TailoredMuffin
2009
This is my most played game of all time and I wish it wasn't. Like genuinely really good characters and lore but a really shitty company and toxic game/fanbase. I really want to like this game but I can't and I don't have the energy to make a review of a fucking moba lol.
2018
Trans rights are real as much as the devs think otherwise.
This review contains spoilers
There's something to say about quality vs enjoyment. There are pieces of media everyone around you thinks is fantastic but you don't seem to get, or you can find guilty pleasure in something maligned by the public. Earthbound Beginnings is the latter.
The mechanics of this game have aged like an ice cream cone in the heat, with barely stapled together "balancing" consisting of enemies who consistently take negative damage while posing as massive threats to your party. The world is rather barren and labyrinthian, and key objectives are obtuse to find with little to guide you on your way. Yet, despite all this, there lies this nostalgic charm in the game's presentation that drives me to think about it more than I should.
Similarly to Persona 5, I would say that the best thing this game has to offer is the general aesthetic. Simple and cute westernized characters fighting enemies ranging from everyday birds and bullies to more bizarre zombies and alien robots lends itself to a sense of escapism. This is a game that I often imagined me and my friends partaking in when I was younger, being psychics and exploring the world while dealing with weird threats. While Earthbound fulfills this escapism fantasy arguably better, with more varied locations and set pieces, Earthbound Beginnings takes pride in it's simplicity, feeling more homely as a result. And that humble, nostalgic feel also ties into this game's underground narrative.
SPOILERS START HERE
While this game is now more formally called Earthbound Beginnings due to the original translation officially being published, I am more keen on calling this game as it was initially pitched in japan, MOTHER. MOTHER, for how narratively shallow it seems on the surface, actually has more underneath the plot than is shown, all relating back to its namesake. Giygas is genuinely a sympathetic being, raised as a child by a young couple and growing conflicting feelings as the love of his mother Maria is constantly swept away by his hatred for his father George for treating his psychic powers like a toy. This is even shown in the final battle, where Giygas offers Ninten, the great grandchild of George and Maria to be spared while the rest of humanity is conquered. I like to believe that he sees the same spark of hope that Maria instilled him with. However, so filled with hate, it's hard to accept the love in your life, especially when it stems from something that hurt you. Like anyone dealing with trauma, his conflicting feelings end up causing him to escape in the end when confronted with the side of his family that loved him, wrought with his emotions until he eventually collapses and becomes the embodiment of misery we see in the sequel. For how little this game actually says, the deep emotional core of the MOTHER series still manages to shine in what is still by far the lightest in tone of the series.
SPOILERS END HERE
So, that's it right? Bad game is saved by a good story? Well, you've seen my review score, and all that I just said in that last paragraph is my own interpretation of what happens. MOTHER is a series built on implication, with barely anything of its deeper themes being explicitly stated to the player. This is most evident here, where the game plays more of like a comedy (not that it's a bad thing. I think this game is very charming) than an emotional gut punch like its grandchild. When you're playing this game, instead of dealing with a gripping story, you're dealing with tedious to bullshit encounters and getting lost in large areas that barely look distinct from each other. There are literally two factories you do back to back in the middle of the game, with the second one just being a longer, more annoying version of the first one, and it's just one example of this games many frustrating areas.
MOTHER is not a good game, and honestly I would advise to NOT play it. But, that does not mean this game doesn't have any merits. This is a game I love discussing and thinking about more than actually playing, with a whimsical OST, escapist nostalgia, and a story deeper than what is presented. It's a prime example that shows that while flaws may be prevalent, you can still find enjoyment in other aspects of a piece of art, and that's exactly what I do with this game.
TL;DR Pollyanna is the best overworld theme of all time and Teddy is a gigachad.
The mechanics of this game have aged like an ice cream cone in the heat, with barely stapled together "balancing" consisting of enemies who consistently take negative damage while posing as massive threats to your party. The world is rather barren and labyrinthian, and key objectives are obtuse to find with little to guide you on your way. Yet, despite all this, there lies this nostalgic charm in the game's presentation that drives me to think about it more than I should.
Similarly to Persona 5, I would say that the best thing this game has to offer is the general aesthetic. Simple and cute westernized characters fighting enemies ranging from everyday birds and bullies to more bizarre zombies and alien robots lends itself to a sense of escapism. This is a game that I often imagined me and my friends partaking in when I was younger, being psychics and exploring the world while dealing with weird threats. While Earthbound fulfills this escapism fantasy arguably better, with more varied locations and set pieces, Earthbound Beginnings takes pride in it's simplicity, feeling more homely as a result. And that humble, nostalgic feel also ties into this game's underground narrative.
SPOILERS START HERE
While this game is now more formally called Earthbound Beginnings due to the original translation officially being published, I am more keen on calling this game as it was initially pitched in japan, MOTHER. MOTHER, for how narratively shallow it seems on the surface, actually has more underneath the plot than is shown, all relating back to its namesake. Giygas is genuinely a sympathetic being, raised as a child by a young couple and growing conflicting feelings as the love of his mother Maria is constantly swept away by his hatred for his father George for treating his psychic powers like a toy. This is even shown in the final battle, where Giygas offers Ninten, the great grandchild of George and Maria to be spared while the rest of humanity is conquered. I like to believe that he sees the same spark of hope that Maria instilled him with. However, so filled with hate, it's hard to accept the love in your life, especially when it stems from something that hurt you. Like anyone dealing with trauma, his conflicting feelings end up causing him to escape in the end when confronted with the side of his family that loved him, wrought with his emotions until he eventually collapses and becomes the embodiment of misery we see in the sequel. For how little this game actually says, the deep emotional core of the MOTHER series still manages to shine in what is still by far the lightest in tone of the series.
SPOILERS END HERE
So, that's it right? Bad game is saved by a good story? Well, you've seen my review score, and all that I just said in that last paragraph is my own interpretation of what happens. MOTHER is a series built on implication, with barely anything of its deeper themes being explicitly stated to the player. This is most evident here, where the game plays more of like a comedy (not that it's a bad thing. I think this game is very charming) than an emotional gut punch like its grandchild. When you're playing this game, instead of dealing with a gripping story, you're dealing with tedious to bullshit encounters and getting lost in large areas that barely look distinct from each other. There are literally two factories you do back to back in the middle of the game, with the second one just being a longer, more annoying version of the first one, and it's just one example of this games many frustrating areas.
MOTHER is not a good game, and honestly I would advise to NOT play it. But, that does not mean this game doesn't have any merits. This is a game I love discussing and thinking about more than actually playing, with a whimsical OST, escapist nostalgia, and a story deeper than what is presented. It's a prime example that shows that while flaws may be prevalent, you can still find enjoyment in other aspects of a piece of art, and that's exactly what I do with this game.
TL;DR Pollyanna is the best overworld theme of all time and Teddy is a gigachad.