Mother/EarthBound Zero: The Ultimate Retrospective Analysis

Sketch aV
Sketch aV
13,042
0
Published 2021-10-03
Mother is one of Nintendo's more obscure titles so I wanted to shed some light on it with this video. This is a deep dive analysis where I give all my thoughts, good and bad, on the first installment in a series that I think is deserving of much more attention. I hope you enjoy.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
9:58 The Process: Game Deveopment & Context
17:03 The Friends: Character Analysis
25:44 The Journey: Plot Summary
32:07 The Charm: Writing, Worldbuilding & Wonder
39:49 The Frustration: A Fundamentally Flawed Existence
1:10:57 The Takeaway: Closing Thoughts
1:17:39 Outro

I had never made a retrospective before this, but making this video was quite the journey. This was obviously quite different from my other videos, so if you enjoyed it and want to see more of this type of content, please be sure to let me know by leaving your support on the video. The best way to do that is by liking the video and perhaps leaving a friendly comment down below. Also, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on upcoming videos! Thank you so much for watching!

EarthBound Retrospective:    • EarthBound: The Ultimate Retrospectiv...  

Follow me on Twitch: twitch.tv/sketch_av
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/Sketch_aV​
Support the channel: streamlabs.com/sketchav/tip​

Sources:
Mother's Fan Community: starmen.net/

Shigesato Itoi Comic: news.denfaminicogamer.jp/english/180109

KingK's Channel: youtube.com/c/KingdomKlannad

Mother 25th Anniversary Footage (MrGazillion): youtube.com/user/sanch3x

Channel Art: youtube.com/tsumamii
All Comments (21)
  • @JhettJones
    I think Ness' taunt is a reference to the "so desu ka" that plays each time you confirm one of the characters' names in the very beginning of Earthbound. "Okay?" "Is that so?"
  • @dion8202
    I completely forgot about Duncans factory I got PTSD remembering that hell hole
  • @DickmasterNCR
    Personally I think his okay taunt is like “okay? Whatever” like “okay? That’s all you got?” Or even “okay I can work with this”
  • @lodestar_raf521
    this is probably my favorite video about mother 1, i agree so much with it being caught between charm and frustration.
  • @lorenzodavila8261
    This video was better than I could have imagined. I can definitely tell you put a lot of effort into this. Keep it up Sketch 🔥💪🏽
  • @Tsumamii
    commenting now to put some respect on the name for the amount of grind and hustle went into this, will return with my thoughts when I get the chance
  • @hf.1906
    I finished Mother recently and absolutely loved it, and I’ve been looking for videos on it that don’t immediately dismiss it as bad because of some of its aging features. I’m glad you took a look at the entire packaged and analyzed it to its entirety, positives and negative. It made me really enjoy the video, so thank you! :D Personally speaking, I thought it was cool how the Melodies behaved like a side quest throughout the game. I felt like I was being rewarded for going out of my way to explore certain sections, and it was almost like a secret between me and the game. Later on when I realized that the songs were actually part of the main story, it was like a revelation in itself and made for a really cool moment.
  • @AAAGamesMaster
    About the map being hard to navigate you have to keep in mind that this is a NES game, and NES games where designed with their manuals in mind, a lot of things like what each PSI does and maps of the various areas of the game where all included in the original Japanese manual, games from that era where not made for people to jump in blind on them, they where made to be played with a manual in hands, is not like manuals from the gamecube and Wii era where the manual used to be just a bonus little book that you can ignore
  • @marcodavila5832
    I really enjoyed this video. It has totally taken me on a historical journey on not just this game, but to some extent the inner working of the early gaming industry. Great job!
  • @lordbash11
    SKETCH IS BACK BABY!! AND WITH A BANGER OF A VIDEO!!
  • @yoshinator98
    Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing your introduction to the franchise as well :)
  • @Ranixo286
    I've been looking for a longform video on the original mother!
  • @wariolandgoldpiramid
    This was a good retrospective. I hope your time with Earthbound is a more enjoyable experience.
  • @distortedriolu4618
    Crazy this is being sent to me now but I will feed the algorithm. A lovely video full of fun facts some I've never heard before! Gonna watch the sequel next <3
  • @mizzanni
    Amazing video for an amazing game. You deserve more subs!
  • @yukij.8075
    Great video! I'm looking forward to the EarthBound and Mother 3 retrospective!