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backupdump002So guess who just beat MOTHER 3
NICE TRY, BRAWL, BUT YOUR SPOILERY WAYS ARE NO MATCH FOR ME! HAW HAW
I had really been trying to hold out for an English port and avoid spoilers as best as I can, but once I heard that Super Smash Brothers: Brawl was going to spoil the crap out of Mother 3, I finally broke down and played through it using this for dialogue and this for battle help/etc, as well as this menu patch. It honestly wasn't as much of a hassle as it sounds -- I didn't have any problems with it. It was actually kind of convenient, in a way, since that dialogue walkthrough had a separate section for NPCs so I could just read through that and not have to run all over town talking to people (though I did hunt people down if they said they were gonna give you an item :B). It really wasn't any trouble at all, and I highly recommend doing the same if you don't want Brawl to spoil you. Because Brawl is going to spoil you. Oh god is it going to spoil you
It wasn't even terribly long or anything. I beat it in about... 20 hours, I think? Really not too bad.
So, the game. Uh... I think a spoiler post is in order.
I'm just gonna quickly scroll through the script, here, let's seeeeee
-Oh wow, I didn't even make the connection between that doorknob you pick up at the very end and the doorknob that came off of Flint's door in the beginning. Thank you, script!
-Anyway, my first impression of the game was "Wow, this is really different from Earthbound." The whole game just seemed a lot more dark and depressing than Earthbound, and not to mention that the people you spoke to seemed a lot more... mean, I guess? I can't even count the number of times random NPCs were like GO AWAY YOU STUPID IDIOT CHILD ADFGHKAJDFHGAK just because you said hi to them or something. Everyone in Mother 3 totally needs to take a chill pill man seriously
But in all seriousness, it was kind of upsetting. The whole game was kind of upsetting, really, though more on that in a bit.
-Flint really fascinated me for some reason. Just how he seems like your regular good guy who's real dedicated to his wife and kids, how he seems so strong and confident and well-grounded, but once his wife dies and his son goes missing, he just... breaks. Just breaks and goes into a neverending loop of mourning for Hinawa and searching for Claus, over and over and over and nothing else (and not to mention ignoring Lucas in the process). His family was his strength, and once that strength was taken away, he didn't know what else to do but try to get it back and cling to the past. It's almost like his family was a crutch or some sort... maybe Flint has some underlying self-esteem issues or something, I dunno. MAYBE I'M OVER-SPECULATING AT THIS POINT
Still... just goes to show you that no one is as together as they seem, I guess.
-That scene where you find out that Hinawa is dead was really chilling to me in general. Just...
Bronson: Flint... what to say... well, first of all, calm down and listen closely. I have good news and bad news. Which should I say first? Um, I guess the good news first. I got my hands on the super-huge Drago Fang. It will be the greatest weapon. I thought you could use it. The bad news is... the bad news is... the place where I found Drago's Fang. It was in... your... it was thrust through your wife's heart.
And then Flint loses it and starts attacking people in front of his children, only to get knocked out himself and wind up in prison. Just the raw honesty and emotion of it... I dunno. IT GOT TO ME OKAY
-Man, I was really D:ing through that whole scene at the funeral where Lucas tries to cover up for Claus and gets yelled at by his grandpa. Then after he runs off you can find him distractedly petting Boney back at the house, and just awwwwwww. Poor thing. You know he has to feel like he's responsible for everything that happened.
Speaking of which, did anyone else notice that people were blaming Lucas for not stopping Claus when Claus mentioned avenging his mother to Flint, as well? why everyone gotta be hatin' on lucas huh
-I hated the Magypsys at first, but they grew on me once the whole needle-pulling thing came up. They seemed to accept their fate pretty gracefully, I thought. AH, IT SEEMS "THAT TIME" HAS ARRIVED. JUST LET ME FINISH MY PICKLES FIRST
-...am I the only one who thought Alec was being really creepy in that cave
FLINTY-POO
*THRRRR.* WAS THAT YOU? IT WASN'T ME! HEE HEE!
FLINT, SWEETHEART, DON'T BE EMBARRASSED
FRITO-LAY
-Man, Wes is a jerk. I did not care for that attitude of his at all, no sir |< Smashing jars is so rude
That dance made me smile, though.
-That castle annoyed the crap out of me, and I can't really pinpoint why -- maybe it was the enemies, the layout, going through the whole place with only Duster and no one else to help me -- but the only thing I associate that castle with is rage. And funny ghosts. And rage.
-I was sort of lukewarm on Duster at first, but oh man did he grow on me. YOU'RE NOT A MORON DUSTER :< DON'T LISTEN TO WES
I was so happy when Kumatora told him to back off, heh.
-On that note, Kumatora is totally awesome. I WAS DEBATING ABOUT WHETHER TO CUT OFF MY LEG OR NOT
-I was very intrigued by how PSI-users would get high fevers before learning new spells for some reason :O I guess it's just sort of neat to see using magic coming with a price, unlike most RPGs where it's just like YOU HAVE TO READ A LOT OF BOOKS IT'S HARD
That was something I thought was neat while I was playing FF8, too, with the GFs stealing everyone's memories and stuff. I dunno :B
-Awwww, poor Salsa. I really did feel bad for the little guy (though I laughed at that one part where he has a nightmare about getting zapped by Yokuba, then wakes up to getting zapped by Yokuba. what is wrong with me), which made Kumatora and Wes BUSTIN' HIM OUT all the sweeter.
