History VideoGame / Mother3

[[caption-width-right:350:[[WidgetSeries Strange]]. SugarWiki/{{Funny|Moments}}. [[TearJerker Heartrending]].]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: After [[spoiler:Hinawa is killed by the Mechadrago]], Claus decides to go after it to [[spoiler:avenge his mother]]. In a series filled with child heroes, one might expect him to succeed even with just a knife. '''''He does not.'''''

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: One odd example when Claus [[spoiler:visits his father, Flint, in prison.]]
-->'''Claus:''' ''"Dad. It's me. Claus."''

-->'''Fassad:''' "Did you think...! *shock* ...you could run away from me?! *shock* That's why...! *shock* ...you're such a stupid monkey!"

** You play through the prologue as young Lucas, then the next three chapters are played by three completely different characters before going through the rest of the game as Lucas again.

* DotingGrandparent: Alec.

Nintendo's refusal to release the game outside of Japan (as not only did ''[=EarthBound=]'' horrifically undersell in North America, but the GBA was also all but dead in North America and Europe by the time ''Mother 3'' released) led to drastic measures-- which, in this case, means an English-language FanTranslation which took two years to complete, releasing in 2008 (by which point the GBA was no longer getting new releases; the system would be officially discontinued two years later). The translation would later receive an update in 2014, fixing up minor typos, grammatical errors, and bugs; it can be found [[http://mother3.fobby.net/ here]], though you'll need an official copy of the game to play it[[note]]LOL[[/note]]. As it stands, the translation is currently the only way to ever play the game in a language that is not Japanese. For ease of reference, this unofficial translation is the primary source for tropes.

* UncommonTime: Due to the RhythmGame elements, the game likes to throw in songs that are not in 4/4 or 3/4 to throw you off. The most notorious examples of this would be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjRCgPFS2Jw "Strong One"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdEF9FlXNno its Masked Man counterpart]], which play in 15/8 and '''29/16''', respectively.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The Dragos.

** It could even be argued that this is Nintendo's darkest game (not counting ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', period.

** It could even be argued that this is Nintendo's darkest game, period.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: PG-Rated example. Many adult occupants of Tazmily village are married, [[HappilyMarried happy to be so]], remain faithful, and have children. [[spoiler:Porky]], on the other hand, has his "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Fans]]" to keep him company.

* RedOniBlueOni: Claus and Lucas.

** Itoi has confirmed that the prevalence of chimeras in the game was inspired by Sid from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', where a child with a twisted mind reassembles toys into grotesque shapes.

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: For EarthBound Players at least entering Saturn Valley reveals this games connections to EarthBound.]]
** [[spoiler: And then all the Balloons and statues of King P revealing that King P is Porky/Pokey.]]

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Despite being thieves, Wess and Duster don't really do a whole lot of stealing. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] occassionally.

%%* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: See MookChivalry below.

%%* {{Arcadia}}: Tazmily Village.

%%* TheArk: The white ship can be seen as referencing this.

* AshFace: When Flint saves Fuel from being trapped in a Burning House, the two are covered in soot, and if you go into a hot spring while like this, the only thing that'll be left covered in soot are their faces. Everyone you talk to will also [[LampshadeHanging immediately lampshade this]].%%Also, in Chapter 5 When Lucas gets struck by lightning.
%%* AscendedExtra: Rope Snake, but you'll wish he was just an extra after Chapter 5.

* AttackReflector: The Counter and PSI Counter moves exclusive to this game reflect half of Physical and PSI damage back at the attacker respectively. As you learn more and more PSI and get stronger, more of the Bosses, especially in late game, will usually have this on at the start of battle to prevent you from cheesing them out with a lot of damage at the start.
%%** The Franklin Badge. [[spoiler:Claus uses it for tragic results.]]

%%* AwardBaitSong: The Love Theme, especially its lyrical equivalent.%%How?

%%* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: The Dark Dragon.

%%* BearerOfBadNews: Bronson in Chapter One and Rope Snake in Chapter Five.

%%* BlackBeadEyes: Almost every character has these.

%%* BrokenRecord: You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten? You haven't eaten?

%%* BurgerFool: "Beauty and Tasty".

%%* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler: Lucas and Claus. [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Not that they want to be.]] ]]

%%** The Hall of Memories is one big CallBack to the previous game.

* CanineCompanion: Good ol' Boney.

%%* DyingTown: At the end of Chapter 7. It's [[spoiler:Tazmily Village.]]
%%* DysfunctionJunction: More or less.

%%* EyeAwaken: [[spoiler:The Ultimate Chimera]].

%%* FlavorText: The battle memory is chock full of it.
%%* FluffyTheTerrible: "[[SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids Li'l Miss Marshmallow.]]"

%%* {{Golem}}: The Claymen.

%%* HumanAliens: The Magypsies, [[AmbiguousSpecies maybe]].
%%** [[TheyWalkAmongUs They Live Among Us]]

* AnimalisticAbomination: [[spoiler:The Dark Dragon, a creature so incredibly immense that it's said the entirety of the Nowhere Islands rests on its back, is so powerful that it protected the islands from the rest of the world becoming uninhabitable, was so feared that he had to be put to rest with Seven Needles that are guarded by Magypsies (ageless beings capable of using PSI that cannot die unless their Needle is pulled) can only be pulled by [[TheChosenOne people capable of PK Love]], and, if woken up, will cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt (although it can create a better world in return, depending on who pulls the Needles).]]

