The copyrighted name "SPACE BOUND" was actually a name Nintendo trademarked for the sequel of Mother. It was going to be Mother 2's American name when Mother 1 a.k.a. EARTH BOUND released. Mother 2's original story was that Ninten and Gang traveling through space in order to defeat Giegue once and for all. Ofcourse, the story idea was scrapped after Mother 1's Localization got cancelled and they didnt want to alienate American players once they finally get Mother 2, so Mother 2 became an soft reboot rather than a full on sequel.
I would be inclined to agree except for the fact that the copyright was filed in 1990 whereas Mother 2 was completed in 1994 in Japan, while the prospect of space travel was briefly considered, based on the fact that space travel was only considered for 4 months before being scrapped due to being cliched, it's hard to believe it was far enough along to consider filing a trademark for a potential title, especially for a localization of a game that would release until 4 years later.
Heya, I keep getting notifications that replies were left but when I go to check them they're deleted, I was able to read the first few words, but since then I've done extensive searching and haven't found substantial backing supporting the claim that Mother 2 was nearly named Space Bound in the states. The development process was too early for the localization teams to have a go, and while Mother's localization was partially responsible for changing the work culture surrounding localization, seeing as the entire space concept was only briefly worked on for 4 months it's hard to believe that the name would incorporate it somehow, nonetheless in the states. I like this idea, it's a really cool little fact if true, but the fact of the matter is that there just isn't any concrete proof backing it, I've searched through countless interviews with Phil Sandhop and haven't found and mention of it beyond a Video Game History podcast that makes a allusion to the scrapped title to poke fun at the naming confusion surrounding the series. I've dug and dug and dug and while I'm not saying I have seen every single last piece of content surrounding the name Space Bound, even reading through forum posts and the like I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but the timeline surrounding this claim makes it logically impossible to be true. If Mother 2 began development immediately after Mother 1 released as it has been described based on a plethora of interviews, Mother was released in July 1989 and the space concept was scrapped 4 months into development. In the absolute best case scenario the space travel concept would've been scrapped in early 1990, which means that there is no reason to believe the trademark for Space Bound, which was filed in August 1990, is relating to the scrapped space travel concept. Like I said, I dug for hours looking for stuff but found nothing :/
I have no idea why UA-cam keeps deleting my replies, but the information I got this from is from an interview with Phil Sandhop in the Mother to Earth Documentary
Well that still doesn't make sense seeing as Phil Sandhop wasn't involved with EarthBound's SNES localization, and the project to localize the game wasn't set into motion until January 1995 when Dan Owsen created a 10 minute demo of sorts proving that it should be localized, and from that point reusing the name "EarthBound" from the cancelled NES title was already decided upon. The localization script was completed over the course of 3 months from January to April 1995, several years after the trademark for Space Bound was filed.
Update: rented Mother to Earth on Vimeo, and despite the weird timeline surrounding it, it is seemingly correct! If anything now it just raises more questions behind their development, maybe Space Bound was merely a thought that they had without any knowledge of Mother 2's original ideas in some sort of 1/1,000,000 coincidence, or maybe it was the hypothetical title of Space Bound that gave Itoi the idea before scrapping it for being too cliche rather than it being the other way around based on our current understanding? Whacky as heck regardless lmao, pinning this btw
My grandma used to play all the old NES and SNES rpgs and she had a notebook for each one full maps of everything and every important dialogue she never skipped a single spot she was the O.G. Completionist
Your grandma sounds like a certified badass 💯 I don't really have many cool stories surrounding my family and video games, but I remember when my brother and I were little our dad let us use his laptop to look up Mario Kart Wii unlocks and that was like my first exposure to the internet. Flipping crazy! I remember this other time my dad and his coworkers used to have World of Warcraft nights every Thursday (I think) night after they all got off work. The servers were down so it was really my family hanging out with one of my dad's coworkers (everyone else cancelled) so they booted up our Wii and started playing some Virtual Console games. They played pretty much every single Mario game, some Zelda, but what made the biggest impression was when the coworker showed me the secrets in Mario 3. Nothing will ever top the sheer admiration I had for this one random guy who I can't even remember the name of because he showed me the first 2 warp whistle locations. God I wish I could experience something like that again nowadays lmfao
my grandma was like that too, she and my mom played video games, my mom did all the work and grandma opened the chests. I was born after she died and sometimes when the topic comes up my mom says I would have gotten along really well with her.
Mother 1 has a lot of problems but it feels really special. The atmosphere and story have a lot of charm. It’s a game that could really use a faithful remake.
MOTHER is definitely one of the best NES RPGs and it definitely hits harder than it has any right to. Also nice video! It’s really neat to see the development of the first MOTHER game considering there’s so much stuff documented on the M2 & M3 but very little on M1.
Yeah finding stuff for M1 was a bit more difficult bc it was before it was an established series so interest wasn't as high, not to mention it's just older so I'd imagine a bunch of stuff was lost over the years, but it's lucky we still have enough to make an hour worth of a content lmao
WONDERFUL video! I even learned a thing or two and thought it was interesting how you covered a lot of changes the game has experienced over time. I also love it how the video was exactly 1 hour long! I hope I can do the series justice when I make my video :)
Thank you so much! It was just a lucky coincidence that it was an hour long, but makes it super convenient to sit down and watch, haha. I'm super excited to see your take on the game!
