The Gamer's Quarter

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

This topic is dedicated to my amiacable work colleague on TGQ, Mister Toups, and also the Mother (or Earthbound) series of games by Shigesato Itoi.

The dedication is due to him being the only person I know with the energy to annually complete the game.

I completed the first Mother game for the Famicom a few years back, over a lengthy 3 day weekend. It was an exhilerating experience, and I was lucky enough to know people who also completed it, and the game was discussed.

Just recently I have finally completed Mother 2, or Earthbound.... but have no one to discuss it with, and feel strangely empty after finishing it.

So post your Mother/Earthbound/Shigesato Itoi thoughts HERE!

Personally, I enjoyed the SNES game more in the long run, but I preffered the ending to the FC version. I think it has a strong affect on you, which you play first. For starters, the battle system is hella annoying in the first.

What I really want to know is, has anyone read that Mother book he wrote? Apparently it was a short novel based on the first mother game, but I can't find anymore info on it.

ApM · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 9:12 am Post subject:

Shigesato Itoi was a judge on Iron Chef once.

Seeing that was about the nerdiest moment of my life.

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 9:17 am Post subject:

Do you remember what the theme ingreedient was? I'd love to see that!

-Wes
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dessgeega · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 10:14 am Post subject:

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Oh. I thought this would be another topic like this.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I will be playing Earthbound this summer for the first time ever because Toups is making me. That aside I may ... or may not, play Mother first. What, with PSP emulation and the NES emulator being the best one out there right now. Hell, I can't pass this up.

Mister Toups · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:04 pm Post subject:

YOU LEAVE MY MOTHER OUT OF THIS

...

Playing through Earthbound this year, what strikes me is how incidental the You Sanctuary locations are to the plot. Whatever the situation is in the given town you are in, it tends to be unrelated (or tangentally related at best) to the sanctuary location. It's possible to skip Lilliput Steps after rescuing Paula; alternatively you can do it even before rescuing her. Whether or not the current conflict is resolved has nothing to do with the Your Sanctuary Location, in that case. In other areas, their are more connections but they are still tenuous and arbitrary.
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where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

You have never played Earthbound? Add my name to the list of people forcing you to.

Though I would say avoid playing Mother (or Earthbound Zero) on a handheld. The random battles can get annoying, and you will really want to be sitting in a comfy chair in front of the TV. DC emulation is the way to go I think.

As for which is better. They are so different, its tough.

I prefer the play mechanics of Mother 2, the battle system, the way things develop, etc.

But I preferred the narrative to Mother 1.

What I find a fascinating point to debate, is the nature of Magicant. In the NES version, you are introduced to it quite early, and it plays a big role. The SNES version took FOREVER to reach it. The narrative moved me more in the NES version. Damn, the ending was amazing there, more so than the SNES version.

I dunno, how important do you feel the role of Magicant is to the games?

Does anyone have info on Mother 3? In TIm's Mother 2 review, he mentions how Shigesato was actually toying with the idea of having a limited SNES release for it.... Is this true, or just Tim being Tim?

EDIT:
I only just noticed your post, welcome to the thread dedicated to you!

I actually preffered the method of collecting the tunes in the NES version.

The tunes as a whole do something special and finish the game, whereas in the SNES they just take you to magicant.

There are some fundamental differences regarding these things, that really affects how the game works.

dhex · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:40 pm Post subject:

i've never played any of this stuff.

wanna fight?
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dessgeega · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 9:24 pm Post subject:

Mister Toups · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 12:10 am Post subject:

Yeah. What amazes me about Mother and Mother 2 is how different they are, even though they use the same basic parts, right down to music and sprites. And yet they are totally different experiences.

I still haven't finished the first Mother. I want to, I just... I don't know. I guess it's maybe a little too loose for me, towards the end. I start to get overwhelmed. Despite that, I do like the singular world map... And the way the music just changes as you go to a different area. There's a greater feeling of discovery in the original. Maybe I just suffer from emulator fatigue when I play it. I sure as hell can't play Earthbound on an emulator. I still play it on my old SNES. I should give this Dreamcast emulation stuff a shot. But first I need a non-broken Dreamcast.
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where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Less Itoi. More about Mrs. Toups.
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Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

Mister Toups · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:03 am Post subject:

Are you saying I'm fat?
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where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

No, Im saying you have a cheeky happy chappy grin on your face. Smile

Seriously, I mean no disrespect.

If I offended you, in this dedication topic, then I apologise and will remove my previous comment which I made in jest.

I blame shaper tbh, he said I was getting too serious. To combat this Ive taken to spiking my cornflakes with gin in order to lighten my sensibilities. Clearly its no working. Wink

Mister Toups · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:19 am Post subject:

Shit man I'm only playing around. Don't take me so seriously.
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where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

Oh right. So we're cool? Great!
In which case you remind of John Goodman. Except with bigger sideburns. Razz

I gotta find me some screenshots of Moonside in Earthbound....
I think there may be a spectrum conspiracy going on here....

