Hey people, listen up, lemme make this clear because we are going to be discussing Mother 3 herein and the subject of the Fan Translation project is bound to come up. So, lemme lay out some guidelines for discussion of the Mother series... or, I will say

What This Topic Is About

1. This topic is about the best game series in the whole universe. No no - I don't want to hear about your Final Fantasies or your Ogre Battles or your Metal which is made into Gears, and I most certain do not want to hear about Nintendo's other, lesser franchises. This is about Mother, better known in the West as EarthBound.

2. This topic is about sharing experiences of the Mother series. There's a lot to talk about! These games are pretty deep. Starmen.net is testimony to the fact that one can talk about these games mroe or less forever, even if there are only three of them and we have only ever played one.

3. This topic is about how it sucks that Nintendo of America only released one game Stateside and NOE never touched it. Because it does suck. It sucks a lot. And how about that Virtual Console!?

4. This topic is about design philosophies that went into making the games. Why is everything like Dragon Quest? Everyone walks by flipping their sprites back and forth? How archaic. And awesome!

5. So how about that Mother 3 fan translation project. Controversy! Perseverance of a body of fans! Loss and heroism and tragedy, writ large on the page of history in the blood of those who would transcribe it.

6. Ness and Lucas are the best Brawl characters ever and if you disagree then frankly you don't belong here.

You get the idea. But, just as important as what the topic is about, is

What This Topic is NOT, I repeat NOT About

1. This topic is not about teh warez. This is about the games themselves - if you played them via ROM, fine, whatever, I disapprove but there's nothing illegal or shady about you mentioning that here. That said? If you ask for or link to ROMs I will report your ass myself, because I don't want this topic to be shut down because a few chuckleheads don't have their heads on quite straight. On a related note:
        1.a. The Mother 3 Fan Translation Project is not about teh warez. The M3FTP is about a patch, perfectly legal on its own, which can be applied to your evil, dirty, malicious stolen code which you should be ashamed of having (why didn't you just import and pretend to know Japanese is what I want to know). It is about a community coming together as fans for the most important and comprehensive fan translation in the history of the internet, about the spirit of people who really love a series coming together to make things work. If you ask for a ROM over there, you will be banned from there too. Watch your butts.

2. This topic is not about posting spoilers unmarked and unwarned. You all know how to highlight in black. Highlight your spoilers like this: The first boss in EarthBound is the Titanic Ant and he is a jerk. You may also need to turn your text black. Do it. Do it or I will find you!

3. This topic is not about Harvest Moon, the other greatest series of all time. Maybe one day the two most universal goods in creation can come togther, but this is not that day.

4. This topic is meant for entertainment purposes. It is not meant to diagnose or treat any diseases. Always consult your doctor before discussing the Mother series: if he doesn't have blue hair, consider seeking out a new HMO who's more into shrooms.


That's out of the way, then.

EarthBound is awesome.

I wholeheartily agree with pretty much everything you say. Earthbound is my favorite game of all time, and I imported Mother 3 and fake japanese'd my whole way through :3 It was awesome even so.

I remember my brother had to sit me down and force me to play Earthbound at first, but then I was hooked. I wasn't really into reading that much at the time. And Buzz-Buzz's speech nearly killed me. I think I asked him to repeat it about 20 times at first 'cause I was just trying to skip it. I was still crazy for it though. A little later in life I went back to it, and enjoyed it even more so than before. Everything in that game was amazing, the enemies, the mushrooms on your head, everything.

So many good times :3 I still play it, and have been checking the fan translation site more than 3 times a day now, bless Mato and co's souls. I'm so excited for it it's not even funny. They're so close.

Both me and my brother both "Main" Lucas or Ness. (I'm Lucas and he's Ness) My brother's better overall, but man, I still love Lucas, Don't you think the Claus costume is genius?

One thing I'm kinda bummed about is I still haven't got a Gutsy bat once. Ever. I've gotten the rest of the main 1/128 items though^^; Even Jeff's which was a pain in the butt.

Also, I lolled at that Harvest moon thing. It is a pretty awesome game :3

I actually borrowed EarthBound from a friend of mine, on a whim, because Ness was so bad-ass in Smash Bros. I've never owned my own copy, and I won't until the Virtual Console version hits.

I dunno if the Gutsy Bat is really worth it. By that point, man, you're in the last area, after the Point of No Return, and if you save there's no going back so you're just going to probably lose it anyway. The Legendary Bat does just fine, just fine.

Also should I throw some pics into the OP?

Ah, I'd love it to come to the VC, but I'm honestly hoping for a Mother 1 + 2 Compilation for the DS (Maybe having 3 included) But that's just wishful thinking.

Y'know, I still haven't figured out exactly where to get the Gutsy Bat. I always thought it was in Ness' Nightmare place, with the Krakens. That's what the Guidebook said anyway, but I think I read on the internet that it's that last place. Do you know for sure?

And yeah. I know it's not really worth it. It's more of a "Hey, I got this" kind of thing. ^^;

Hmmm, pics might be good. I don't think it really needs it though. It'd just be to spice things up a little.

I should have known that you'd be the first person to respond to this thread. Just so you know, the reason you always lose in Smash Bros. is because Ness is just all around superior to Lucas. ;)

I remember when I was eleven picking this game up on a whim from a used game store just because I liked the cover. Best money I've ever spent in my entire life. I've played through the game so many times that I've lost count. Out of curiosity, am I the only one who repeatedly gives the Orange Kid $200 so that I can collect all the items in the game? (sans the gutsy bat, screw that).

The Gutsy Bat is very definitely in the final area, I've gotten it before. It's nifty... but essentially useless for the battle to come, so you might as well not bother.

Of course we need them. How else are we going to relate great moments like this?

Who doesn't remember the first time this happened?

 Bah! So the guide book lied to me, I don't know how many times I've gone through Magicant trying to get it to drop. Oh well, some day I'll get it.

And hey Crayfish, you say that about Ness, but we all know that's not true :3 Well... Ok, Ness is pretty dang awesome though.

Did you know, that if you pay Apple Kid (and feed him of course) then check the pencil statue, and then go talk to Orange Kid, he'll only ask you for $50? That happened to me just this last time playing through.

Anyway, best money that wasn't mine that I didn't spend but got the benifits of ever.

I've never played a Mother game, but the part with Ness and Lucas in the Subspace Emissary in Brawl really touched my heart.

Man I hated those damn trees! They were the bane of my existence for all time, ever.

The rollback of the HP in Mother 3 being slowed down is a boon. I'm glad I imported it - but I never got past chapter 3 or 4.