History Fridge / Mother

* People like to say that these games are very emotional, but they usually only mean that they're sad. What they don't realize is that the games are emotional in more ways than just that. True, this series has its fair share of {{TearJerker}}s, but it also has a lot of SugarWiki/FunnyMoments, SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments, DarthWiki/NightmareFuel and even [[ThatOneBoss frustrating]] [[DemonicSpiders moments]]. All those inspire emotions, right?

** Moreover, with all the conflicting statements Porky says, alternating between claiming to be Ness's best friend and trying to make his life miserable, it helps explain Giygas's decent into madness. His constant cries of "Ness..." his moans of pain, claiming it feels good, he's taken Porky's confused mind as his own. Pleasure is pain, enemies are friends... It's almost a FridgeHorror...

* In Japan, the default name for Ness's special PK attack is PK {{Kiai}}. This gives the impression of Ness [[MakeMeWannaShout shouting "HI-YAH!"]] at his opponents in order to damage them. ''[[HellIsThatNoise Now imagine what happens when Giygas uses it.]]''

** Then imagine the shock and terror when Kumatora learns that Fassad, the cruel, abusive, manipulative mastermind that was killed just a little bit before, turns out to be :a traitor, too. His true identity is revealed to be Locria, the last Magypsy, and one of Kumatora's caregivers as a child. Imagine not only the sadness, but the betrayal she must have felt after all that.

* In the Lyrics for the Love Theme, which are implied to be sung by Hinawa herself, she says "No matter where I am, I'll still be your life. I want to show you warm moments and dreams. I can see the small child smile, when I close my eyes. If I call out, he'll turn around. Give light to the small one who walks his path alone." Most people might assume she's referring to Claus, who's been alone ever since he set out on his path to avenge his mom and got turned into a Cyborg, and she's trying to bring him back from Porky's control. But, if you think about it, the last verse can apply to Lucas just as much. He may not have been alone on his journey, or even when he was grieving prior to the timeskip (thanks to Boney), but asides from Claus, Lucas still suffered the most out of anyone in the game by far. Even if he had friends by his side and supporting him, he still had to shoulder all of that pain and sadness he's experienced on his own, as no one else had suffered to the same degree that he has or lost as much he has to truly emphasize with what he's going through and give him the kind of support/reassurance he needs to truly heal. This especially becomes painfully clear on the trip to Tanetane Island, when most of the hallucinations are based on his own fears/trauma, while very few haunt Duster and Kumatora. This isn't even mentionign the fact he has the weight on his shoulders as the only one besides his brainwashed brother who could pull the last needle and remake the world into one without evil and suffering. Hinawa isn't only singing about her trying to save Claus, she's also trying to give her strength and love to her other son, the one who's been through so much pain and has been so strong to keep going and do what's right, despite the terrible things that have happened to him. - Spiderfreak1011

'''MOTHER Series'''

** To elaborate, starting off with ''[[VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings EarthBound Beginnings / Mother]]'', when you fight Giygas, you don't just throw all of your attacks at him and have an [[EasternRPG epic turn based battle.]] In fact, you don't throw any punches at all. You're not ''supposed'' to, anyway. What you '''are''' supposed to do, is sing the "Eight Melodies" you gathered on your journey to Giygas, the one that Maria, the "Mother" who raised him, sung to him as a baby. He constantly interrupts you, but the intervals at which he cuts you off come later and later until you finish the song and, overwhelmed by his emotions of abandonment and love for his Mother and his duty to his race, he decides to run away.
** In ''[[VideoGame/{{Earthbound}} EarthBound/MOTHER 2]]'', Andonuts sends the team back to the past where [[EldritchAbomination Giygas]] was launching his attack... [[RealRobot in robots]]. The start of the fight involves you fighting Pokey instead of Giygas. Pokey later turns off the "Devil's Machine", which ramps up the horror level of Giygas. This is where you start putting to use Paula's "Pray" ability. It gets to a point, though, that Giygas essentially '''EATS PAULA'S PRAYER'''.
---> ''"Paula's call was absorbed by the darkness."''

