# Mother 4! (NEW GAMEPLAY VIDEO ADDED 2/24/15!)



## Amissapanda (Oct 20, 2014)

I haven't seen a topic yet, so I'm wondering how many people know about this/are as excited about it as I am!

So what is _Mother 4_?

"_Mother 4 is a traditional RPG set in an idealized vintage America, following the adventures of a young boy and the leader of a biker gang, who get caught up in the whirlwind events surrounding a group calling themselves the Modern Men._" (Quote taken from their website linked down below.)

_*Mother 4*_ is a fan-created game, based on the popular cult classic series of "Mother" in Japan, which includes _Mother_, _Mother 2_, and _Mother 3_. _Mother 2_, you may better know in America/outside of Japan as "EarthBound".

This project has been in the works for years now and they announced late last summer that the game would be coming out for PC download in Winter of 2014... which we are quite nearly upon! The team of Mother 4 has been working hard and I urge you to take a look at this sneak-peek trailer they put out last summer:






The sprite work and detail is absolutely amazing, and the gameplay mechanics as well as the music have a very Mother/EarthBound feel to them.

This game will be released *FREE* for the PC as a non-profit game and if you want to be notified when it's ready for download, give them your e-mail addy on their main site here: http://www.mother4game.com/

The site also has a lot of a little goodies on it, including bios for the characters, screenshots, a taste of the music, the staff, and more!

I know there are some Mother/EarthBound fans around here, so I'm sure some of you have probably heard of this up and coming fangame. But perhaps this might be new news to some--in which I'm happy to spread the word!

I'd love to enthuse about the upcoming release of the game! Who else is excited for _Mother 4_?


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## Nerd House (Oct 20, 2014)

Would love to play it, but I need to play Mother 3 still xD

And I don't see anywhere to enter my email address to be notified when it's released.


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## Mairen (Oct 20, 2014)

I got really excited because I thought this was an official thing. Of course, I have nothing again fan-made games either! I might check this out in the near future


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## RhinoK (Oct 20, 2014)

Mairen said:


> I got really excited because I thought this was an official thing. Of course, I have nothing again fan-made games either! I might check this out in the near future



Tbf it's been a project ongoing for years and Itoi is finished with the series (unfortunately) and he did encourage us fans to make our own game; if we wished. I'll be checking it out myself, but I've only finished MOTHER 3 and I'm halfway through Earthbound


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## Amissapanda (Oct 20, 2014)

Adol the Red said:


> Would love to play it, but I need to play Mother 3 still xD
> 
> And I don't see anywhere to enter my email address to be notified when it's released.



Well, they've officially stated that it's not a continuation of _Mother 3_ or anything like that and doesn't follow any bits of their plot, so it's not necessary to have played the other games. It's up to you, though!

Hm. Really? You don't see it? As soon as you click the link to the Mother4Game page, it's the first thing that pops up and you can't miss it. Do you have noscript running or something?



Mairen said:


> I got really excited because I thought this was an official thing. Of course, I have nothing again fan-made games either! I might check this out in the near future



Ahh, my bad. Sorry! Shigesato Itoi himself said that the _Mother_ series is over and he doesn't plan to make any follow-up games for it. As unfortunate as that is, what this fan group has done so far is really impressive. And apparently Nintendo doesn't care enough about the Mother/EarthBound series to issue them any sort of C&D, and they're not doing it for any kind of profit, so they should be in the green for launching it.

Anyway, I just thought I'd spread the word for those who may have had yet to hear about it.


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## toxapex (Oct 20, 2014)

I am so ready for this!  (Hopefully it doesn't get delayed, but if so... nbd )


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## Amissapanda (Oct 20, 2014)

RhinoK said:


> Tbf it's been a project ongoing for years and Itoi is finished with the series (unfortunately) and he did encourage us fans to make our own game; if we wished. I'll be checking it out myself, but I've only finished MOTHER 3 and I'm halfway through Earthbound



Awesome! Glad to hear you'll be checking it out, too. For all the work they've been putting into this, I think it's going to be pretty damn awesome. Shane Mesa has made some wonderful music that keeps the Mother/EarthBound spirit alive, too.

Haha, I think Itoi's own words were "If someone does make _Mother 4_, I want to play it!" Would be pretty cool if he actually did end up playing it after release. I know some Japanese commenters on YouTube were interested in having it translated once it was finished.



tokayseye said:


> I am so ready for this!  (Hopefully it doesn't get delayed, but if so... nbd )



Me tooooo! Man, I remember how long in the future it seemed last year when they put up the teaser, but now it's right around the bend! I haven't heard anything about a delay yet, thankfully (I'd assume they would have mentioned it by now if they weren't going to finished on time. But then again, aside from the Twitters, they've been pretty quiet and apparently hard at work). Can't say for sure, but yeah, even a delay would be more than worth the wait.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 21, 2014)

OH YEAH.

I almost forgot to share this gem.






This is one of the really cool things they're incorporating into the game, called "Level up jingles". The more people that level up at the same time, the different beats/melodies/instruments you get mixing together at the same time. So if it's a big boss fight and everyone levels up, you get this SYMPHONY of harmonies and instruments that is freaking gorgeous. 

The video itself is a bit old, so they might have changed things up by now (they have with the character appearances, at least). But it's just too _cool_ of an idea not to share.


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## Emily (Oct 21, 2014)

Wow I cant believe I've not heard about this definitely getting this ily for making a topic <3


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## Amissapanda (Oct 21, 2014)

Emily said:


> Wow I cant believe I've not heard about this definitely getting this ily for making a topic <3



My pleasure to spread the word! They're doing some really amazing stuff with it and since it's coming out soon, now seemed like a great time to make a topic and give them a little well-deserved advertising for what they're doing. Plus, it'll be completely free to play, which is exciting enough in itself!


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## Uffe (Oct 21, 2014)

I heard of this about six years ago. I'm kind of surprised it's not even out yet.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 21, 2014)

Uffe said:


> I heard of this about six years ago. I'm kind of surprised it's not even out yet.



Well, like any fan-made game, I'm sure it's had its drawbacks and problems. I've heard they had issues with staff quitting the team along the way and such, too, so I'm sure that didn't help.