But argh, that chapter was one of the sadder ones, to me. Not because of Salsa, but because it marks the beginning of Tazmily Village's long, downward spiral into corrupt...ness. Yes. god i'm tired
It took me a while to realize that the "Happy Box" was just a TV :B Durr
-God, that stupid train tunnel drove me nuts. I had to go through it THREE TIMES before I finally got to the end. The first time I got hit by the train, and the second time I got to the place BUT THEN I WAS KILLED BY ONE OF THOSE FREAKIN' SNAKECOWS OR WHATEVER AND GOT SENT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEGINGIANGKDGH AND GOD I HATE MUSHROOM DOGS
-Kind of unrelated, but I could not get the hang of the rhythm-battling thing at all. I think the highest combo I ever got was like... 4 or 5. That's it. I went through the whole game just mainly getting 2's with the occasional 3. I am hardcore.
-Duster leaving the band made me sadder than it probably should have. When they get up on stage and sing to him and he lays his afro on the floor :< I NEVER KNEW AN AFRO WOULD EVER EVOKE SUCH STRONG EMOTIONS WITHIN THE COLD CHAMBERS MY SHRIVELED HEART AND YET HERE I AM
-Chapter 6 was handled so beautifully; I really wasn't expecting any of that to happen at all. I was quite misty-eyed through the whole thing, I admit it :< When he finds Boney and has that flashback and jumps off the cliff and the music and adskfhdfga
-SO YOU KNOW WHAT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME?
THE CHIMERA. The red one, I mean. It had a name, but I forget.
I was so jumpy during that whole thing, you have no idea. You just walk around the building and hear the chimera knocking down doors and Pigmasks squealing in the distance, and you have no idea when or where it's going to pop up next. When I saw it for the first time I actually let out this dumb little strangled cry and immediately made Lucas run back in the room he came from. I am so lame
God, and at one point it saw me run into another room and it started trying to break down the door D: And not to mention you can run into it later while you're going through that toilet maze thing in the final building. I NEVER WANT TO LOOK IN A BATHROOM STALL TO FIND A BLOODTHIRSTY CHIMERA INSIDE EVER AGAIN
-I got this great big grin when you run into Professor Andonuts. I WAS REALLY HOPING IT WAS A SIGN THAT WE'D GET A JEFF CAMEO OR SOMETHING but nope. Darn.
-...this is such an idiotic thing to be creeped out by, but something about when you have to transfer water from one pond to the other and are trying out different chimeras... well... creeped me out. I really have no idea why. Maybe it was the music.
-Awwwwwww, Mr. Saturns :3 Every time I see a Mr. Saturn I just want to hug it forever. BIRD FISHING
Those "Terrifying Robots" made me laugh so hard. Especially with how much faith the Pigmasks seemed to put in them. THIS ROBOT'S GONNA TERRIFY YOU SO BAD IT'S GONNA MAKE YOU WISH YOU WAS NEVER BORN KNOW WHAT I'M SAYINS
-I KNEW IT, I KNEW THOSE LOBSTER MONSTERS WOULD BE CALLED ROCKLOBSTERS
I CALLED IT MERE MOMENTS BEFORE BATTLING ONE AND COULD NOT STOP GRINNING WHEN I WAS RIGHT
And hahahaha, merman-kissing. It took me the longest time to notice that Duster blushed when he was kissed -- I was kind of wondering why he didn't seem to mind beforehand. HIS FACE TURNS A SHADE DARKER, IT'S VERY SUBTLE
And there's really no way I can say this without it sounding horribly perverted and weird, but I wonder how the merman thing must feel. I mean, their lips like... engulf your entire face. Not to mention that they're blowing a lungful of air into your mouth. I imagine that it is not very pleasant :O
-Soooooo I guess this brings us to the mushroom sequence, then. Oh God. This is the part that creeped me out more than anything else in the game, personally, and is also the part that stuck with me the most. Just... quotes that stood out the most to me:
Wes: Duster, it's my fault that you lost the use of your left leg. Sorry. Don't go anywhere else. Come home with me. I see. So you're going to go off with Princess Kumatora. I hope you go to some dark place far away.
So if the things people say are supposed to reflect the team's weaknesses/fears/etc... does this mean that Duster feels obligated to stay with Wes for some reason, despite his verbal abuse? Is he afraid Wes will hate him if he tries to leave? If so, that seems like a kind of odd interpretation of him; really makes me wonder how that came to be.
Also, fake*Wes apologizes... somehow, Wes doesn't really strike me as the "type" to apologize, or at least not to Duster. I could be wrong, though. But could it be that maybe he never apologized, and Duster, deep down, wishes that he would? I mean, if he DID apologize, then I don't really see how that would be a weakness or a fear or anything, y'know? So I kind of suspect that he didn't. Poor Duster.
"The mailbox is open. Will you look inside? (YES/NO) There are many
postcards inside. Will you read them? (YES/NO)"
"The boy names Lucas is crying at the grave."
"The boy named Lucas and a dog are loitering in the forest."
"The boy named Lucas is up to no good in the mountains."
"The boy named Lucas stole Nuts from our garden."
"The boy named Lucas is bullying creatures."
"The boy named Lucas learned some bad magic."
"The boy named Lucas..."
"The boy named Lucas..."
"The mailbox let out a shriek."
PROBABLY ONE OF THE CREEPIEST LINES, IN MY HONEST OPINION
But ugh, poor Lucas. I really don't think he's that... mentally stable, myself.
