I’d nearly forgotten to review this one! First, some really quick background. Mother 3 is a Japanese game, the sequel to Mother 2 (released as Earthbound in the US for the SNES), and there is no official Nintendo translation. Skilled fans tinkered with the game and made a patch for the game to change all the Japanese to English. I used this patch and ran the game in a GBA Emulator in my down-time at work with the volume almost all the way down. It was a little odd, but I finished it. So now, on to the review!

The game starts with the game teaching many of the mechanics of play, running especially, and some combat too. The plot kicks off on a pretty dark tone with important people dying, fires, disaster, the works. The story is the heart of the game, and I don’t want to give away anything at all, so I’ll focus on the other stuff. Don’t get me wrong, the plot is engaging, and the events and dialogue are humorous when they need to be.

As an RPG, combat gets you from point A to point B. It’s pretty straightforward in this game too except for one thing. If you can time your button presses with the beat of the music, you can get multiple-hit combos for extra damage. This mechanic is not required, but it will give you a slight edge. On an emulator it’s a bit difficult due to the precise timing required, you can train yourself for the delay, but I still only got one 16-hit combo ever.

I wish I could speak better about the music, but as I had the volume turned pretty low, I couldn’t fully appreciate it, but from what I heard it was good.

The game-scripting was pretty top-notch too. Only once or twice were there times I couldn’t progress because I didn’t do a particular task to trigger an in-game cinematic. One I particularly remember was an area I knew was inaccessible, so I looked literally everywhere else attempting to locate a way around it. The solution was simply to walk up to the obstruction, thus triggering the next event. Boooo.

Animation was excellent, and I can’t swear by it, but certainly cool if it’s there, but the walk cycle speeds for characters of different heights were different! A very nice touch that adds depth. I thought the spell effects in the combat system though were a bit flat. Maybe I’m spoiled by 3D, but I remember the effects in Mother 2 being more ambitious and hefty.

Oh, something that almost ruined the game for me. After defeating the last boss, a cinematic plays and then fades to a ‘The End?’ screen with no credits. And that’s it. I looked around the Internet to see if there was anything past the ambiguous ending, but turned up almost nothing. One tidbit I found, and this doesn’t give away anything, just “walk around” while on the screen. Things pick up again and you get a real ending. Pissed me off though.

Again, I won’t go into details, but there is an explanation in the game that answers a “why?” question. It’s not satisfying at all, and smacks of laziness. The problem with the answer is that it had no chance of enhancing the story - it could’ve been glossed over and there would have been no damage. Sometimes a plot hole is just a plot hole, but patching it up is harmful.

All in all a decent game, not as entertaining as Mother 2 in my opinion, but still good.

What? Hobos? Why are you talking about Hobos? Quiet, you. This is my space. I can ramble about whatever I want. Before I get - or still haven’t - started, I’m genuinely surprised I haven’t written about this before; this has been rattling around in my head for quite awhile.

Hobos are adventurers without a quest. There are no dragons to slay, bandit camps in the woods to infiltrate, or giant rats in the sewers plotting to drown the city by moonlight that must be exterminated before their dastardly plan comes to fruition. Granted dragons and super-intelligent moonrats are fantasy, and embarking on a similar quest would be quixotic in the truest sens of the word.

This idea that hobos are really just discarded adventurers is really in response to this list. Hobos truly do come up with some creative names for themselves and eachother. Just like adventurers. Hobos don’t have jobs (except for Blowbos). Just like adventurers. Hobos band together in parties for strength against their foes, be it assault from Patrick Bateman or the cold north wind. Just like adventurers. Hobos travel the land and carve symbols in areas denoting danger or an easy meal. Just like adventurers. Hobos are simply in the wrong era. They belong in a world of fantastic heroism!

But who’s to say they don’t already live in that world? The cold north wind can kill you just as Patrick Bateman can, so really the foes have changed with the times. They’re still adventures, so let’s commercialize it! I propose HoboMO! As a level one hobo, you can choose your origin: house foreclosure/divorce combo, hippie who took it too far, schizophrenia (yes, I know that not all hobos are schizophrenic. That’s why there are options, people), alcoholism, or other. The object of the game is to acquire mattresses and boxes to make your own hobo-hut. Extra experience is earned by helping other hobos in various ways. Beware of fauxbos though. They panhandle on the corner for the day and then drive away in their Escalades. Don’t worry though, if you can make it to Big Rock Candy Mountain, then you know you’ve hit the big time.

I love the Tender Crisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch
The breasts they grow on trees
and streams of bacon ranch dressing
flow right up to your knees

I do realize the list is spurious at best, with the beautiful John Hodgman at the helm, but who cares! “I did it for the lulz”

Part one!? What? How long is your list, Steve?

That’s the trouble. Not long at all. I don’t know what games are out this season - time to turn in my gamer’s card.

And this isn’t a bad thing, no, really! As you know, I work Friday through Monday, but the office is suffering some emergency maintenance issues. The space is flooded and inoperable, so no one can really do anything until the mess is cleaned up. The best part is I’m getting paid for the time.

Of course, there’s always bad news, and it’s really my own fault. I’ve been playing Mother 3 during my downtime at work; it really helps kill the time, and it’s a great game to boot. Every night before I left  work for home, I’d make a backup of my EEPROM (save-game file) just so I could have the option of continuing the game at home. This past Friday came and went, I worked, I played Mother 3, but it was the only night that I didn’t make a backup. I was at the final final final boss of the game when I it was time  to leave, and guess what I didn’t do? That’s right. No backup of the save-game.

Now I’m all freaking out (not really, it’s just a game) that my progress since my last backup (a significant amount!) could be lost. What if the hard drive on my desktop computer at work was affected? There are any number of scenarios that could warrant either a hard drive replacement or wiping it out and restoring it fresh! I’m sure I’m just being paranoid, and the file is fine, but the chance is there.

So, take the good with the bad though. Ame and I have really enjoyed these days off.

Expect me to disappear for a while…

Would you like to play a game?