** The final boss battle of ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER 3}}'' (and even the penultimate boss battle) do not definitively end with Lucas and the gang beating the opponent. When you fight Porky (aka the same Pokey Minch that fled via time travel in Videogame/{{Earthbound}}), after taking enough damage, he ends up locking himself in the Absolutely Safe Capsule. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It lives up to its name]]. And the '''final''' boss battle against the Masked Man (aka Claus) isn't quite a boss battle. The Masked Man fires an intense bolt of lightning at the gang, which knocks out everyone except for Lucas, only because of the recently polished Franklin Badge. Lucas can't will himself to attack at all up until the point where the Masked Man fires PK Love at him... [[HeroicSacrifice and their father keeps BOTH shots from hitting Lucas.]] Meanwhile, you have Hinawa's ghost trying to bring Claus back to his senses, and she fails the first couple of times. Until she succeeds, the Masked Man is pretty much [[CurbStompBattle kicking your ass]], with the only thing you can find yourself able to do is block and heal yourself. Claus comes to his senses, dealing lower and lower damage until it becomes pitiful single-digit damage. [[HeroicSuicide Finally, before he sinks back into his brainwashing and realizing the gravity of what he's done, as well as the desire to be with his Mother again, he shoots at Lucas, knowing full well that his Franklin Badge is going to reflect it full force back at him.]] [[FakeUltimateHero Truly, the protagonists never actually defeat]] the FinalBoss — the FinalBoss either gets killed from a CombinedEnergyAttack, or are defeated by their own emotions.

* This is most likely unintentional, as it's unlikely that Itoi could have planned ''that'' far ahead, but you never know: The slogan for MOTHER is "No Crying Until the End". The game is emotional for an NES game sure, but still, it can feel a little out of place. But maybe, just maybe, it's referring to the end as in, ''[[VideoGame/Mother3 the end]]''.
** It may not be neccessarily unintentional, you gotta remember, ''Mother 3'' was originally supposed to be on N64, as ''Mother 3: Fall of the Pig King'', which started development only 2 years after ''Earthbound', in 1997, so Itoi could've potentially planned that far ahead given how it started development very soon after.

* The last song that plays in Mother 2, Smiles and Tears, has a single spoken line in it; "I miss you." The song is a remix of Eight Melodies from the first game, so there are many ways that line can be interpreted. It could represent Giegue saying a final goodbye to Maria, his foster mother and where the whole series started. It could be The Chosen Four in Mother 2 saying goodbye to each other as they go their separate ways once the adventure is over. It could be Ninten and Ness' feelings of missing their own mothers while out saving the world. It can even apply to Mother 3 with Lucas missing his mother after she passes away.

'''[[Fridge/EarthboundBeginnings MOTHER / EarthBound Beginnings]]'''

* And in the original ''Mother'', I still feel that it's an example of ThePowerOfLove. Most examples turn "love" into magic sparkles or beams made of hearts in a very cheesy way, but in this game you ''literally defeat your enemy with the actual feeling of love.'' You short-circuit Giegue's KillAllHumans programming by reminding him of the human who loved him as her own child. And in case you haven't noticed, that is also why the game is called ''[[TitleDrop Mother]].''

* I initially wondered why an Earth served as the logo of the series, since it seemed rather dissimilar to the title of the series (which may have been why it was called Earthbound elsewhere). Then I realized it was very obvious — Mother Earth! What could possibly be a better symbol of nurturing, life, and maternal themes?-Blueflame724

'''[[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 MOTHER 2 / EarthBound]]'''

* The only way that I can truly appreciate the FinalBoss fight of ''Earthbound'' (at least in terms of plot) is as a partial {{Deconstruction}}. Essentially, Giygas has become a CosmicHorror. Physical attacks don't work on him. While Paula's Pray command appears to be effective, not even [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the entirety of Eagleland's Power Of Love]] is enough to destroy him. Ultimately, there is only one reason that Ness and them are able to defeat him... He's the final boss of a video game. Giygas loses so that the player can win. --Tropers/FalconPain