Claus: Lucas, what are you up to? It looks like fun! Can I play? (YES/NO) Yeah! I'll pull up the rear. Thanks! Lucas! Lucas! I'm Claus! Claus. The Claus that Lucas doesn't see.
Claus: Everyone is waiting for you. Waiting to hit you with rocks and spit at you. Who's everyone? Everyone you love.
Flint: It's almost time for dinner. Your mother will be home shortly. What? She won't? Why? What did you do to her? What? I did it? She won't be home? Who are you? What did you do? It's time for dinner.
Flint: I'm gonna hit you, boy. Your father's gonna give you a beating.
This one really made me wonder. I really don't see Flint as the kind of person who would ever beat his kids or anything, so... why would Lucas think something like that?
Claus: Lucas, we finally meet. It's me, Claus. Feel my heart. It's beating fast. Lucas, you don't have to worry about anything anymore. It's me, Claus.
This one gave me a shiver. This could really mean so many things. It could mean that Lucas was dependant on Claus and he feels lost and helpless without his support, it could mean that Lucas feels incredibly guilty about letting Claus go and having him back would "solve" all his problems... I mean, I think the "anything anymore" really gives you a sense of how Lucas percieves the loss of Claus, y'know? It just... really did a number on him.
Woooooo but enough of that. I really need to speed this along.
-My jaw dropped at the name "Pokey." I WAS VERY SURPRISED YET NOT SURPRISED AT ALL AT THE SAME TIME
-Also, Lida's creepy, tl;dr speech about how everything was just part of a story really did not help with Lucas' insane amount of mental trauma, there
-AND WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW MOTHER 3 IS CREEPY AND DISTURBING HOW ABOUT THAT YOKUBA BECAUSE MAN THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT REALLY GOT TO ME
He was barely even human anymore after he fell off that tower. He couldn't even speak without the help of those ridiculous trumpets, he could no longer use his legs, and yet he was just so determined to get his revenge and kill Lucas. When you first see him after he fell he looks bad enough, but the second time he looked even worse, and after that he's still lying on the ground and spitting insults at you before blowing up and dying. SO FULL OF HATE
I really thought too much about everything that happened in this game if you couldn't tell
OH I ALMOST FORGOT BUT
TAKEN MERE MOMENTS AFTER I BEAT YOKUBA FOR THE LAST TIME
Everyone else was fainted, Boney was crying, and he had suffered mortal damage and his HP ticker was going down rapidly. I figured I was pretty much dead and that what I did didn't even matter at that point, so I just started mashing the attack button crazily, not even worrying about combos or anything and just trying to attack as quickly as I could, and I won. You can only imagine the overwhelming amount of sheer relief I felt at this.
I had a lot of real close calls like this, now that I think about it. I GAME DANGEROUSLY
-Oh yeah, I got this really huge grin when I saw those Earthbound screenshots playing in the movie theater. Hee hee.
At the same time, though... doesn't Pokey pretty much control the entire city? Why would he play something like that in his movie theater? I thought he hated Ness and company. Hmmmmm...
-And on that note WHY DOES POKEY HAVE ONE OF THOSE OXYGEN MANKISSING GUYS IN HIS FANCLUB ROOM WHEN IT'S NOT UNDERWATER
WHAT
WHAT
-That one scientist saying that the green liquid turns you into the kind of person Pokey likes and seeing all those tanks full of people in green liquid, brrrr
-I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR A SCREEN FULL OF ANGRY ROBOT PIGFACE, WOW
-I never thought I'd say this, but... I actually felt really sorry for Pokey. He's just so dead-set on getting people to like and admire him that it took over his entire life, and... well, my take on it is that he doesn't know HOW to get people to like him, so instead he opts to control them entirely and achieve a position of power, only to become irrationally furious when someone denies it. He even resorted to making that "green liquid" stuff to get people to become perfect little drones for him.
But I thought about this while I was reading the stuff he said when you fight him:
I have traveled countless times through both time and space. So, I haven't been able to age like a normal human would. I might be 1000 years old, or even maybe 10000 years old, but my brain is still in it's childhood. Is it strange? It is strange. Don't laugh. *cough* *cough* Don't laugh at me!
If the dragon awakes and everything is destroyed, that means all living things will disappear. Ahhahaha. Ahahahaha. *Cough* I'll still be alive, though. Just me and the dragon and the wide open world. Remember that. I am eternal. I'll watch the end of the world for you when you're gone. The world that exists after everyone who hates me is dead.
It's just kind of sad. In a way, I find it hard to hate him completely, even if he is crazy and probably a sociopath. That's probably kind of unhealthy of me, wow
I thought it was kind of odd that he was insisting that he was immortal during the battle, but then he goes and locks himself in the Absolutely Safe Capsule for all eternity so you can't kill him. HMMMMM, POKEY. HMMMMMMM.
God, that battle with Claus at the end. Hinawa's dialogue as depressing enough, but Flint saving Lucas from PK Love and telling Claus that he never stopped looking for him and then passing out nearly broke my heart. Especially after the battle, after Claus kills himself...
Flint: Lucas, thank you. Claus was always very hasty. Please forgive your brother.
Just...
And then Flint keeps telling Lucas about how everyone believes in him, let's make friends with the dragon, ask it in your heart to protect all living things, this is your destiny...
Then Lucas pulls the needle out and the world ends. That was Lucas' destiny. That's what he was chosen to do.