My last playthrough after I saved Pippi, I took her to the zoo with Ninten so she could help him level up but I imagined it like "Hey I know your mom must be worried, but would you wanna go to the zoo before I take you home?" Just 2 kids sneaking off and having some fun. I really love that even though the game is old it still invites you to roleplay like that
Not a lot of people talk about Mother 1, so to see someone make a 1 HOUR video on it has surpassed my expectations of the mother fanbase Very well made video. Definitely subbed
I agree with you saying Chuggaaconroy's LP of it, but remember that the LP was his second LP in 2008, and that was before he really went super in depth with games.
What a phenomenal video! Very fascinating to see all the changes and cut content from the game aswell as your informative yet funny commentary, great work!
You get back to Podunk by going left of Merrysville, of which is inaccessible until leaving Magicant because two police officers are blocking the way there
I feel Citizens Of Earth is a perfect Earthbound inspired game that deserves some respect because that game got me into the Mother series and now with both Earthbound games on the Switch. I finally beat them and had a blast with them also I learned a lot about Earthbound Beginning in this video great work.
Damn dude, for being only your 7th video this is a really damn good effort of writing and even editing at times. Seems like you've certainly got something here and hope you haven't given up on the dream just yet but if you leave this video as you last and best effort it definitely stands on its own.
Actually, the GBA port of Mother 1 does have a way of minimizing the absurd difficulty. As soon as you start a new game, there will be a present box next to Ninten. It contains an item called "Easy Ring" that makes random encounters be much more sparse, easier to level up and making the enemies not be a pain in the ass
Im pretty sure that the easy ring was an addition made with the fan translation of Mother 1 in Mother 1+2, meaning as far as I understand it isn't usable in an official release? Might be wrong tho
A lot of the issues you had didn't really bother me. Especially since I was able to figure out some of the locations of the melodies on my own. Only thing I agree with is the difficulty spike at times, plus the high encounter rate is nuts. Otherwise, great video man. (Also, I love FF2, frick you...)
My friends have been giving me crap about the Final Fantasy 2 take ever since this video came out lmfao I tried to replay it, but it still didn't gel with me 😭
D: I DIDN'T LMAO I DIDN'T EVEN REMEBER THOSE EXISTED UNTIL NOW!! I'll play through the GBA one at some point. Thanks for reminding me that those exist!
@@MamaLouiji No problem man. I also recommend the PSP version the most since it also includes this really dope bonus campaign where you get to play as the 4 characters that die throughout the story, like Minwu for example, and they get some pretty nice closure on thier stories! 😊
Hey man! I found your channel cause I'm actually working on my own retrospective of this game after having just played it for the first time. I figured since I had finalized the script and didn't plan on changing it now, it would be cool to hear someone else's take on Mother and this video definitely didn't disappoint! You offered some really fresh perspective and I can tell an immense amount of effort was put into this, so well done. I just subbed and I'm looking forward to some of your future uploads.
@@MamaLouiji It's been a while but if you're still interested, I finally got around to uploading my retrospective. I won't link it here unless you're cool with that, but you can find it on my page :)
@@MamaLouiji Here it is chief! I think we had fairly different takeaways but can both agree, this game is pretty awesome :) ua-cam.com/video/JfF1Dq9itHw/v-deo.html
Great video, i remember playing through this game for the first time on a homebrew nes cart back when i was like 10. Somehow managed to beat it without needing a walkthrough, it was the original English localization version if you are wondering. Was surprised to hear people talk about how hard this game was when i never really struggled with it all too much. I really enjoyed this game despite its flaws, everything from the music to the gameplay to even the dialogue is all great. Probably the first game i played where i really wanted to actually read the dialogue instead of skipping through most of it. Overall definitely my favorite game in the Mother series and maybe my favorite game period.
To be fair to Itoi and his crew, grueling difficulty was pretty standard for JRPGs at the time. In the west, we usually got dumbed down versions. That doesn't excuse punishing the player for talking to NPCs though.
Hey man, just wanted to encourage you to keep going with your videos! I finished this game for the first time just a few days ago. With your video, I was just tuning in and out while cooking and stuff, and i found this video to be made with a lot of care, 'digestibility' and some good humour, too. I was taken aback to see there's currently only a few hundred people following this account and just a couple thousand views on this video. It deserves more! I hope you keep making videos about things you're passionate about - I'll have an eye out for those upcoming videos you mentioned. Well wishes!
I've been working on a few videos for quite the time now, but between balancing college and work and my personal life I haven't gotten the perfect balance of the three just yet, haha! With that said, when I finally do get a video out it'll be a shotgun burst of content so I hope you'll join me for those brief spats of activity!! And thank you so much, your words of support truly mean the world to me; as someone who's still kinda new to the content creation scene, the outpouring of support from kind folks such as yourself are what keeps me striving to create new (and hopefully) entertaining videos. I can't thank you enough, and I'm super glad you enjoyed the video!!!
