~Fun with Mother 3 - Might want to rethink your five dollar security budget
Man people on the GTS are way more generous than I was expecting. I just asked for a Woobat for one of my extra dream ability Pokemon, and a Japanese trainer sent me back a female one with her dream ability! :o You can't even get Woobat in the Dream World, you have to find it in the hidden grottos in BW2, so it's like dang. THIS IS A WAY BETTER TRADE THAN I WAS EXPECTING
I like attaching mail to the ones I'm trading off though, haha. I wonder how many people read it? I also got a dream world Blitzle for another trade which is pretty cool. :O I wonder if people are just more generous when what you're asking for is reasonable? Not the dozens of Level 5 Reshirams or whatever.
Thinking about raising a Skill Link Cincinno and a Tail Glow Prankster Volbeat for the heck of it. WHY NOT TRY SOMETHING NEW
Maybe I can actually set up a solid enough team to get somewhere in the Battle Subways. I tried to do it a bunch of times in Diamond and Pearl but I'd always end up getting walled by the leader's Milotic like ONE battle from the 20 you need to finish to get the points and it's like uuugh.
I could've sworn I had a Nasty Plot/Heat Wave Chatot raised but apparently not? This is very odd. Eh, it won't be too hard to breed a new one anyway.
BUT HEY LET'S GET BACK TO MOTHER 3! In the last entry the open highway yawned before us before I was an idiot and blew up my transportation. WHAT LIES AHEAD?
Previous editions
So I reloaded to an earlier save and it occurred to me that this might be a good time to check out a secret feature I totally forgot about until I was flipping through the guide. Originally, the Japanese team planned to have a sort of memo function in Mother 3 that'd keep track of various things that happen, but in the end they scrapped it. They left a bunch of it in the code though. The english patchers though it was pretty neat, so they put it back in! To get a frog near the end of the game to tell you how to get to it, you need to get every enemy in the game in your battle memory. Or you can just hold L and R while selecting the Status screen SHH.
.png)
A lot of these are pretty straightforward, so I tried to grab the ones that were kind of interesting.
.png)
.png)
This makes it sound like more was going on then amnesiac rock bands. IS THERE A DARK SECRET IN WAIT?
.png)
.png)
YOU GUYS ARE SO LAZY
.png)
.png)
.png)
Since the memo system was left over from early in development, a lot of stuff talked about in here never actually came to pass. For example, at some point I guess you could collect acorns and use them as currency? In the end they just made everything free, haha.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Haha this is such a great mental image
.png)
.png)
.png)
MAGIC!
.png)
.png)
BUT WHAT DO THEY DO
.png)
.png)
Deeply important characters.
.png)
.png)
This one's interesting since it mentions transportation. You may remember PSI Teleport from EarthBound, but I'll just say it right now, you never get an equivalent power in Mother 3. Mostly because unlike EB, Mother 3 really relies on certain places being off-limits depending on certain times in the game, and being able to teleport would sequence break the heck out of a ton of stuff. It's also a smaller game in scope than EB in a lot of ways (not that that's a bad thing), so it doesn't feel as necessary I think.
.png)
.png)
.png)
AND WES SMASHED IT TO BITS
.png)
.png)
.png)
Here we go, this is a really interesting dropped mechanic. You've probably noticed the "felt something warm in your heart" lines every now and then. I forget if I mentioned this before, but at one point, there was a planned "kindness" stat for everyone. When you got those "warm in your heart" lines, that would mean that the stat had gone up, and certain things in the game might change depending on how high or low it was. In the end, this got dropped, but remnants are still around in the game. I think the higher your kindness, the more HP you can recover with PK Lifeup for one (it's only by increments of one or two though, it's not a big deal). Normally, when you go up a level, kindness is always set to go up by 0, so you never see it mentioned on your level up screen, although through various hacking trickery you can get the kindness stat to appear by going over level 100 and other such things.
There are other tantalizing hints that the kindness stat may have even changed the ending of the game, but we may never know for sure. However, if I remember right, at the end of Chapter 1, Flint's kindness is always at 0, which I think is interesting.
I really love this idea, it's too bad it never made it in, haha. I just like the idea of a stat for something you wouldn't expect. It's very Mother.
.png)
.png)
BUT THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN
.png)
.png)
I forget what I was doing but I ended up on this Mother wiki, and there was a really incoherent note about Rope Snake where it said Rope Snake could maybe bring a party member back to life via a short cutscene if used??? And some weird nonsense about party members. It was really weirdly written and hard to understand, but I quickly went and checked and you can't use Rope Snake in or out of battle unless it's to cross gaps. But maybe it CAN happen and I've just never seen it. I AM SKEPTICAL THOUGH.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Nonsense.