I actually stared at the "End?" screen for several moments after that, just sort of shocked. I would've exited if I hadn't looked at that dialogue walkthrough thing and saw that there was more. I was actually very relieved to hear everyone saying it was okay and everything 8D Still, though.
Hahahaha, I'm sure a lot of people out there thought that was really it and turned off their GBAs. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW DEPRESSING THAT WOULD BE OH GOD
The credits really made me smile. I love it when credits sort of "revisit" the game in a way, like showing character sprites and screenshots and stuff. It's just very uplifting :D
Aaaaaaand... yup. I've got nothin' more to say. All in all, completely excellent game, I am very satisfied, A+++++++ would play again. NOW I CAN READ SPOILER POSTS WOOOOO
Man, I'm so behind on everything. At least now that I'm done with this I can stop obsessi-- well, no, that's not true, I still have fanart ideas I wanna work on. I CAN NEVER ESCAPE
Oh yeah, does anyone know where I can download the soundtrack? It's awesome.
GOD I REALLY NEED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE NOW
NICE TRY, BRAWL, BUT YOUR SPOILERY WAYS ARE NO MATCH FOR ME! HAW HAW
I had really been trying to hold out for an English port and avoid spoilers as best as I can, but once I heard that Super Smash Brothers: Brawl was going to spoil the crap out of Mother 3, I finally broke down and played through it using this for dialogue and this for battle help/etc, as well as this menu patch. It honestly wasn't as much of a hassle as it sounds -- I didn't have any problems with it. It was actually kind of convenient, in a way, since that dialogue walkthrough had a separate section for NPCs so I could just read through that and not have to run all over town talking to people (though I did hunt people down if they said they were gonna give you an item :B). It really wasn't any trouble at all, and I highly recommend doing the same if you don't want Brawl to spoil you. Because Brawl is going to spoil you. Oh god is it going to spoil you
It wasn't even terribly long or anything. I beat it in about... 20 hours, I think? Really not too bad.
So, the game. Uh... I think a spoiler post is in order.
I'm just gonna quickly scroll through the script, here, let's seeeeee
-Oh wow, I didn't even make the connection between that doorknob you pick up at the very end and the doorknob that came off of Flint's door in the beginning. Thank you, script!
-Anyway, my first impression of the game was "Wow, this is really different from Earthbound." The whole game just seemed a lot more dark and depressing than Earthbound, and not to mention that the people you spoke to seemed a lot more... mean, I guess? I can't even count the number of times random NPCs were like GO AWAY YOU STUPID IDIOT CHILD ADFGHKAJDFHGAK just because you said hi to them or something. Everyone in Mother 3 totally needs to take a chill pill man seriously
But in all seriousness, it was kind of upsetting. The whole game was kind of upsetting, really, though more on that in a bit.
-Flint really fascinated me for some reason. Just how he seems like your regular good guy who's real dedicated to his wife and kids, how he seems so strong and confident and well-grounded, but once his wife dies and his son goes missing, he just... breaks. Just breaks and goes into a neverending loop of mourning for Hinawa and searching for Claus, over and over and over and nothing else (and not to mention ignoring Lucas in the process). His family was his strength, and once that strength was taken away, he didn't know what else to do but try to get it back and cling to the past. It's almost like his family was a crutch or some sort... maybe Flint has some underlying self-esteem issues or something, I dunno. MAYBE I'M OVER-SPECULATING AT THIS POINT
Still... just goes to show you that no one is as together as they seem, I guess.
-That scene where you find out that Hinawa is dead was really chilling to me in general. Just...
Bronson: Flint... what to say... well, first of all, calm down and listen closely. I have good news and bad news. Which should I say first? Um, I guess the good news first. I got my hands on the super-huge Drago Fang. It will be the greatest weapon. I thought you could use it. The bad news is... the bad news is... the place where I found Drago's Fang. It was in... your... it was thrust through your wife's heart.
And then Flint loses it and starts attacking people in front of his children, only to get knocked out himself and wind up in prison. Just the raw honesty and emotion of it... I dunno. IT GOT TO ME OKAY
-Man, I was really D:ing through that whole scene at the funeral where Lucas tries to cover up for Claus and gets yelled at by his grandpa. Then after he runs off you can find him distractedly petting Boney back at the house, and just awwwwwww. Poor thing. You know he has to feel like he's responsible for everything that happened.
Speaking of which, did anyone else notice that people were blaming Lucas for not stopping Claus when Claus mentioned avenging his mother to Flint, as well? why everyone gotta be hatin' on lucas huh
-I hated the Magypsys at first, but they grew on me once the whole needle-pulling thing came up. They seemed to accept their fate pretty gracefully, I thought. AH, IT SEEMS "THAT TIME" HAS ARRIVED. JUST LET ME FINISH MY PICKLES FIRST
-...am I the only one who thought Alec was being really creepy in that cave
FLINTY-POO
*THRRRR.* WAS THAT YOU? IT WASN'T ME! HEE HEE!
FLINT, SWEETHEART, DON'T BE EMBARRASSED
FRITO-LAY
-Man, Wes is a jerk. I did not care for that attitude of his at all, no sir |< Smashing jars is so rude
That dance made me smile, though.
-That castle annoyed the crap out of me, and I can't really pinpoint why -- maybe it was the enemies, the layout, going through the whole place with only Duster and no one else to help me -- but the only thing I associate that castle with is rage. And funny ghosts. And rage.
