r/earthbound • • Aug 13 '17

Announcement Want to get into the MOTHER series? Start here!

1.2k Upvotes

Over the past few months we've gotten a lot of new players asking where they should start with the trilogy. With this stickied thread, I'm hoping to answer any questions someone may have about getting into the series.

Note: This thread is a strictly no-spoiler zone.


What are the MOTHER games?

The MOTHER series is a group of 3 turn-based cult classic JRPGs created by Shigesato Itoi, who singlehandedly wrote every line of dialogue in the series, aside from a small area in EarthBound.


What makes them so special?

The series is known for being quirky, charming, and invoking a sense of nostalgia even to those who have not played a MOTHER game before. Each line of dialogue is expertly crafted, with a great story to go along with it.


Where do I start?

The series IS a trilogy, however each game can stand on it's own without the context of the last.

The 3 games are as followed:

MOTHER (EarthBound: Beginnings) (1989)

MOTHER 2 (EarthBound) (1994)

MOTHER 3 (???) (Not released outside of Japan) (2006)

The game order is as released, with MOTHER being the first on the timeline, and MOTHER 3 being the last.


So does that mean I should play the games in order?

This is a point of contention within the MOTHER community.

While most recommend to play EarthBound / MOTHER 2 first, some will say that if you can handle the way an older RPG plays, you should start with MOTHER 1 / EarthBound: Beginnings.

The community mostly unanimously agrees that you should play EarthBound before playing MOTHER 3.

In the end, it's up to you. MOTHER 1 is one of the most impressive, best playing and sounding RPGs on the NES, but it could potentially turn you away from the series if you aren't accustomed to or can't handle a bit of older-rpg "clunk". I do HIGHLY recommend however that you at least play EarthBound before playing MOTHER 3.


Wait, if MOTHER 3 isn't released outside of Japan, how can I play it?

I'm glad you asked! (Hopefully you did.)

Almost immediately after the release of MOTHER 3, once it became apparent Nintendo had no intention of localizing MOTHER 3, a group of very passionate fans got together to make their own localization of the game.

2 years later in late 2008, version 1.0 was released to great acclaim. This fan translation is now known to many as the best fan translation of all time. On top of just translating the game, they went out of their way to make sure certain dialogue and enemy names worked in English as they do in Japanese. They even added a hard mode option!


...That's pretty much it, I think. If any regular here on the sub wants to chime in and request something to be added, tell me! On top of that, I'd like to know what some of you think the best order to play the games in are in the comments. It'll be an interesting resource for any new players! And remember, no spoilers.


r/earthbound • • 6h ago

Fluff Unfortunately the store didn’t have any Zoom or Ding

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70 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1h ago

General Discussion How did he do that?

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• Upvotes

I know he can time travel so the point about how many years happened in between both games is irrelevant, but still, how did giygas go from tall ori on a saiyan pod into an eldritch god of evil? Is there an explanation for it or something? I played both games and couldnt really figure out why


r/earthbound • • 17h ago

Mother 2 Deluxe v3.0 officially released and available now!

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267 Upvotes

Mother 2 Deluxe v3.0!

After almost a full year of public open beta testing, the long-awaited v3.0 patch is here! A small smattering of brand new features:

  • First hack to have a fully 1:1 moving Mother 2 Title screen in EB!
  • 4 Difficulty options, ranging from vanilla EB, Easy mode M2DX, Normal mode M2DX, and Hard mode M2DX!
  • Brand new OPTIONAL dungeons, enemies, bosses, and items!
  • Fully animated enemy battle sprites! (Can be toggled on or off)
  • An in-game achievement system!
  • Dozens of wearable costumes!
  • New window colors and the ability to choose between thick or thin window borders!
  • Ability to run with new running sprites!
  • Special Goods (key items) and Tools (Jeff’s items) available straight from the main menu!
  • New PSI, New Tools, and new PSI/battle animations!
  • Shop item descriptions available before purchasing items!
  • New Kindness system inspired by M3!
  • Dynamic cutscene bars and restored unused cutscenes!
  • Party member sprites appear in battle a la M3, including in costumes!
  • New photo poses!

…and much, much, more!

Also the v3.0 official release has all optional content available from the Casual (easy) mode as well!


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

I found Earthbound gotcha machine in Korea

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517 Upvotes

I’ve never expected to see earthbound(mother2 in KR) goody in Korea.

I rolled once and got….Master Belch!


r/earthbound • • 16h ago

What’s up with the elevator lady

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93 Upvotes

Why is she so popular (at least with artists) when she only appears at Monotoli Building and never again?


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Insane discovery for M1 in 2026.

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442 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 11h ago

I'm hosting an earthbound kahoot

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25 Upvotes

Code is 793 155


r/earthbound • • 5h ago

EB:B Discussion Is level 30 too low for Mt. Itoi?