Back in the day nintendo power had pro players who would play the games and review for the magazine, so they were privy to Japanese Famicom games that were set to release in the states sometimes. In a particular issue I think in either late 1990 or early 1991 one of the "pro players" listed his favorite NES game as Earthbound, meaning he played and had full access to the localized Mother game that never released here. Great video by the way
My theory is that Teddy was probably supposed to be obtained earlier on, as in the pre release clips it shows Teddy with Ninten and Ana in locations normally not necessary after you get him, like the mansion and Snowman. Lloyd might have also been later on as well
When I found Earthbound Zero on a rom site in 2004, I remember just playing through the game and didn't really know/question much about the development or regional differences. From this video I learned the differences in map layout (prototype versus final release, along with region), the sprite similarities to the other media, the addition of an epilogue, and how the difficulty balancing got put in the backburner due to rushed development; these are things I never knew. This is such a well put retrospective on the first game that was easy to follow along. I'm looking forward to the other videos in regards to Mother 2 and 3 in the near future.
I want to do a redo of my Mother 1 LP, and I might use this video for the information I find. I want to show as much stuff in the game, and outside of it as I possibly can.
I didn't have any problems with the melodies locations, I found it relatively easy and without a guide, just exploring (also exploring leads you to rise your level, this is also present in Final Fantasy I).
I don't understand the complains, I never got stuck in this game, rather I got stuck in Metroid for NES for a whole month with 6 hours of play throughs almost every day and yet was a really fun time, that's part of the experience, If I remember correctly, Earthbound beginnings take me around three weeks to compleat playing daily and without a guide or previous knowledge, I was completely black, and I'm not completely sure but apparently I didn't use the storage mechanic.
Final Fantasy 2 is a game where I think it had a good idea, but the execution was really bad when it comes to the leveling system. It's a game I can't get into because of that and the difficulty scaling being thrown out the window at the end and the dungeon design being lackluster imo, but I respect it a lot because the failire of the leveling system here would eventually lead to the job system 3 has which is by far my favorite Final Fantasy mechanic
Yeah, Idk why, but this game felt in some aspects like P2 Innocent Sin from Ps1. Like a game you wouldn't know if the international market would accept, aside from the hard work to localize a Japanese game for the rest of the world.
The strategy guy thing also makes a lot of sense when you consider that the NES Dragon Quest games, or Dragon Warrior as they were called back then, also had packed in guides.
I didn't have any problems with the game, all comes naturally and organic and I never get stuck, I think this is a cultural difference because a lot of USA players complains all the time about Japanese difficulty in games, (fighting games, shootem ups games, JRPG games) in my country almost all difficult Japanese games become fan favorites and are among the most beloved games, is like our spicy food, to foreigners is uneatable but for us is breakfast, the same with punishing videogames, they are so delicious to play.
Speaking about Jesus, didn't they change the name of the desert from Advent Desert to Yucca desert, both because Yucca desert kinda alludes to the Meso-North American Desert and because the Lore behind the name Advent Desert was that Jesus second advent would take place there?
shocked this channel doesnt have more subscribers and recognition, more research and work on a more intresting subject than a lot of other, for some reason more popular channels, i hope you can blow up soon since you really deserve it!
The fact you used "George Castanza" for the character "George" makes me think Mother was one long insane story told by both Kramer and George and Jerry wasnt believing a word of it >Jerry: Lemee get this straight. You went into space. You found an advanced alien civilization. You found an indescribable eldrich horror beyond your mortal comprehension and you learned... >Kramer: PSI Jerry. >Jerry: Uh-Huh. OK. Now tell me, what is that? Is it some kind of vinerial disease? >George: Get this. I can control the elements now. >Jerry: ...I dont believe you. On top of that I cant believe you >Kramer: Its true Jerry, he can also teleport >Jerry: No he cant. >George: But only if I run real fast in a straight line >Jerry: Stop. That right there proves youre lying to me. The only time ive ever seen you run is to get food.
Im trying lol! I have one that'll be finished early November-ish, should be a cool one that almost everyone will enjoy, so I hope you'll be around for that!
from the changes made to the american version, taking out the censorship and any changes in sprites that were worse than the original and kind of useless, the changes in maps and especially in the name are very good in my opinion, I can't get attached to holiday names the way I got attached to Podunk, Youngtown and Ellay. edit: about the cut content I saw a very interesting theory about Pippi being planned to be a party member for much longer than she had in the final version of the game
delete epic games please... ...but legit, i really enjoyed watching, and also the fact you looked at the game for everything that it was. Pointing out its obvious flaws, but also remembering the great music, dialogue, and story. One thing I will mention too, is the the main character is a healer, something not often seen in video games. Not only that, but he appears to be just a boy with an interest in baseball, not someone who would normally be able to have the emotional intelligence to heal people as far as societal norms tells us. But the game teaches us that being strong and into sports doesnt block you off from being kind and empathetic. additionally, notice how ninten can go on the adventure alone. every single party member is optional (except for pippi i think). and due to some finagling of in game events, you dont even have to have loid for the final encounter. you could have teddy instead. the adventure is able to be played out in different ways, giving it a little more personality.