* I, like several others, was annoyed by the camera man and his apparent uselessness in the plot of the game. Then I realized that it's yet another of Nintendo's jabs at video game tradition. ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' is famous for these, like the bathrooms that are always full making fun of the lack of bathrooms in video games, or the characters who actually call our heroes out if they act like [[KleptomaniacHero kleptomaniac heroes.]] In this case, the reference is to all those games where the end credits include several pictures or videos of what was going on during the adventure, with no explanation. ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' is showing us how those pictures came to be, and how annoying it was for the heroes to have to constantly pose for them just to make your end credits more enjoyable. Considering Ness doesn't seem to mind posing for the pictures, [[HeroicMime though it's hard to tell,]] and [[TheScrappy all the hate the camera man receives,]] maybe this game even reverses the roles.-- Gamer4

* Perhaps it's more like Fridge Depressing, but [[AfterTheEnd Mother 3's backstory]] makes it clear, if you think about it, that the world didn't just live happily ever after the end of this game, [[ApocalypseHow far from it]]...

'''VideoGame/{{MOTHER 3}}'''

* At the end of ''Mother 3'', you get another "The End?" before getting a definitive "The End". It strikes you then that the "The End" at the end of ''Mother'' and ''Earthbound'' wasn't referring to the ''game's'' end — but the ''franchise's'' end!

* Related to Porky: Most players are confused upon starting to play ''Mother 3'', mostly because the soundtrack isn't as similar as Earthbound's. At least not until Chapter 4, where the town has been modernized, and plenty of songs from Earthbound start popping out, such as the Hotel's Theme in Yado's Inn, Summers' Theme in Tazmilly's Beach, etc. Now, what's one of Porky's main characteristics in this game?

* That Dr Andonuts would be kidnapped and forced to make the chimeras makes more sense when you remember he already had experience doing that in ''Earthbound''. Dungeon Man was his first mechanical chimera, followed by the chosen four's robot bodies. Of course, those subjects were willing...

* ''Earthbound'' subverted the MoneySpider RPG trope by having Ness's dad give him money instead of directly relating it to fighting enemies, but ''MOTHER 3'' seems to play it straight, right? But because the concept of money was essentially reinvented thanks to Porky, and because Porky is a twisted jerk who screws with people, why ''wouldn't'' he make it so that the best way to make money is to fight dangerous chimeras?

* While the soundtrack borrows tunes and riffs from all sorts of sources from past games and beyond, there's exactly one song from outside the world of ''MOTHER'' that's totally unchanged from its source: "Leder's Gymnopedie", which plays over the story of how humans left the outside world behind and came to the Nowhere Islands, as told by the only person left who remembers that outside world.

* It also seems that the game breaks away from, ironically, the {{Eagleland}} trope it named. But if you consider [[FantasyAmericana Tazmily's appearance]], Flint's general {{Cowboy}} get-up, and the dynamics [[CloseKnitCommunity of the town,]] it's really a homage to the arcadian image of TheWildWest without a set time period or [[UnfortunateImplications associated problematic tropes.]] The reduction of Tazmily into a GhostTown and the introduction of New Pork City as the BigRottenApple also parallels the real phenomenon of urbanization in the 19th century of the United States. It also evokes the slow urban decay of the [[DyingTown Rust Belt]] and ''especially'' [[EvilColonialist some intances of forceful American annexation.]] If the first two games were a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow mostly]] cutesy send-up of Americana as perceived by a foreigner, Mother 3 stands as a {{deconstruction}} of that-- just what's necessary to have that zany, but pleasant {{Eagleland}} in the first place, after all?

** Perhaps the message isn’t that either way is necessarily better or worse than the other, but that both have their pros and cons. Tazmily was successful early on with a well knit community who supported each other and led happy lives. The towns we saw in the last Mother games were also able to build their own communities without becoming isolated from one another. It’s possible for both to work, however their weaknesses need to be kept in mind and efforts must be taken to keep the community from falling apart.

* In ''16 Melodies (Beginning)'', the credits theme, the last part of MOTHER's 8 Melodies is repeated a second time, the only part of either of the two 8 Melodies to be repeated. MOTHER's has lyrics- and what were the lyrics for that last section? [[ArcWords "Love, ]][[ThePowerOfLove oh love"]].