** Lucas gets one at the end of Chapter 3, [[TookALevelInBadass when he quits being a crybaby and becomes the main character]]. [[spoiler:He calls the baby Drago from chapter 1, who in turn calls it's parent and the mate of the Drago that was modified by the Pigmask army, who easily takes out the Pigmasks that were after Kumatora, Salsa and Wess.]]

* ArtStyleDissonance: [[UpToEleven Even more so than in]] ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound}}''.

* HurtingHero: [[UpToEleven That'd be grossly understating it]]...

* TraumaCongaLine: If you listed all the traumatic things that happen over the course of Lucas's life, you would more or less have a summary of the game's plot. To those who are curious, select the following note and [[TearJerker grab a few tissues]]. [[note]][[spoiler:First, his mother gets violently killed right in front of his eyes. As a result, his father almost goes mad from the resulting grief, attacking people from the village and getting chucked into prison before he can even attend her funeral. Shortly afterwards, his older brother, Claus. goes out to try and avenge his mother's death, and goes missing in the process. [[DeusAngstMachina All in the span of two days]]. Please note that this is the first time anybody in the society he lives in has experienced grief, so nobody knows how to console or comfort him. [[FromBadToWorse Not done yet, though.]] That very same day, a suspicious guy comes into Tazmily Village, telling everybody a load of waffle about "happiness" and starts peddling objects called "Happy Boxes" to everyone. These boxes essentially hypnotize the entire village, except for Lucas, who refuses to buy one, and as a result, everybody in this previously close-knit and loving community slowly begin turning into selfish, hedonistic jerks. Years later, Lucas is now considered an outcast, even a disgrace, to the village. His father, still grieving over his wife, barely talks with him anymore and spends nearly all of his time searching for Claus, who is still missing. Around this time, his adventure starts. And while he does finally make [[TrueCompanions two very good friends]] as a result, his situation hardly improves. On top of having to constantly battle against horrifying, bloodthirsty creatures known as Chimeras, he now has an entire army set against him, the same army who was indirectly responsible for his mother's death in the first place. After disabling the army's thunder tower, he finds himself in a field of sunflowers where, out of nowhere, he sees his mother's ghost. He can't touch or communicate her, and ends up chasing her off a cliff in desperation. [[MindScrew It's not very clear if this is a dream or actually happening]]. But wait, ''[[UpToEleven there's more]]''. Around this time, he and his friends find out about these weird objects known as the seven needles, [[ResetButton which will restore the entire world either full of evil or full of good depending on who pulls them]]. The journey to getting the seven needles leads him through countless traumatic situations, from being nearly eaten alive by a horrifying monster called the Ultimate Chimera, to accidentally sending himself on a very, ''very'' bad hallucinogenic drug trip, but he ultimately only manages to pull half of them. The other half are getting pulled by the commander of the army, known as the Masked Man. Once he and the Masked Man have both pulled three, Tazmily is now completely abandoned, so he has no choice but to finally go to the hub of all the corruption in his world, New Pork City. Once there, he has to live with the long-hidden truth about Tazmily: It was all a lie. The game actually takes place AfterTheEnd, and Tazmily was set up so the last few dozen people left on Earth could live in ignorance to the world's destruction. After this, the final needle is located, and he and his friends go to pull it, as it is now the world's only hope for redemption. After defeating the BigBad, he and the Masked Man meet in front of the final needle, ready to battle for it. As it turns out, the Masked Man is actually Claus, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed and with no memory of being Lucas's brother.]] What follows is an absolutely heartbreaking IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight, during which Claus easily has the upper hand, and with Claus still showing no sign of remembering, his mother's ghost shows up for a second time. With her help, Claus very slowly realizes who he is and takes his mask off. [[DrivenToSuicide He then kills himself]], allowing Lucas to take the needle, and [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in Lucas's arms]].]][[/note]] Keep in mind that all of this is happening to a likable, mild-mannered boy who ''hasn't even hit puberty yet''.

* DyingTown: At the end of Chapter 7. It's [[spoiler:Tazmily Village.]]
** Interestingly enough, though the most dynamic character in the game, and probably the entire series, is [[spoiler:Porky Minch himself]].
* DysfunctionJunction: More or less.

* BlindingBangs: [[spoiler:Porky's]] and Bateau's.

* AbandonedLaboratory: The Chimera Laboratory. It only gets mildly creepy at first... then the [[OneHitKO Ultimate]] [[RunOrDie Chimera]] gets loose...

''Mother 3'' is notable for its long development cycle (approximately the length of the already-long production of the previous title), having been planned almost immediately after ''Mother 2'' was released. Details began to surface of ''Mother 3'' as a UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} title -- as part of the now-failed Nintendo 64DD add-on -- and was even given the tentative worldwide title ''[=EarthBound=] 64'' before falling into {{vaporware}} territory (its earliest development predated ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever's'', which didn't surpass its time in DevelopmentHell until 2007). It was officially cancelled in 2000, but eventually resurfaced in 2003 and was finally released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2006-- apparently due to renewed interest while ''Mother 1+2'' was being worked on. However, Nintendo has yet to [[NoExportForYou release the game outside of Japan]], despite vocal campaigns of support for an international release. Lucas eventually saw international recognition [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros due to his inclusion in]] ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''.