The gameplay for Mother did not age well. I loved the atmosphere of the game and definitely want to play it again, but not without a guide and a bunch of Repel Rings. And yeah, the fact that it takes so little time to find the first four melodies made me raise an eyebrow. But I still had a damn good time playing it (years later, after getting the NES library on my Switch) and was quite surprised with how much it charmed me. I started with Earthbound aka Mother 2 and figured I'd like Mother/Earthbound Beginnings, but I was surprised at how MUCH. (The music is a big part of it.)
Crazy that someone could make such a painfully bad first game but then follow it up with one of the best video games that will be remembered for as long as humans exist 🤔
Knowing MOTHER 1+2's version of MOTHER 1 uses the same changes as the US localization, just with the original Japanese script, makes me feel less like a lazy slob for playing the official "EarthBound Beginnings" version on Nintendo Switch Online as opposed to seeking out an ultra accurate fan translation of the Japanese Famicom version and suffering through it's blemishes. Like I'm one of those fastidious mfs who wants to experience the purest version of a work, so knowing that the more polished version of the game has "Itoi's blessing" in that it was released in Japan in a compilation overseen by APE & Itoi is rad.
I prefer the title Earthbound Zero, as it was leaked before the official release. Also, playing without the rebalancing patch is masochistic. Then again, I also played Dragon Quest 2. Edit: I think I'm in a small minority of people who loved Final Fantasy 2j. I didn't like FF3j too much, though.
Sigh. I keep seeing videos people's thoughts or how the game turned out, or why it was cancelled. Why isn't there one video that talks about the full story of the game itself!?
Like the in-game story or the history surrounding the game? Either way, I think I have it covered, albeit the story summary I gave was pretty truncated because time, but at the end I have some conclusions regarding the games story itself?
Thanks for the support!!! Wait until my next one drops though, Ive been working on it for months and will set a new standard of quality for the channel! Appreciate your support Jon!
I own a lot of them just to future proof a Mother 2 video when I finally feel its right to cover it, but a lot of the related media just revolves around Mother 2 moreso than general series tidbits and Mother 1 unfortunately. I will be using them in the future, in fact my desk is very quickly becoming a growing mass of Earthbound related literature, but there just wasn't anything new I found related to the series conception, regardless books like Ask Iwata and Clyde Mandelin's Legends of Localization on the game are both really good!!
The copyrighted name "SPACE BOUND" was actually a name Nintendo trademarked for the sequel of Mother. It was going to be Mother 2's American name when Mother 1 a.k.a. EARTH BOUND released. Mother 2's original story was that Ninten and Gang traveling through space in order to defeat Giegue once and for all. Ofcourse, the story idea was scrapped after Mother 1's Localization got cancelled and they didnt want to alienate American players once they finally get Mother 2, so Mother 2 became an soft reboot rather than a full on sequel.
I would be inclined to agree except for the fact that the copyright was filed in 1990 whereas Mother 2 was completed in 1994 in Japan, while the prospect of space travel was briefly considered, based on the fact that space travel was only considered for 4 months before being scrapped due to being cliched, it's hard to believe it was far enough along to consider filing a trademark for a potential title, especially for a localization of a game that would release until 4 years later.
Heya, I keep getting notifications that replies were left but when I go to check them they're deleted, I was able to read the first few words, but since then I've done extensive searching and haven't found substantial backing supporting the claim that Mother 2 was nearly named Space Bound in the states. The development process was too early for the localization teams to have a go, and while Mother's localization was partially responsible for changing the work culture surrounding localization, seeing as the entire space concept was only briefly worked on for 4 months it's hard to believe that the name would incorporate it somehow, nonetheless in the states. I like this idea, it's a really cool little fact if true, but the fact of the matter is that there just isn't any concrete proof backing it, I've searched through countless interviews with Phil Sandhop and haven't found and mention of it beyond a Video Game History podcast that makes a allusion to the scrapped title to poke fun at the naming confusion surrounding the series. I've dug and dug and dug and while I'm not saying I have seen every single last piece of content surrounding the name Space Bound, even reading through forum posts and the like I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but the timeline surrounding this claim makes it logically impossible to be true. If Mother 2 began development immediately after Mother 1 released as it has been described based on a plethora of interviews, Mother was released in July 1989 and the space concept was scrapped 4 months into development. In the absolute best case scenario the space travel concept would've been scrapped in early 1990, which means that there is no reason to believe the trademark for Space Bound, which was filed in August 1990, is relating to the scrapped space travel concept. Like I said, I dug for hours looking for stuff but found nothing :/
I have no idea why UA-cam keeps deleting my replies, but the information I got this from is from an interview with Phil Sandhop in the Mother to Earth Documentary
Well that still doesn't make sense seeing as Phil Sandhop wasn't involved with EarthBound's SNES localization, and the project to localize the game wasn't set into motion until January 1995 when Dan Owsen created a 10 minute demo of sorts proving that it should be localized, and from that point reusing the name "EarthBound" from the cancelled NES title was already decided upon. The localization script was completed over the course of 3 months from January to April 1995, several years after the trademark for Space Bound was filed.