* Here's some FridgeHorror for ya: Earthbound is obviously a direct sequel to MOTHER, having similar themes and carrying on the story of Giygas. Earthbound takes place only a few years after MOTHER. However, MOTHER 3 seems to be in a very different universe with different themes and styles and the only recurring element is Porky. However, doesn't MOTHER 3 take place AfterTheEnd, when the world was reset and everyone's minds were wiped?
** By that same token, that would mean that what Ninten, Ness, and their friends did to stop Giygas and save the world was AllForNothing, as while Aliens didn't end up conquering the world, the people our heroes were protecting, ''Humankind'', destroyed the world instead. Even worse, promo art from Earthbound 64 shows a ruined Onett and Fourside, and given the story seems to be largely the same between the 64 version of MOTHER 3's final version, there's a very likely possibility that the end of the world happened within the lifetimes of Ninten and Ness, meaning that they and their friends most likely died when the world ended like most of Earth's population.
** Earthbound and MOTHER 1 are actually several decades apart. Regardless, they both evoke timeless nostalgia despite the theme of coming of age and the "danger" of loss of innocence. MOTHER 3 could be seen as the uncertainties of the future and the very real dangers presented by modernity as the world becomes less and less recognizable to those who came before. So yes, AfterTheEnd both chronologically and metaphorically.
** Earthbound and MOTHER 1 actually are NOT several decades apart. The Japanese (and therefore, truly canon/original) version of Mother 1 states that the game takes place in 1987 specifically. Meanwhile, Earthbound in both Japanese and English states that the year is 199X. So even if we take the conservative estimate and believe Earthbound takes place in the last year it possibly can, 1999, that means the time gap between the two games would be 12 years at best. So the original post stating that Ninten and Ness could've died around the same time when the world ended is still very plausible.

* Just like in the first two games, you can find random objects that have been given life, such as the Jealous Bass. Usually, this wouldn't be too surprising in the MOTHER series - until you remember that the only person shown to cause this phenomenon ''is a certain cosmic destroyer...''

* Okay, since this is [[WorldOfSymbolism MOTHER]], this could very well be under FridgeBrilliance depending on how you look at it, but it'll be put here for simplicity's sake. So, the dragon? The gigantic, world-defining dragon resting underneath the Nowhere Islands? It's got the needles stuck in its hide, right? Well, the final needle is underneath New Pork City. And New Pork City is on a chunk of rock suspended several hundred feet above the ground. There's no way that needle could still be touching the dragon at that altitude.

** I'm fairly sure that it was after continual use that he was rendered immortal and messed up, during the fight with Giygas in Earthbound, so it's probably safe to assume he's not hopping all over the place with them.

* In the last verse of the Lyrics for the Love Theme, where Hinawa says "If I call out, he'll turn around. Give light to the small one who walks his path alone.", people might assume she's referring to Claus, who's been alone ever since he set out on his path to avenge his mom and got turned into a Cyborg, and she's trying to bring him back from Porky's control. But, if you think about it, the last verse can apply to Lucas just as much. He may not have been alone on his journey, or even when he was grieving prior to the timeskip (thanks to Boney), but asides from Claus, Lucas still suffered the most out of anyone in the game by far. Even if he had friends by his side and supporting him, he still had to shoulder all of that pain and sadness he's experienced on his own, as no one else had suffered to the same degree that he has or lost as much he has to truly emphasize with what he's going through and give him the kind of support/reassurance he needs to truly heal. This especially becomes painfully clear on the trip to Tanetane Island, when most of the hallucinations are based on his own fears/trauma, while very few haunt Duster and Kumatora. This isn't even mentionign the fact he has the weight on his shoulders as the only one besides his brainwashed brother who could pull the last needle and remake the world into one without evil and suffering. Hinawa isn't only singing about her trying to save Claus, she's also trying to give her strength and love to her other son, the one who's been through so much pain and has been so strong to keep going and do what's right, despite the terrible things that have happened to him. - Spiderfreak1011

