This has been a long time coming. Up until about an hour ago, I'd never finished a Mother game before. I started Eartbound a few years ago, got up to the introduction Happy-Happyism, and my save got corrupted. Needless to say, I wasn't trilled about the idea of playing through it again, especially with how painfully slow the game starts.

Then the game made its debut on the Virtual Console, and I bought it day one, determined to finally tackle it. I never even booted it up. That is, until a few days ago. See, I was checking through some videos, and saw that the Completionist made a new review on Mother 3. I saw there review on Earthbound, so I went to check it out. But then, right as I was about to get into it, the co-host, Greg, advised viewers to play the game before watching the review, and I imediately hit pause.

Usually, I never pay any mind to that sort of thing, but this was different. I planned to play Mother 3. I had the intention to. I knew that I wanted to, and I also was well aware of how reletively blind I was to the whole thing. I mean, I know a few major plot spoilers, like the Masked Man, but that's pretty much it. But I wanted to watch this review. I just like them from an entertainment POV, but I knew I couldn't do it without spoiling the game for myself. So I decided that I'd just have to finally play the game. Especially after finding out a minute later that that would be Greg's last show.

Only I never finished Earthbound. Dammit. The game was right in my Wii U, neglected. And so I played it. And I fucking loved it.

There are some pretty major flaws, and I found myself pretty aggrivated at the game a lot more than I thought I'd be, but even with the laundry list of complaints, I just couldn't stop playing. I absolutely get the love for it, and I even finished the game conflicted. I've never loved a game with so many things to hate about it, but this game is just so special.

And fucking creepy. All throughout the game, I was either catching myself grinning from ear to ear, or flat out being in a constant state of panic. The game seriously stressed me out, and had some of the most creepy moments I've played in a game. The most memorable, for me, being... "meditation." It cought me completely off guard, I was legitimately horrified, and after I changed my pants I loved it. The whole game feels like I'm watching the dream/nightmare of an 8 year old boy.

And now I'm hooked. I already have Mother 3, so I just want to know if anyone who's beaten it has any spoiler-free tips for making the game a smoother experience. I'm starting in about an hour.

Sadly I imagine the amount of people who actually played this game since it is not officially translated is little.

It's a game I recommend to play when you have a lot of time to invest into it. You won't be able to complete all of the chapters in one sitting, but the earlier ones especially contain a lot of major plot elements at once and you need to experience that without interruption. It's also a game I recommend playing while in a good and calm mood, there can be some more frustrating parts but if the game makes you sour then it's going to ruin the experience.

I played it and loved it. My tip is to play it alone because it is a game that will touch your feelings and it is better to be alone so you can cry or laugh in peace.

I guess when it comes to gameplay, the game has a rhythm system in the combat, where pressing the attack button in beat with the background music allows you to get in consecutive hits.

This isn't something you have to worry about too much until later in the game, but there are some enemies around mid-late game that have a very small chance of dropping the best equipment in the game, like the Mystical Stick for Lucas.

Finally, the game is somewhat plot heavy in the beginning parts, and you may cry.

First off, glad you enjoyed Earthbound. I neglected it for years as well but when I played it- I kicked myself for not trying it earlier. As for Mother 3, tip wise, be able to catch the rhythm of songs. It will help, a lot. Other than that, the game is made for less stress so it's more accessible.

Awesome. So I've been spending the entire day trying to get the game to save, to no avail. My excitement has been utterly crushed. I can't make any progress because of this.

I can probably google doc you another copy if you are having trouble.

Tips, keep your mind open, keep your tissues near you, and keep earthbound in mind.

I honestly think it's a problem with Mac. I feel like I've tried everthing, and now I'm incredebly frustrated. I even considered playing the whole game without saving, but if the penalty for dying is like in Earthbound, it will literally send me to the begining of the game whenever I die, which I just can't take.

My advice is to play Mother 1! Everyone seems to always talk about Earthbound and Mother 3 yet never the original. Sure it's not as good as the other 2 but it deserves to be loved too! Also it's a pretty short game and can be finish in roughly 12 to 15 hours depending on your playstyle.