| Mother / EarthBound Beginnings
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| ＭＯＴＨＥＲ (マザー)
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Boxart of Mother.
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| N. America:
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June 14, 2015
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| Japan:
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July 27, 1989
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| Europe:
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June 15, 2015
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Mother is a role-playing game released for the Family Computer in 1989, and the first title in the EarthBound series. Despite being a Japan-exclusive release, the game was localized and primed for release by Nintendo of America, and would have been known as "Earth Bound" (note the space). However, because the NES was reaching the end of its lifespan, it was decided that the game would not be released. Only a few prototype cartridges of the localized game exist, though years later the ROM was leaked onto the Internet. The unreleased English version was later officially released for the first time on Wii U Virtual Console under the name EarthBound Beginnings during the week of E3 2015.
Blurb
Nintendo eShop
The year is 198X. As Ninten, a young boy from Podunk with psychic powers, you must locate the eight melodies to aid the Queen of Magicant. Armed with your trusty baseball bat, you'll fight crazed hippies, zombies... and the occasional Magic Snail? Find out what's causing these strange phenomena in the first-ever US release of the EarthBound Beginnings game!
Robots are everywhere, and Ninten can't beat them alone. You'll have to team up with a colorful cast of unezpected characters–including Lloyd, Ana, and Teddy–to win intense battles with psychic attacks. PK Fire! PK Thunder! PK Freeze! Sound familiar? Well, Ninten isn't the only one with psychic powers–his companion Ana also uses offensive PSI attacks to help out in battle.
But that's just the beginning of your epic team-ups. On Ninten's journey between Magicant and Earth, you'll join forces with the Flying Men too! Have a blast exploring an abandoned zoo, saving the world, and more!
Nintendo website
EarthBound Beginnings is finally released!
The Year is 198X. As Ninten, a young boy from Podunk with psychic powers, you must locate the eight melodies to aid the Queen of Magicant. Armed with your trusty baseball bat, you’ll fight crazed hippies, zombies… and the occasional Magic Snail? Find out what's causing these strange phenomena in the first-ever US release of the EarthBound Beginnings game!
Robots are everywhere, and Ninten can’t beat them alone. You’ll have to team up with a colorful cast of unexpected characters—including Lloyd, Ana, and Teddy—to win intense battles with psychic attacks. PK Fire! PK Thunder! PK Freeze! Sound familiar? Well, Ninten isn’t the only one with psychic powers—his companion Ana also uses offensive PSI attacks to help out in battle. But that's just the beginning of your epic team-ups. On Ninten's journey between Magicant and Earth, you’ll join forces with the Flying Men too! Have a blast exploring an abandoned zoo, saving the world, and more!
Story
The story opens on a young boy named Ninten. After his house was attacked by a poltergeist, his father sends him on an adventure to find out what is happening in the world. Ninten meets with Queen Mary in Magicant, who begs him to help her remember a song that is special to her. With the help his friends, Ana, Lloyd and Teddy, Ninten travels accross America to search for the melodies of Queen Mary's song which was scattered throughout the world. Throughout his adventure, he comes accross evidence of an extraterrestrial invasion that is posing terror to the world, with animals and people becoming hostile, inanimate objects coming to life, as well as the extraterrestrial beings themselves. Once the team learn the melodies, they sing to Queen Mary, who then remembers she used to care for a young alien named Giegue when she and her husband George were abducted, and the song was the lullaby she used to sing to Giegue. She also remembers she is Ninten's great grandmother Maria, then she vanishes and joins George in heaven.
At the summit of Mt. Itoi, Ninten and his friends confront Giegue, the leader of the alien invasion. Giegue explainsto Ninten that his great grandmother Maria raised him, but George stole information about PSI, thus unknowingly posing the human race as a threat to his kind. The team finds that the only way to stop Giegue is to sing him Maria's lullaby. Giegue, troubled with the memories of Maria and the guilt from turning against her people, retreats to his home but not without promising his future return.
Gameplay
EarthBound Beginnings is a 2D RPG which is played from a top-down perspective on the overworld. Unlike many other RPGs during that time, the game takes place in a modern day setting while replacing traditional weapons like swords with average everyday items such as baseball bats. Players control the protagonist Ninten across the overworld through towns and other landmarks.
The player will randomly encounter enemies from wandering on the overworld. In battle, they can simply perform a standard attack on the enemy , or attack through other methods. Magic in this game is replaced with psychic abilities known as PSI, which can be used offensively or for supporting purposes with a limit of PP. Battles are won by depleating the enemies' HP, however if a party member's HP reaches 0 they will faint. Upon winning battles, the team will recieve EXP points which will allow a member to level up upon reacing a specific amount, raising their stats.
The game's currency is US dollars which can be used to by equips or medicine, it can also be used in hospitals to cure party members of any status condition. Furthermore, it can also be used to pay the fee in hotels, which are used to fully heal the party.
Reception
Before the release of EarthBound Beginnings, the game was never officially released outside of Japan. The game has received a fan translation by Clyde Mandelin (Tomato).
Technical details
Other releases
| Title
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Cover art
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Platform
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Release date(s)
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Notes
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| Mother 1+2
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Game Boy Advance)
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JP: June 20, 2003
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A compilation release of both Mother and EarthBound. The port of Mother in this release includes changes made to the unreleased English version of the game.
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| EarthBound Beginnings
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Wii U (Virtual Console)
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WW: June 14/15, 2015
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A port of the game released as a digital download on the Nintendo eShop for Wii U, with Virtual Console emulator features. This would be the first release of the game internationally, using the English translation of the game that was never released.
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External links
English 
Italian 
