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Pulse The Fool from Yadayadaville Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
The Fool
#1101: Mar 3rd 2017 at 11:12:41 AM

In the writing? No.

In actuality? Absolutely- AM2R was slapped down after becoming really huge and notable to the point IGN was writing about it. Up to a certain point there's a degree of plausible deniability, but after that you must take action or else lose your trademark.

edited 3rd Mar '17 11:13:39 AM by Pulse

I sure said that!
Hashil Since: Aug, 2010
#1102: Mar 3rd 2017 at 11:15:59 AM

the heck are they even doing with it? Samus is more well known for being in a skintight blue catsuit in Smash at this point than any of her own games.

WaxingName from Everywhere Since: Oct, 2010
#1103: Mar 3rd 2017 at 11:27:58 AM

[up][up]So what you're saying is, if the law is not in place, unsavory folks can either make a blatant ripoff or an unauthorized adaptation and claim "it's a fanwork", right?

Please help out our The History Of Video Games page.
Pulse The Fool from Yadayadaville Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
The Fool
#1104: Mar 3rd 2017 at 11:29:37 AM

There's a great deal of texture to the issue, most certainly, but I think the current laws are insufficient for the world we live in.

It's generally agreed that charging money for anything labeled fanwork isn't kosher, though- You'll never get anyone to confirm this stuff, but I suspect the reason Nintendo doesn't throw out the C&D orders until after the games have been released suggests to me that they don't mind them beyond the issues presented by the laws regarding trademarks at this point.

edited 3rd Mar '17 11:32:28 AM by Pulse

I sure said that!
lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#1105: Nov 20th 2017 at 1:33:12 AM

The Mother 4 fangame had its music released on iTunes and other places, meaning for the actual game they need a new composer. https://www.reddit.com/r/mother4/comments/7dq8b0/shane_mesas_mother_4_soundtrack_is_now_available/

This doesn't sound good for the fangame.

edited 20th Nov '17 1:33:23 AM by lalalei2001

The Protomen enhanced my life.
GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: In love with love
Formerly G.G.
#1106: Nov 20th 2017 at 5:48:45 AM

Didn't they say that were not going to make Mother 4 and make an original IP?

"Fan, a Mega Man character."
YasminPerry Since: May, 2015
#1107: Dec 4th 2017 at 9:27:20 AM

I have three questions about MOTHER 2, please answer them:

1. Where did the Mr. Saturns come from?

2. Where did Gyiyg come from?

3. Does the game ever explain why Porky was working with Gyiyg at the end? Is he just an asshole?

Great game, BTW! Waaaay better than the first game. Sugoi Itoi-sama grin

32_Footsteps Think of the mooks! from Just north of Arkham Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Think of the mooks!
#1108: Dec 4th 2017 at 9:32:52 AM

@1107

Well, so far as I can tell...

  1. Saturn Valley, of course.
  2. The system isn't ever named, but presumably one where they developed psychic powers and the ability to produce FTL travel and/or generation ships.
  3. Porky is blatantly brown-nosing in order to secure more power and a place of self-worth. His goal is transparently to outlast his benefactor and end up on top of some variety of totem pole, complete with an escape hatch if things go south. This holds true as of Mother 3, as well. Since Giygas was the greatest power, Porky latched onto him like a lamprey. I think the better question is, just how did Porky pull it off? (Porky needed either a way to survive Giygas' power or, if he met Giygas before the latter became "an almighty idiot," the ability to persuade Giygas that he should be spared. Both seem a bit incongruous.)

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.
Pulse The Fool from Yadayadaville Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
The Fool
#1109: Dec 4th 2017 at 9:36:34 AM

It might have been some kind of metaphysical thing- Itoi is not exactly adverse to conceptions of evil that are expressed in quasi-objective terms. Porky was so corrupt that he and Giyagas simply “clicked” or similar, perhaps.

I sure said that!
YasminPerry Since: May, 2015
#1110: Dec 4th 2017 at 9:48:11 AM

O.K., thanks.

And I know this sounds like a complaint, but why are the graphics so dull? sad Was it to save on development time?

32_Footsteps Think of the mooks! from Just north of Arkham Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Think of the mooks!
#1111: Dec 4th 2017 at 10:29:51 AM

The graphics are pretty popping for their era.

Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.
MachThreeSlug (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
#1112: Dec 4th 2017 at 10:31:14 AM

[up][up]If you're playing the Wii U virtual console version, then the graphics tend to be kinda dull colour wise for most games on the VC.

edited 4th Dec '17 10:31:41 AM by MachThreeSlug

YasminPerry Since: May, 2015
#1113: Dec 4th 2017 at 10:42:32 AM

[up] Yeah, I'm playing on VC but I mostly meant the mediocre sprite work, with the exception of battle backgrounds.

MachThreeSlug (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
#1114: Dec 4th 2017 at 10:44:58 AM

Ah. In that case I think it was just a stylistic choice. The overworld sprites have this Peanuts like charm to them.

Pichu-kun ... Since: Jan, 2001
...
#1115: Dec 4th 2017 at 12:27:10 PM

I brought Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings almost as soon as they came out on VC, but I haven't played Beginnings in months. It's really... difficult. I understand why people say to skip it, but I would rather play in order of release. There's so much grinding and it's unclear what to do.

Still, it's a fun game. I wouldn't mind remakes of the Earthbound series some day.

Hashil Since: Aug, 2010
#1116: Dec 4th 2017 at 12:29:13 PM

MOTHER's kind of a beautiful mess. I've never actually finished it, but I've gotten to the top of Mt. Itoi and gathered around half of the melodies, and I've mostly enjoyed every attempt.

YasminPerry Since: May, 2015
#1117: Dec 4th 2017 at 12:35:42 PM

I hate MOTHER 1's gameplay. Haaaate it. The story, plot, & characters are nice, though. You can tell Itoi-sensei is a real writer, due to the humanity he puts into the game. It's not mindless spectacle lacking emotion, like your average FF title. There's a lot more substance to it.

darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#1118: Dec 4th 2017 at 1:55:11 PM

The Mother games are basically the peak of what you can do with Dragon Quest-style cypher characters you come to care about while still keeping the focus firmly on the player. Heck Mother 3 uses the convention of assigning names to characters as a Player Punch. That game remains one of the moodiest and most melancholy experiences out there. Even when the actual tragedies only happen a few times during the game, the space between feels like a sad clown in narrative form, throwing jokes and weirdness at you to distract from the sparse environments, mechanization and dehumanizing a sense of community, the atmospheric and gloomy score, and character ambiguity.

I've seen people call the creator a bad writer for not having more conventional character interaction and obvious development, but the games were never one to be so straightforward. The plots tend to be vague on the details of why exactly collecting these objects/finding this thing/fulfilling this prophecy fits together, characters are either just as in the dark as the player or aren't talking, and the exposition you do get tends to throw out cryptic illusions to events and places without further elaborating.

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: In love with love
Formerly G.G.
#1119: Dec 4th 2017 at 2:22:19 PM

Itoi is a bad writer? That is news to me as the games are written fairly well leaving just enough information to be vague to give me the player something to think about. smile

"Fan, a Mega Man character."
Pichu-kun ... Since: Jan, 2001
...
#1120: Dec 4th 2017 at 3:17:27 PM

[up][up] I always see people praise the series' writing. That's why people play the games.

IceAnt573 Forever not amused. Since: May, 2015
Forever not amused.
#1121: Dec 4th 2017 at 3:38:58 PM

I imagine the people that aren't as into the writing of the Mother series are people that rather have storytelling, characterization, themes, etc. blatantly made obvious and spelled out for them.

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: In love with love
Formerly G.G.
#1122: Dec 5th 2017 at 11:29:49 AM

While I am not gonna use the "You don't because you don't understand it" card, I do agree that most people do like it when there is obvious development in games and it is a turn off when there isn't in this game.

"Fan, a Mega Man character."
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#1123: Dec 5th 2017 at 1:31:38 PM

The story, plot, & characters are nice, though. You can tell Itoi-sensei is a real writer, due to the humanity he puts into the game.

Well, yeah, he was a copywriter and book critic among other things so he's outside of the manga/anime/JRPG sphere in terms of writing sensibilities and whatnot.

If you ever get the time look up Lost Odyssey, or more specifically, the dreams. They were written by an actual acclaimed short story writer and it really shows.

Hashil Since: Aug, 2010
#1124: Dec 5th 2017 at 1:36:33 PM

I think that's why his characters feel underdeveloped to some people. No one exposits about their life or their character traits (except Jeff, but that's actually in character for him since he's rattling off his character flaws) and you have to infer a lot through dialogue and things like abilities.

YasminPerry Since: May, 2015
#1125: Dec 15th 2017 at 5:03:10 PM

All MOTHER 2 fans should see this!! Great analysis of the sampling in the soundtrack:

[1]


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