Mother 1+2
2003
- role-playing (rpg)
- adventure
- action
- science fiction
- comedy
- drama
- single player
The story
Mother 1+2 is a compilation of the first two installments of the Mother series, MOTHER and MOTHER 2: GIYGAS STRIKES BACK! (known outside Japan as EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound, respectively). Mother tells the story of Ninten, a 12-year-old boy who journeys around the world using his psychic powers to collect eight melodies in order to save the planet from an evil race of mind-controlling aliens. Mother 2 tells the story of Ness, a young boy who journeys around the world also using psychic powers to collect eight melodies in order to save the future from an alien of pure evil, intending to sentence all of reality to the horror of eternal darkness. The version of Mother included in this bundle has a special item that can be used to change the difficulty of the game, since it lessens the amount of random encounters and modifies the overall status of the enemies.
What it’s like
Bright, chunky 2D sprites sit on a small handheld screen, in a palette that moves from sunny suburban greens and cartoon skies to sudden hallucinatory colour when the story turns strange. The music is bouncy and chiptune-sweet, with soft melodic loops that slide into eerie minor keys in darker stretches. Walking through small towns, forests and cities is slow and unhurried, punctuated by random encounters that arrive often enough to keep you alert, while the text is long, wry and deadpan, full of offbeat townsfolk and gentle absurdist jokes. The vibe is whimsical and wistful with unease running underneath, suited to a rainy afternoon or a long nostalgic evening with a handheld. Violence is cartoonish: enemies fall to turn-based attacks and there is no gore, though several scenes, especially in the first game, lean into creepy, uncanny horror. The emotional register swings between childlike wonder and melancholy, following two young boys who grow braver and more resolute as their journeys deepen. It is for players who love quirky writing, nostalgic RPG charm and a touch of strangeness, and the difficulty option softens the grind for anyone wanting a gentler route.
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