Update: rented Mother to Earth on Vimeo, and despite the weird timeline surrounding it, it is seemingly correct! If anything now it just raises more questions behind their development, maybe Space Bound was merely a thought that they had without any knowledge of Mother 2's original ideas in some sort of 1/1,000,000 coincidence, or maybe it was the hypothetical title of Space Bound that gave Itoi the idea before scrapping it for being too cliche rather than it being the other way around based on our current understanding? Whacky as heck regardless lmao, pinning this btw
My grandma used to play all the old NES and SNES rpgs and she had a notebook for each one full maps of everything and every important dialogue she never skipped a single spot she was the O.G. Completionist
Your grandma sounds like a certified badass 💯
I don't really have many cool stories surrounding my family and video games, but I remember when my brother and I were little our dad let us use his laptop to look up Mario Kart Wii unlocks and that was like my first exposure to the internet. Flipping crazy!
I remember this other time my dad and his coworkers used to have World of Warcraft nights every Thursday (I think) night after they all got off work. The servers were down so it was really my family hanging out with one of my dad's coworkers (everyone else cancelled) so they booted up our Wii and started playing some Virtual Console games. They played pretty much every single Mario game, some Zelda, but what made the biggest impression was when the coworker showed me the secrets in Mario 3. Nothing will ever top the sheer admiration I had for this one random guy who I can't even remember the name of because he showed me the first 2 warp whistle locations. God I wish I could experience something like that again nowadays lmfao
my grandma was like that too, she and my mom played video games, my mom did all the work and grandma opened the chests. I was born after she died and sometimes when the topic comes up my mom says I would have gotten along really well with her.
@@AnAverageGoblin such a cool story ☺️
Would love to see pictures of those note books
Mother 1 has a lot of problems but it feels really special. The atmosphere and story have a lot of charm. It’s a game that could really use a faithful remake.
19:11 made me remember that in my 1st Earthbound Zero play through, I renamed Teddie as Chad
MOTHER is definitely one of the best NES RPGs and it definitely hits harder than it has any right to. Also nice video! It’s really neat to see the development of the first MOTHER game considering there’s so much stuff documented on the M2 & M3 but very little on M1.
Yeah finding stuff for M1 was a bit more difficult bc it was before it was an established series so interest wasn't as high, not to mention it's just older so I'd imagine a bunch of stuff was lost over the years, but it's lucky we still have enough to make an hour worth of a content lmao
WONDERFUL video! I even learned a thing or two and thought it was interesting how you covered a lot of changes the game has experienced over time. I also love it how the video was exactly 1 hour long! I hope I can do the series justice when I make my video :)
Thank you so much! It was just a lucky coincidence that it was an hour long, but makes it super convenient to sit down and watch, haha. I'm super excited to see your take on the game!
I like how Pippi is 5 years younger than Ninten, but has stats way higher.
Pippi has clearly been taking trips to the gym pumping that iron up XD
My last playthrough after I saved Pippi, I took her to the zoo with Ninten so she could help him level up but I imagined it like "Hey I know your mom must be worried, but would you wanna go to the zoo before I take you home?" Just 2 kids sneaking off and having some fun. I really love that even though the game is old it still invites you to roleplay like that
Not a lot of people talk about Mother 1, so to see someone make a 1 HOUR video on it has surpassed my expectations of the mother fanbase
Very well made video. Definitely subbed
ahhhh i loved this!! the mother series is one of my all time favorites, i loved seeing the level of care you gave the topic!
Thank you! It was a challenge making sure I did it justice, so I'm glad that I seemed to do a good job!
I agree with you saying Chuggaaconroy's LP of it, but remember that the LP was his second LP in 2008, and that was before he really went super in depth with games.
What a phenomenal video! Very fascinating to see all the changes and cut content from the game aswell as your informative yet funny commentary, great work!
Miyamoto going cold on him is another another one of those moments that makes me go "Miyamoto is kinda dense".
My God that would be a nightmare if you had to fight the truck and the big woodoh together with just Ninten alone.
You get back to Podunk by going left of Merrysville, of which is inaccessible until leaving Magicant because two police officers are blocking the way there
I gotta say, in regards to all those gripes, every RPG back then had those same issues. All those issues were considered features back then.
48:45 You have found the weirdest character graphic known to man...
Pippi
I think that the woodow, truck, and zombie are a showcase of enemies like snowman and Podunk Zoo
Respectful
I feel Citizens Of Earth is a perfect Earthbound inspired game that deserves some respect because that game got me into the Mother series and now with both Earthbound games on the Switch. I finally beat them and had a blast with them also I learned a lot about Earthbound Beginning in this video great work.
Oh my God. This. Is. Freaking. Underrated. Great Work!
Thank you so much! Im glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic video! Watched the whole thing and can't wait for your next ones!
This Is criminally underrated
Wow! I can't believe you don't have more subs. Your videos are really well done and have a lot of heart. Keep it up!
