A Nintendo community
by the fans!
           
  Forum main
 + 
Earthbound Beginnings (Mother) Discussion (Nintendo NES) [game]
 
Earthbound Beginnings (Mother) on the NES
7.88/10 from 8 user ratings

Welcome to the official discussion thread for Earthbound Beginnings (Mother) on the NES!

To start, please add this game to your log, add it to your collection (if applicable), and (when you are ready) rate it using the link above!

Reviews:
Earthbound Beginnings (Mother) Review (Nintendo NES) (8.0)  by  
Finally, Mother 1 is released in North America.

I'm guessing most of us have never played this game before, but for those who have: any beginner's advice? For example, I'd tell someone playing Earthbound on SNES for the first time to keep the characters' default names. Are there any weird little tidbits we should know going into this one?

From what I hear, it's kinda like SNES Earthbound but not as good... but should still be worth playing! Personally, I'm really relieved that Nintendo localized this one before Mother 3, despite the demand being for Mother 3 first. Gotta play the first game before the third one!

URL to share (right click and copy)
06/15/15, 05:11    Edited: 06/15/15, 05:14
 
Why not sign up for a (free) account?
   
 
@VofEscaflowne

He has an even better weapon in the caves of Mt. Itoi. Ninten and Ana do too, but Teddy's is so good...he can wipe out a Starman Blue by himself.
06/30/15, 23:09   
Hm well I guess I accidentally found the 5th song

EDIT: Also I'm getting lost in the caves a bit but everything's so damn easy here. For now Levels so far are 35 for Ninten, 25 for Ana and 26 for Teddy. No worry of being wiped out so far.
06/30/15, 23:16   
Edited: 07/01/15, 00:06
@VofEscaflowne
Your levels are better than mine, and way better than mine were when I entered the cave. Nevertheless, don't get too comfy...!
07/01/15, 01:27   
@TriforceBun

If I can make it out of the caves that is. I always take the same path and keep thinking I found a new one... but nope, I'm just going around in circles! Teddy is ridiculously strong now anyway.
07/01/15, 01:56   
@VofEscaflowne
You can always draw a map! Worked for me.
07/01/15, 02:06   
Okay I made it through and now I have all 8 songs... but behind the grave I found, there's a blocked door? Should I be coming back here later? That's gonna be an annoying trek and I don't have any more bread left...
07/01/15, 03:25   
Looks like you're further than me now. Best of luck...!
07/01/15, 03:51   
I beat it It's over!
07/01/15, 04:03   
@VofEscaflowne
Congrats! What'd you think?
07/01/15, 05:48   
@TriforceBun

Felt like a better game after my initial frustrations. Still sort of grindy at times though not that bad... or nothing I'm not used to maybe. Very weird ending... both EarthBound games I guess are very weird towards the end. Definitely came quick too! It was like bam, here's the end and that's it Great game for its time I'm sure and I can appreciate it for that. Anyway, I just want Mother 3 now! I wonder if it'll live up to the high praise and demand. Hopefully Nintendo brings it over but it's probably a sure bet at this point.
07/01/15, 07:41   
@VofEscaflowne

Congrats! I'm not too far behind you...I made it to the cabin on the cliffs and have been grinding a bit to get Ninten to level 35 (he's almost there).
07/01/15, 16:10   
@ludist210
This is where I am. BLARRRRRGGGGGG. I can't stand the grind!
07/01/15, 20:26   
BAM!
Mother was always on my list of shame, having never beat it, but now all is right with the world!

I must've played through Earthbound a good dozen times, and Mother 2 twice, but the grindiness of this one always pushed me away.
I must thank the save states for being there for me in my time of need. Specifically, the ability to save while in the middle of climbing the mountain was a Godsend.

As for the final boss, I was sort of expecting a non-traditional way to defeat him, and boy was I right. That song always gives me warm fuzzies!
Also, it's nifty we get a peek at Ninten's dad. Seems like he knows more than he lets on too! What happens to Ninten and co. nexxxxxxt?!?!?!?


All that said, the game certainly shows its age and I am happy to be done. The random battles attached to labyrinthine, samey environments can get a tad infuriating.
I am itching to play Mother 3 again though! I'm going to hold out and hope, HOPE, HOOOOPE for a legit release.
07/02/15, 02:01   
Edited: 07/02/15, 02:05
Never played anything from the Mother series. I'm planning on getting both this and Earthbound now that I have a WiiU.
07/02/15, 03:07   
Cool. You guys who've beaten it have played through EarthBound, right? Was it clear in Beginnings that (BIG ENDGAME SPOILERS FOR EBB AND EB) Giegue was Giygas's original form?

I plan on finally finishing this tonight! Can't wait!
07/02/15, 04:26   
@TriforceBun
It seemed pretty clear to me but I've been a rabid Mother fan for forever so I ran into the fact long ago. My experience was tainted!

Truthfully, they set the ending up as a more vanilla "We'll meet again! MUAAHAHAHA!" than what we ultimately got from Earthbound (Mother 2). Even the very end was like, "Ninten is needed for another mission! TO BE CONTINUED!" I don't think they really knew where they were going at this point.
07/02/15, 04:41   
After a very long time coming, this lifelong EarthBound fan finally finished Mother 1!

And I really liked it. I thought it was great--better than I remember it being, actually. It's got its issues here and there, but there're a surprising amount of charming, memorable, and/or emotional moments that really make the game stick out to me. The story--like EarthBound's--is interesting yet minimal and told in an unconventional way.

It makes me wish this game came out when I was a kid. It'd be cool to have grown up with it (and then played EarthBound as a sequel).

The last battle was neat but very difficult for me...until I gave up and peeked at a guide to learn that the PSI Shield B helps immensely.

Crazy parallel I noticed with the endgame--SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE MOTHER GAMES!--the main villain swears revenge at the end of both Mother 1 and Mother 2, but ends up going up against a different protagonist in the next game.

The music is SO GOOD. Seriously a top 5 NES soundtrack, behind only super-great soundtracks like MM3 and 2 and Zelda 1 and Mario 1. All in all, I loved it. Annoying Mt. Itoi and all. Very happy with NOA and Itoi for bringing this over, finally, and it's sure to go down as one of my favorite NES adventures.
07/02/15, 07:18   
@TriforceBun
I was thinking about that tonight. Earthbound definitely ends similarly! I can't believe I forgot my spaknety!

And yeah, the soundtrack is very, very good! I loooove Pollyanna.
07/02/15, 07:27   
Edited: 07/02/15, 07:36
Being the way I am, I love the Earthbound Beginnings ending and the way the whole protagonist-antagonist thing works throughout the series, especially the way things go after Earthbound. The fact that it's not just some big bad evil dude that's evil for the sake of being evil, but that it actually starts out as something different, and that the 'evil' in question is passed over to someone else due to certain circumstances. That it might not even be a case of evil after all. There's tragedy behind the villains, and a desire to belong. It's all very human and quite beautiful, I think.

It's a pity the Beginnings translation has Giygas as Giegue (or the other way around, depending on how you want to see it), but I guess most people that get into the series nowadays are aware of the whole naming problem, or will be once they beat it.
07/02/15, 12:20   
Edited: 07/02/15, 12:20
I'm on the verge of joining you guys. I hit my goal mark for Ninten (he learned Super Healing at level 35) so I'm hoping to knock this out tonight or tomorrow sometime.
07/02/15, 17:04   
  Forum main
 +