-I was sort of lukewarm on Duster at first, but oh man did he grow on me. YOU'RE NOT A MORON DUSTER :< DON'T LISTEN TO WES
I was so happy when Kumatora told him to back off, heh.
-On that note, Kumatora is totally awesome. I WAS DEBATING ABOUT WHETHER TO CUT OFF MY LEG OR NOT
-I was very intrigued by how PSI-users would get high fevers before learning new spells for some reason :O I guess it's just sort of neat to see using magic coming with a price, unlike most RPGs where it's just like YOU HAVE TO READ A LOT OF BOOKS IT'S HARD
That was something I thought was neat while I was playing FF8, too, with the GFs stealing everyone's memories and stuff. I dunno :B
-Awwww, poor Salsa. I really did feel bad for the little guy (though I laughed at that one part where he has a nightmare about getting zapped by Yokuba, then wakes up to getting zapped by Yokuba. what is wrong with me), which made Kumatora and Wes BUSTIN' HIM OUT all the sweeter.
But argh, that chapter was one of the sadder ones, to me. Not because of Salsa, but because it marks the beginning of Tazmily Village's long, downward spiral into corrupt...ness. Yes. god i'm tired
It took me a while to realize that the "Happy Box" was just a TV :B Durr
-God, that stupid train tunnel drove me nuts. I had to go through it THREE TIMES before I finally got to the end. The first time I got hit by the train, and the second time I got to the place BUT THEN I WAS KILLED BY ONE OF THOSE FREAKIN' SNAKECOWS OR WHATEVER AND GOT SENT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEGINGIANGKDGH AND GOD I HATE MUSHROOM DOGS
-Kind of unrelated, but I could not get the hang of the rhythm-battling thing at all. I think the highest combo I ever got was like... 4 or 5. That's it. I went through the whole game just mainly getting 2's with the occasional 3. I am hardcore.
-Duster leaving the band made me sadder than it probably should have. When they get up on stage and sing to him and he lays his afro on the floor :< I NEVER KNEW AN AFRO WOULD EVER EVOKE SUCH STRONG EMOTIONS WITHIN THE COLD CHAMBERS MY SHRIVELED HEART AND YET HERE I AM
-Chapter 6 was handled so beautifully; I really wasn't expecting any of that to happen at all. I was quite misty-eyed through the whole thing, I admit it :< When he finds Boney and has that flashback and jumps off the cliff and the music and adskfhdfga
-SO YOU KNOW WHAT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME?
THE CHIMERA. The red one, I mean. It had a name, but I forget.
I was so jumpy during that whole thing, you have no idea. You just walk around the building and hear the chimera knocking down doors and Pigmasks squealing in the distance, and you have no idea when or where it's going to pop up next. When I saw it for the first time I actually let out this dumb little strangled cry and immediately made Lucas run back in the room he came from. I am so lame
God, and at one point it saw me run into another room and it started trying to break down the door D: And not to mention you can run into it later while you're going through that toilet maze thing in the final building. I NEVER WANT TO LOOK IN A BATHROOM STALL TO FIND A BLOODTHIRSTY CHIMERA INSIDE EVER AGAIN
-I got this great big grin when you run into Professor Andonuts. I WAS REALLY HOPING IT WAS A SIGN THAT WE'D GET A JEFF CAMEO OR SOMETHING but nope. Darn.
-...this is such an idiotic thing to be creeped out by, but something about when you have to transfer water from one pond to the other and are trying out different chimeras... well... creeped me out. I really have no idea why. Maybe it was the music.
-Awwwwwww, Mr. Saturns :3 Every time I see a Mr. Saturn I just want to hug it forever. BIRD FISHING
Those "Terrifying Robots" made me laugh so hard. Especially with how much faith the Pigmasks seemed to put in them. THIS ROBOT'S GONNA TERRIFY YOU SO BAD IT'S GONNA MAKE YOU WISH YOU WAS NEVER BORN KNOW WHAT I'M SAYINS
-I KNEW IT, I KNEW THOSE LOBSTER MONSTERS WOULD BE CALLED ROCKLOBSTERS
I CALLED IT MERE MOMENTS BEFORE BATTLING ONE AND COULD NOT STOP GRINNING WHEN I WAS RIGHT
And hahahaha, merman-kissing. It took me the longest time to notice that Duster blushed when he was kissed -- I was kind of wondering why he didn't seem to mind beforehand. HIS FACE TURNS A SHADE DARKER, IT'S VERY SUBTLE
And there's really no way I can say this without it sounding horribly perverted and weird, but I wonder how the merman thing must feel. I mean, their lips like... engulf your entire face. Not to mention that they're blowing a lungful of air into your mouth. I imagine that it is not very pleasant :O
-Soooooo I guess this brings us to the mushroom sequence, then. Oh God. This is the part that creeped me out more than anything else in the game, personally, and is also the part that stuck with me the most. Just... quotes that stood out the most to me:
Wes: Duster, it's my fault that you lost the use of your left leg. Sorry. Don't go anywhere else. Come home with me. I see. So you're going to go off with Princess Kumatora. I hope you go to some dark place far away.
So if the things people say are supposed to reflect the team's weaknesses/fears/etc... does this mean that Duster feels obligated to stay with Wes for some reason, despite his verbal abuse? Is he afraid Wes will hate him if he tries to leave? If so, that seems like a kind of odd interpretation of him; really makes me wonder how that came to be.