.png)
.png)
You know it's weird, Wes talked about hanging out with King Osohe all the time back there but for some reason I never really pictured him working for him. More like they hung out and played cards or something. IN RETROSPECT THAT IS KIND OF GOOFY
Heh, reminds me of that Samurai Fiction movie where that guy had a really old ninja servant that was always a little tottery on his landings since he was so old. Adorable.
.png)
.png)
.png)
So it's not just combos! Even more annoying than I thought, haha.
.png)
.png)
do not slap the butterfly out of the air
.png)
.png)
Sorcerors what
Forest what, some of them live all over the place
.png)
COVER CHARGE FOR WHAT
THIS ENTRY IS VERY CONFUSING
Just beta versions of them I suppose
.png)
.png)
Mmm, pork sausage.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
BUT THEN HOW DID HIS LADDER BREAK LAST TIME
did someone break it on purpose
.png)
.png)
.png)
Poor Dragos.
.png)
.png)
SMAAAAAAAASH
.png)
.png)
.png)
OH TUTORIOLE
.png)
.png)
Ooooh okay, I guess I can see how that might come in handy. Though there are save frogs like EVERYWHERE in this game.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Haha, a really beta version note here. Related to the kindness stat above, I think there were plans to have a dude in the item guy's cart that would heal you depending on how high your kindness was. But then there are so many hot springs and such around that it seemed kinda redundant/pointless, so it got dropped.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
AND I TOTALLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS until reading the guide again, haha. SO LEARNING WHAT'S HERE WILL BE A NEW DISCOVERY FOR BOTH OF US
.png)
.png)
I APPRECIATE IT, DESIGNERS
.png)
.png)
.png)
Will the talking wind come back? Who can say
.png)
.png)
Heh, brain fart.
.png)
Also if you try to leave the factory after the garbage truck leaves, those two dopes from Salsa's chapter have blocked the path, haha.
.png)
Weirdly, I think this healed it.
.png)
Haha I missed the lead up to this, but I had to fight the Trooper again and he punched Duster so hard that he forgot how to use his thief tools. DANG.
.png)
SCRAPPED ROBOT GET IT TOGETHER
At this point I also took a brief detour into another game to check something.
.png)
The DCMC posters are gone!
.png)
Everyone in Club Titiboo is gone. :o
.png)
haha
.png)
This is such a random detail. YOU CAN'T PICK IT UP OR ANYTHING
IT'S JUST THERE
.png)
You can't go back up to the attic either, though the slugs are still around.
.png)
.png)
We're in cahoots now, narrator, cahoots!
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Narrator, focus!
.png)
JUST AS THE WARNINGS FORETOLD
.png)
Meanwhile, time to find the missing mice!
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
The little mouse sprites are so adorable.
.png)
.png)
I SAW A BOY SLIP ON A BANANA PEEL, IT WAS TERRIBLE
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Dream big, kid.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Let's take a brief break from mouse hunting
.png)
OOPS
.png)
Hahaha
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Man whatevs I'm outta here
.png)
Did it right this time.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Lucas looking after the mouse wistfully.
.png)
A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER COLLAR FOR MY DAISY
.png)
paint my muscle car PRUNE colored please
.png)
i want a ticket to anywhere
maybe we make a deal
.png)
.png)
HOT DOGS
WHITE DRESSES
what could go wrong
.png)
Mmm, cup noodle
.png)
LET'S CHECK OUT THE P CAFE
.png)
.png)
Looks homey.
The theme here is Parking Area: Dur-T Cafe and boy it's weird. A whole bunch of odd distorted vibrato.
.png)
.png)
NECKBEARD DON'T CARE
.png)
.png)
Hahahaha
.png)
.png)
.png)
YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS TABLE, BUDDY?
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
This is another one of those weird Mother 3 things. There are five different songs this jukebox can play and they're all full-length, detailed songs usually lasting around two minutes. And there's no point to any of them, you don't get anything for hearing them, they're just here in case you want to listen to them. DETAILS
I THINK which one that plays depends on the last person you talked to before putting your money but I didn't experiment with it enough, though I should have.
White is the owner's recommendation, sort of christmas-y and happy with some sleighbells.
Fairies is Neckbeard's recommendation, just sort of light and a bit silly, definitely not what you'd expect, haha.
Resolve is Gumchewing Guy's recommendation, and it's just sort of slow and ominous, some neat reverb. Pretty cool.
Blessing is Skinhead's recommendation, lot of dramatic pauses, though it interestingly then goes into a steel drum bit.
Adolescence is the Toilet Cow's theme (more on them in a sec) and it's a lot of fun, a great beat and some fun guitar. Sort of reminds me a little of Onett.
