Nadia's recent post got me thinking (and sniffling) about a game I've been playing--and a game I hope you're not sick of hearing about yet--Mother 3. The Japanese advertising campaign for Mother 3 declared the long-awaited sequel to be "strange, funny, and heartrending." While I haven't exactly been shedding tears over Mother 3, I can at least say that it's remarkably sad; and shockingly, scenario writer Shigesato Itoi has made his game "heartrending" in a completely sincere way. Forget about melodramatic depictions of flower girls being impaled; the tiny sprites of Mother 3 have been able to convey more emotion than any other game in recent memory.
Spoilers for Chapters 1-3 coming up. This Japanese Mother 3 commercial should provide a nice buffer:
The introduction to Mother 3 presents a pristine, small town where everyone knows your name; and if you've ever played an RPG, then you can probably guess that Tazmilly village will soon be destroyed--hey, it's the oldest of RPG cliches. But the destruction--so far, at least--hasn't been physical (well, for the most part); rather, the story of Mother 3 depicts the chipping away of a peaceful, communist ideology by materialist, capitalist, and hawkish antagonists. As the game progresses, a constant sense of quiet, inescapable dread accompanies the narrative of a naive town slowly losing its innocence.
So far, there haven't been any "Get ready to cry! And...NOW." moments because, despite its cutesy, quirky look, Mother 3 is remarkably mature for a Japanese RPG. Consider your playable characters: the first time you really get to dig into game, you're thrown into the shoes of a blue-collar dad who has to cope with the sudden death of his wife--and his reaction to the news, conveyed only in simple sprite art, is stunning. And the second chapter's star is far from being the RPG staple of a sexy teen with an ambiguous gender; instead, you play a balding loser with a heart of gold, bad breath, and a slight limp.
As for chapter 3, what I've experienced so far has been the world through the eyes of a captive, abused monkey. As much as the word is thrown around these days, Mother 3 is truly unique--and I doubt we'll see such an unconventional video game narrative in quite some time. Now more than ever I understand why Nintendo was so hesitant to bring the game out here; I'm still not happy about it, but I do understand.
Related Links:
When Video Games Make Us Sniffle
What I'm Playing This Weekend: Mother 3. Doi.
THE MOTHER 3 TRANSLATION IS OUT
Note: In your comments, please make it clear if you're going to talk about anything after the beginning of chapter 3. I don't want anything to be spoiled!