What a great video! ❤❤
I'm glad you liked it!!
Damn dude, for being only your 7th video this is a really damn good effort of writing and even editing at times. Seems like you've certainly got something here and hope you haven't given up on the dream just yet but if you leave this video as you last and best effort it definitely stands on its own.
I am in love with old school rpgs, the lack of direction and feeling of mystery. That whole mystery you slowly piece together really does it for me
Surprised u don’t have much more subscribers, this video is super well made, keep it up man
Thanks! I try my hardest with these!
Actually, the GBA port of Mother 1 does have a way of minimizing the absurd difficulty. As soon as you start a new game, there will be a present box next to Ninten. It contains an item called "Easy Ring" that makes random encounters be much more sparse, easier to level up and making the enemies not be a pain in the ass
Im pretty sure that the easy ring was an addition made with the fan translation of Mother 1 in Mother 1+2, meaning as far as I understand it isn't usable in an official release? Might be wrong tho
A lot of the issues you had didn't really bother me. Especially since I was able to figure out some of the locations of the melodies on my own. Only thing I agree with is the difficulty spike at times, plus the high encounter rate is nuts. Otherwise, great video man.
(Also, I love FF2, frick you...)
My friends have been giving me crap about the Final Fantasy 2 take ever since this video came out lmfao I tried to replay it, but it still didn't gel with me 😭
@@MamaLouiji Did you not try the better PSP or GBA versions?
D: I DIDN'T LMAO I DIDN'T EVEN REMEBER THOSE EXISTED UNTIL NOW!! I'll play through the GBA one at some point. Thanks for reminding me that those exist!
@@MamaLouiji No problem man. I also recommend the PSP version the most since it also includes this really dope bonus campaign where you get to play as the 4 characters that die throughout the story, like Minwu for example, and they get some pretty nice closure on thier stories! 😊
Hey man! I found your channel cause I'm actually working on my own retrospective of this game after having just played it for the first time. I figured since I had finalized the script and didn't plan on changing it now, it would be cool to hear someone else's take on Mother and this video definitely didn't disappoint! You offered some really fresh perspective and I can tell an immense amount of effort was put into this, so well done. I just subbed and I'm looking forward to some of your future uploads.
I cant wait to see your video as well, and regular uploads on my end will resume in September so pardon the wait lol, thanks for watching!
@@MamaLouiji It's been a while but if you're still interested, I finally got around to uploading my retrospective. I won't link it here unless you're cool with that, but you can find it on my page :)
Hell yeah man send it my way
@@MamaLouiji Here it is chief! I think we had fairly different takeaways but can both agree, this game is pretty awesome :)
ua-cam.com/video/JfF1Dq9itHw/v-deo.html
Great video, i remember playing through this game for the first time on a homebrew nes cart back when i was like 10. Somehow managed to beat it without needing a walkthrough, it was the original English localization version if you are wondering. Was surprised to hear people talk about how hard this game was when i never really struggled with it all too much. I really enjoyed this game despite its flaws, everything from the music to the gameplay to even the dialogue is all great. Probably the first game i played where i really wanted to actually read the dialogue instead of skipping through most of it. Overall definitely my favorite game in the Mother series and maybe my favorite game period.
Amazing content!
Thanks a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
Amazing job dude!
Thank you!!!!
Dude I hope you grow as much as you need to reach out to more people, cause you are now one of my favorite creators out there
This made my day, thank you so much, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video :')
To be fair to Itoi and his crew, grueling difficulty was pretty standard for JRPGs at the time. In the west, we usually got dumbed down versions. That doesn't excuse punishing the player for talking to NPCs though.
Hey man, just wanted to encourage you to keep going with your videos! I finished this game for the first time just a few days ago. With your video, I was just tuning in and out while cooking and stuff, and i found this video to be made with a lot of care, 'digestibility' and some good humour, too. I was taken aback to see there's currently only a few hundred people following this account and just a couple thousand views on this video. It deserves more! I hope you keep making videos about things you're passionate about - I'll have an eye out for those upcoming videos you mentioned. Well wishes!
I've been working on a few videos for quite the time now, but between balancing college and work and my personal life I haven't gotten the perfect balance of the three just yet, haha! With that said, when I finally do get a video out it'll be a shotgun burst of content so I hope you'll join me for those brief spats of activity!! And thank you so much, your words of support truly mean the world to me; as someone who's still kinda new to the content creation scene, the outpouring of support from kind folks such as yourself are what keeps me striving to create new (and hopefully) entertaining videos. I can't thank you enough, and I'm super glad you enjoyed the video!!!
Neil banging out the tunes !
16:55 Same here! Had no idea! But I enjoyed playing the game.
At 44:06 you called the phone a "centipede battle sprite" lmao
Back in the day nintendo power had pro players who would play the games and review for the magazine, so they were privy to Japanese Famicom games that were set to release in the states sometimes. In a particular issue I think in either late 1990 or early 1991 one of the "pro players" listed his favorite NES game as Earthbound, meaning he played and had full access to the localized Mother game that never released here. Great video by the way
Oh dude I remember stumbling across that not even a month ago researching for another video, super neat! And thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
this video was amazing great job
Thank you so much!!