Either way, I'm just glad that it's reaching fruition instead of being ultimately abandoned like so many other fan projects have over time.


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## Groovycat64 (Oct 21, 2014)

Looks very promising. The fact that the game will be free has me extremely excited. 

I absolutely adored Earthbound or Mother 2. 
I played halfway through Mother 3 which is just as good, if not better than Earthbound.

Also, the guy to the far right of the level up jingle video looks quite a bit like Duster from Mother 3.


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## CrowHunt888 (Oct 22, 2014)

Cant wait for this. Isn't it supposed to come out sometime this winter?


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## Amissapanda (Oct 22, 2014)

Groovycat64 said:


> Looks very promising. The fact that the game will be free has me extremely excited.
> 
> I absolutely adored Earthbound or Mother 2.
> I played halfway through Mother 3 which is just as good, if not better than Earthbound.
> ...



Me too! I've been excited about it for a few years now, but the fact that it's so close to being released really has me on the edge of my seat.

I really love _EarthBound_ and _Mother 3_, too. They're so good and seeing a game inspired by that series just has me so incredibly anxious and excited to see the final product. Most especially since they really kept the spirit of it alive with the spriting, gameplay, and music. They're even keeping up with the tradition of the protagonist being a young boy with a striped shirt. lol

Haha, now that you mention it, he does look similar to Duster in some ways. 



CrowHunt888 said:


> Cant wait for this. Isn't it supposed to come out sometime this winter?



Yup! Winter 2014. They didn't give an _exact_ date for the release yet, but it has to be within the next couple months, which isn't long at all. I'm really excited that it's so close!


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## Geoni (Oct 22, 2014)

I want them to take as long as they need to, because Mother 2 and 3 are hard to follow.


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## Ponyu (Oct 22, 2014)

Thank you for sharing! I entered my e-mail, very excited to play it whenever they're ready! I already love the butterfly healing thing, and the idea with the leveling up jingles <3


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## Amissapanda (Oct 22, 2014)

Dad said:


> I want them to take as long as they need to, because Mother 2 and 3 are hard to follow.



They've already taken many years with it and I don't think they'd announce a ballpark for the release time like that unless they were pretty sure they'd be ready by then. Either way, I'm excited!



Ponyu said:


> Thank you for sharing! I entered my e-mail, very excited to play it whenever they're ready! I already love the butterfly healing thing, and the idea with the leveling up jingles <3



No prob! It's my pleasure to get the word out there, 'cause this game looks like it's going to be everything I wanted from another Mother game and more. I'm glad they brought magic butterflies back. They're so cute. X3 And I love the idea with the level up jingles, too!


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## Nerd House (Oct 22, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> Hm. Really? You don't see it? As soon as you click the link to the Mother4Game page, it's the first thing that pops up and you can't miss it. Do you have noscript running or something?



Nothing special running.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 22, 2014)

Adol the Red said:


> Nothing special running.



That's odd. It's supposed to look like this: 






I'm not sure why yours isn't showing that part. Are you running it on a Mac? Or what browser? I'm running in Firefox on Windows 7 PC.


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## Bird (Oct 22, 2014)

I already heard of this and it is coming soon, as in Winter 2014.  I already signed up like a year ago, I cannot wait for it to be released! Also, PK Beam has returned.


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## Nerd House (Oct 22, 2014)

Google Chrome, Windows 7.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 22, 2014)

Bird said:


> I already heard of this and it is coming soon, as in Winter 2014.  I already signed up like a year ago, I cannot wait for it to be released! Also, PK Beam has returned.



Yeah, I signed up last year, too. I'm reeeeally excited to see what it's going to be like. With as big of a team as they have working on it, I'm sure it's going to be something else. I can hardly wait! The soundtrack, from what I've heard so far, is really awesome too.



Adol the Red said:


> Google Chrome, Windows 7.



Hm, maybe it loads differently in Chrome, then. I don't know. Even your font for the text is different, which puzzles me.


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## Bird (Oct 22, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> Yeah, I signed up last year, too. I'm reeeeally excited to see what it's going to be like. With as big of a team as they have working on it, I'm sure it's going to be something else. I can hardly wait! The soundtrack, from what I've heard so far, is really awesome too.



I'm glad they brought back the rolling odometer. It would have been very difficult without that in the series. I hope they do not bring the 16-combo from Mother 3, that, for me, was kinda hard to make more than 5 combos.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 22, 2014)

Bird said:


> I'm glad they brought back the rolling odometer. It would have been very difficult without that in the series. I hope they do not bring the 16-combo from Mother 3, that, for me, was kinda hard to make more than 5 combos.



Yeah, I can't imagine the battle mechanics in a Mother or Mother-related game without the rolling meters for HP and PP. I personally LOVED the music battle combos in _Mother 3_, though. I was frustrated at first, because I had pretty much the same problem you had with being unable to pull them off over the 5-7 range, but then I was able to fix the frame rate problem and I did combos like no one's business. Then it was fantastic. I was even able to pull of 16-hit combos on the songs I was really good at. (And Battle Memory, which Duster picks up in Chapter 2, can let you revisit any music to practice, as long as you've already encountered the enemy at some point.)

I'm pretty sure that's not returning in _Mother 4_, though, so don't worry about that. It's probably a little too advanced for what they can do with a fan-made PC game.


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## Bird (Oct 22, 2014)

Aren't they coding the game in C++? That is what I saw from the website. I also checked it now and they are using SDL, OpenGL and FMOD too.


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## BirdsAreCoolYo (Oct 22, 2014)

Mother? I thought it earthbound.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 22, 2014)

Bird said:


> Aren't they coding the game in C++? That is what I saw from the website. I also checked it now and they are using SDL, OpenGL and FMOD too.



Well, I didn't hear anything about them using the musical battle combos. I could be wrong, but I guess we won't find out for certain what they're doing with it until the game comes out---or unless they announce it themselves. Whichever happens first, I guess!



BirdsAreCoolYo said:


> Mother? I thought it earthbound.