.png)
.png)
.png)
LAZINESS SAVES THE DAY
.png)
.png)
FINALLY HOME
.png)
.png)
.png)
Fine fine
.png)
HURRY UP
.png)
.png)
.png)
Man I could go for ramen.
.png)
There you are, toilet cow!
.png)
.png)
IT BETTER BE AMAZING IN THERE
.png)
In case you missed the first one
.png)
PRESENTS, PRESENTS
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
CMON LEOLEO BE COOL
.png)
.png)
YOU'RE NOT A PROTAGONIST
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
LEOLEO YOU'RE KILLING ME HERE
.png)
.png)
.png)
But first
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
WHAT
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
BUT WHAT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING BETTER IN A DIFFERENT ONE
actually they're all the same, don't worry
.png)
Lookin good, Leoleo.
The sweater's defense stats aren't great, but the auto-regen can come in handy sometimes. It can definitely save you from KOs at least.
.png)
.png)
ALREADY ON IT
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
AW YEAH
.png)
+1 kindness
.png)
This thing is super handy like you wouldn't believe. Best to give it to Boney so he can snag the shield away the first round and let the rest of your team pummel it up.
Sidenote: there are rare enemies that I mentioned before that can be REALLY annoying to find (I've only seen like a few of them), and one of them is on the highway and it's called the Dazzling Smile, and the first time I was doing this I ACTUALLY SAW IT but then I hit it with the Pork Bean like an idiot and killed it. ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH
.png)
plop
.png)
.png)
This is another cute detail, but if you look, when Duster talks he tends to hold one of his hands out, and when Kumatora talks she usually has her hand on her hip or taps her foot, and they both still do those same things in disguise. SO ADORABLE.
.png)
FIRST I BETTER LOOK AT THIS SIGN
.png)
.png)
Okay now let's go
.png)
.png)
.png)
Lookin good buddy
The Forlorn Junk Heap's theme is Carol of Waste/Wasteful Anthem, though you probably know its tricky variant Smashing Song of Praise better. It was in Brawl where it was combined with Unfounded Revenge to great effect, hehe.
.png)
.png)
BAM, INSTANTLY USEFUL
.png)
.png)
.png)
Oh you're one of THOSE bosses
.png)
CAN STILL COMBO LIKE A PRO I love that my favorite songs in this are always ones I can combo really well, haha. Except Smashing Song of Praise's stupid fiddly bits that mess up the beat. CURSE YOU TRICKY VARIANTS
.png)
Don't seem so forlorn to me.
.png)
BAM
Oh basically just spam offense down, offense up, defense down, and the like. You might also be able to make it cry, I forget.
.png)
.png)
Wow and it's still intact and everything, I seriously was expecting something terrible at this point.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Slow realization to full-blown joy SO ADORABLE
(the happiest we've ever seen duster i think)
I once had this terrible nightmare where I had amnesia for like 14 years and I ended up having these emotional breakdowns over being unable to remember my life so I can imagine how relieved Duster is to finally remember, haha.
I like picturing a lot of tearful group hugs here because I'm a dork.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Awwwww
as she noogies him relentlessly
.png)
or your dad will KILL you
.png)
Boney's got this all figured out.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
but why what
.png)
.png)
EXTREME DRIFT
i actually checked the sign but forgot to come down here and check this area first before fighting the junk heap NOOOOO
.png)
.png)
why what's happening
.png)
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, JOE
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Can't argue with that!
.png)
.png)
.png)
what since when
i thought it just had a bunch of secrets in it
SO MYSTERIOUS, HUMMINGBIRD EGG
.png)
.png)
.png)
The beavers here are pretty friendly
.png)
Naming guy was on break.
.png)
UGH YOU GUYS SUCK
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Got my eye on you buddy
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
When I think electricity I usually think of eels, but whatever
.png)
NOOOOOOOO
.png)
Boney you wear this cow hat immediately
.png)
HELP ME
.png)
HIYAH
.png)
.png)
Oh there we go, like Shield but it reflects damage back. Can come in handy sometimes.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
WHAT NO
.png)
arrrrrrghhh
.png)
AAAAAGH
This is actually an entirely different battle, I wasn't watching my HP like an idiot and before I knew it THE SPIRAL HAD BEGUN
DUSTER I'M COUNTING ON YOU AND YOUR FANCY SHOES
GET ME OUT OF THIS
.png)
.png)
.png)
I love you Duster. Although I did end up eating like all the food in his inventory in the process. A SMALL PRICE TO PAY
.png)
Saddest party members. It's a little hard to tell but Kumatora's mask is pointing down as well.
