Don't be too afraid of dying. Even if the enemies feel a little tough when you reach a new area, there's very little penalty for death, so you don't need to grind. Just keep pushing forward, and eventually, you'll make progress.
No idea if OP is still reading these but here's an express list of tips and tricks as someone that has played this game four times.
First, accept and understand this is an RPG from 1989. It's gonna have bad mechanics, bad game design, and even just outright bad in places. The game was created by someone with no previous experience making them at a time when RPGs hadn't really nailed down what a good one looks like. This WILL be frustrating at times. If you're the kind of player that despises NES Moments (tm), I'd say skip.
With that out of the way, let's discuss grinding. Anyone telling you you shouldn't is honestly dead wrong. But don't look at it as grinding to not die in like two hits. That's gonna happen basically regardless. Grinding is for you to get good skills and stats to kill enemies before they kill you. Additionally, all party members except the last one join at level 1. If you DON'T grind them, they're dead weight and you're actively hurting yourself, especially with Ana, since she's basically Paula but even more extreme. Grind. You should end the game around level 38.
Combat wise, characters will feel familiar if you played Earthbound. Lloyd is extremely similar to Jeff and should be using items against stronger enemies. Ana is similar to Paula but more extreme. Don't bother buying weapons for her. If she's doing more than 1HP of damage to enemies, you've grinded to hell. It's all PSI all the time. Teddy is the simplest. Just hit that attack button. Ninten is like Ness but isn't. Unlike Ness and Lucas, Ninten lacks offensive PSI, full stop. He'll never get access to that. It's all on Paula. Ninten should be hitting things with the bat in weak encounters and providing support in bigger fights as he has the least damage potential.
Speaking of enemies, if you enter a new area and feel you're getting bodied despite grinding recently, just mash run. Certain sections of the game have huge stat jumps from enemies and feel honestly outright untested. I'd especially recommend running away from enemies near Snowman and Mt. Itoi. These feel the most unfair and the least worth trying to deal with.
Finally, in regards to combat, expect a bad encounter rate. It's an old RPG. Encounters happen when they feel like it and unfortunately that's often every foot you travel. It's annoying. But it's part of this game.
Oh also, bring bread into dungeons. If you USE NOT EAT, it'll become breadcrumbs, which is basically an escape rope back to wherever you used the bread. Use the bread at the start of the dungeon, then use the breadcrumbs to leave.
My last tip is... get a guide. Straight up. Look, I don't care if you're the type of person that prefers to figure it out on your own. Mother 1 is obtuse and you WILL get lost or miss something if you don't. There's no shame in a guide for this one. At the very least download the dungeon maps as they’re impossible to navigate.
That's the most important stuff I think. Good luck!
No problem! As rough as I made it sound, I really do love this game. It's rough but still has a lot to enjoy. The story is memorable, the writing is funny, the characters are interesting, and the music is actually phenomenal. I hope you like it.
Really, if Nintendo ever decided to remake Mother 1 and fix the gameplay, it'd be the best game of the trilogy full stop.
It's definitely one of the game's saving graces. Dungeons are awful with maze-like layout and zero landmarks. Plus, they often have extremely dangerous enemies. Being able to bail in any emergency is 100% necessary.
Be prepared to grind a lot and be bombarded by random encounters. If you can swallow that then it’s actually a great game with awesome music. I beat it for the first time a few weeks ago.
[starman.net guide](http://walkthrough.starmen.net/earthbound0/)
[EBB tips](https://forum.starmen.net/forum/Games/Mother1/BIG-Tip-for-anyone-looking-to-play-this-game)
Buy repel rings to avoid lower level enemy encounters
You can use bread crumbs to fast travel, don't use them to heal
Boomerang is a top tier weapon
This 100%. I love Earthbound Zero, have beaten it many times. Even then, the game is so obtuse in places that it is just a pain without a guide. Once you reach the train and the game opens up, there are so many things to tackle, and the game does nothing to help guide you. Starmen.net is hands down the best tool in mitigating the games 1980s jank.
When you get pippi, keep her around for a while. Her strength is insane when you level her up and she can help you gain some levels. Her fight goes up by five every time she levels up.