_EarthBound_ is the English-translated version of "_Mother 2_" in Japan, the second in the Mother series. Since _Mother 3_ was never officially translated or released outside of Japan, it's not called "EarthBound 2" or anything like that, but by it's official name of _Mother 3_. And _Mother_, the original of the series which was for the NES, is sometimes referred to as EarthBound Zero. But that never made a release outside of Japan, either.


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## Bird (Oct 23, 2014)

Nope. They didn't say anything about musical combat. But we'll and wait see for ourselves.


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## Chibi.Hoshi (Oct 23, 2014)

I've heard of it, and have been waiting for it for awhile haha. I'm excited! I'm an Earthbound fan, although I have yet to play Mother 3... (I've played both Earthbound Zero and Earthbound).

Sooooon!


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## Amissapanda (Oct 23, 2014)

Bird said:


> Nope. They didn't say anything about musical combat. But we'll and wait see for ourselves.



I'm rather doubting they'll go that route, since I think they want to set themselves apart with new features and things instead of following any strict pattern that has already been done. I noticed they seem to have a meter around the box with the name/HP/PP that fills up apparently every time you attack. I wonder what that's for... maybe some kind of powerful attack/PSI?



Chibi.Hoshi said:


> I've heard of it, and have been waiting for it for awhile haha. I'm excited! I'm an Earthbound fan, although I have yet to play Mother 3... (I've played both Earthbound Zero and Earthbound).
> 
> Sooooon!



I'm really excited, too! (And yay, more _EarthBound/Mother_ fans!) I have to say, though... you're missing out if you haven't played _Mother 3_ yet, in my opinion. The story, characters, and the game in general is just fantastic.


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## rockthemike13 (Oct 23, 2014)

This game better follow up on Earthbound + Mother 3 and have an abundance of rock and roll, or I'm going to be pissed.


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## Chibi.Hoshi (Oct 23, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> I'm really excited, too! (And yay, more _EarthBound/Mother_ fans!) I have to say, though... you're missing out if you haven't played _Mother 3_ yet, in my opinion. The story, characters, and the game in general is just fantastic.


Haha, I must be. A lot of people prasie it.

I must play it before Mother 4 comes out. *makes a note of it*


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## Amissapanda (Oct 23, 2014)

rockthemike13 said:


> This game better follow up on Earthbound + Mother 3 and have an abundance of rock and roll, or I'm going to be pissed.



Whoa, relax. I doubt they're trying to follow up on the other games. They have their own story to work with. If that's how you feel, though, maybe you'd best not play it lest you be disappointed in not getting what you're expecting. 



Chibi.Hoshi said:


> Haha, I must be. A lot of people prasie it.
> 
> I must play it before Mother 4 comes out. *makes a note of it*



With good reason, I promise!

Haha, but in seriousness, the translation is easy to find and easy to use with an emulator. The only thing I had any trouble with was getting the combos to work properly, but you can fix that in the emulator itself. If you plan to download it, I'd recommend getting it straight from the Mother 3 fan translation site here: http://mother3.fobby.net/ 

They even have suggested emulators to use and links to those, as well. Very useful.


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## rockthemike13 (Oct 23, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> Whoa, relax. I doubt they're trying to follow up on the other games. They have their own story to work with. If that's how you feel, though, maybe you'd best not play it lest you be disappointed in not getting what you're expecting.



I'm a bit tongue and cheek.  But come on   You know for a fact those games were built around rock and roll.  The guy even named the game after a John Lennon song.  I'd be pretty bummed if they didn't follow up on the spirit of the games.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 23, 2014)

rockthemike13 said:


> I'm a bit tongue and cheek.  But come on   You know for a fact those games were built around rock and roll.  The guy even named the game after a John Lennon song.  I'd be pretty bummed if they didn't follow up on the spirit of the games.



The thing you have to keep in mind, though, is that they _can't_ be too similar to the other games. Nintendo would hang them for a copyright infringement. They don't have a Cease and Desist issued to them so far, but if they ended up following up a lot of things from the other games, they would receive one of those probably before they could blink. They ARE following up the spirit in some ways, but when it comes to things like music, especially, you have to be incredibly careful in this day and age. Heck, did you ever watch the two sets of "Did You Know Gaming" to do with _EarthBound_? They had to change a ton of stuff from the Japanese version when they translated it, because they sounded too similar or were blatant copies of existing American Rock n' Roll themes, etc. The Runaway Five was originally the Tonzura Brothers, but America decided they looked too much like the Blue's Brothers and they had to be changed. 

Copyright is a tricky thing in the gaming industry. I wouldn't blame these guys at all for taking their own route to avoid any legal troubles. I'm sure they'll do what they can to keep the 'spirit' of it, but I doubt it'll be in exactly the ways you're expecting for the above reasons.


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## Chibi.Hoshi (Oct 23, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> With good reason, I promise!
> 
> Haha, but in seriousness, the translation is easy to find and easy to use with an emulator. The only thing I had any trouble with was getting the combos to work properly, but you can fix that in the emulator itself. If you plan to download it, I'd recommend getting it straight from the Mother 3 fan translation site here: http://mother3.fobby.net/
> 
> They even have suggested emulators to use and links to those, as well. Very useful.


Thank you so much! I'll see if I can play it this afternoon. I'll need a bag of crisps... or maybe a hamburger... maybe order a pizza? I'll stop making references now...


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## Amissapanda (Oct 23, 2014)

Chibi.Hoshi said:


> Thank you so much! I'll see if I can play it this afternoon. I'll need a bag of crisps... or maybe a hamburger... maybe order a pizza? I'll stop making references now...



No problem! : ) I hope you enjoy the experience.

...Hahaha. Just don't go looking in trashcans for trash burgers! XD


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## rockthemike13 (Oct 23, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> The thing you have to keep in mind, though, is that they _can't_ be too similar to the other games. Nintendo would hang them for a copyright infringement. They don't have a Cease and Desist issued to them so far, but if they ended up following up a lot of things from the other games, they would receive one of those probably before they could blink. They ARE following up the spirit in some ways, but when it comes to things like music, especially, you have to be incredibly careful in this day and age. Heck, did you ever watch the two sets of "Did You Know Gaming" to do with _EarthBound_? They had to change a ton of stuff from the Japanese version when they translated it, because they sounded too similar or were blatant copies of existing American Rock n' Roll themes, etc. The Runaway Five was originally the Tonzura Brothers, but America decided they looked too much like the Blue's Brothers and they had to be changed.
> 
> Copyright is a tricky thing in the gaming industry. I wouldn't blame these guys at all for taking their own route to avoid any legal troubles. I'm sure they'll do what they can to keep the 'spirit' of it, but I doubt it'll be in exactly the ways you're expecting for the above reasons.



