Gameplay Edit

Plot Edit

Mother begins with the story of a young, married, American couple who mysteriously vanish from their small, rural town. Two years later, the husband, George, returned as mysteriously as he vanished, and began a strange study in complete seclusion. His wife, Maria, was never heard from again. Years later, in the late 1980s (dated specifically as 1988 in the Famicom version, but kept ambiguous in later releases), a young American boy named Ninten is attacked at home in a paranormal event. His father explains that Ninten's great-grandfather studied psychic powers, and asks Ninten to investigate a crisis occurring across the world, later revealed to be the work of an invading alien race. After finishing a few tasks, Ninten is warped to the world of Magicant, where the land's ruler, Queen Mary, asks Ninten to find her song, the Eight Melodies, and play them for her. Ninten returns to Earth and befriends a young boy, Lloyd, who is being teased at an elementary school. The two travel to the town of Snowman to deliver a lost hat to Ana, a young girl with psychic powers. Ana tells Ninten she saw him in a dream, and joins the party in hopes of finding her missing mother. Ninten and party exploring the overworld After finding most of the Melodies, Ninten is harassed at a karaoke bar by Teddy, the boss of a local gang. Teddy surrenders after losing to Ninten in a duel, and joins Ninten's party with the intent to avenge the deaths of his parents, who were killed at Holy Loly Mountain. Lloyd stays behind. In a cottage at the base of Holy Loly Mountain, Ana pulls Ninten aside and asks him to be with her always. The two dance and profess their mutual love. When about to leave, the party is attacked by a powerful robot that knocks out the entire party. Lloyd arrives with a tank and destroys the robot, but accidentally attacks the party and critically wounds Teddy, so Lloyd rejoins the party. They take a boat out on Holy Loly Lake and a whirlpool pulls them into an underwater laboratory where they find a robot who claims to have been built by George to protect Ninten. When the laboratory floods, they leave for the mountain and the robot helps them ascend. On the way, they find a cave with human prisoners including Ana's mother. They need to defeat the Mother Ship to free the prisoners. Another robot (implied to be an upgraded version of the one fought at the cabin) attacks at the summit, and George's robot self-destructs to destroy it, leaving behind the seventh melody. After learning this melody, the party is warped to Magicant, where Ninten sings the melodies he had learned to Queen Mary. She recalls the rest of the song and reminisces about an alien named Gyiyg that she loved as her own child. Queen Mary reveals that she is George's wife, Maria, and vanishes. Magicant, a mirage created by her conscience, vanishes with her. The party is warped back to the top of Holy Loly Mountain, where the party discovers George's grave. Large rocks block the entrance to a cave inside Holy Loly Mountain, but are cleared by the power of Maria's conscience. The party encounters the Mother Ship and a fluid-filled tank that contains Giygas. The alien expresses its gratefulness to Ninten's family for raising it, but explains that George stole vital information from its people that could have been used to betray them, and proceeds to accuse Ninten of interfering with their plans. Giygas offers to save Ninten alone if he boards the Mother Ship. When Ninten declines, Giygas attempts to put Ninten to sleep. The party begins to sing the Eight Melodies while Giygas tries to quiet the party through an attack. When the party finishes the lullaby, Giygas is overcome with emotion at the thought of Maria's motherly love. Giygas says they will meet again and flies off in the Mother Ship. The game ends with Ninten, Ana, and Lloyd facing the player as the credits roll behind them. Giygas returns in the sequel, EarthBound.

Development Edit

Reception and legacy Edit