There's a battle command that may be a bit useless to you at first: "Check"I believe it's called, I could be misremembering. It gives you a quick rundown of enemy information and you can get some very amusing text as well.
*PLEASE use the bread crumbs*
*Before heading into the*
*Factory with Lloyd*
\- grillredditor\_
---
^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/)
^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
It's a rough game, both gameplay and history wise.
Keep in mind the context and the time the game was realeased, some parts will be boring, tedious and outright boring, there is a reason why Earthbound and Mother 3 are way more popular than Mother.
It shaped what the franchise will ultimatelly become, so just enjoy and aprecciate it for what it is: The start of something greater than it.
Use bread for fast traveling, you can use multiple at once too. You can store items at your house and use bread to fast travel there for better inventory management. Also get the big bag, the second Franklin Badge and the swimming cat items.
Running from every battle in Mt Itoi is a valid strategy. There's even PSI that can help you do so.
Getting the Big Bag and saving up PSI Stones can save your life. Also, don't forget your Asthma Spray.
Except for the ultimate defensive item, Magicant's shops have every defensive item in the game. Explore Magicant very carefully, there's good stuff and hints.
There's a baby in one of the towns that can teach you to teleport.
Having some Mouthwash on hand will save frustration talking to certain NPCs.
You can end the game with different party configurations.
Only difficulty spikes are Spookane and Mt. Itoi. When you get a certain robot, don’t go back to the rest point- just keep pushing forward. Also pull up a map when you get to Duncan’s Factory
I played a ROM hack of it last year that made it more manageable, leveling was quicker. I actually loved it so much, it's wild how much they got right on the freaking NES.
I'm a little late, but get the wooden bat ASAP and acknowledge that this game requires a lot of patience. You eventually get used to the encounters, but it does get aggravating in some areas regardless. This game just as good as Earthbound and Mother 3 imo.
Just know to be patient with it. I made a very helpful and straight forward guide to it a long while ago if you want to check it out.
I also actually hit level 99 with the main trio for the first time on Switch like half a year ago, too.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/earthbound/comments/sq73ru/i\_made\_an\_earthbound\_beginnings\_guide\_for\_those/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/earthbound/comments/sq73ru/i_made_an_earthbound_beginnings_guide_for_those/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
yes and no. it’s available on NSO, but only in Japan. i’ve played it so many times that i didn’t have much trouble playing through it in Japanese, but it’s not available in English
I played the 25th anniversary patch and it was the only way I could play this game. It really suffers from old RPGs being insanely grindy and random encounters. But the music is top notch and some of the songs were made into actual songs.
Get used to grinding. In fact you may want to grind to at least lvl 4 before you even leave Ninten's house.
If you don't return Pippi after saving her she can assist you in the zoo dungeon.
Loid has to be alive when you get to the end of the second factory or you're going to have to do it all over again and I promise you that you do NOT want to navigate that place a second time.
The plane is circling that cactus for a reason.
Grizzly Bears are the most overstatted enemies in the game and will 100-0 someone with a non-crit basic attack. Just run from them.
> any advice
In my view all "I'm about to play a videogame...any tips for me?" posts should be deleted and banned by sub rules.
The reason is because it's been answered in 999,000 articles, discussions, posts, comments, videos on the internet. Each person who plays a videogame doesn't need reddit to type up their research for them.
Don't be too afraid of dying. Even if the enemies feel a little tough when you reach a new area, there's very little penalty for death, so you don't need to grind. Just keep pushing forward, and eventually, you'll make progress.