How do you mean "too similar"?  I mean, aren't they all totally different yet extremely similar?  

To make a video game in the spirit of rock and roll isn't really copyrightable to my knowledge.  And also, it was to my understanding they changed all the stuff out of fear with no threats of legal action.  I mean, look at Doom.  The game's music literally and blatantly copied like 20 metal songs and that guy never got in trouble.

And most of the Earthbound references/songs/ideologies were based on British rock, not American.


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## Chibi.Hoshi (Oct 23, 2014)

Amissapanda said:


> ...Hahaha. Just don't go looking in trashcans for trash burgers! XD


Sure lol. I failed that joke so bad.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 23, 2014)

rockthemike13 said:


> How do you mean "too similar"?  I mean, aren't they all totally different yet extremely similar?
> 
> To make a video game in the spirit of rock and roll isn't really copyrightable to my knowledge.  And also, it was to my understanding they changed all the stuff out of fear with no threats of legal action.  I mean, look at Doom.  The game's music literally and blatantly copied like 20 metal songs and that guy never got in trouble.
> 
> And most of the Earthbound references/songs/ideologies were based on British rock, not American.



Too similar in the sense of following their storylines, for instance. And they already said that 



Spoiler



Porky


 will not be included in any way, shape or form. (Thank God.) But you can see for yourself by browsing around their site what to expect from the game. There's even already parts of the soundtrack available to listen to and screenshots to look at. I think it has the spirit of the game in pretty good hands. 

Regardless of what other games have gotten away with, that doesn't necessarily mean that no legal action would be taken if they did use copyrighted music, etc.

I'm well-aware that the Beatles were a huge theme in _EarthBound_. But that didn't stop America from getting their panties in a knot over how one of the themes sounded too similar to _Johnny B. Goode_, and the issue with the Blues Brothers, among other things.


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## mitzelflx (Oct 24, 2014)

I actually heard about this! Have they updated?


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## Alienfish (Oct 24, 2014)

shut up and take my money!


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## Amissapanda (Oct 24, 2014)

mitzelflx said:


> I actually heard about this! Have they updated?



No _official_ update yet, but there are bits and pieces on sites like Twitter. I imagine they're pretty hard at work right now in trying to finish it for the winter release. I'm not gonna worry about it, since they're offering a free game---whether or not they take a little longer with it isn't something I'll complain about. I'd rather have the finished, polished release rather than a rushed one to get it out in time.



Jun said:


> shut up and take my money!



LOL! But it's freeeeeeee! XD Seriously, don't try to give them money. They don't accept donations or anything, since the entire thing is non-profit to avoid any cease and desist that could issued from Nintendo as a result. If you sign up on the page (just input your e-mail), they'll send you a message when the game is released for download!


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## Isabella (Oct 26, 2014)

I've been waiting for this for years. I seriously love the Mother "fandom", the fact that they put their skills into use to create something that's going to be so amazing. If only they were a part of Nintendo...we'd have a 3ds Mother 4!


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## Amissapanda (Oct 26, 2014)

Isabella said:


> I've been waiting for this for years. I seriously love the Mother "fandom", the fact that they put their skills into use to create something that's going to be so amazing. If only they were a part of Nintendo...we'd have a 3ds Mother 4!



I have been, too! It's really amazing what the fandom has been doing for all these years. And it's still going strong after all this time! Quite the accomplishment. It really makes me wish I'd been a bigger part of Starmen.net when I had the chance. I feel like I've missed out on so much over those lost years.

Haha, it would be pretty amazing if they had been able to make it into a 3DS game. I'd like to hope that Nintendo will one day remake _Mother 3_ for 3DS/New 3DS, but I won't get my hopes up.


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## Christopaz (Oct 26, 2014)

I'm a huge EarthBound fan and played it since I was a child, I think I might try to finish Mother 1 and Mother 3 then this next!
Woo! PK!
So are they going to make very vague references? I love those.


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## Amissapanda (Oct 26, 2014)

Christopaz said:


> I'm a huge EarthBound fan and played it since I was a child, I think I might try to finish Mother 1 and Mother 3 then this next!
> Woo! PK!
> So are they going to make very vague references? I love those.



Hehe, same here! It's a childhood favorite of mine and I've loved it ever since. It's the kind of game that has a timeless replay value (at least, it does for me). I haven't played _Mother 1/Mother Zero_ yet, myself, but I will say that _Mother 3_ is absolutely fantastic and if you're a fan of _EarthBound_ or the series in general, do yourself a grand favor and play it! : D

As far as references go, it's hard to say at this point. They have referenced some things in the videos screenshots already, like magic butterflies have returned. But they did mention that... ack, I better not mention that after all, now that I realize that's a _Mother 3_ spoiler, technically. As far as the _plot_ goes, I think they're doing their own thing. It'll probably still have vague references to the past games, if I had to guess, since they are titling it _Mother 4_ and show a Mr. Saturn at the end of the video, have objects that come to life and attack like in basically every Mother game... etc.


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## useyourdrill (Oct 26, 2014)

I've been waiting for this for a long time! I love the MOTHER series so much, and I'm excited to see what the fans can do.


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## TaskBarR (Oct 26, 2014)

THIS LOOKS AMAZING! I can't wait to play it!


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## Amissapanda (Oct 26, 2014)

useyourdrill said:


> I've been waiting for this for a long time! I love the MOTHER series so much, and I'm excited to see what the fans can do.



Oh man, me too! I'm so happy that it's finally going to be coming out soon! It really is amazing what this fandom has done and all the things they've created. I'm continually blown away by the sheer dedication of the _Mother_ fandom.



TaskBarR said:


> THIS LOOKS AMAZING! I can't wait to play it!