Also, fake*Wes apologizes... somehow, Wes doesn't really strike me as the "type" to apologize, or at least not to Duster. I could be wrong, though. But could it be that maybe he never apologized, and Duster, deep down, wishes that he would? I mean, if he DID apologize, then I don't really see how that would be a weakness or a fear or anything, y'know? So I kind of suspect that he didn't. Poor Duster.
"The mailbox is open. Will you look inside? (YES/NO) There are many
postcards inside. Will you read them? (YES/NO)"
"The boy names Lucas is crying at the grave."
"The boy named Lucas and a dog are loitering in the forest."
"The boy named Lucas is up to no good in the mountains."
"The boy named Lucas stole Nuts from our garden."
"The boy named Lucas is bullying creatures."
"The boy named Lucas learned some bad magic."
"The boy named Lucas..."
"The boy named Lucas..."
"The mailbox let out a shriek."
PROBABLY ONE OF THE CREEPIEST LINES, IN MY HONEST OPINION
But ugh, poor Lucas. I really don't think he's that... mentally stable, myself.
Claus: Lucas, what are you up to? It looks like fun! Can I play? (YES/NO) Yeah! I'll pull up the rear. Thanks! Lucas! Lucas! I'm Claus! Claus. The Claus that Lucas doesn't see.
Claus: Everyone is waiting for you. Waiting to hit you with rocks and spit at you. Who's everyone? Everyone you love.
Flint: It's almost time for dinner. Your mother will be home shortly. What? She won't? Why? What did you do to her? What? I did it? She won't be home? Who are you? What did you do? It's time for dinner.
Flint: I'm gonna hit you, boy. Your father's gonna give you a beating.
This one really made me wonder. I really don't see Flint as the kind of person who would ever beat his kids or anything, so... why would Lucas think something like that?
Claus: Lucas, we finally meet. It's me, Claus. Feel my heart. It's beating fast. Lucas, you don't have to worry about anything anymore. It's me, Claus.
This one gave me a shiver. This could really mean so many things. It could mean that Lucas was dependant on Claus and he feels lost and helpless without his support, it could mean that Lucas feels incredibly guilty about letting Claus go and having him back would "solve" all his problems... I mean, I think the "anything anymore" really gives you a sense of how Lucas percieves the loss of Claus, y'know? It just... really did a number on him.
Woooooo but enough of that. I really need to speed this along.
-My jaw dropped at the name "Pokey." I WAS VERY SURPRISED YET NOT SURPRISED AT ALL AT THE SAME TIME
-Also, Lida's creepy, tl;dr speech about how everything was just part of a story really did not help with Lucas' insane amount of mental trauma, there
-AND WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW MOTHER 3 IS CREEPY AND DISTURBING HOW ABOUT THAT YOKUBA BECAUSE MAN THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT REALLY GOT TO ME
He was barely even human anymore after he fell off that tower. He couldn't even speak without the help of those ridiculous trumpets, he could no longer use his legs, and yet he was just so determined to get his revenge and kill Lucas. When you first see him after he fell he looks bad enough, but the second time he looked even worse, and after that he's still lying on the ground and spitting insults at you before blowing up and dying. SO FULL OF HATE
I really thought too much about everything that happened in this game if you couldn't tell
OH I ALMOST FORGOT BUT
TAKEN MERE MOMENTS AFTER I BEAT YOKUBA FOR THE LAST TIME
Everyone else was fainted, Boney was crying, and he had suffered mortal damage and his HP ticker was going down rapidly. I figured I was pretty much dead and that what I did didn't even matter at that point, so I just started mashing the attack button crazily, not even worrying about combos or anything and just trying to attack as quickly as I could, and I won. You can only imagine the overwhelming amount of sheer relief I felt at this.
I had a lot of real close calls like this, now that I think about it. I GAME DANGEROUSLY
-Oh yeah, I got this really huge grin when I saw those Earthbound screenshots playing in the movie theater. Hee hee.
At the same time, though... doesn't Pokey pretty much control the entire city? Why would he play something like that in his movie theater? I thought he hated Ness and company. Hmmmmm...
-And on that note WHY DOES POKEY HAVE ONE OF THOSE OXYGEN MANKISSING GUYS IN HIS FANCLUB ROOM WHEN IT'S NOT UNDERWATER
WHAT
WHAT
-That one scientist saying that the green liquid turns you into the kind of person Pokey likes and seeing all those tanks full of people in green liquid, brrrr
-I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR A SCREEN FULL OF ANGRY ROBOT PIGFACE, WOW
-I never thought I'd say this, but... I actually felt really sorry for Pokey. He's just so dead-set on getting people to like and admire him that it took over his entire life, and... well, my take on it is that he doesn't know HOW to get people to like him, so instead he opts to control them entirely and achieve a position of power, only to become irrationally furious when someone denies it. He even resorted to making that "green liquid" stuff to get people to become perfect little drones for him.
But I thought about this while I was reading the stuff he said when you fight him:
I have traveled countless times through both time and space. So, I haven't been able to age like a normal human would. I might be 1000 years old, or even maybe 10000 years old, but my brain is still in it's childhood. Is it strange? It is strange. Don't laugh. *cough* *cough* Don't laugh at me!
If the dragon awakes and everything is destroyed, that means all living things will disappear. Ahhahaha. Ahahahaha. *Cough* I'll still be alive, though. Just me and the dragon and the wide open world. Remember that. I am eternal. I'll watch the end of the world for you when you're gone. The world that exists after everyone who hates me is dead.
