Here, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the cutesy graphics, quirky soundtracks and amazing characters in a way you've most likely never experienced before.
Enter Shigesato Itoi, famous Japanese copywriter, and creator of the MOTHER series of video games.
In July of 1989, Itoi, with the assistance of Ape Inc and Nintendo Tokyo R&D products released a strange new kind of role-playing game that strayed from the usual formula of knights and dragons, princesses and dark lords and the rest of the ingredients we video game fans of generation Y have become so familiar with.
This will likely sound like some sort of rant about how these games have made such an impact on me as a human being. "Ridiculous!", you might say, but no. I honestly can say with 100% honesty that MOTHER has done something to me. It has truly reignited a spark of innocence and adventure, reminding me that the Japanese video game will not go under like so many of us are led to believe. Folks, only Japanese developers could have made MOTHER.
Here in the states, gamers might know MOTHER as the Japanese title of the praised Earthbound, a Super Nintendo title that went under the radar, but still managed to garner praise from critics, and for good reason.
Earthbound tells the story of young boy living in Onett, a fictional town within a highly fictionalized vision of American culture.
The quirky visual style and parodies of American pop culture both work together to make this game a unique experience. While the standard rules of RPG apply, (random encounters, grinding.) there is enough here to make it feel like different branch of the genre altogether.
Accompanying the colorful sprites and backgrounds is an eclectic soundtrack by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, of Metroid (NES) fame. Purists may believe that the music simply feels out of place in the genre, but that's part of what makes it so charming. It still manages to get the job done. The soundtrack effectively stages the mood and tension of each scene and battle.
Aesthetics aside, there is something about this game that brings back that feeling of being a child. You will crave adventure and rely on the assistance of your dear friends, and at the climax of the tale, you'll feel as helpless and frightened as a child. I won't go into details. You'll just have to experience this first hand to understand what I'm talking about. Though I will warn you, nightmares involving the universal cosmic destroyer may become frequent.
I guess this is more of a review/rant.. but whatever. I can't write anything that would do this game justice. If you enjoy videogames, you should play MOTHER.
End of Line.
Accompanying the colorful sprites and backgrounds is an eclectic soundtrack by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, of Metroid (NES) fame. Purists may believe that the music simply feels out of place in the genre, but that's part of what makes it so charming. It still manages to get the job done. The soundtrack effectively stages the mood and tension of each scene and battle.
Aesthetics aside, there is something about this game that brings back that feeling of being a child. You will crave adventure and rely on the assistance of your dear friends, and at the climax of the tale, you'll feel as helpless and frightened as a child. I won't go into details. You'll just have to experience this first hand to understand what I'm talking about. Though I will warn you, nightmares involving the universal cosmic destroyer may become frequent.
I guess this is more of a review/rant.. but whatever. I can't write anything that would do this game justice. If you enjoy videogames, you should play MOTHER.
End of Line.