It really does! They've got some excellent spriters on the team and I'm really excited for the finished product! Ahhh, it's nearly here---I'm so hyped!


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## Starmanfan (Nov 6, 2014)

omg I can't wait for this game, the mother series is like my 2nd favorite RPG series(behind pokemon)


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## VillagerBoyDreams (Nov 6, 2014)

H-H-H-Hyppppppeeeeeeeeee!
Wooo! I am personally a huge EarthBound/Mother fan, no crying until the ending...
Is there anything furniture-wise EarthBound related in AC:NL?


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## Radda (Nov 6, 2014)

Yes very very much.


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## Geoni (Nov 6, 2014)

I can't wait for this indeed, I've gotten through Mother 2 & 3 and most of Mother 1, and I am a big fan of the series. My only worry is that it won't be as long of a game because of there being less staff on a fanmade project, and of course whether or not the characters will be good/memorable. 

Also my other worry is perspective of the creators. A lot of the quirkiness of the series comes from a stereotyping and sometimes exaggeration of American culture from Japan's perspective and the creators don't exactly have that perspective. They do seem to be keeping this theme though, so maybe they'll pull it off.


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## Amissapanda (Nov 10, 2014)

Sadly, _Mother 4_ has been officially postponed for release until 2015.

Information here: http://blog.mother4game.com/post/102298812329/mother-4-available-in-2015

They give their reasons for delaying the release and as an added perk, in a couple weeks they will announce the _exact day_ it's set to release and coming next month will be a gameplay video! : ) I'm excited for that!

This was just posted a few minutes ago, so I'm letting you guys know as soon as I found out.

Oh! And there's also new content on the site: http://www.mother4game.com/

-System requirements
-New screenshots
-Character clay figure bios
-And more!


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## Amissapanda (Nov 10, 2014)

Oh yeah, they updated their FAQ page, too! 

Someone asked about these earlier, I believe... 

_*Is the rhythm combo system returning in Mother 4?*

Yes. Like Mother 3, you do not need to use it to complete the game.

*Will Porky or Giygas or the preet poot guy be in this game?*

No. The only directly returning characters are Mr. Saturn and a handful of enemies._

So, yes, apparently rhythm battles are returning! Now, if possible, I'm even MORE excited!


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## Geoni (Nov 11, 2014)

I'm glad they're delaying it, spend as much time as you need so it holds up.


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## Goth (Nov 12, 2014)

I'm excited Ness better be in it


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## Amissapanda (Nov 12, 2014)

Dad said:


> I'm glad they're delaying it, spend as much time as you need so it holds up.



I agree. The longer they spend on it, the better it's going to be by release time. I'm glad they're working to make the best they can. : )



GaMERCaT said:


> I'm excited Ness better be in it



I guess you missed my last post. It's in their FAQ:

_"No. The only directly returning characters are Mr. Saturn and a handful of enemies."_


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## mysticmightg (Nov 13, 2014)

I had forgotten about this project for a little while. It looks absolutely incredible! They've put so much work into it.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 3, 2015)

Exciting news, guys!

*The Mother 4 Team is currently answering any and all questions on Reddit! *

Here's the link: http://www.reddit.com/r/mother4/comments/2uo7c8/zane_from_the_mother_4_team_here_im_answering_any/

There's a lot of questions and answers already up if you want to learn more about the game! And there's still time to ask them questions if you have any! (Looks like they're gunning for a June 2015 release.)


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## Captain Crazy Chicken (Feb 4, 2015)

Amissapanda said:


> Exciting news, guys!
> 
> *The Mother 4 Team is currently answering any and all questions on Reddit! *
> 
> ...



JUNE!?

Not too late to put up Christmas decorations.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 4, 2015)

Captain Crazy Chicken said:


> JUNE!?
> 
> Not too late to put up Christmas decorations.



Well, they explained why there were setbacks put in. Apparently they redid some of the features to be even better and run more smoothly, including the entire battle interface. And it's going to have music combos like in _Mother 3_! (Granted, they did say that those are not needed to get through the game.)

Frankly, they can take as much time as they want with it to polish whatever they feel needs to be polished. I would rather have a finished game in June than an unfinished/rushed one now. That's just my opinion, though.


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## booshoe (Feb 5, 2015)

True. Even if this game is not official, I am deeply in love with the mother franchise and the samples they have put up just makes me wanna try it! but I'd rather wait for a long time to have a great game than have rushed games like what square enix is doing


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## Amissapanda (Feb 5, 2015)

booshoe said:


> True. Even if this game is not official, I am deeply in love with the mother franchise and the samples they have put up just makes me wanna try it! but I'd rather wait for a long time to have a great game than have rushed games like what square enix is doing



Yeah, exactly. And the more they polish it, the less likely there will be game-breaking bugs and other extreme problems. June is still only a tentative release, but these guys have been at work for this for years---they know what's best for it more than we do.

That said, someone also made a really interesting post on tumblr with speculating/theorizing that _Mother 4_ is set in the *70's*. It's a really interesting little read/look: http://theearthisleaking.tumblr.com/post/110092413925/theory-m4-takes-place-in

I kind of think they're on to something. XD It would make sense for them to take an iconic decade, since _Mother 2/EarthBound_ was pretty obviously set in the 90's.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 13, 2015)

Booping because there needs to be more _Mother 4_ hype!


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## Hyoshido (Feb 13, 2015)

I'll definitely download it when it's released because hell, it's free.

Otherwise I'm just sitting here waiting for Megaman X: Corrupted :I


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## Amissapanda (Feb 13, 2015)

Hyogo said:


> I'll definitely download it when it's released because hell, it's free.
> 
> Otherwise I'm just sitting here waiting for Megaman X: Corrupted :I



Indeed, free is good. Plus it prevents Nintendo from shutting them down for trying to make a profit, since there is no profit. They won't even accept donations.


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## A-Link (Feb 15, 2015)

Amissapanda said:


> Indeed, free is good. Plus it prevents Nintendo from shutting them down for trying to make a profit, since there is no profit. They won't even accept donations.[/QUOTE
> It won't, because this:
> 1.Nintendo has recently announced the Creative Endorsement program.
> 2.A conversation that went with Itoi himself:
> ...


