Let's talk about the Mother series!

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MOTHER 1 is a roleplaying game released in 1989 on the Nintendo Famicon (known overseas as the Nintendo Entertainment System) developed by Ape Inc. It is the first game in the Mother series of games, and slightly lesser known when in discussion with its subsequent entries, Earthbound and Mother 3. The game was initially never published overseas, despite a localization being made all the way back in 1991 (learn more about the original localization of Mother 1, known as Earthbound Zero, here!)—But it eventually found itself being released way later on in 2015, all thanks to the virtual console on the Wii U.

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The game itself stars the titular Ninten, an asthmatic 12 year old boy living in Mother’s Day Town, which would later be known in the localization as “Podunk”. He lives with his mother and two little twin sisters, Minnie and Mimmie. His favorite food is Prime Ribs, and he— Unlike the two protagonists you'll come to know later— doesn't have a favorite "thing." This is because Ninten doesn't have any signature PSI move (PSI being, mechanically speaking, the Mother series' stand in for magic mechanics in other RPG's you most likely know already), infact, he learns no offensive PSI at all! But he makes up for that with physical strength and a myriad of supportive and defensive PSI.

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After a run in with some paranormal activity in his home (that being 2 lamps and a doll,) Ninten learns from his father over the phone that Ninten's great-grandfather, George, studied PSI and it may be of help to Ninten to find George's old diary in the basement. From there, Ninten sets off on a journey to discover and stop the aliens that have invaded.

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Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū, universally known as Earthbound, is a role-playing video game created by Ape Inc. and Hal Laboratory released in 1994 for the Super Famicom, known as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES for short— Ness's namesake!) overseas. The successor to Mother 1, it's the second game in the series, telling the story of a 12 (or 13 in Earthbound,) year old boy named Ness as he journeys with his friends, Paula, Jeff and Poo, to collect the eight melodies to defeat Giygas. (The game is a very similar story to the first, some believing it's more of a retelling of the initial story than an actual sequel, but I wouldn't really agree with that...)

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Ness's favorite food is steak, and his favorite thing is "Rockin'", making his signature PSI move "PK Rockin'". He lives in Eagleland, a parody of America, as the game takes a more cynical approach on the country. Ness is quite the momma's boy, so you'll occassionally find Ness feeling homesick in battle, similarly to Ninten's asthma in the game prior. When this happens, Ness has to go to any building that possesses a payphone so he can call his mom and hear her voice. How cute is that...?

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One night, Ness is awoken by the commotion surounding a meteorite crash, and he goes to investigate it with his "friend", Porky (named Pokey in the US,), who needs to find his little brother, Picky. They meet a powerful being (and bug) named Buzz Buzz, and he tells them of an impending threat— An alien entity named Giygas.

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Mother 3 is a role-playing video game created by Ape Inc. and Hal Laboratory released in 2006 for Nintendo's handheld console, the Gameboy Advance. It is the third and final entry to the Mother series of games, and is very well known for being the only game in the series to not be released outside of Japan. It's unknown why they never decided to translate the game, but it's theorized that the reasoning behind the decision is that the game is not suitable for western audiences and children. (Though I don't really know if I believe that.) Not to worry though, because there is a way for english speakers to play Mother 3 if they wish, for the game was translated by fans! Led by the talented Clyde Mandelin, (often just called Tomato in online discussion,) the Mother 3 Fan Translation was released onto Starmen.net after 2 years of insanely handwork and an estimated cost of $30,000! It's amazing what fans can do, huh?

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Mother 3 stars the character of Lucas, a young boy living in the low-tech village of Tazmily found within the Nowhere Islands with his mother, Hinawa, his father, Flint, and his older twin brother, Claus The twins and Hinawa are currently visiting their relative, Hinawa's father, Alec, whilst Flint stays at home to take care of the sheep at their home. The four live a happy, simple life until the village is attacked by a mysterious never before seen army you later learn are called the Pigmask army. The pigmask army bomb the forest near the village and Flint is alerted of quickly growing fires, and then of a young boy named Fuel who's trapped in his burning house. Flint quickly rescues the boy, returning to the village only to learn that his wife and children haven't yet returned. After some searching, he finds his sons, and unfortunately, learns of his wife's passing. She is killed by a Drago, a typically peaceful species— and you later learn the reason behind the Drago's sudden violence is that is has been experimented on and turned into a chimera.

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Claus, the older of the twins, sets it upon himself to avenge his mother. He goes out into the northern reaches of the islands to find the Drago that killed his mother and Flint learns of this quickly, but he's not fast enough to save his son— Claus is missing, with only his shoes being found. Most assume he's dead.

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We then learn of a man named Duster. He's a theif, and he's tasked to find the Egg of Light within Osohe Castle, a large structure within the north of the village. He finds it, meeting Kumatora in the process, but once they find it (after alot of havoc as Duster initially had stolen the wrong thing,) Kumatora triggers a trap that drops them down a hatch and then into Tazmily's waters, and Duster isn't found, and the Egg of Light is lost.

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Three years pass since then. The army previously mentioned have brainwashed (metaphorically— Or literally, depending if you believe certain fan theories,) the town and it's become a far less loving and low-tech place to live in. "Happy Boxes" are introduced by a man working with the Pigmasks named Yokuba (Fassad in the english translation,) and money has been introduced to the town, making things much less peaceful. Lucas is the only one not falling into these schemes, and he is viewed poorly because of it. He hears from two men leaving the train that a member of a new and popular band, "DCMC", looks suspiciously like the long-missing Duster. Lucas's adventure starts here, as he sets out to find his friend. From that point, more and more objectives arise, eventually culminating in Lucas needing to find the 7 needles found within the Nowhere Islands before a mysterious man— known as "The Masked Man"— does, for the world and everyone he loves could be at stake.

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The plot to Mother 3 is very, very complex, so it's hard to summarize it in the same way I could Mother 1 and 2— I'm sure you can tell! It feels alot smoother than it sounds when you try to put it all into words. Or maybe I just suck at explaining stuff...

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As mentioned before, the game stars the well loved Lucas. He was initially known by western audiences by this appearance in the 2008 Wii game titled Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where he befriends Ness within the games' Adventure Mode, The Subspace Emissary. His faborite food is Omelettes, especially ones cooked by his mother, and his favorite thing is, adorably, Love, sharing the adoration for the feeling with his brother, Claus, who's favorite thing is also love. They both share the signature PSI move "PK Love," which is given alot more lore focus in this game, being a special ability only they can use.