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I just fought 4 very confused bats that liked to talk about the situation. I only took 8 points of damage but it took a while. This cemetary is confusing and I am running low on health. Gang Zombie ... oh shit.

dessgeega · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:36 pm Post subject:

the cemetary can be difficult. look for a mausoleum.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dessgeega · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:42 pm Post subject:

it's an old town.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I really like this auto function. I am fighting 3 confused bats right now. While I am typing!

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

Another one joins the haloed fold. Twisted Evil

So then, cemetry? I take it you're playing the NES version? I can't recall a cemerty in the SNES version....

Either way, persevere with the battles. Once you hit the zoo, and start wandering through it, a great sense of.... awe, should hit you. At least it did for me. The whole zoo thing creeped me out.

dessgeega · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:54 am Post subject:

there are a lot of creepy places in the first mother. i think the zoo is where you first get the sense of...the hugeness of the world. is the famicom game actually larger than the sfc one, or does it just feel that way because it doesn't shepherd you through one tiny segment of it at a time?

regardless, the animals in the zoo are quite cute. especially the penguins.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Well I got up to the gate of the zoo, the thing is, well...

Ok, these random encounters are so incredibly random. There are times where I will have taken one step and hit another random encounter, and then there are others (not in city limits) where I can walk for over a min with out hitting an encounter. Well this was a gigantic pain in the ass trying to [spoiler:highlightbelow]

leave the cemetery with Pippi. I should have counted them, but from picking her up to getting to the cemetery gates she only survived about 15 battles. I could literally walk no further than Nes's height before hitting a random battle over and over and over. And over. So then I spent quite a long time trying to figure out how to raise her from the dead (the combat screen says fainted, but the doctor can't see her and she has a halo). Close to 90 min I wandered around trying to bring her back. I mean, can this be done? If not, cool, I will just move on with the game, but I don't want to have her severely crippled in levels if it is just something simple I missed.

Also, I have a few PSI powers that I can view in my status menu but can't use. What the hell?

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

So I see no one knows? Well, perhaps I should look at a FAQ.

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

From what i recal, there is no easy way to revive someone. I think you need to go to a hospital. NOT a doctor. I think. Talk to the nurse, see what happens.

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:49 am Post subject:

oh, sorry. she's not a permanent ally - just bring her back to town.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:00 am Post subject:

bring her to the mayor. all will be revealed.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:25 am Post subject:

yikes. maybe you should look at a faq, it's been a while since i played. there's one by megura, god of faqs.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

So, I beat Starman Jr. . . after he took off 81hp to kill me in a blast of some kind. Now I am searching for someone who is missing their tail, and trying to get the cerfew lifted. What the hell? I mean, the guys at the top bridge said the cerfew is lifted, but... Ughh I also have all these PSI powers that I can see in STATE but can't use in the game. I don't get this. This game has so few hints and the people barely help you out. I don't know about this. I don't like using FAQs and I have had to do it once already.

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

Im sorry man, try and stick with it, its worth it in the end.

I'd hate to see you give up so quickly.

Earthbound is easier to get through if the puzzles here are too tricky. Don't give up on the series just yet.

Where is Mister Toups when you need him?!

If push comes to shove, theres nothing wrong with using a FAQ.....

SuperWes · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:47 am Post subject:

You know, in the US the game was packaged with the Strategy Guide. They are sort of expecting you to cheat.

-Wes
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dessgeega · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:29 am Post subject:

this is the famicom version; the us version was never released.

i never found the game to be that frustrating. maybe you're not exploring thoroughly enough. though if you find the random battles annoying, that could dissuade you from exploration. the world is huge, too, as has been previously mentioned.

but i never played a single sitting of the game without finding something that made it worth it.
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SuperWes · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:37 am Post subject:

Whoops. I thought Shaper was playing the copy of Earthbound that Toups let him borrow. Guess that's what I get for not reading the first page of the thread!

-Wes
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Mister Toups · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:48 pm Post subject:

Yeah. I don't remember how to solve any of the puzzles in Mother. I guess that's the problem with it. The overall scope of the game is great but it's kind of lacking individual moments. It's a lot more... atmosphere (what a weird word to use for this series) than actual substance. But that reveals the difference in focus between the two games.
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where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

Szczepaniak · . Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770

At least stick with it to Magicant, and the cat that surfs on a cloud. And the birdmen.

If you get there and don't like it, by all means play Earthbound. Then maybe go back to Mother.

The Western version, Earthbound Zero, was also going to have a guide book with it, as revealed by the lead translator in an interview with thelostlevels website...

Don't be afraid to use a guide for sticking points.

Damn, I wish myself and toups could be there while you play, flogging you mercilesly if you try and stop. That kind of group encrouagement would probably increase the overall ambience of the game. Well, failing the flogging, we could just offer words of encouragement.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 9:42 am Post subject:

i hear there are scans of the soundtrack cd in the banner topic.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279