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## Amissapanda (Feb 15, 2015)

I still hesitate to say solidly that they *won't* get C&D-ed, since Nintendo has been known to cancel many fan projects of that nature, but my hopes are pretty high. And in the event that does happen, as I think I talked about before, the team said they would simply re-name the game and release it as an independent RPG. : ) So they have their bases covered in case of something like that happening.

I've seen that convo with Itoi, too. Man, imagine what an honor it would be for the M4 team if the creator himself played their game! And it's safe to say that from what I've seen on the YouTube comments for the trailer and comments on twitter, the Japanese fans are already trying to find a crew/help to translate _Mother 4_ into Japanese when it comes out.

I'm really excited for its release, though. I've been excited about it for a long time and to see how far it has come is really amazing. I almost can't believe it's getting so close to being finished.


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## A-Link (Feb 16, 2015)

lol yeah. Mother 4 is safe now probably due to Nintendo's endorsement program thing. The Mother 4 team can just claim they're working on the game in participation in this program. The Mother 4 team have also confirmed that they've not reused anything directly from Nintendo's Mother games, and in distress, they would just rename the game to something else (but we would still call it Mother 4).

- - - Post Merge - - -

Lol aha! I just realized I have repeated the exact same thing you said about renaming.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 16, 2015)

A-Link said:


> lol yeah. Mother 4 is safe now probably due to Nintendo's endorsement program thing. The Mother 4 team can just claim they're working on the game in participation in this program. The Mother 4 team have also confirmed that they've not reused anything directly from Nintendo's Mother games, and in distress, they would just rename the game to something else (but we would still call it Mother 4).
> 
> - - - Post Merge - - -
> 
> Lol aha! I just realized I have repeated the exact same thing you said about renaming.



I don't think they're with the endorsement program, though. They have no affiliation with Nintendo at all, according to them. They're releasing _Mother 4_ independently for free download. 

Haha, no worries!


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## Isabella (Feb 18, 2015)

Still waiting for this game D:
they said it'd be out around winter, but eh if it's coming out in June that's still not so bad. I can tell it's going to be an amazing, quality game.
I should replay the series again.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 19, 2015)

Isabella said:


> Still waiting for this game D:
> they said it'd be out around winter, but eh if it's coming out in June that's still not so bad. I can tell it's going to be an amazing, quality game.
> I should replay the series again.



Yeah, that's precisely how I feel about it. Plus, we basically have no right to complain about the release date, since the game is completely for free and we aren't lifting a finger or giving even a penny for it. However long it takes them to reach the level of completion they're happy with, I'm content to wait. The game definitely looks like it's going to be worth the wait. 

And they said the length of the game is comparable to that of _EarthBound_, which is REALLY impressive for a fan-made game. I can't imagine how much they've put into this and it makes me all the more excited.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 24, 2015)

THEY JUST RELEASED A VIDEO OF SOME GAMEPLAY. 

I'M FREAKING OUT SO HARD RIGHT NOW. I can't even coherently say everything I like about what they showed at the moment. I'll just drop the video here:






/incoherent SCREECHING

They also said a new trailer will be coming out in the near future, too!


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## Amissapanda (Feb 24, 2015)

Okay, now that I’ve calmed down a bit, I want to gush about all the cool things I saw (and am excited about) in the Mother 4 Gameplay Trailer video.

    --This is the first time they give an option in Mother game to stay in a hotel just until nighttime. And that makes me wonder if there’s going to be some important ‘night only’ features in the game, and for plot points/progressing. Interesting!

   --Leo’s bike is an awesome upgrade from the regular bicycle transportation in EarthBound. Such smooth animation, too. 

    --There’s a sign for a laundromat in the town they show Leo in, too. I doubt it’s an actual place to go and wash your clothes or anything (and may not even be accessible to go into), but it’s interesting!

    --Rhythm combos look amazing! I like the spinning star animation for them. And we get brief glimpses into more of the music (which is honestly making me buy more into the 70’s setting theory)!

    --Communicating with animals returns! (At least, with dogs.)

    --We know that Travis has an older brother named Zack. But the stray dog asks if he, too, is a “stray”. This could either be because Travis was traveling alone, or is a nod to him and his brother being without parents?

    --Floyd’s abilities, from what we’ve seen of screenshots and this are making me really excited to try him out in battle. He can bribe enemies, chat with them, and I wonder if there will be anything else…? Also, I wonder how this affects the battles, too.

    --I completely cracked up at the “be a drag” part. I wonder if Floyd has fainted (or some other status ailment similar) at that point or if he’s dead and they decided to forgo the angel sprites (from EarthBound) and eyes-closed (from Mother 3).

    --I love the GROOVY addition! Getting a second turn out of thin air looks really handy to have in battle. And given their meters fill up during each attach/PSI move, you can probably do some interesting strategies in battle if you time them right.

    --Was that building meant to be like a “White House” of Pleiades?

    --A vitamin that induces Smash attacks into each hit of a combo? Holy heck, that’s like a Sudden Guts Pill on steroids!

    --Definitely got a spooky vibe from the stargazing bit. I wonder if that’s near the start of the game, considering that both Ness and Lucas also started off their games in their pajamas? (And as a side-note, Travis’s jammies are adorable.)

    --I LOVE how they’re incorporating (what I assume is to be a baseball bat weapon) returning an attack back to an enemy (probably by low % chance)! What an extremely cool concept.

    --The Modern Mind has a really cool design. Is this to be what we’re expecting from the “Modern Men” mentioned on their official page? Stellar.

    --The level-up jingles make my LIFE. They seem to have changed Floyd’s from his original drum-beat, but honestly, all of them harmonizing together sounds amazing. I’m going to be guilty of letting that continue at the end to listen to for awhile before finishing the battle.

In short, I’m so extremely aboard the hype train and June can’t possibly come fast enough. I’m going to drop everything to Let’s Play this as soon as it’s released.


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## ShinyYoshi (Feb 24, 2015)

Wow, the gameplay looks freaking awesome. 

I legit freaked out for a second at the stargazing part because where it was and the music made me think he was back in Onett, then he turned and got on the bridge and confirmed he was, in fact, not in Onett. 