You may be my favourite UA-camr ever, just sayin' 🙃
57:00 You nailed it, my friend, you nailed it
This video is great
44:04 I think you forgot to edit the text
No joke, this video is like two years old and I think about the fact I forgot to edit the text there at least once a week it haunts me lmfao
I was just about to comment this lol
My theory is that Teddy was probably supposed to be obtained earlier on, as in the pre release clips it shows Teddy with Ninten and Ana in locations normally not necessary after you get him, like the mansion and Snowman. Lloyd might have also been later on as well
When I found Earthbound Zero on a rom site in 2004, I remember just playing through the game and didn't really know/question much about the development or regional differences.
From this video I learned the differences in map layout (prototype versus final release, along with region), the sprite similarities to the other media, the addition of an epilogue, and how the difficulty balancing got put in the backburner due to rushed development; these are things I never knew.
This is such a well put retrospective on the first game that was easy to follow along. I'm looking forward to the other videos in regards to Mother 2 and 3 in the near future.
I want to do a redo of my Mother 1 LP, and I might use this video for the information I find. I want to show as much stuff in the game, and outside of it as I possibly can.
I didn't have any problems with the melodies locations, I found it relatively easy and without a guide, just exploring (also exploring leads you to rise your level, this is also present in Final Fantasy I).
FF1 was definitely more forgiving during individual battles though
Glad Bobby Hill is doing well for himself
HEHEHE I HELPED AT SOME POINT
Check the description and the end of the video if you haven't already!
Lovely video!
There is a npc that tell you where the melodies are WHAT!?
12:20 OMG JAMES ROLFE??!
that jontron clip was perfect
I remember playing Mother when I was 7 and getting all the way to the live show before it crashed 😅
Who would've imagined that 7 months later things would get even better for MOTHER fans?
27:12 Sorry but is that Ringo at the announcement of Earthbound Beginnings?
2 years later I've finished Mother 1 AND Oddity and I hold them dear to my heart
Time Traveler spotted!
I don't understand the complains, I never got stuck in this game, rather I got stuck in Metroid for NES for a whole month with 6 hours of play throughs almost every day and yet was a really fun time, that's part of the experience, If I remember correctly, Earthbound beginnings take me around three weeks to compleat playing daily and without a guide or previous knowledge, I was completely black, and I'm not completely sure but apparently I didn't use the storage mechanic.
hope this comment boosts interactions
i cant believe you didn’t feature the tv commercial lol
54:48 The joke is on you, I love Final Fantasy 2.
Final Fantasy 2 is a game where I think it had a good idea, but the execution was really bad when it comes to the leveling system. It's a game I can't get into because of that and the difficulty scaling being thrown out the window at the end and the dungeon design being lackluster imo, but I respect it a lot because the failire of the leveling system here would eventually lead to the job system 3 has which is by far my favorite Final Fantasy mechanic
@@MamaLouiji let’s not forget the entire series of romancing saga (along with final fantasy legend 1-3)
Yeah, Idk why, but this game felt in some aspects like P2 Innocent Sin from Ps1. Like a game you wouldn't know if the international market would accept, aside from the hard work to localize a Japanese game for the rest of the world.
I didn't remember mountain Itoi being that hard, I remember the beginning being hard, but I could be mistaken.
The strategy guy thing also makes a lot of sense when you consider that the NES Dragon Quest games, or Dragon Warrior as they were called back then, also had packed in guides.
Tip: use PM teleport to avoid battles. It's cheaper than 14th D slip.😁
I didn't have any problems with the game, all comes naturally and organic and I never get stuck, I think this is a cultural difference because a lot of USA players complains all the time about Japanese difficulty in games, (fighting games, shootem ups games, JRPG games) in my country almost all difficult Japanese games become fan favorites and are among the most beloved games, is like our spicy food, to foreigners is uneatable but for us is breakfast, the same with punishing videogames, they are so delicious to play.
thanks luigi
Speaking about Jesus, didn't they change the name of the desert from Advent Desert to Yucca desert, both because Yucca desert kinda alludes to the Meso-North American Desert and because the Lore behind the name Advent Desert was that Jesus second advent would take place there?
the sight of multiple curious george pngs in a cave gave me a belly laugh for some reason
Love the retrospect, I still play Mother 1 despite how poorly aged it is.
19:40 I mean... I assumed you liked it because you were making a video about it
shocked this channel doesnt have more subscribers and recognition, more research and work on a more intresting subject than a lot of other, for some reason more popular channels, i hope you can blow up soon since you really deserve it!
42:16 amongus on the left
The fact you used "George Castanza" for the character "George" makes me think Mother was one long insane story told by both Kramer and George and Jerry wasnt believing a word of it
>Jerry: Lemee get this straight. You went into space. You found an advanced alien civilization. You found an indescribable eldrich horror beyond your mortal comprehension and you learned...
>Kramer: PSI Jerry.
>Jerry: Uh-Huh. OK. Now tell me, what is that? Is it some kind of vinerial disease?