.png)
I thought he was here already?
.png)
walks right into a post
.png)
.png)
Ended up using like all my secret herbs, bah.
.png)
.png)
.png)
EVERYONE LOVES DOGS
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Stanley Milgram would be proud.
.png)
.png)
BETTER GO UP THERE IMMEDIATELY
.png)
.png)
.png)
Haha this guy actually fooled me for a sec.
.png)
.png)
Indeed.
.png)
.png)
.png)
SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING I SHOULD INVESTIGATE
.png)
.png)
so many things in this place that could apply to
.png)
.png)
KABLOOIE
Why DID i get brought here?
.png)
I actually didn't tell it to do this, it did it on its own. :o
.png)
.png)
ARGH NO
.png)
NO YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HEAL YOURSELF
Haha it's a great mental image though. HERE BONEY @_@
and boney just like YES FOOD I'LL EAT IT I DON'T CARE nom nom
.png)
.png)
.png)
Hey, isn't that Jeff's?
.png)
.png)
.png)
Heh, kilozap.
.png)
.png)
It's hard to see here, but one of them is dancing and the other one's patting his butt.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
ho hum :|
.png)
Meanwhile upstairs
.png)
.png)
.png)
Duster you got a big head, honey
.png)
.png)
Man Duster even looks sort of sad on the poster WAS THAT REALLY THE BEST SHOT YOU GUYS COULD GET?
sad or walleyed
.png)
sup
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
REMAAAATCH
.png)
.png)
.png)
GIVE ME THAT PAMPHLET, DOG
Actually this was just me being an idiot, for some reason even though you can use the pamphlet as many times as you want, when it wore off I'd just forget to use it again. DURRR.
.png)
.png)
I forget what this did, offense up?
.png)
No problem.
.png)
.png)
.png)
ARGH IT'S YOU wait what
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
HAVE TO CATCH US FIRST
.png)
.png)
I've been pretty good at it so far, honestly.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Haha aww.
.png)
There are four of these in all I think.
.png)
Man these guys are all over this part of the tower, bah.
.png)
.png)
DELICIOUS
.png)
Anyway in the middle of all the scaffolding there's a room and... what??
His Playroom plays in here, sort of weird and tinkly and I guess kind of childish?
.png)
.png)
.png)
So close that time guys.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
A TEDDY BEAR FROM EARTHBOUND! :D Only 178 bucks.
.png)
I'm so charmed by this tiny message. I don't know why.
.png)
.png)
.png)
And there are two songs the jukebox will play! Namely...
His Memory 2S which is the SHOP THEME FROM EARTHBOUND OMG
His Memory 2H which is the HOTEL THEME FROM EARTHBOUND
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
This totally blew my mind the first time I was playing, haha. I WAS SO PSYCHED TO HEAR THOSE THEMES AGAIN
(but what are they doing here?)
.png)
TAKE IT INTO THE DEEP DARKNESS AT THE VERY END OF THE GAME FOR A SURPRISE!
.png)
A coffin from the pyramid! There is so much EB stuff in here, how odd.
.png)
And a magic butterfly in a box!
.png)
Balloon cars. It'll be big.
.png)
.png)
Sidenote about this frog: apparently saving with it can sometimes get your characters stuck in the wall permanently. D: SO BE CAREFUL
.png)
.png)
Going up a thunder tower, might was well get some cloaks.
.png)
What's in this present AAAGH
.png)
AAAGH
.png)
Mechanical really
.png)
.png)
.png)
Not as tough as I thought it would be, who knew.
.png)
.png)
.png)
UH OH
Marshmallow's theme is MROB-6720M which has a great swooshy leadin and a pretty steady beat, which is handy.
.png)
.png)
HOW DARE YOU SNIFF ME
it wasn't me it was the dog! OW
.png)
I WASN'T EVEN
.png)
.png)
Offense down does NOT help with this tea spill, so you need to be careful. :o
.png)
.png)
AGH JESUS
.png)
There we go. This can be tough if you don't know what you're doing, but as always, debuff the enemy and buff your own team.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Now I feel sorta bad.
.png)
.png)
WORTH MURDERING A ROBOT? PERHAPS
.png)
.png)
yessss
.png)
.png)
Happy to see you!
.png)
.png)
.png)
WOOPS
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Duster and Kumatora will keep fretting until you move, haha.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
yessss glad i loafed around and waited for this to show up NOW I CAN CAST IT ON EVERYONE AT ONCE
.png)
Eh, could come in handy.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
:o
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Raaaa
.png)
.png)
.png)
OW
The rubber capes come in REAL handy here.