Overall, the game looks amazing. I'm extremely impressed with how well the fans did for Mother 4!


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## Chibi.Hoshi (Feb 24, 2015)

"Be a drag" lol.

One word.
Hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype!


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## Amissapanda (Feb 24, 2015)

ShinyYoshi said:


> Wow, the gameplay looks freaking awesome.
> 
> I legit freaked out for a second at the stargazing part because where it was and the music made me think he was back in Onett, then he turned and got on the bridge and confirmed he was, in fact, not in Onett.
> 
> Overall, the game looks amazing. I'm extremely impressed with how well the fans did for Mother 4!



I knoooooow. I can't get over how smooth and professional it looks. It's all much cleaner and more refined than I originally expected. If the gameplay really does end up being that smooth, I'm going to go into shock. Hahaha. But I guess it makes sense, since they've been working on this for years and now they're delaying the release to polish it. 

I can't get over how many things they've done to keep the charm of the Mother series and yet be completely fresh. The music has some familiar tunes, but a lot of it is brand new and keeps the sort of "tone" I associate with the Mother series. Like, in the star-gazing segment, you totally get that same creepy feeling like from the beginning of EarthBound. And the battle tunes are catchy as heck. I can't wait to combo to them!

Overall, this was way more than I expected and it's been worth the wait. I've literally been hyped about this all day and the hype just isn't dying. This team knows what they're doing and they have given us some fantastic sneak peeks of what's to come. I seriously cannot _wait_.



Chibi.Hoshi said:


> "Be a drag" lol.
> 
> One word.
> Hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype!



That part cracked me up. Hahaha. You literally drag fallen party members behind you, apparently. I bet it looks extra funny when you have more people in your party (and more who are dead/fainted). 

That right there is pretty much my word of the day. This gameplay trailer has been everything I could have hoped for and more. _Everything_.


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## Chibi.Hoshi (Feb 24, 2015)

Amissapanda said:


> That part cracked me up. Hahaha. You literally drag fallen party members behind you, apparently. I bet it looks extra funny when you have more people in your party (and more who are dead/fainted).
> 
> That right there is pretty much my word of the day. This gameplay trailer has been everything I could have hoped for and more. _Everything_.


I guess no more fallen angels. But man I love this haha, yes yes! Along with the rest of the changes!

Ditto! I'm so excited for June!


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## toxapex (Feb 25, 2015)

I am so psyched for this game omg

Whenever the hype starts to fade they do something like this

Ahhhhhhh


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## Amissapanda (Feb 25, 2015)

tokayseye said:


> I am so psyched for this game omg
> 
> Whenever the hype starts to fade they do something like this
> 
> Ahhhhhhh



I hear you 100%! I'm really curious about the setting, too. All signs so far point to it taking place in the 70's. An iconic decade, but one I didn't live through, so I honestly don't know much about it. Should be super interesting to see how it factors in!

I admit my hype for the game hasn't even really died, since I can only imagine how much they're putting into this and doing it all for not even a scrap of profit whatsoever. But now that they ARE releasing more and it surpasses basically everything I could have imagined, I'm feeling impatient for June to arrive. Hahaha.

I'm so ready for this game. I wonder if Shigesato Itoi himself might play it if it's translated into Japanese (which looks like it may be, from the Japanese hype I've seen in the mother4 tag on twitter). Imagine what an honor that would be for the team!


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## Amissapanda (Feb 25, 2015)

Bumping this because I'm still so incredibly _hyped_.

This is a thing that is really happening. 

And on a note of interest, I noticed when browsing the #mother4 tag on twitter today, it's FLOODED TO THE BRIM with Japanese posts. Apparently word of the new trailer is exploding in Japan and I'm guessing they're likely going to be translating it into their language once it's released. After all, the Mother 4 team stated that they're making it easy to translate Mother 4 into other languages. 

_This hype is so real that it's reaching across the globe_.


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## ShinyYoshi (Feb 25, 2015)

Amissapanda said:


> And on a note of interest, I noticed when browsing the #mother4 tag on twitter today, it's FLOODED TO THE BRIM with Japanese posts. Apparently word of the new trailer is exploding in Japan and I'm guessing they're likely going to be translating it into their language once it's released. After all, the Mother 4 team stated that they're making it easy to translate Mother 4 into other languages.



I'm actually surprised Mother 4 wasn't started by Japanese fans. I figured we would have to have someone translate a Japanese Mother 4 for us like we did with Mother 3. That's pretty sweet that Japanese fans are going to want a Japanese translation of the new game!


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## infinikitten (Feb 25, 2015)

I still haven't even played the first one. I'm suitably ashamed.

Wish I could get in on this excitement T_T


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## Amissapanda (Feb 25, 2015)

ShinyYoshi said:


> I'm actually surprised Mother 4 wasn't started by Japanese fans. I figured we would have to have someone translate a Japanese Mother 4 for us like we did with Mother 3. That's pretty sweet that Japanese fans are going to want a Japanese translation of the new game!



Haha, yeah. Usually they're making the stuff and we're having to get it translated. Kind of funny for it to be turned around. But that was pretty awesome of them to include the tools for easy translation.



infinikitten said:


> I still haven't even played the first one. I'm suitably ashamed.
> 
> Wish I could get in on this excitement T_T



You have time! _Mother 4_'s potential release date is in June at some point!


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## Silversea (Feb 25, 2015)

I've never played any game in the series but it looks really cool and well done so far. Shall keep an eye on it.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 25, 2015)

Silversea said:


> I've never played any game in the series but it looks really cool and well done so far. Shall keep an eye on it.



It really does look amazing. I was already impressed by the first trailer, but now I'm legit blown away, because this is a fan-game. And it's near completion. _And it looks like it came right out of the series itself_.




Also, this was just confirmed, apparently:

The game *DOES* take place in the 70's in vintage America! Specifically, they're using the EarthBound approach with the date. It takes place in the year *197X*. 

So apparently all those little hints with things like Columbo, Pink Floyd, Groovy, Far out, etc, were right on the money!


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## Amissapanda (Feb 26, 2015)

A lovely boop for the snazziest fangame of the year.


