About 5 years ago, I played through the first chapter of Mother 3 with the same friend that I played through all of Earthbound with. In fact, not only did we play through Earthbound together, we also streamed us doing so. It was a unique experience, but that's besides the point. I remember it being equally as charming to me as Earthbound had been and being slightly disappointed at the early death of a certain character, yet still curious of where things would go from there. Then, our lives got away from us. It was roughly around the same time that I transitioned and my friend also went through massive changes in their life. Turns out we should have been just as curious about where our lives were going too.
Anyways, last month I started streaming this game from the beginning with both that same friend and my wife. Immediately, I could tell that Mother 3 was going to get its claws into me far more than Earthbound had all those years ago. Having let my experience with the gameplay of Earthbound marinate in my brain for all those years, I was able to more readily take advantage of the damage tickers and the rhythm-based combos kept me constantly engaged with every encounter. The cast of characters popped in ways that the minimalistic charms of Earthbound's had left me mildly underwhelmed and the music slapped massively. The world-building and story were more tangible, if that phrasing makes sense, than Earthbound. Where Earthbound conveys those elements primarily through the act of moving through and examining the world, the world and story spent it's first several chapters happening to Lucas and me. By the time I felt like my party, especially Lucas, had a tangible impact on the world around us, the story had finally started unfurling itself to me.
That alone was enough to make me appreciate the story; however, once you start taking into account the anti-capitalist themes of this story, it struck me at my core. I can think of few games that so deftly captures the way in which not only capitalism rips apart our sense of community and alienates us from every aspect of our lives, but also how capitalism and fascism are intrinsically linked. Especially a Nintendo game. I could touch on the final scenes of the game and how they made me cry in front of the internet, but I don't think trying to capture those in text would convey much of anything. The only one I want to address is a quiet moment in the dark, in which a character talked to me about the world. How was my life going? How much had things changed? They wished me well and hoped for the world to treat me well too. After five years of life, highs and lows, love and loss, to have this little digital piece of art tell the faceless world, which was currently watching me finish said piece of art, wish me the best and tell that aforementioned world to treat me well made me feel ways that no game, not even the copious amounts of metafiction I've consumed, feel that way.
Anyways, last month I started streaming this game from the beginning with both that same friend and my wife. Immediately, I could tell that Mother 3 was going to get its claws into me far more than Earthbound had all those years ago. Having let my experience with the gameplay of Earthbound marinate in my brain for all those years, I was able to more readily take advantage of the damage tickers and the rhythm-based combos kept me constantly engaged with every encounter. The cast of characters popped in ways that the minimalistic charms of Earthbound's had left me mildly underwhelmed and the music slapped massively. The world-building and story were more tangible, if that phrasing makes sense, than Earthbound. Where Earthbound conveys those elements primarily through the act of moving through and examining the world, the world and story spent it's first several chapters happening to Lucas and me. By the time I felt like my party, especially Lucas, had a tangible impact on the world around us, the story had finally started unfurling itself to me.
That alone was enough to make me appreciate the story; however, once you start taking into account the anti-capitalist themes of this story, it struck me at my core. I can think of few games that so deftly captures the way in which not only capitalism rips apart our sense of community and alienates us from every aspect of our lives, but also how capitalism and fascism are intrinsically linked. Especially a Nintendo game. I could touch on the final scenes of the game and how they made me cry in front of the internet, but I don't think trying to capture those in text would convey much of anything. The only one I want to address is a quiet moment in the dark, in which a character talked to me about the world. How was my life going? How much had things changed? They wished me well and hoped for the world to treat me well too. After five years of life, highs and lows, love and loss, to have this little digital piece of art tell the faceless world, which was currently watching me finish said piece of art, wish me the best and tell that aforementioned world to treat me well made me feel ways that no game, not even the copious amounts of metafiction I've consumed, feel that way.