Genetor's theme is GENE163-1425 and it's the same as Marshmallow's except with some annoying tricky stops to mess up your combos. CURSE YOU GENETOR
.png)
Also you can't attack while he's up like this or you'll get zapped. SO DEBUFF AND BUFF FOR YOUR LIFE
.png)
.png)
.png)
Now we're talking HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT
.png)
.png)
Ugh darn it
.png)
.png)
.png)
Enough damage will get you here, and then it's one easy jump to
.png)
.png)
BAM
.png)
.png)
I'M NOT GRINDING AT ALL this is going to come back and haunt me i'm sure of it
.png)
.png)
.png)
IF YOU PLEASE
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
HA HA, SUCKER!!
.png)
.png)
What an odd thing to say.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
That's a lie and you know it.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
I didn't intend to do that but hey, bonus! TAZMILY IS SAVED!!
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
RAINING CINEMATIC PAYOFF
.png)
Hey boss i got the ladder and uh oh
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
This dangling sprite is so adorable you guys, I swear.
.png)
Those clothes look familiar!
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
I like that Duster mentioned Boney too, BONEY IS PART OF THE TEAM
.png)
:o
.png)
.png)
Man with this game these never turn out well.
.png)
DON'T MENTION IT BUDDY
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
ROPE SNAKE NO, HANG IN THERE
.png)
NOOOOOOOOooooooo
.png)
what was that about, who were those people
.png)
HIGHWAYS, THE FIENDS
The Chapter End theme this time being Aria of Unease, sort of forlorn I think.
.png)
I LIKE THOSE ODDS!
.png)
DUSTER BETTER NOT DISAPPEAR, I JUST GOT HIM BACK
.png)
.png)
OH MAN I BET IT'S GOING TO BE INTENSE
I also posted this at dreamwidth with reluctant ambivalence. Comment here or there, don't matter to me!
I like attaching mail to the ones I'm trading off though, haha. I wonder how many people read it? I also got a dream world Blitzle for another trade which is pretty cool. :O I wonder if people are just more generous when what you're asking for is reasonable? Not the dozens of Level 5 Reshirams or whatever.
Thinking about raising a Skill Link Cincinno and a Tail Glow Prankster Volbeat for the heck of it. WHY NOT TRY SOMETHING NEW
Maybe I can actually set up a solid enough team to get somewhere in the Battle Subways. I tried to do it a bunch of times in Diamond and Pearl but I'd always end up getting walled by the leader's Milotic like ONE battle from the 20 you need to finish to get the points and it's like uuugh.
I could've sworn I had a Nasty Plot/Heat Wave Chatot raised but apparently not? This is very odd. Eh, it won't be too hard to breed a new one anyway.
BUT HEY LET'S GET BACK TO MOTHER 3! In the last entry the open highway yawned before us before I was an idiot and blew up my transportation. WHAT LIES AHEAD?
Previous editions
So I reloaded to an earlier save and it occurred to me that this might be a good time to check out a secret feature I totally forgot about until I was flipping through the guide. Originally, the Japanese team planned to have a sort of memo function in Mother 3 that'd keep track of various things that happen, but in the end they scrapped it. They left a bunch of it in the code though. The english patchers though it was pretty neat, so they put it back in! To get a frog near the end of the game to tell you how to get to it, you need to get every enemy in the game in your battle memory. Or you can just hold L and R while selecting the Status screen SHH.
A lot of these are pretty straightforward, so I tried to grab the ones that were kind of interesting.
This makes it sound like more was going on then amnesiac rock bands. IS THERE A DARK SECRET IN WAIT?
YOU GUYS ARE SO LAZY
Since the memo system was left over from early in development, a lot of stuff talked about in here never actually came to pass. For example, at some point I guess you could collect acorns and use them as currency? In the end they just made everything free, haha.
Haha this is such a great mental image
MAGIC!
BUT WHAT DO THEY DO
Deeply important characters.
This one's interesting since it mentions transportation. You may remember PSI Teleport from EarthBound, but I'll just say it right now, you never get an equivalent power in Mother 3. Mostly because unlike EB, Mother 3 really relies on certain places being off-limits depending on certain times in the game, and being able to teleport would sequence break the heck out of a ton of stuff. It's also a smaller game in scope than EB in a lot of ways (not that that's a bad thing), so it doesn't feel as necessary I think.
AND WES SMASHED IT TO BITS
Here we go, this is a really interesting dropped mechanic. You've probably noticed the "felt something warm in your heart" lines every now and then. I forget if I mentioned this before, but at one point, there was a planned "kindness" stat for everyone. When you got those "warm in your heart" lines, that would mean that the stat had gone up, and certain things in the game might change depending on how high or low it was. In the end, this got dropped, but remnants are still around in the game. I think the higher your kindness, the more HP you can recover with PK Lifeup for one (it's only by increments of one or two though, it's not a big deal). Normally, when you go up a level, kindness is always set to go up by 0, so you never see it mentioned on your level up screen, although through various hacking trickery you can get the kindness stat to appear by going over level 100 and other such things.
