Mother 1+2 on GBA, the first two EarthBound games together in Japanese. An absolute treasure for atmospheric RPG fans. Shigesato Itoi's humor, heart and melancholy in one cartridge.
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Category
Compilation1 player7+
Description
RPG compilation bringing together Mother and Mother 2 on a single GBA cartridge, published by Nintendo in Japan in June 2003. Mother follows Ninten in an 80s America populated by animated objects and aliens. Mother 2 follows Ness and friends against the alien Giygas in a contemporary world full of humor and emotion. Both games faithfully reproduced with their original scripts. Japan exclusive, never officially translated outside Japanese.
Mother 1+2 review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
Retro charm and an offbeat universe: postcard-America settings, zany enemies and a warm palette compose a unique world. The deliberate simplicity of the sprites hides a constant inventiveness and humour. This endearing signature, naive and clever, is the whole salt of the cult series.
Bringing together Mother and Mother 2 means gathering soundtracks as offbeat as they are endearing, blending pop, blues and soulful childlike melodies. The music weaves a tender, strange universe, a world away from heroic fanfares. This sonic singularity, deeply human, explains the series' cult status.
Beneath childlike looks and an offbeat contemporary world, these adventures hide a gentle melancholy and a humour all their own. Suburbs, flying saucers and goofy foes compose a tender imaginary world found nowhere else. This writing, at once funny and touching, explains the cult that surrounds the series.
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"Pleasant"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Gathering two offbeat-toned RPGs on one cartridge extends the adventure well beyond a single story. Exploring a modern, oddball world, leveling up your heroes and uncovering their secrets sets up a progression you keep putting off ending. The random encounters and a sometimes slow pace weigh on it, but the singular humor and the curiosity of the journey sustain a tenacious motivation.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Bundling two full RPGs onto one cartridge already promises dozens of hours, but it's the density of each entry that astonishes: Mother's surreal America unfolds step by step, while Mother 2 stretches into an even larger adventure brimming with towns, humour and secrets. Crossing both worlds, grinding levels and savouring their original scripts keeps you busy for ages, and the rarity of this Japan-only set sustains its standing as a coveted piece.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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When the game breaks the 4th wall
A compilation pairing two RPGs, the more famous of which keeps an ace for the very end: in its final moments, the adventure turns toward whoever holds the console and weaves your real presence into its outcome, far beyond the characters' fate. That intimate shift, where the fiction suddenly acknowledges you, ranks among the most moving gestures in the RPG.
Is Mother 1+2 still worth playing in 2026?
A compilation gathering Shigesato Itoi's first two Mother games, this double RPG offers a dive into the tender, offbeat world that would inspire a whole strand of the genre. The first game, never officially released in the West at the time, lays the groundwork with its zany America, while Mother 2, known as EarthBound, refines everything, writing, humour and turn based combat. The first entry stays rough, but the whole is priceless. For a fan of auteur RPGs or someone curious about the series' origins, the title keeps an immense value.
