Mother (series)

, is a role-playing video game series made by Nintendo, Ape, Inc., HAL Laboratory, and Brownie Brown. Shigesato Itoi was in charge of all three games. It has three main games in it, and started on the NES with _Mother_, and then it had _EarthBound_ on the Super NES and finally, _Mother 3_ on the Game Boy Advance. _EarthBound_ was initially the only game of the three that came out in English; until the first game, EarthBound Beginnings (Mother 1) was released to America on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2015, 25 years after Mother 1 had come out in Japan, and it has a strong fanbase that wants the other two games in English too.

### Setting

The series takes place by travelling in western directions for the most part, but it also goes to other places like deserts, a prehistoric world, and a dream world.

### Mother

_Mother_ is the first title in the _EarthBound_ series. It was made by Ape, Inc. and designed by Shigesato Itoi for the NES. It was going to be called _EarthBound_ in the United States, and Nintendo of America completed the translation of the game, but they decided that role-playing video games were not worth releasing, and that it was too late in the NES' life to release.

### EarthBound

_EarthBound_ (known as _Mother 2_ in Japan) is the second title in the series. It's the most well known because it was the only one released outside of Japan. It was made by Ape, Inc. for the Super NES. It stars a boy named Ness, a girl named Paula, a boy named Jeff, and a boy named Poo, who have to work together to defeat an evil alien called Giygas, who conquers the Earth 10 years in the future.

### Mother 3

_Mother 3_ is the third and latest _EarthBound_ game. It was made by Brownie Brown and released for the Game Boy Advance. It started on the Nintendo 64 as _EarthBound 64_, but got canceled since the N64 was almost done. It was announced in 2003 that it was going to move to the Game Boy Advance, and came out in 2006. It changed from 3D to 2D, but it kept the same characters and story. It never came outside of Japan because of _EarthBound_s low sales in the United States, though there have been a lot of rumors, including one in Electronic Gaming Monthly about a game called _Mother Compilation_ for the Nintendo DS which would include all three games. _Mother 3_ is about the adventures of a boy named Lucas and his dog Boney, who joins up with a princess named Kumatora and a thief named Duster who have to fight the Pig Mask Army. Shigesato Itoi, the creator, has no plans to make a sequel.

### Other releases

Nintendo made a collection of _Mother_ and _EarthBound_ for the Game Boy Advance called _Mother 1 + 2_. It never came out of Japan. There has not been another re-release of any of the games since, but _EarthBound_ was rated by the ESRB for a Virtual Console release.

_EarthBound_ has always been in the _Super Smash Bros._ series. In _Super Smash Bros._, Ness (from _EarthBound_) is a playable character, using special PSI moves and attacks from _EarthBound_. He appeared again in _Super Smash Bros. Melee_ with some new moves, and was going to be replaced by Lucas because he was going to be the star of _EarthBound 64_, but since it was canceled, he kept Ness instead. _Melee_ also added stages from _EarthBound_ based on two of the towns from the second game, and collectible trophies of characters and items from it. _Super Smash Bros. Brawl_ brought Ness back, but also added Lucas since _Mother 3_ came out. It also added a stage from _Mother 3_ and new trophies too.

## Other websites

- Official _Mother_ Website
- Official Japanese _EarthBound_ Website
- Official _Mother 1 + 2_ Website
- Official _Mother 3_ Page
- Itoi's _Mother 3_ website
- _EarthBound_ fansite
- Mother capture
- Mother Party