Mother

"Mother... Tell your Children not to walk My way.."

Introduction: I've always been a major fan of RPG's.. But this game.. This game.. Is beyond words. Not only is it awesome on it's own, but for the people who have been living in a cave for a thousand years, Mother spawned Earth Bound, the up-dated American version. So you could say, Earth Bound's Mother is Mother. This game was called Earth Bound zero in the English version, but it never was released in America, from what I know, so feel proud if you own it in ways within the law. RPG's we're all about grabbing swords, getting some silver armor, and slaying dragon's.. That was untill Mother came. Mother took place in the modern era, in the 80's to be exact. There are drug store's, food shops, all the modern stuff. Also, unlike most RPG's, it has lot's of loony humor. Like one of My favorite's, ''I heard a story about an old man who no one remembers. I forgot who he was.'' Well, instead of saying everything on the introduction, I might as well go on with the review.

Graphics: Not bad at all.. For it's time. Everything is cartoon-ish, it don't look like your traditional menu-based RPG. You can tell what everything looks like. If you played Earth Bound, then I'll tell you that everything looks like an older version of that.. And there is a good chance that's because this game is an older version of that.

Play Control: Ever played the original Dragon Warrior? This game is pretty much 90 % menu based, just like D.W. When you press the ''A'' button, you open the menu. Then, you use the control pad to select an option, like ''Talk'', or ''Check'', and then press ''A'' to select it. ''B'' cancels options, and if you hold down ''B'' when you are walking, you fast-forward the game, so to speak. ((In other words, make him go faster then his turtle pace.)) That's about all there is. The battles are also menu based. Just pick a command, and before your eyes, it happens. How wonderful..

Music: Awesome! Most of the great music found in Earth Bound, all started here! It brings a tear to Me eyes.. It's 8-bit music, if you know what I mean, but it's classic, and you gotta' love it! Well, you don't have to love it, but you should.

Sound Effects: BEEP! BOOP! BOP! BIM! SHOOM! BAP! BOAP! BAPE! BE--- Ok, I'll shut up. But that was an example of what you will hear in Mother. Just 8-bit beeps.

Story: Like most RPG's, a nice story that unfolds. I'll try to say it without much of a spoil. Your great-grand-Father disappeared one day back in the 1900's. He came back one day, but his wife did not. He acted different when he came back, and started making a study of weird PSI powers. Many years later, in the 80's, you are Ninten, and you have this weird PSI power. Werid things are going on around the town.. Animal's are acting odd, and zombies are attacking. It's now time for you to set off on an adventure to discover the problem, find new friend's, and defeat the ''Problem''!

Game Play: Mother is an over-head menu-based RPG. You walk around the over world, talking to people in the town to figure out where to go next. You run into random enemy encounters while walking around the over world, and beating these enemies' in menu based combat earn you money and EXP. points. As you gain EXP. points, you gain levels as well, which will upgrade your character's many stats, making you more powerful. You can then use the money to buy better weapons and armor. Weapons range from things like ball-bats, to sling-shot's, however. This is pretty much all you do in this game. There is something addictive about these simple goals in a game that make it an RPG, and attract people like Me to it, thus making Me and people like Me ''RPG fan's.'' As you go along, you learn PSI spells, that can heal you, or hurt your enemy, and all that good stuff.

Challenge: This game is pretty hard, but not enough to drive you insane. Well, the random enemy encounters may drive you insane. If you thought Final Fantasy was bad for them, wait 'till you see Mother. In some spots, every step you take will trigger a battle. Good for levels, of course, but it gets old.

Replay Value: It's fun enough to play through again. Even if you don't, you should enjoy the first time around to the fullest. There are some secrets and tricks here and there, but really no side-quests.

Score chart:
Graphics: 7 / 10
Play Control: 8 / 10
Music: 10 / 10
Sound Effects: 7 / 10
Story: 9 / 10
Gameplay: 10 / 10
Challenge: 6 / 10
Replay value: 8 / 10
Overall: 10 / 10

Final Word: People like Me, who played Earth Bound first, and became huge fan's of it, will love Mother! And just about any other RPG fan will, too. The game that started it all.. it's no wonder why it became so popular in Japan..

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/02, Updated 10/25/02