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?
   
 
I love this game. Still sticking with me and I almost want to do another playthrough. Better finish up my books and Tadpole Treble before that though...

@r_hjort
Yeah, the naming discrepancy is a little strange, but the character changes so much between games that I don't mind it. It's almost like Giegue is his normal physical form while Giygas is more of the metaphysical/essence of the character.
07/02/15, 18:29   
And done. Gigue bested me once (Ana's PSI wasn't up to par), but having a nice PSI Shield Beta up during the next attempt solved that problem.
07/06/15, 16:35   
I'm making a Top 10 Songs in EarthBound Beginnings thread in a bit.

@ludist210

Yeah, the same thing happened to me. I hope you liiiiiked it!
07/06/15, 17:33   
Edited: 07/06/15, 18:34
@TriforceBun

Gigue's attacks hit for 70ish-80ish before, and I didn't have LifeUp Omega going into the fight...PSI Shield Beta halved that and I just had to manage Ana's PP after that. An interesting fight nonetheless.
07/06/15, 18:31   
So I'm guessing the desert area is an optional dungeon or whatever? I never explored there at all... did I miss anything important?
07/06/15, 18:55   
@VofEscaflowne
Nah. You get some free PSI Stones and some fun dialogue but that's about it.

Did you ever get the tank?
07/06/15, 18:58   
@TriforceBun

Nope. I wandered around and died in a random battle near the dungeon or whatever (duhh ) then moved on to another area and just kept going until the end.
07/06/15, 19:04   
Man some of this stuff is obscure. Would never have known how to pass the guard telling me to solve a riddle without the guide.

...unless it was hinted somewhere else in the game? I just thought it was glitching or something, he kept talking about a riddle but wouldn't tell me what the riddle was...
07/06/15, 19:54   
@Zero
For that, since I had recently used Telepathy to solve a different riddle (the one required to get into Magicant), that connection was still fresh in my mind so I simply tried it again there.

I wouldn't discourage peeking at a guide now and then for this game, though. Like EarthBound, a few things are more enjoyable when you have a bit of extra preparation and knowledge of what's coming.
07/06/15, 20:05   
@Zero

I used maps towards the end of the game (Mt. Itoi and onward) since it was a bit unfair in terms of difficulty. I mostly just wanted to know the fastest routes.
07/06/15, 21:34   
Edited: 07/06/15, 21:34
@VofEscaflowne
Aw, you missed out on the tank?! Boooooo.
07/06/15, 22:32   
@ploot

Not only the tank, but the plane rides that go along with it. That's worth going for alone IMO.
07/06/15, 23:18   
@ludist210

I did the plane rides.
07/07/15, 00:51   
Oh man when you get a new party member they start at level 1? GEEZ.

I just spent like 2 hours leveling the new character up to a decent level.
07/22/15, 01:35   
@Zero
About as important as that is going to Magicant and getting the top equips: Gold Ring, H20 Pendant (Fire PSI is more dangerous than the others) and...I forget the last one, I think it's a Coin of some type. Those will really help your guys stay alive.
07/22/15, 02:19   
@TriforceBun
Magic Coin, yeah.

The equips make the beginning of the game really easy. But the challenge really ramps uppppppp.
07/22/15, 04:54   
Edited: 07/22/15, 04:54
I don't even remember how I got to Magicant to begin with. UGGGGGGGGGGG.
07/22/15, 06:13   
@Zero
If you have the Onyx Hook, that instantly warps you back there any times you use it. But you do have to take the long way out (good way to raise levels for your new party member though).
07/22/15, 06:24   
Edited: 07/22/15, 06:24
I don't have any hooks. BAH.

It's a decent game but I can see why Earthbound is much more beloved.
07/22/15, 06:32   
@Zero
You get to Magicant through the huge conches located in caves, you might remember going there after the firs town. The Onyx Hook is located in a present inside the ice dungeon inside Magicant, the one you traversed to get back to your world. If you go through that area again, you will notice a hatch in the floor in the middle of the corridor, around the same area as the sleeping dragon. Go down there, but be prepared for a fight. Not a challenging one, but a fight nonetheless.
07/22/15, 23:10   
  Forum main
 +