There are other tantalizing hints that the kindness stat may have even changed the ending of the game, but we may never know for sure. However, if I remember right, at the end of Chapter 1, Flint's kindness is always at 0, which I think is interesting.
I really love this idea, it's too bad it never made it in, haha. I just like the idea of a stat for something you wouldn't expect. It's very Mother.
BUT THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN
I forget what I was doing but I ended up on this Mother wiki, and there was a really incoherent note about Rope Snake where it said Rope Snake could maybe bring a party member back to life via a short cutscene if used??? And some weird nonsense about party members. It was really weirdly written and hard to understand, but I quickly went and checked and you can't use Rope Snake in or out of battle unless it's to cross gaps. But maybe it CAN happen and I've just never seen it. I AM SKEPTICAL THOUGH.
Nonsense.
You know it's weird, Wes talked about hanging out with King Osohe all the time back there but for some reason I never really pictured him working for him. More like they hung out and played cards or something. IN RETROSPECT THAT IS KIND OF GOOFY
Heh, reminds me of that Samurai Fiction movie where that guy had a really old ninja servant that was always a little tottery on his landings since he was so old. Adorable.
So it's not just combos! Even more annoying than I thought, haha.
do not slap the butterfly out of the air
Sorcerors what
Forest what, some of them live all over the place
COVER CHARGE FOR WHAT
THIS ENTRY IS VERY CONFUSING
Just beta versions of them I suppose
Mmm, pork sausage.
BUT THEN HOW DID HIS LADDER BREAK LAST TIME
did someone break it on purpose
Poor Dragos.
SMAAAAAAAASH
OH TUTORIOLE
Ooooh okay, I guess I can see how that might come in handy. Though there are save frogs like EVERYWHERE in this game.
Haha, a really beta version note here. Related to the kindness stat above, I think there were plans to have a dude in the item guy's cart that would heal you depending on how high your kindness was. But then there are so many hot springs and such around that it seemed kinda redundant/pointless, so it got dropped.
AND I TOTALLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS until reading the guide again, haha. SO LEARNING WHAT'S HERE WILL BE A NEW DISCOVERY FOR BOTH OF US
I APPRECIATE IT, DESIGNERS
Will the talking wind come back? Who can say
Heh, brain fart.
Also if you try to leave the factory after the garbage truck leaves, those two dopes from Salsa's chapter have blocked the path, haha.
Weirdly, I think this healed it.
Haha I missed the lead up to this, but I had to fight the Trooper again and he punched Duster so hard that he forgot how to use his thief tools. DANG.
SCRAPPED ROBOT GET IT TOGETHER
At this point I also took a brief detour into another game to check something.
The DCMC posters are gone!
Everyone in Club Titiboo is gone. :o
haha
This is such a random detail. YOU CAN'T PICK IT UP OR ANYTHING
IT'S JUST THERE
You can't go back up to the attic either, though the slugs are still around.
We're in cahoots now, narrator, cahoots!
Narrator, focus!
JUST AS THE WARNINGS FORETOLD
Meanwhile, time to find the missing mice!
The little mouse sprites are so adorable.
I SAW A BOY SLIP ON A BANANA PEEL, IT WAS TERRIBLE
Dream big, kid.
Let's take a brief break from mouse hunting
OOPS
Hahaha
Man whatevs I'm outta here
Did it right this time.
Lucas looking after the mouse wistfully.
A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER COLLAR FOR MY DAISY
paint my muscle car PRUNE colored please
i want a ticket to anywhere
maybe we make a deal
HOT DOGS
WHITE DRESSES
what could go wrong
Mmm, cup noodle
LET'S CHECK OUT THE P CAFE
Looks homey.
The theme here is Parking Area: Dur-T Cafe and boy it's weird. A whole bunch of odd distorted vibrato.
NECKBEARD DON'T CARE
Hahahaha
YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS TABLE, BUDDY?
This is another one of those weird Mother 3 things. There are five different songs this jukebox can play and they're all full-length, detailed songs usually lasting around two minutes. And there's no point to any of them, you don't get anything for hearing them, they're just here in case you want to listen to them. DETAILS
I THINK which one that plays depends on the last person you talked to before putting your money but I didn't experiment with it enough, though I should have.
White is the owner's recommendation, sort of christmas-y and happy with some sleighbells.