It's just kind of sad. In a way, I find it hard to hate him completely, even if he is crazy and probably a sociopath. That's probably kind of unhealthy of me, wow
I thought it was kind of odd that he was insisting that he was immortal during the battle, but then he goes and locks himself in the Absolutely Safe Capsule for all eternity so you can't kill him. HMMMMM, POKEY. HMMMMMMM.
God, that battle with Claus at the end. Hinawa's dialogue as depressing enough, but Flint saving Lucas from PK Love and telling Claus that he never stopped looking for him and then passing out nearly broke my heart. Especially after the battle, after Claus kills himself...
Flint: Lucas, thank you. Claus was always very hasty. Please forgive your brother.
Just...
And then Flint keeps telling Lucas about how everyone believes in him, let's make friends with the dragon, ask it in your heart to protect all living things, this is your destiny...
Then Lucas pulls the needle out and the world ends. That was Lucas' destiny. That's what he was chosen to do.
I actually stared at the "End?" screen for several moments after that, just sort of shocked. I would've exited if I hadn't looked at that dialogue walkthrough thing and saw that there was more. I was actually very relieved to hear everyone saying it was okay and everything 8D Still, though.
Hahahaha, I'm sure a lot of people out there thought that was really it and turned off their GBAs. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW DEPRESSING THAT WOULD BE OH GOD
The credits really made me smile. I love it when credits sort of "revisit" the game in a way, like showing character sprites and screenshots and stuff. It's just very uplifting :D
Aaaaaaand... yup. I've got nothin' more to say. All in all, completely excellent game, I am very satisfied, A+++++++ would play again. NOW I CAN READ SPOILER POSTS WOOOOO
Man, I'm so behind on everything. At least now that I'm done with this I can stop obsessi-- well, no, that's not true, I still have fanart ideas I wanna work on. I CAN NEVER ESCAPE
Oh yeah, does anyone know where I can download the soundtrack? It's awesome.
GOD I REALLY NEED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE NOW
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Date: 2008-02-06 06:10 am (UTC)My thoughts pretty much mirror yours at points. :B Although I did find out later that if you say no to Wes at the beginning, you find out that he DID give Duster his limp, but in true Wes form he doesn't apologize for it. He's just all "WELL IF YOU WANT TO BLAME ME GO AHEAD. BLAME ME ALL YOU WANT. IT WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING." and it's like WES >(
He'd never apologize for it I bet, but I bet somewhere Duster wishes he would. But he probably doesn't think he'd deserve it, given how much Wes beats him down all the time. He probably feels like he should stay with Wes out of an obligation, like he should just do what he says since he's such an "idiot" and everything, and if he wants to go with Kumatora, something bad will happen and Wes will hurt him. Oh Duster. GOD I LOVE DUSTER. I also kind of ship duster/kumatora because it's adorable. I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS. I love the Magypsys too, they're hilarious. 8D And you're right, he DOES blush when he gets oxygen! Hee hee.
You know, I didn't have any trouble with the rhythm bit, but I bet that's cause I was playing an actual cartridge, which would make things a lot easier. :O I could get 16 almost every time with Duster and Boney, although I could never get it with Lucas. DARN IT. Especially on that HORRIBLE STRONGMAN ENEMY JARUHADUGHG HATE
Man someone said something, let me see... about Tanehineri Island...
Some of the text in that portion of the game hint that Lucas isn't all right upstairs. He both sympathizes with and fears his father and brother, judging from their dialogue: sometimes overly violent and insulting and sometimes gentle and self-depreciating. He seems to see himself as a violent and hurtful person, even if he isn't really so and blames himself for what happened to his mother, father and brother.
Oh Lucas. :< That boy needs some hugs, stat. Someone else pointed out some interesting bits about that part...the thread about it at starmen.net is really interesting. :O Although it's also talked about here and here.
An interesting note with the island scenewhile the whole thing seems to be a group hallucination (mostly Lucas', though), the only member of Lucas' family not seen is Hinawa.
Clearly Lucas finds nothing possible to fear about his mother.
Awwwwwww Lucas. :<
I'VE GOT THE SOUNDTRACK :B let me see...I'll start uploading it and throw you a link in a second, it's big. :O And the second part will include some extra tracks found from this thread.
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Date: 2008-02-07 12:38 am (UTC)WHOA YOU'RE RIGHT that's zany :O BUT I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID IN THOSE especially... man, I already forgot, where is it...
It's just weird to see characters that emotionally or mentally broken in games like this, and done so well. I mean, it wasn't over-the-top, but it was there, this feeling that Flint just wasn't okay anymore after what happened, and from Lucas's weird hallucinations in the trip-out sequence and definitely by the end of the game, Lucas probably is scarred for life.
Haha, pretty sure that's what I was gonna comment on, anyway 8D But I agree, and that was something I was really impressed with while I was playing this. I mean, the characters (or at least Lucas and Flint) are obviously a bit loopy, and to see that being done the way it was... I mean, usually when there's a fictional character that falls apart the way Flint did, the writers usually tend to blow it way out of porportion and pretty soon the character is parading around on skinless elephants and cackling about how I AM ZEUS THE CHIEF OF THE GODS or something equally lame, but the way this was done was just so quiet and subtle, which made it so much more real. Just little things, like hearing someone mentioning that all Flint did anymore was mourn Hinawa and search for Claus, or Flint's delusional optimism at seeing Claus again and his denial when he kills himself. Itoi didn't wave it around in your face, but you could just tell. And that's what makes the whole thing so heartbreaking, I think.