* In the last verse of the Lyrics for the Love Theme, where Hinawa says "If I call out, he'll turn around. Give light to the small one who walks his path alone.", people might assume she's referring to Claus, who's been alone ever since he set out on his path to avenge his mom and got turned into a Cyborg, and she's trying to bring him back from Porky's control. But, if you think about it, the last verse can apply to Lucas just as much. He may not have been alone on his journey, or even when he was grieving prior to the timeskip (thanks Boney), but asides from Claus, Lucas still suffered the most out of anyone in the game by far. Even if he had friends by his side and supporting him, he still had to shoulder all of that pain and sadness he's experienced on his own, as no one else had suffered to the same degree that he has or lost as much he has. This especially becomes painfully clear on the trip to Tanetane Island, when most of the hallucinations are based on his own fears/trauma and very few haunt Duster and Kumatora. Not to mention he has the weight on his shoulders of being the only one besides his brainwashed brother who could pull the last needle and remake the world into one without evil and suffering. Hinawa isn't singing just about her trying to save Claus, she's also trying to give her strength and love to her other son, the one who's been through so much pain and has been so strong to keep going and do what's right, despite the terrible things that have happened to him. - Spiderfreak1011

** By that same token, that would mean that what Ninten and his friends and Ness and his friends did to stop Giygas and save the world was AllForNothing, as while Aliens didn't end up conquering the world, the people our heroes were protecting, ''Humankind'', destroyed the world instead. Even worse, there's a very likely possibility that the end of the world happened within the lifetimes of Ninten and Ness and their friends, meaning that they most likely died when the world ended like most of Earth's population.

* The fact that the ChurchOfHappyology characters are named the "Happy Happyists" can be a bit less funny if you consider the fact that Scientology used to own a facility nicknamed "Happy Valley" near San Jacinto, which was used for their slave labour [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehabilitation_Project_Force The Rehabilitation Project Force]]. (The site was sold in 2002 to the Soboba Band of of Luiseño Indians, whose reservation was nearby, and it's been converted into [[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACPW&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Soboba+Band&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=Soboba+Band&cid=0,0,8940059801974363159&ei=RFNyT8b3Gcun8gODocBB&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CAsQ_BI a casino]]).

** That's not the worst part. You see, Giygas can only use Rockin'/Kiai Alpha and Beta, which aren't very strong. Ness's Nightmare can use Rockin'/Kiai Omega. '''Imagine now his nightmarish yelling when attacking with a ultra-powerful psychic power.'''

** The alternative to this is that is race is still out there, and given that they were the ones who ordered or encouraged him to invade Earth in the first place, they may send someone else later to finish the job. So neither possibility is very nice.

*** Or maybe, if we're willing to be charitible, his people [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone saw and rejected the evil in themselves after being confronted with the fact that they functionally made one of there own into the god of evil, over a kind petty feud.]]
* More a bit of brain wonderings that anything that actually bugs me... But, during the Giygas battle "music" ,which is more background noises than anything, features electronic, machine-breaking type noises, right? And, during the final battle the Chosen Four are in robot bodies, right? What if these noises aren't the Devil's Machine (like I first assumed) but [[FridgeHorror actually the noises of Ness and Co.'s robot bodies being torn apart by Giyga's attacks?]]
* Why did Pokey turn from a timid and insufferable coward that talks big but will suddenly beg and grovel for help at the first sign of trouble to an egotistical and condescending douchebag who willingly chose to serve the ultimate evil?
** Pokey's abusive parentage eventually caused him to become jealous of Ness who obviously had a much more fortunate childhood than him.

** Being brought back home to a spanking/yelling from his father, Aloysius, was the last straw that pushed Pokey's mind to the breaking point. After recovering from the shame, Pokey convinced himself through his moral myopia that it was Ness's fault and he would now go to any length to hinder and hurt Ness in a personal war of revenge against him.

* Giygas is actually in the distant past, directing his invasion of earth from there. This would actually be an ideal location if he can do so, it's unlikely most beings could even get to him much less destroy him, Ness included. More importantly, if Giygas managed to destroy the earth in the distant past, he'd prevent Maria from ever existing, along with Ninten, while as a being not native to earth wouldn't wipe out his own existence in the bargain. Destroying earth in the past would remove all the sources of Giygas' trauma in one fell swoop, preventing him from becoming the EldrichAbomination that he is now and end his suffering.