Earthbound Beginnings?

[shane3x]

I dont know much about Ness outside of Smash so can someone please explain something to me. What is the difference between Earthbound on the Wii U Virtual Console and the new Earthbound beginnings? Where does Mother/Mother 3 fit into all this?

 

[Minato]

In Japan, it's the Mother series.

Mother = Earthbound Beginnings (NES/Wii U VC)
Mother 2 = Earthbound (SNES/Wii U VC)
Mother 3 (never localized)

Earthbound Beginnings is a game for the NES. Shares a lot of similar things to Earthbound. They're fun turnbased games with a lot of charm to them. They're not for everyone, but it doesn't hurt to try one out. If you had to choose one, I'd recommend Earthbound since that's better for newer players.

 

[Spak]

Also, the translators had a lot of fun with this one. For instance, these are the Slot Machine Brothers:

They introduce themselves as Pincho, Pancho, and Thomas Jefferson.

 

[wingedarcher7]

Also, the translators had a lot of fun with this one. For instance, these are the Slot Machine Brothers:

They introduce themselves as Pincho, Pancho, and Thomas Jefferson.

But this is from EarthBound, which is Mother 2. This isn't from the first game which was released as EarthBound Beginnings.

But Minato said it best, it's essentially the prequel to EarthBound, but it isn't necessary to understand and enjoy EarthBound. In fact, it can be a little difficult to get into because of the dated graphics, non-linear progression and the rather high difficulty and need of grinding. I recommend playing EarthBound first and then EarthBound Beginnings if you really enjoyed it that much.

 

[Spak]

But this is from EarthBound, which is Mother 2. This isn't from the first game which was released as EarthBound Beginnings.

But Minato said it best, it's essentially the prequel to EarthBound, but it isn't necessary to understand and enjoy EarthBound. In fact, it can be a little difficult to get into because of the dated graphics, non-linear progression and the rather high difficulty and need of grinding. I recommend playing EarthBound first and then EarthBound Beginnings if you really enjoyed it that much.

I know, but Minato was recommending Earthbound, promoting the game topic switch. I'm sorry if I was misleading.

 

[wingedarcher7]

I know, but Minato was recommending Earthbound, promoting the game topic switch. I'm sorry if I was misleading.

Oh okay, my mistake. In that case, I totally back this up. EarthBound's silly dialogue is part of what makes it so great, the translators really did have an awesome time with it.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

Earthbound Beginnings is the first Mother game from Japan while Earthbound's the second game in the series. I'd probably recommend playing Earthbound first like what others have said if you're interested in getting into Mother or not.

 

[Darth Nightmaricus]

If you're also gonna get into fangames, there's two major ones out there. They're both high-quality games.

Mother: Cognitive Dissonance takes place between the events of Mother/EarthBound Beginnings and Mother 2/EarthBound. It's complete.

Mother 4 hasn't been released yet, but as Itoi (the creator of the series) said he wasn't making a fourth one, the fans are hard at work making a Mother 4 on their own. It's still in development, though.

I would recommend playing Mother: Cognitive Dissonance after playing Mother, though.

The order I played them in was:
Mother/EarthBound Beginnings (Mother 1 + 2 version) -> Mother: Cognitive Dissonance -> Mother 2/EarthBound -> Mother 3/EarthBound 2.
But IMO, play them in that order for maximum enjoyment. Mother 1 may be a grindfest, but I do recommend it as it shines some light on the events of EarthBound.