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## toastia (Feb 27, 2015)

boop for the deepest games ever


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## Amissapanda (Feb 27, 2015)

toastia said:


> boop for the deepest games ever



They are the best. <3


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## Silversea (Feb 28, 2015)

Well one thing I do know is that it must take a lot to replicate such a unique game, and make it feel like a sequel. Kudos to the team working on it. It really does look like it could have been an official sequel.


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## Amissapanda (Feb 28, 2015)

Silversea said:


> Well one thing I do know is that it must take a lot to replicate such a unique game, and make it feel like a sequel. Kudos to the team working on it. It really does look like it could have been an official sequel.



Yeah, I feel the same. We've seen very little of it and yet the music has a very similar feel to it, there's obvious humor involved (chatting up enemies IN battle? and dragging dead/fallen partners around), the style of art is like it has been polished with new coats of paint (and unique enemies that feel very Mother-series-like), and even Japanese people on twitter and in their own articles have been saying it feels and looks almost like it could be the real thing. High praise to the team, indeed.


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## diogocrossing (Mar 1, 2015)

h y p 3
i really can't wait to play this, the biggest of kudos to the guys behind it because mother 2 & 3 basically wrecked me in ways and i can't wait for mother 4 to wreck me as well
_i hope itoi senpai acknowledges m4 as a trve sequel 2k15_


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## Amissapanda (Mar 3, 2015)

diogocrossing said:


> h y p 3
> i really can't wait to play this, the biggest of kudos to the guys behind it because mother 2 & 3 basically wrecked me in ways and i can't wait for mother 4 to wreck me as well
> _i hope itoi senpai acknowledges m4 as a trve sequel 2k15_



Same! Man, it's been about a week since the trailer came out now and I'm still so extremely hyped for it! I was similarly destroyed by Mother 2 and _especially_ Mother 3 and even just through the bits we've seen, I get the same sort of feel from the game's design, music, and general appeal. It really FEELS like a true Mother game.

Hehe, did you know that Itoi has tweeted about it before and even said that he loves the soundtrack? : ) That must be an awesome feeling for the creators of the game to be receiving praise from the head honcho, himself.


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## Amissapanda (Mar 3, 2015)

Hey guys! The Mother 4 Team is answering a lot of questions over on Reddit!

Here: http://www.reddit.com/r/mother4/comments/2xskl4/zane_from_mother_4_here_ill_be_answering_the_most/

You can learn a bit more about some questions you may have had about the game and its mechanics, yourself. : ) They're interesting to read and give a little more insight about the game and what's to come!


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## Yuni (Mar 9, 2015)

I know this is a Mother 4 thread but....  _MOTHER / Earthbound Zero soundtrack on vinyl ... probably. To be funded on kickstarter._

I got really excited until they mentioned that they'll only be shipping to North America and Europe.


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## Amissapanda (Mar 10, 2015)

Yuni said:


> I know this is a Mother 4 thread but....  _MOTHER / Earthbound Zero soundtrack on vinyl ... probably. To be funded on kickstarter._
> 
> I got really excited until they mentioned that they'll only be shipping to North America and Europe.



Ooohhh! Awesome! : ) Thanks for sharing!


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## toxapex (Mar 10, 2015)

I saw somewhere that people have been noting resemblences between the modern mind and the movie poster for "The Thing". 









Also, those enemies that Travis and co. are seen running from seem to bear some resemblence to the pump chimera ("Mr. Pump") from Mother 3. Likely no actual relation, but just something I noticed. Maybe it's just the snout.


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## Amissapanda (Mar 13, 2015)

tokayseye said:


> I saw somewhere that people have been noting resemblences between the modern mind and the movie poster for "The Thing".
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ohh, yeah. I didn't make the connection myself, but I did see someone make "The Thing" and the Modern Mind comparison on tumblr awhile back. I can't make out the text on movie poster very well, but I was trying to see if it was a 70's movie. I think it says 80's, but I can't quite tell. 

And that's interesting about the Mr. Pump chimera from _Mother 3_, too. If nothing else, they might have been inspired from it. The Melty Robot also kind of reminds me of the Clumsy Robot from _EarthBound/Mother 2_. My guess is that they've probably just taken a ton of inspiration from the other Mother games, which makes complete sense.


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## toxapex (Mar 14, 2015)

Amissapanda said:


> Ohh, yeah. I didn't make the connection myself, but I did see someone make "The Thing" and the Modern Mind comparison on tumblr awhile back. I can't make out the text on movie poster very well, but I was trying to see if it was a 70's movie. I think it says 80's, but I can't quite tell.
> 
> And that's interesting about the Mr. Pump chimera from _Mother 3_, too. If nothing else, they might have been inspired from it. The Melty Robot also kind of reminds me of the Clumsy Robot from _EarthBound/Mother 2_. My guess is that they've probably just taken a ton of inspiration from the other Mother games, which makes complete sense.



Yeah, I can see that clumsy robot comparison now, too! I totally didn't forget that enemy existed nope Also, I really like the music that plays during the melty robot fight in the gameplay video! It kinda reminds me of K.K. Flamenco, but moreso in the style of the music rather than in the melody itself.


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## toxapex (May 7, 2015)

They released two more songs on soundcloud like half a month ago and nobody told me


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## Geoni (May 7, 2015)

I dig the modern mind and the fact that they're taking the time to put this thing out so that it's higher quality. But I'm not sure I'll be able to like the characters if Meryl is just another Ana/Paula with carbon copy personalities. And Leo just looks like a copy of Teddy. Makes me wonder if they should have taken more notes from Mother 3.


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## toxapex (May 25, 2015)

Dad said:


> I dig the modern mind and the fact that they're taking the time to put this thing out so that it's higher quality. But I'm not sure I'll be able to like the characters if Meryl is just another Ana/Paula with carbon copy personalities. And Leo just looks like a copy of Teddy. Makes me wonder if they should have taken more notes from Mother 3.



I'm unsure of their intentions, to be honest. They could be basing the characters off of the past formula for the sake of "If it isn't broken, don't fix it", or just nostalgia. But at the same time they could throw a curve ball and make these characters much more distinct and deep than we would expect. It's hard to tell at this point, but I think fleshing out the characters would be a good choice.


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