Fairies is Neckbeard's recommendation, just sort of light and a bit silly, definitely not what you'd expect, haha.
Resolve is Gumchewing Guy's recommendation, and it's just sort of slow and ominous, some neat reverb. Pretty cool.
Blessing is Skinhead's recommendation, lot of dramatic pauses, though it interestingly then goes into a steel drum bit.
Adolescence is the Toilet Cow's theme (more on them in a sec) and it's a lot of fun, a great beat and some fun guitar. Sort of reminds me a little of Onett.
LAZINESS SAVES THE DAY
FINALLY HOME
Fine fine
HURRY UP
Man I could go for ramen.
There you are, toilet cow!
IT BETTER BE AMAZING IN THERE
In case you missed the first one
PRESENTS, PRESENTS
CMON LEOLEO BE COOL
YOU'RE NOT A PROTAGONIST
LEOLEO YOU'RE KILLING ME HERE
But first
WHAT
BUT WHAT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING BETTER IN A DIFFERENT ONE
actually they're all the same, don't worry
Lookin good, Leoleo.
The sweater's defense stats aren't great, but the auto-regen can come in handy sometimes. It can definitely save you from KOs at least.
ALREADY ON IT
AW YEAH
+1 kindness
This thing is super handy like you wouldn't believe. Best to give it to Boney so he can snag the shield away the first round and let the rest of your team pummel it up.
Sidenote: there are rare enemies that I mentioned before that can be REALLY annoying to find (I've only seen like a few of them), and one of them is on the highway and it's called the Dazzling Smile, and the first time I was doing this I ACTUALLY SAW IT but then I hit it with the Pork Bean like an idiot and killed it. ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH
plop
This is another cute detail, but if you look, when Duster talks he tends to hold one of his hands out, and when Kumatora talks she usually has her hand on her hip or taps her foot, and they both still do those same things in disguise. SO ADORABLE.
FIRST I BETTER LOOK AT THIS SIGN
Okay now let's go
Lookin good buddy
The Forlorn Junk Heap's theme is Carol of Waste/Wasteful Anthem, though you probably know its tricky variant Smashing Song of Praise better. It was in Brawl where it was combined with Unfounded Revenge to great effect, hehe.
BAM, INSTANTLY USEFUL
Oh you're one of THOSE bosses
CAN STILL COMBO LIKE A PRO I love that my favorite songs in this are always ones I can combo really well, haha. Except Smashing Song of Praise's stupid fiddly bits that mess up the beat. CURSE YOU TRICKY VARIANTS
Don't seem so forlorn to me.
BAM
Oh basically just spam offense down, offense up, defense down, and the like. You might also be able to make it cry, I forget.
Wow and it's still intact and everything, I seriously was expecting something terrible at this point.
Slow realization to full-blown joy SO ADORABLE
(the happiest we've ever seen duster i think)
I once had this terrible nightmare where I had amnesia for like 14 years and I ended up having these emotional breakdowns over being unable to remember my life so I can imagine how relieved Duster is to finally remember, haha.
I like picturing a lot of tearful group hugs here because I'm a dork.
Awwwww
as she noogies him relentlessly
or your dad will KILL you
Boney's got this all figured out.
but why what
EXTREME DRIFT
i actually checked the sign but forgot to come down here and check this area first before fighting the junk heap NOOOOO
why what's happening
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, JOE
Can't argue with that!
what since when
i thought it just had a bunch of secrets in it
SO MYSTERIOUS, HUMMINGBIRD EGG
The beavers here are pretty friendly
Naming guy was on break.
UGH YOU GUYS SUCK
Got my eye on you buddy
When I think electricity I usually think of eels, but whatever
NOOOOOOOO
Boney you wear this cow hat immediately
HELP ME
HIYAH
Oh there we go, like Shield but it reflects damage back. Can come in handy sometimes.
WHAT NO
arrrrrrghhh
AAAAAGH
This is actually an entirely different battle, I wasn't watching my HP like an idiot and before I knew it THE SPIRAL HAD BEGUN
DUSTER I'M COUNTING ON YOU AND YOUR FANCY SHOES
GET ME OUT OF THIS
I love you Duster. Although I did end up eating like all the food in his inventory in the process. A SMALL PRICE TO PAY
Saddest party members. It's a little hard to tell but Kumatora's mask is pointing down as well.
I thought he was here already?
walks right into a post
Ended up using like all my secret herbs, bah.
EVERYONE LOVES DOGS
Stanley Milgram would be proud.
BETTER GO UP THERE IMMEDIATELY
Haha this guy actually fooled me for a sec.
Indeed.
SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING I SHOULD INVESTIGATE
so many things in this place that could apply to
KABLOOIE
Why DID i get brought here?