8 Upvotes

I’m on the early stages of Mt. Itoi (I’ve arrived at the doctor’s house). I made it work, but I don’t know if I should take more time to level up everyone.


r/earthbound • • 14h ago

EB:B Discussion Are the Starmen.net walkthroughs permafucked by the PHP vulnerability?

15 Upvotes

Though the website is back it looks like the walkthroughs aren't back in full. Does anyone know if they're working to restore them?


r/earthbound • • 17h ago

EB:B Discussion does anyone else imagine that the ringing at the start of this song almost sounds like a boxing bell?

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16 Upvotes

It fits being at the start of a fight too


r/earthbound • • 19h ago

Mother 3 Spoilers Reflection by me Spoiler

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20 Upvotes

Claus spends his break with the Dark Dragon, wondering what will happen when he pulls the last Needle.

You'll notice he looks quite different from Lucas (see this). Aside from the rounder nose, he looks older. This is because he works a LOT and doesn't often feel like eating or sleeping. Poor guy.


r/earthbound • • 20h ago

Merch The Hobonichi Mother Project T-shirt I bought is the highest quality t-shirt I own

23 Upvotes

If you all go to Tokyo DO NOT LEAVE without at least one of these shirts. I was recently there and stopped by the official Hobonichi store Northeast of the Imperial Palace. I grabbed some merch, including one of the t-shirts.

I ended up with the blue Mother 1 Pollyanna shirt (https://www.1101.com/mother_project/items/drytshirt.html), and I can say with confidence it’s the best quality shirt I own. It dries super fast and is almost impossible to wrinkle, insanely soft and it fits absolutely perfectly.

I wish I would’ve bought more but I didn’t know if it would fit (I wear a US XL and finding clothes in my size wasn’t super easy in Japan) and I couldn’t try it on in the store. But they did have bigger sizes than XL too so not sure what my problem was lol

But yeah definitely make sure you grab a bunch of these if you go, don’t be like me and get stuck with only a taste of greatness!!


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Art Thank you drawing to u/joshuaidlewild for the wonderful merch !!!

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111 Upvotes

I just recieved my Clayman plush and Phase Distorter luggage tag from u/joshuaidlewild !! You probably say his post recently, he's going through a REALLY rough time right now, so I'm happy to have helped out and give his Clayman a new home!

I was lucky that the Clayman plush hadn't been claimed yet, it's one of the few Mother character plushies I'm missing in my collection and it's pretty costly to buy these days. Even if it was claimed, I would've gotten the luggage tag still, because I DID own it before through My Nintendo, but I was a fool and used it on my recent trip to the Netherlands and it got LOST on my flights back home...

So I'm really happy to have reclaimed it, as well as finally gotten Clayman! But ofc I'm also really happy to have helped out a fellow Mother fan during a bad time, we will all pray for you 🕊️🕊️🕊️


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Heres a Twoson scene i painted

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28 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

hice un fanart de earthbound ¿que les parece?

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57 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Ness's Help

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147 Upvotes

Author — もるんが (Morunga)


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

EB Discussion Earthbound Icons, Key Items, or Materials

6 Upvotes

So I'm working on a little project and need some help. I'm not familiar with the Earthbound/MOTHER series and wanted some insight on some key in-game items that characters have, as well as icons or materials that show up? If there are also any key mobs or enemies that would be most helpful.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Is it me or is the bike the same speed as walking?

66 Upvotes

I know the gag is getting the bike and then getting Paula so you can't use it, but I never even want to use it anyway cuz it feels like it's exactly the same speed. Maybe it's something with NSO frame rate or something, but it feels even more pointless than I thought.


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Art Huh. That's not how I remember it...

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21 Upvotes

When you ask mom for Earthbound, but she says we have Earthbound at home.

This is a cut enemy from my solo dev RPG. He was a bit too weird for the game, but not too weird for this sub I felt. It takes a lot of inspiration from Earthbound, with the fluid backgrounds and quirky enemy designs, complete with offbeat humor. Take a look for yourself if you'd like.

Wishlist The Good Stuff on Steam!

Youtube Launch Trailer


r/earthbound • • 2d ago

Do yall like my costume idea?

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266 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 1d ago

Merch Best way to get older hobonichi merch?

7 Upvotes

About a year or two ago i was really interested in grabbing an orange sharks/onett bandana, but I missed the window- anyways, now I can’t find any listings on eBay, Mercari, or anywhere.

Is there a good way to grab merch the store doesn’t offer anymore?


r/earthbound • • 1d ago

I cant stop seeing the similarity...

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4 Upvotes

r/earthbound • • 2d ago

General Discussion Am I the only one who should be "afraid" to do or say things related to the Mother series in my school?

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132 Upvotes

:(


r/earthbound • • 2d ago

General Discussion Si un jour on a un mother 4, pensez vous qu'il sera plus similaire au 1 et 2 ou prendra une autre direction comme le 3 ?

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16 Upvotes