EarthBound Beginnings

EarthBound Beginnings, or Mother, as it’s known in Japan is a role-playing game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Created by copywriter Shigesato Itoi, it is the first entry of the Mother series, followed by EarthBound (Mother 2) for the Super NES and Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. EarthBound Beginnings, much like its sequels, is known for deviating from the traditional sword and sorcery motif typical of the role-playing genre, by taking place in a modern American setting.

Plot Synopsis

In the early 1900s in Rural America, a man named George and his wife Maria mysteriously vanish, only to have George turn up again a year later. George tells no one where he was or what he was doing during that time and immerses himself in the study of PSI, or psionics. Some 80 years later, George's great-grandson, Ninten, gets caught up in strange happenings, starting with a poltergeist attacking his house. After Ninten stops the attack, he calls his father, who sends Ninten on an adventure to investigate the cause of the strange event.

With his great-grandfather's diary in hand, Ninten discovers a magical realm called Magicant and is asked by Queen Mary, the ruler of Magicant, to find the eight fragments of her melody so that she can sing it again. Along the journey, Ninten travels back and forth from Rural America and Magicant, battling zombies, aliens, and other unusual foes including hippies and floating eyeballs. In his search for the eight melodies, Ninten is joined by Ana, a psychic girl, Lloyd, a boy genius, and Teddy, a gang leader with a heart of gold.