This is a “retro review” I wrote for GamingFurever.com which, for a while seemed defunct to me, but now I guess it back up again (I just checked now)… however, my reviews don’t seem to be there anymore.
The date on the txt file I found this in was September 14, 2019, but that is not accurate at all. This was written during my deepest depression of two years about 16 years ago. That would more like 2009, not 2019.
Anyways, here it is until I have any additional info:
RetroRodentia’s Mother Review
I can’t say that I played this game in my nostalgic childhood, getting up way early in the morning in my mickey mouse one-sy. That’s because it never really came out in the United States as far as I know. So unfortunately, I had to experience this game as a translated ROM on my handy emulation device (that I connect to my color stereo CRT). Make sure you get Earthbound Zero, I got Mother and ended up not being able to play halfway through. This particular game I played in my cage, brain hooked up to the CRT, instead of on the go. Part of the reason for that is that I unfortunately had to have a walkthrough to play through the game. I’d always get stuck in solitaire. I could never discern where to go next, or what exactly I should do, or where to place the white queen. Bread and butter. This can be a boon if you like wandering around a huge map for hours upon hours leveling up in the process, whereupon you sound too much like my cousin, and I have to wonder about you. I just prefer the go here, go there, level up here type of gameplay, so it’s a fashion choice.
Mother is part of a series of games made by Shigesato Itoi, a celebrated writer in Japan. A sequel, known as Earthbound, was released for the Super Nintendo in the United States in 1995. Shigesato Itoi says that the name Mother was greatly influenced by the John Lennon song “Mother”. The game departs from the standard RP treatment in the 1980’s by taking place in the contemporary world, while its kin were stuck in fantasy settings. It wasn’t until Secret of Evermore did another game venture so far.
The game opens: Sometime in the early 1900’s, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America. In a mysterious fashion a young married couple vanished. Their names were George and Maria. Two years go by, and George decides to return. He wouldn’t say where he had been or, dun dun dun, what he had done. He kept to himself primarily, studying odd things. So where’s Maria? Who knows. Now, eighty years later, a young boy wakes up in the middle of the night and begins a grand adventure. (I know that happens to me all the time.)
This game provides plenty of charm (and the first town is named Podunk! That’s the name of my trivia team!), and puts a spin on the traditional aspects of RP gaming. For instance, you can only save when you have a telephone to call your Dad, who for some reason is always going to sleep. Though he gives you advice he abruptly slams the receiver to end the call. Your Dad deposits the money you earn from battle into some kind of ATM. You use a cash card you have to always carry to get the money out of the ATM. How does your Dad get the money? On top of that there are evil hippies, possessed automobiles, alligators, bison, robots, aliens, and lamps to battle. That’s right, lamps. My friend Joey lost his life to a lamp once, fell off the table and… splat. All you could see on his underbelly was the imprint “Tiffany”.
I know I said before that the game gives you little direction, but I will say there are townspeople (very few) who’ll give cryptic clues as to where you should go. For example, the first party member who joins you first has to have bottle rockets from a nearby factory. You only know this (after fenagling the janitor to open the door to the roof) because he says, “I want to launch a rocket from the factory.” The clue is there, but it’s vague. Since I have mild brain damage, it kind of hurts my brain.
During gameplay you can press select to get a status screen, though I found myself rarely consulting it. The A button brings up your standard menu and inventory. You can apparently not only use some items but eat them as well. Heh. The start button, when on the field, brings up the world map. This can be very handy if you’re wandering around without a more explicit map. All the towns are laid out on the map in the same ratio as the rest of the terrain, another awesome quirk.
But, let’s step back for moment. You are three kids, not going to school presumably, adventuring around where there’s obviously killer monsters, gathering trust from random people for no reason, like when the father lets her daughter go with you to find her mom. Uh, would you let your daughter run off with two child strangers on an epic quest? I know I would. And these psychic abilities; it’s hard to think these kids would use their PSI powers for combat. When I was younger, I used my psychokinesis for much more subversive activities. It turns out this all has to do with some mothership to top it off. Just considering all of this enhances the humor found in the game.
One complaint I have has to do with Magicant. To get out of Magicant you have to get through this Zelda like forest maze where all the screens are the same. I just find those types of things poor game design and tedious if not impossible. I don’t even know if there’s a clue for it, unless I missed it… which is entirely possible, remember? Brain damage.
Another criticism I have is that once a party member dies, that’s it. No normal hospital will heal them, and if you don’t have the required PSI ability (this game’s form of magic: psychokinesis) you’re toast. Pain in the ass if you ask me. But at the same time, since I name all my characters as members of my family, it can be morbidly enjoyable to see my sister-in-law kick it. (Even more morbid to secretly like her dancing with you.) You have to use the Onyx Hook to return to Magicant to heal. If a party member dies before you get to Magicant in the progression of the story, forget it. I speak from experience. The main character has to reach level 35 before he gets the PSI ability, which is no small feat. I know, I’ve done it.
It’s difficult to fit what all this game is about into one review, but I’ve got to ask… why doesn’t anything really die? They either “come to their senses”, or “turn around”, only once did I see “beaten” and I enjoyed it. And what is an Ullrich? Keep an eye out for that one. Who decides to drive a perfectly fixed boat into an unknown whirlpool? When did that seem like a good idea? I have no question however with the story, as it all comes together in the end thankfully, which is rewarding.
One thing I observed however is the combat system. If you were protected by something, you were protected unless someone made a “smashing hit”, then there was no damper. This was great for enemies, but not so for the party. Near the end of the game the damage dealt becomes a little disparate, on a Blue Starman a level 36 Ninten with Hank’s Bat can deal either 44 damage or 75. I’ve got girlfriends with skinnier hips than that. Of course, they’re starving.
Anyway, along the way you pick up these doohickies called Psi Stones. Without a spoiler I will tell you to save those up throughout the game, no small feat when your inventory is very limited and you only have access to storage in two locations in the entire game.
I watched the Golden Girls while I played this game, named my characters after me and members of my family, learned psychic powers from a baby, conquered a ghost house, and fought robot aliens before I was even 12. All in all, I’d rate this game as good, despite it’s vagueness. Cool comes out of it from the “monsters” you battle, to the large towns you encounter (at the same ratio as the rest of the map), to the interesting characters you meet. It’s not super engaging all the time, many times requiring walks across large maze like open spaces, but it’s rewarding none the less. If I wasn’t so Mother’d out I’d play it again.
Shitlist rating? This one’s a gem. It’s a shame that it never came out in the United States, it would’ve made a great North American game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Thanks for reading!
RetroRodentia