>George: Get this. I can control the elements now.
>Jerry: ...I dont believe you. On top of that I cant believe you
>Kramer: Its true Jerry, he can also teleport
>Jerry: No he cant.
>George: But only if I run real fast in a straight line
>Jerry: Stop. That right there proves youre lying to me. The only time ive ever seen you run is to get food.
LMAO
8:28 No body no crime.
I just subscribed. Your content is interesting. Make moar vids!
Im trying lol! I have one that'll be finished early November-ish, should be a cool one that almost everyone will enjoy, so I hope you'll be around for that!
The easy ring makes the game a lot more fun
32:00 Charlie Brown?
from the changes made to the american version, taking out the censorship and any changes in sprites that were worse than the original and kind of useless, the changes in maps and especially in the name are very good in my opinion, I can't get attached to holiday names the way I got attached to Podunk, Youngtown and Ellay.
edit: about the cut content I saw a very interesting theory about Pippi being planned to be a party member for much longer than she had in the final version of the game
Had to subscribe a long fan of mama luigi myself
Here before your channel blows up
Thank you kindly Mr. Doopiss
HOW DO YOU HAVE SO FEW SUBSCRIBERS
I honestly find Mother a better game to come back to than Final Fantasy 1 tbh.
Who’s hereafter seeing mother on switch and confused asf about what was going on
delete epic games please...
...but legit, i really enjoyed watching, and also the fact you looked at the game for everything that it was. Pointing out its obvious flaws, but also remembering the great music, dialogue, and story.
One thing I will mention too, is the the main character is a healer, something not often seen in video games. Not only that, but he appears to be just a boy with an interest in baseball, not someone who would normally be able to have the emotional intelligence to heal people as far as societal norms tells us. But the game teaches us that being strong and into sports doesnt block you off from being kind and empathetic.
additionally, notice how ninten can go on the adventure alone. every single party member is optional (except for pippi i think). and due to some finagling of in game events, you dont even have to have loid for the final encounter. you could have teddy instead. the adventure is able to be played out in different ways, giving it a little more personality.
The gameplay for Mother did not age well. I loved the atmosphere of the game and definitely want to play it again, but not without a guide and a bunch of Repel Rings.
And yeah, the fact that it takes so little time to find the first four melodies made me raise an eyebrow. But I still had a damn good time playing it (years later, after getting the NES library on my Switch) and was quite surprised with how much it charmed me. I started with Earthbound aka Mother 2 and figured I'd like Mother/Earthbound Beginnings, but I was surprised at how MUCH.
(The music is a big part of it.)
Crazy that someone could make such a painfully bad first game but then follow it up with one of the best video games that will be remembered for as long as humans exist 🤔
Knowing MOTHER 1+2's version of MOTHER 1 uses the same changes as the US localization, just with the original Japanese script, makes me feel less like a lazy slob for playing the official "EarthBound Beginnings" version on Nintendo Switch Online as opposed to seeking out an ultra accurate fan translation of the Japanese Famicom version and suffering through it's blemishes. Like I'm one of those fastidious mfs who wants to experience the purest version of a work, so knowing that the more polished version of the game has "Itoi's blessing" in that it was released in Japan in a compilation overseen by APE & Itoi is rad.
I prefer the title Earthbound Zero, as it was leaked before the official release.
Also, playing without the rebalancing patch is masochistic. Then again, I also played Dragon Quest 2.
Edit: I think I'm in a small minority of people who loved Final Fantasy 2j. I didn't like FF3j too much, though.
Sigh. I keep seeing videos people's thoughts or how the game turned out, or why it was cancelled. Why isn't there one video that talks about the full story of the game itself!?
Like the in-game story or the history surrounding the game? Either way, I think I have it covered, albeit the story summary I gave was pretty truncated because time, but at the end I have some conclusions regarding the games story itself?
44:10 I don’t think those are centipedes bud 😂
16:55
It's not that hard to go back to podunk bro, haven't played this untill 3 days ago on my switch, you just go west once you hit Merrysville.
Omg charlie is ness we were talking to a videogame char
Mother 1’s Marketing Campaign: No Crying Until The End.
Earthbound’s Marketing Campaign: This Game Stinks.
Pretty Big Step Down In My Opinion.
Final fantasy II is great, if you want a real grind fest try the og phantasy star games :/
Christ, 361 subs, 362 counting my sub. That ain't right. Your last couple videos are far too good for 362 subs.
Thanks for the support!!! Wait until my next one drops though, Ive been working on it for months and will set a new standard of quality for the channel! Appreciate your support Jon!
@@MamaLouiji I was curious, but did you use any of the recent books published about Earthbound in your research?
I own a lot of them just to future proof a Mother 2 video when I finally feel its right to cover it, but a lot of the related media just revolves around Mother 2 moreso than general series tidbits and Mother 1 unfortunately. I will be using them in the future, in fact my desk is very quickly becoming a growing mass of Earthbound related literature, but there just wasn't anything new I found related to the series conception, regardless books like Ask Iwata and Clyde Mandelin's Legends of Localization on the game are both really good!!
12:51