "sequel". dude wasn't making a Franchise, he making Art. each game resonates with different players in different ways, cuz they're all such unique experiences.
( tldr hot take 🔥: i think some fans just wanted mother to be a series of endlessly repetitive earthbound-esque adventures. kinda like how pokemon rehashes the same stuff over & over. nostalgic comfort food. but that was never itoi's vision, and imo mother as a whole is much stronger for it. )
Aside from a few theories being wrong (George Stole PSI, Flint is Abusive, Giygas Fetus Theory, Time Loop Theory)... I think the closest I have to a hot take is that the lore/story of the games is NOT a distraction from the vibe or experience, but a core part of it. Also Mother 1 had the best music.
The ardent militarism of Giygas's people contextualizes his refusal to form or accept attachment or weakness perfectly.
Magicant's ties to the Power of the Earth, and that power ultimately being what unites all things, adds so much to Mother 1, the finale of EB, AND the latter half of Mother 3.
PK Beam is not as interesting of a PSI Ability people think it is. It's just a prototype of what PK Rockin' and PK Love would be. The only thing if note is that Ana uses it, not Ninten, as well as appearing in the commercial. That's about it really.
While the variety in locales is a highlight of the game, I would say that EarthBound doesn't quite succeed at presenting a globetrot, or a climax where "the whole world comes together to save the day." (1/2)
The *majority* of the game is spent in (basically) US and Europe... It's possible that the South Hemisphere is unvisited. I feel that this criticism is justified by the emphasis placed on Ness's destiny "overlapping with everyone else's". EB is my fav game, but I'm disappointed by this aspect. (2/2)
I don't really care that Mother 3 hasn't gotten officially localized. The game has been fan translated for over a decade now, and it's of such high quality that it may as well be official.
Mother 1 has better characters / story than its sequel, and to be honest I believe Mother 2 / EarthBound to be moreso the "outlier" in spirit and tone in the trilogy vs. the others
MOTHER 2's writing is great of course, but I think it has the weakest overall story of the trilogy 🙊 it does an especially bad job at being a sequel to 1 in that regard (Gyiyg's transformation between games makes little sense, for example).
Well, for the most part, it's not between games. Bad Future!Giygas commands Starman Jr., and the Giygas we fight gives coherent orders until ~Deep Darkness. Giygas is stable most of the game. But it is his devotion to his own hatred and fear, his refusal to love or to be loved, that destroys him.
There's almost nothing connecting the character between 1 -> 2, and his transformation in 2 isn't explained well. To your last point, I agree that's the likely explanation, but it is conjecture (unless it's said in an Itoi interview I'm forgetting about).
It's not directly addressed in those words, true. But it is emphasized in the Tenda Tea scene that Giygas is growing ever more terrified of Ness, and what's left of him in the end can only really wail in agony and repeat his name. But also telling is that one thing he can say is "...Friends...".
I think there's quite a bit to connect who he is between the two. Buzz Buzz wasn't a threat to Future Giygas's existence or rule. Killing him was pure spite. The Giygas we hear through Monotoli is familiar. He is petty, angry, hateful, and seeks power, but he only ever finds it in self-destruction.
Comments
3s original gba look is the best iteration of the games art style.
sandhops 1 translation is way better than tomatos.
adding a run button to 2 is sacrilegious.
im sick of artists portraying mother characters in the peanuts art style.
boney shouldve learned psi.
grinding for the sword of kings is stupid.
Magicant's ties to the Power of the Earth, and that power ultimately being what unites all things, adds so much to Mother 1, the finale of EB, AND the latter half of Mother 3.
I don't believe EB64 is this mythical superior product that fixes all of Mother 3's problems.
Theres alot that if maded it into the final GBA game, could've enhanced it but I don't think it would be superior to what we got as some fans believe!
I am satisfied and happy with the Mother 3 we have and I'd rather focus on that then what could've been.
Despite liking all the things we know about the canned 64 game and all the Itoh art.
There's almost nothing connecting the character between 1 -> 2, and his transformation in 2 isn't explained well. To your last point, I agree that's the likely explanation, but it is conjecture (unless it's said in an Itoi interview I'm forgetting about).