BUT ANYWAY GETTING OFF TRACK
I KNEW IT I KNEW HE DIDN'T APOLOGIZE Wes you jerk. Though I kind of wonder if, deep down, Wes feels a little bad for being so abusive towards Duster? I'm sure he still cares for him, at least, despite how he's constantly tearing Duster down. IT MIGHT BE WISHFUL THINKING OF MY PART but I just have a hard time wanting to accept that he doesn't care even a little D:
That sounds like a pretty sound theory, to me :O Man, the more I think about Duster, the more I feel sorry for the guy. And that must be a REALLY bad injury he has if not even the magical healing powers of the hot spring can make it feel better. DUSTER :<
Haha, I actually didn't even think of Duster/Kumatora while I was playing, but now that you mention it that sounds adorable 8D
Hmmmm, that would make sense :O AND I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKED THE STRONGMAN ENEMIES though I think that's mainly because I just like the song, hyuk
Aw man, that's terrible D: I really don't think I've ever felt as bad for any fictional character as I do for Lucas.
Also holy crap that unused battle with Claus is the most terrifying thing ever. I REALLY CAN'T DECIDE WHICH IS WORSE: THAT OR GIYGAS
There's a video response to that with a code... let's see... here we go. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=1ZNsUpQ-Yn0&watch_response) I actually entered that a while ago just to see if it worked and nearly jumped out of my skin when Claus' giant D: face appeared. That was the only sprite I got, though. Huh.
Awwww, I didn't even notice that Hinawa never appeared when I was playing :< NOW HER DEATH FEELS EVEN MORE TRAGIC OH GOD
and uh wow sorry for the tl;dr, there
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Date: 2008-02-14 02:43 pm (UTC)And yeah, definitely. :O Poor Flint's kind of decline was so subtly and tastefully done in a way that wasn't overstated or anything. It was really amazing to see something handled so skillfully in the game, and even more so for poor Lucas, using the illusions to hold up an intriguing mirror to him and everything. You get so used to endless monologues of people telling you who they are or how they feel, and just having Mother 3 show you the quiet trauma some people experience was really powerful, I think.
I wonder if he does too? I mean, I'd like to think that Wes doesn't like hate Duster or anything, he's just relentlessly hard on him and probably doesn't realize that it hurts him or anything. Or thinks that the ends justify the means, maybe. But he must care about him somewhere! Although I do find it odd he didn't let Duster go to the hospital when he got hurt... or that he isolated them both from the rest of the village... WES. >(
I KNOW oh poor Duster. D: They were always unspecific about what his limp exactly entailed, so I'm not sure how bad it is but whatever it is, even the hot spring can't make it go away. :O makes me curious. I think if you bring Duster back to see Wes in like the later chapters, Wes is actually happy to see him. :O But I'm not sure.
I didn't think of it myself actually, but Mango mentioned it, and when I checked out some Mother 3 fanart sites they had the most adorable fanart ever for it and I kind of fell in love with it. IT'S JUST SO CUTE.
THAT SONG'S RHYTHM WAS JUST IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME D:
and I KNOW. OH LUCAS. D: LUCAS MY HEART WEEPS FOR YOU more than I ever though it could. AND ISN'T THAT HORRIBLE OH JESUS. and the unused music where it's all weird and creepy and going hey lucas in the background and ajkdiahgjahgkah. Even if those creepy D: sprites are in a separate place than some of those sprites, if those like... flashed at me in Tanehineri island or something I WOULD HAVE SCREAMED. SCREAMED SO LOUDLY, I SWEAR TO GOD. UGH. UGH UGH UGH.
I didn't either, and now it just makes it even sadder. D: Oh Lucas. LUCAAAAASSSS oh god, look at his little idle stances in this video and his little arm flail is so adorable and faily and OH LUCAS I WANT TO HUG YOU FOREVER
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Date: 2008-02-06 05:31 pm (UTC)second part!
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Date: 2008-02-07 12:40 am (UTC)why is pokey's battle theme so addicting to listen to
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Date: 2008-02-14 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-06 08:26 pm (UTC)Lucas kinda... "lost" his childhood, for lack of a better word. I never did play the game through, so, er...
Man, I wanna try out this "rhythm battle system." It sounds fun; I like rhythm games. :D
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Date: 2008-02-07 12:45 am (UTC)YOU SHOULD REALLY PLAY IT it's awesome 8D Have you ever played Earthbound, though? I mean, I guess you can sort of pick up on things without it, but it helps if you've played it.
It's kinda neat, just very difficult :O TO ME, ANYWAY
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Date: 2008-02-07 04:36 pm (UTC)I saw Zarla's screencap adventure, so I get the most of it. And I played the first part before my computer died.
my computer died twice in the past year. D:
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Date: 2008-02-07 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-10 09:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-21 09:13 am (UTC)It actually says in the game at one point that...hang on, I'll find the line. One of the women in the theatre says it.
'This movie is free. It's an adventure story hand picked by Pokey.'
That makes me think that he sort of took the story - since it did happen 1000 years ago, or something. Nobody living would remember it. - and perverted it, making it seem like just some story about some kids, rather than Ness and co. foiling his plans. POKEY'S JUST BIG ENOUGH OF A JERK TO DO THAT
no subject
Date: 2008-05-21 09:26 am (UTC)Haha, I just wonder how he'd portray them in the movie, like if he'd make them out to be all annoying or ignorant or something. Or if he's in it? :O Or Giygas? WHY DO I KIND OF WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW?