The Odd History of Mother 1+2 (GBA) - RetroDrew

In today's episode of Retro Drew I go over the interesting and complicated history of the GBA compilation of Mother 1 and Earthbound.
#earthbound #earthboundbeginnings #snes #retrogaming #gaming
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[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

I know about all the problems of the ports in this compilation, but to have the 3 games in the series on the same portable system is very appealing to me. I wish there was a full translation of 1+2 for me to enjoy it on my modded GBA.

[@RetroDrew]

There is a full translation for 1+2. All of the footage from this video is from the full translation. I was able to get a repro off of etsy with the earthbound half translated so it exists.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

​@@RetroDrewI thought just mother 1 was translated... I will look into it... Maybe it's time to revisit the series again. Thanks for sharing.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

​@@RetroDrewI commented before watching the entire video. You said about the translation at the end. Thanks again. I'm dying to replay the whole series but I sold my tv consoles and I don't like emulation. Good video and channel by the way.

[@dustyyhazzy]

i am new to the series, and i see everyone talking shit about it but when i search videos about why it is bad, i dont see anyone explaining

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

@@dustyyhazzy sound quality of SNES ports on the GBA are usually inferior. GBA sound isn't great. Mother is a special bad case.

[@marcusmclean132]

If you are buying a reproduction cartridge of this in English, try and make sure it's one that was recently manufactured. I bought mine in 2016 and the ROM on my cart has an incomplete English translation of Mother 2. Once you get to Twoson the text becomes gibberish for the rest of the game. Newer copies have corrected this I believe

[@DCol]

or just get an everdrive or EZ Flash and download the latest Translation patch

[@Andy_0L]

Oh, that sucks man

[@PKMNFan4664]

10:59 Mother 2 in Mother 1+2 is not based on the English version. Ness is still naked in it in Magicant, which was removed in the American localization.

[@RetroDrew]

I played through all of Mother 1+2 for this video, what you're seeing is my play through, and Ness is fully clothed in the Magicant portion of Mother 2.

[@PKMNFan4664]

@@RetroDrew They must have changed that in the fan translation. I'd watch Japanese players play it here on YT and Ness was always nude in it.

[@garburias]

They also replaced octopus statue (in Japanese version) with pencil like in Earthbound (but I'm not sure if otopus statue is still present in the original Japanese 1+2 though)

[@professoryeetus8955]

you have the most nostalgic commercial voice ever and i 110% mean this as a compliment. the editing style definitely adds to it. if only they hired you during earthbound's marketing campaign it would've done so much better 😔

[@mopbrothers]

This game should've been rereleased in the US. Nintendo must have been afraid of lawsuits given how much these games use pop cultural references.

[@RomasKalash]

Correct. They would be destroyed due to all the musical references in particular. I don’t think they’re protected as firmly by law around parody and satire.

[@RomanEmpireSPQR]

Hey. I’m here 15 years later. Just started playing. Thanks no bike

[@Evercade_Effect]

Great history and information. I had heard about these games but always wanted to know what the deal was, great vid.

[@RetroDrew]

You've never played Earthbound!? Wow, man I can't recommend it enough, the game has loads of charm as shown through out this video hahaha.

[@x7heDeviLx]

Commenting from the future of sept 2023 and F-Zero 99 is sick as hell

[@RetroDrew]

I've been waiting for someone to say something about F-Zero 99 😂. I have yet to play it but I was hoping for a whole new 16 bit F-Zero game with new levels and such. But I guess F-Zero battle royale will have to do for now

[@volkerball85]

It should be noted though that the OST difference on the GBA is not a matter of file compression but rather in the different sound processing architecture the GBA used, versus the NES or SNES. The numerous differences are too deep to go into a random KZbin comment, but they ended up resulting in some compromises being made in terms of audio quality and such being made so as to not allow sound processing to eat too much into the computational budget of the GBA and negatively impact game performance. A lot of developers(such as Square) opted to basically re-compose or at least recompile the music for games being ported to the GBA from SNES into something that fit better into the GBA's sound architecture. In this way, they could produce a sound that was at least unique and not simply "worse." (Apologies if any of this has been pointed out already, etc.)

[@RetroDrew]

I didn't want to get too technical in the video but yeah I understand that bit crushing the files down to fit on the GBA was the reason it all sounds wonky. I still believe a few tracks might have been tweaked but over all the differences come down to limitations in hardware

[@volkerball85]

@@RetroDrew - All of this aside though, great video and channel you've got here, I look forward to checking out more of your content. 😁👍

[@RetroDrew]

@volkerball85 Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the channel. The next few reviews are all finished and are scheduled for uploading

[@Darkspine345]

Great video 🤙; I was curious about the music issues this port has.

[@Imorajna]

Where are you playing a GBA rom that has Mother 2 translated past Onett??!

[@RetroDrew]

Someone finally translated the Mother 2 portion of this comp. I believe it can be found on the gbaforums website. Just google mother 1+2 full english translation, it should show up

[@InfiniteComboReviews]

F RetroDrew! Did I do it right?

[@daviddraws2534]

I don't know why but i love both audio types, fits the gba? , it makes it feel different tbh. I love the Mother 2 Magicant theme in gba imo

[@RetroDrew]

I do have a fondness for the horrible bit crushing of the GBA. I mean the 3rd Gen Pokemon soundtracks just don't hit the same without the bitcrush. Kinda like how Duke Nukem doesn't sound right in high quality haha

[@PKMNFan4664]

Mother 1+2 and Mother 3 would all be perfect to play on the Visteon Dockable Entertainment.

[@professoryeetus8955]

9:26 wow, maybe it's cuz of the novelty but i think i might like this one more than the original! it has a more reggae feel to it..? which makes this even funnier because i rarely like reggae. i think it's just a really nice harmony in general that i didn't even notice until i heard this version.

[@Jim_iscool]

Im still waiting for a oficial mother 3 port to america

[@JPG_3000]

It literally can’t legally happen 😭 the roots of copyright infringement are too integral to every aspect of the game

[@rafresendenrafresenden.1644]

Very cool

[@RetroDrew]

Thank you. This video was a lot of fun to make

[@rafresendenrafresenden.1644]

@@RetroDrew you need to collab more if you want to make the channel more well-known.

[@RetroDrew]

@@rafresendenrafresenden.1644 Would love to do that more often but finding the time is difficult between my work schedule, my tour schedule, and my personal life. Not to mention the other persons time has to line up as well

[@aleksi2627]

Wait... The easy ring is a mod isn't it? It's not in the original release. It's not a change made when the game was released on gba

[@RetroDrew]

Correct. It comes pre-patched into every translated version of this port. As someone who played through the game 3 times without the mod, it's a nice way to cutout the tedium of grinding

[@aleksi2627]

@@RetroDrew Won't help me. I found a Japanese import in box and bought it

[@EarthboundX]

I didn't realize the GBA's sound capabilities were that bad, worse than even the NES'? Not sure I ever noticed it back then. I knew FF6 on GBA didn't sound as good, but I don't recall it being that bad. Or is the Mother 1+2 sound/music especially bad, and not necessarily the fault of the GBA?

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

F for zero

[@lowinlofi1398]

The game where saving could potentially freeze or corrupt your save file

[@PlushPilla]

Ya forgot the best part! You can defeat Giygas using snakes.

[@Pizzapieman114]

6:43 which Nintendo power issue was this in

[@Skypatroller_BenCD]

01:06 it was *2006* NOT 2005

[@RetroDrew]

Good catch. Was a misstep on my part

[@nightly_luke]

Mother 1 is NOT a good entry to newcomers. Start with mother 3 or 2, 1 is too grindy and have so much random enemy encounters

[@RetroDrew]

I believe I mentioned that Mother 1 with the Easy Ring mod, which comes prepatched into all english translations of this game, is the best way to play Mother 1. Mother 2 is the logical entry point into the series, it's simple and still holds up like a fine wine

[@nightly_luke]

@@RetroDrew even with the easy ring, the game still gave the same encounter rate. It discourage the player to keep exploring because it is pretty annoying. Probably someone starting with this game will expect mother 2 and 3 to be like that

[@loiloyes1721]

How I can Save data in this game?

[@RetroDrew]

You've gotta call your dad on the phone lol

[@loiloyes1721]

@@RetroDrew hahaha, thanks!!! I Don't Know it

[@aidandrotzur6006]

Buzz buzz is a rhinoceros beetle He's not a bee it's literally the first thing he says

[@RetroDrew]

Please watch 4:14 again and pay attention to the bottom left hand corner for the joke

[@aidandrotzur6006]

@@RetroDrew oh yep you're right, I completely missed that Believe it or not I was playing earthbound in the background while I listened to your video

[@dreamedcar12345]

How you get only 1.5k subs

[@RetroDrew]

Idk the YT review scene is pretty saturated and obscure retro games only get you so far. But I have fun doing these videos and that's all that matters haha

[@Twoholesofman]

This sounds like AI reading a wikipedia article.

[@RetroDrew]

I'll be sure to let my AI overlords know that I did a mid job on this labor of love

[@billymerritt420]

F