I actually didn't tell it to do this, it did it on its own. :o
ARGH NO
NO YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HEAL YOURSELF
Haha it's a great mental image though. HERE BONEY @_@
and boney just like YES FOOD I'LL EAT IT I DON'T CARE nom nom
Hey, isn't that Jeff's?
Heh, kilozap.
It's hard to see here, but one of them is dancing and the other one's patting his butt.
ho hum :|
Meanwhile upstairs
Duster you got a big head, honey
Man Duster even looks sort of sad on the poster WAS THAT REALLY THE BEST SHOT YOU GUYS COULD GET?
sad or walleyed
sup
REMAAAATCH
GIVE ME THAT PAMPHLET, DOG
Actually this was just me being an idiot, for some reason even though you can use the pamphlet as many times as you want, when it wore off I'd just forget to use it again. DURRR.
I forget what this did, offense up?
No problem.
ARGH IT'S YOU wait what
HAVE TO CATCH US FIRST
I've been pretty good at it so far, honestly.
Haha aww.
There are four of these in all I think.
Man these guys are all over this part of the tower, bah.
DELICIOUS
Anyway in the middle of all the scaffolding there's a room and... what??
His Playroom plays in here, sort of weird and tinkly and I guess kind of childish?
So close that time guys.
A TEDDY BEAR FROM EARTHBOUND! :D Only 178 bucks.
I'm so charmed by this tiny message. I don't know why.
And there are two songs the jukebox will play! Namely...
His Memory 2S which is the SHOP THEME FROM EARTHBOUND OMG
His Memory 2H which is the HOTEL THEME FROM EARTHBOUND
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
This totally blew my mind the first time I was playing, haha. I WAS SO PSYCHED TO HEAR THOSE THEMES AGAIN
(but what are they doing here?)
TAKE IT INTO THE DEEP DARKNESS AT THE VERY END OF THE GAME FOR A SURPRISE!
A coffin from the pyramid! There is so much EB stuff in here, how odd.
And a magic butterfly in a box!
Balloon cars. It'll be big.
Sidenote about this frog: apparently saving with it can sometimes get your characters stuck in the wall permanently. D: SO BE CAREFUL
Going up a thunder tower, might was well get some cloaks.
What's in this present AAAGH
AAAGH
Mechanical really
Not as tough as I thought it would be, who knew.
UH OH
Marshmallow's theme is MROB-6720M which has a great swooshy leadin and a pretty steady beat, which is handy.
HOW DARE YOU SNIFF ME
it wasn't me it was the dog! OW
I WASN'T EVEN
Offense down does NOT help with this tea spill, so you need to be careful. :o
AGH JESUS
There we go. This can be tough if you don't know what you're doing, but as always, debuff the enemy and buff your own team.
Now I feel sorta bad.
WORTH MURDERING A ROBOT? PERHAPS
yessss
Happy to see you!
WOOPS
Duster and Kumatora will keep fretting until you move, haha.
yessss glad i loafed around and waited for this to show up NOW I CAN CAST IT ON EVERYONE AT ONCE
Eh, could come in handy.
:o
Raaaa
OW
The rubber capes come in REAL handy here.
Genetor's theme is GENE163-1425 and it's the same as Marshmallow's except with some annoying tricky stops to mess up your combos. CURSE YOU GENETOR
Also you can't attack while he's up like this or you'll get zapped. SO DEBUFF AND BUFF FOR YOUR LIFE
Now we're talking HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT
Ugh darn it
Enough damage will get you here, and then it's one easy jump to
BAM
I'M NOT GRINDING AT ALL this is going to come back and haunt me i'm sure of it
IF YOU PLEASE
HA HA, SUCKER!!
What an odd thing to say.
That's a lie and you know it.
I didn't intend to do that but hey, bonus! TAZMILY IS SAVED!!
RAINING CINEMATIC PAYOFF
Hey boss i got the ladder and uh oh
This dangling sprite is so adorable you guys, I swear.
Those clothes look familiar!
I like that Duster mentioned Boney too, BONEY IS PART OF THE TEAM
:o
Man with this game these never turn out well.
DON'T MENTION IT BUDDY
ROPE SNAKE NO, HANG IN THERE
NOOOOOOOOooooooo
what was that about, who were those people
HIGHWAYS, THE FIENDS
The Chapter End theme this time being Aria of Unease, sort of forlorn I think.
I LIKE THOSE ODDS!
DUSTER BETTER NOT DISAPPEAR, I JUST GOT HIM BACK
OH MAN I BET IT'S GOING TO BE INTENSE
I also posted this at dreamwidth with reluctant ambivalence. Comment here or there, don't matter to me!