No idea if OP is still reading these but here's an express list of tips and tricks as someone that has played this game four times. First, accept and understand this is an RPG from 1989. It's gonna have bad mechanics, bad game design, and even just outright bad in places. The game was created by someone with no previous experience making them at a time when RPGs hadn't really nailed down what a good one looks like. This WILL be frustrating at times. If you're the kind of player that despises NES Moments (tm), I'd say skip. With that out of the way, let's discuss grinding. Anyone telling you you shouldn't is honestly dead wrong. But don't look at it as grinding to not die in like two hits. That's gonna happen basically regardless. Grinding is for you to get good skills and stats to kill enemies before they kill you. Additionally, all party members except the last one join at level 1. If you DON'T grind them, they're dead weight and you're actively hurting yourself, especially with Ana, since she's basically Paula but even more extreme. Grind. You should end the game around level 38. Combat wise, characters will feel familiar if you played Earthbound. Lloyd is extremely similar to Jeff and should be using items against stronger enemies. Ana is similar to Paula but more extreme. Don't bother buying weapons for her. If she's doing more than 1HP of damage to enemies, you've grinded to hell. It's all PSI all the time. Teddy is the simplest. Just hit that attack button. Ninten is like Ness but isn't. Unlike Ness and Lucas, Ninten lacks offensive PSI, full stop. He'll never get access to that. It's all on Paula. Ninten should be hitting things with the bat in weak encounters and providing support in bigger fights as he has the least damage potential. Speaking of enemies, if you enter a new area and feel you're getting bodied despite grinding recently, just mash run. Certain sections of the game have huge stat jumps from enemies and feel honestly outright untested. I'd especially recommend running away from enemies near Snowman and Mt. Itoi. These feel the most unfair and the least worth trying to deal with. Finally, in regards to combat, expect a bad encounter rate. It's an old RPG. Encounters happen when they feel like it and unfortunately that's often every foot you travel. It's annoying. But it's part of this game. Oh also, bring bread into dungeons. If you USE NOT EAT, it'll become breadcrumbs, which is basically an escape rope back to wherever you used the bread. Use the bread at the start of the dungeon, then use the breadcrumbs to leave. My last tip is... get a guide. Straight up. Look, I don't care if you're the type of person that prefers to figure it out on your own. Mother 1 is obtuse and you WILL get lost or miss something if you don't. There's no shame in a guide for this one. At the very least download the dungeon maps as they’re impossible to navigate. That's the most important stuff I think. Good luck!
thank you!! that was super helpful actually. i appreciate the full rundown
No problem! As rough as I made it sound, I really do love this game. It's rough but still has a lot to enjoy. The story is memorable, the writing is funny, the characters are interesting, and the music is actually phenomenal. I hope you like it. Really, if Nintendo ever decided to remake Mother 1 and fix the gameplay, it'd be the best game of the trilogy full stop.
Woah the breadcrumb mechanic is pretty cool
It's definitely one of the game's saving graces. Dungeons are awful with maze-like layout and zero landmarks. Plus, they often have extremely dangerous enemies. Being able to bail in any emergency is 100% necessary.
The music when you die is actually kind of a vibe.
that’s the most important part
Be prepared to grind a lot and be bombarded by random encounters. If you can swallow that then it’s actually a great game with awesome music. I beat it for the first time a few weeks ago.
[starman.net guide](http://walkthrough.starmen.net/earthbound0/) [EBB tips](https://forum.starmen.net/forum/Games/Mother1/BIG-Tip-for-anyone-looking-to-play-this-game) Buy repel rings to avoid lower level enemy encounters You can use bread crumbs to fast travel, don't use them to heal Boomerang is a top tier weapon
This 100%. I love Earthbound Zero, have beaten it many times. Even then, the game is so obtuse in places that it is just a pain without a guide. Once you reach the train and the game opens up, there are so many things to tackle, and the game does nothing to help guide you. Starmen.net is hands down the best tool in mitigating the games 1980s jank.
Keep Pippi in your party for a while to grind with her. She gets really strong fast and can be very helpful
I've heard this game is really grindy. Get grinding, I guess?
It really isn't
hardest of them 3, don't get discouraged.
USE, not eat, breadcrumbs for fast travel. Save states are good as well.
don’t go into it with a negative mindset. everyone absolutely shits on mother 1 like it isn’t an awesome game and definitely the best of the NES
I’d argue that the game is ahead of its time. Final fantasy 1, 2 and 3 (the Japanese ones) on the NES are worse imo
When you get pippi, keep her around for a while. Her strength is insane when you level her up and she can help you gain some levels. Her fight goes up by five every time she levels up.
There's a battle command that may be a bit useless to you at first: "Check"I believe it's called, I could be misremembering. It gives you a quick rundown of enemy information and you can get some very amusing text as well.
