Mother (Famicom)

Platform: Famicom
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Role Playing
Release Date: July 27, 1989
Rated: Not Rated

Also commonly called Earthbound Zero. The name Mother is from the John Lennon song of the same name. Creator Shigesato Itoi felt a strong feeling for the song, since both Itoi and Lennon had a father that left early in their life. He wanted people to feel similar (emotionally) so he created this game. Originally, this game was scheduled to be released in the US, but for whatever reason, Nintendo of America canceled the US version. Eventually, someone put the prototype version on the net, and hence, fans rejoiced.

Story: Prior to the game, a shadow covered a rural area in America. An couple vanished, suddenly. Two year later the father returns, but the mother never does. 80 year later, you wake up and are attacked by household objects. After the attacks stop, your father tells you to go out in the world to stop whatever is causing this. Standard "save the world" type story, but at least as the game progresses, you figure out that the story isn't all too cliche.
4 out of 5

Gameplay: The game plays very much like the early Final Fantasy games. Topdown view an a field, and random boss battles. In battles, you can use PSI, or Physic powers, to heal allies or damage enemies. The real charm of Mother is the weapons. In normal RPGs, you fight with swords, axes, staffs, etc. In Mother, you use butter knifes, baseball bats, non-stick frying pans, and the like. Pretty humorous when fighting enemies like alligators and dust balls with these weapons. Main disadvantage of the game is the lack of a detailed map. The game gets quite confusing at times. Also, near the end of the game, the difficulty goes way up, almost like the game comes out of the screen and punches you in the balls about ten times.
3.5 out of 5

Graphics: The graphics are nothing too special about the game. It's like any overhead RPG from around this time. The only neat looking part of the game is near the end, but I don't really want to spoil much. The battle screen is just an black background with stats with an still image of the enemy, so nothing special there either. The character artwork though is rather goofy, but fitting at the same time. The translated version is of course, censored but nothing big. Cigarettes, blood, and anything promoting religion is taken out due to Nintendo's strict policy back when.
3 out of 5

Sound: Nothing like the old school NES music, right? Well, in truth, there are a few good songs (Battle Themes, Main Theme, Podunk) and a few irritating songs (Magicant, Spookane) All in all, it fits the theme of the game. Hey, you gotta love that music that plays when you face hippies.
3 out of 5

Lasting Appeal: This game is long, in the sense that you got to raise your level a lot, which takes time. The game gives you slim to little hints on where to go next, which could get very confusing. The ending battle and what happens afterwards makes the game unique, and leaves you with that good "I just beat this motherfucking game" feeling.
3 out of 5

Final Thought: Despite the fact that some parts of the game make you want to bash your head in with two bricks, gamers will find it rather fun and funny.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Screenshots taken from Starmen.net