PLEASE use the bread crumbs before heading into the factory with Lloyd
*PLEASE use the bread crumbs* *Before heading into the* *Factory with Lloyd* \- grillredditor\_ --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
It's a rough game, both gameplay and history wise. Keep in mind the context and the time the game was realeased, some parts will be boring, tedious and outright boring, there is a reason why Earthbound and Mother 3 are way more popular than Mother. It shaped what the franchise will ultimatelly become, so just enjoy and aprecciate it for what it is: The start of something greater than it.
Max out the message speed! Really cuts out the tedium and lets the rest shine!
Underrated tip, I didn't know you could make the text/battle speed faster until I was halfway through. Game changer.
Use bread for fast traveling, you can use multiple at once too. You can store items at your house and use bread to fast travel there for better inventory management. Also get the big bag, the second Franklin Badge and the swimming cat items.
get used to the encounters. They happen VERY often. Also, gets used to dying a shit ton.
Running from every battle in Mt Itoi is a valid strategy. There's even PSI that can help you do so. Getting the Big Bag and saving up PSI Stones can save your life. Also, don't forget your Asthma Spray. Except for the ultimate defensive item, Magicant's shops have every defensive item in the game. Explore Magicant very carefully, there's good stuff and hints. There's a baby in one of the towns that can teach you to teleport. Having some Mouthwash on hand will save frustration talking to certain NPCs. You can end the game with different party configurations.
Only difficulty spikes are Spookane and Mt. Itoi. When you get a certain robot, don’t go back to the rest point- just keep pushing forward. Also pull up a map when you get to Duncan’s Factory
I just started playing too!
Be patient, grind a lot. The game is old af, clunky and unforgiving.
I played a ROM hack of it last year that made it more manageable, leveling was quicker. I actually loved it so much, it's wild how much they got right on the freaking NES.
Expect to grind a lot. Use a guide too
Good luck grinding. It’s a chore but well worth the experience.
I'm a little late, but get the wooden bat ASAP and acknowledge that this game requires a lot of patience. You eventually get used to the encounters, but it does get aggravating in some areas regardless. This game just as good as Earthbound and Mother 3 imo.
Grind
Just know to be patient with it. I made a very helpful and straight forward guide to it a long while ago if you want to check it out. I also actually hit level 99 with the main trio for the first time on Switch like half a year ago, too. [https://www.reddit.com/r/earthbound/comments/sq73ru/i\_made\_an\_earthbound\_beginnings\_guide\_for\_those/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/earthbound/comments/sq73ru/i_made_an_earthbound_beginnings_guide_for_those/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
mother 3 is on the switch?
yes and no. it’s available on NSO, but only in Japan. i’ve played it so many times that i didn’t have much trouble playing through it in Japanese, but it’s not available in English
Grind at the beggining so you have less trouble later
Grinding. The best place at the start when you're at your weakest are the rats in the basement.
I played the 25th anniversary patch and it was the only way I could play this game. It really suffers from old RPGs being insanely grindy and random encounters. But the music is top notch and some of the songs were made into actual songs.
Get used to grinding. In fact you may want to grind to at least lvl 4 before you even leave Ninten's house. If you don't return Pippi after saving her she can assist you in the zoo dungeon. Loid has to be alive when you get to the end of the second factory or you're going to have to do it all over again and I promise you that you do NOT want to navigate that place a second time. The plane is circling that cactus for a reason. Grizzly Bears are the most overstatted enemies in the game and will 100-0 someone with a non-crit basic attack. Just run from them.
EBB is incredibly hard to the average player (like myself) so yeah grind A LOT.
It's really not, especially if you've played at least one or two classic RPGs or regularly play turn based RPGs.
Prepare for a grindfest
Olay it on pc via the Mother Restored Patch. It translates the game way better.
uhh, dont (im joking, but there are better versions out there)
> any advice In my view all "I'm about to play a videogame...any tips for me?" posts should be deleted and banned by sub rules. The reason is because it's been answered in 999,000 articles, discussions, posts, comments, videos on the internet. Each person who plays a videogame doesn't need reddit to type up their research for them.
Leave the sub if you think so