Thinking about [MOTHER] from a mother's perspective

Because my son enthusiastically recommended it to me,
I am playing a game called [MOTHER 2], albeit a bit late.

Some of you may already know this,
but there was originally a game called [MOTHER],
and this time, my son told me,
"Isn't it better to start from 2? It's considered best to play 3 after 2, and then do 1," so I followed his advice and started with 2.

Here is a brief introduction to [MOTHER 2]...

I had a vague awareness of it even back when it was released.
(Oh, that MOTHER game where Shigesato Itoi handled the scenario.)
But as a high school student at the time, I wasn't playing many games anymore,
and although I thought, "I'd like to play it someday," it kept getting pushed to the back burner.
And now, in the summer of 2023.
The time has finally come! I never expected to be playing it because my son recommended it.
It's been nearly 30 years since its release, but
I'm excited, feeling like, "The time has finally come!" The catchphrase also struck a chord with me.
"Adults, children, and even older sisters," it says!
As an "older sister" who is an adult, I'll do my best playing it!

First of all, at the stage where I am writing this note,
I haven't cleared it yet!
In fact, I've just started.
Although I've just started, there is something that moved me a little,
so I would like to write about that this time. (The introduction became long.)


*From here on, it contains some spoilers. Please be careful if you plan to play it.

When starting MOTHER 2,
the first thing I did was
"decide the names."
No, you might think, "Deciding the protagonist's name in an RPG is something you do in every game, right?"
But in MOTHER 2, "deciding the names" isn't just for the protagonist.
⭐︎ Protagonist
⭐︎ Friends' names (for 3 people)
⭐︎ Dog's name
⭐︎ Favorite food
⭐︎ Something you think is cool
↑
You decide all of these things at the beginning.
I felt satisfied just with the initial decisions for that day. That's how seriously I thought about it.

After thinking about the friends' names and the dog's name, I was asked about my favorite food, so I thought I'd just enter something random, but
my son gave me advice:
"You should think carefully about your favorite food! Because your mom will feed it to you every time you go home!"

My mom will feed it to me every time I go home!?

At first, I didn't quite understand what that meant, but after I started playing, I understood.
When I'm tired from my adventure and go home to talk to my mom,
she serves me my favorite food (that I entered at the beginning) and lets me rest.
Like this ↓

Eating and sleeping restores my HP.
Grateful for Mom's home cooking.
And as shown on the screen above, what I registered as my favorite food was "Chirashi-zushi."
I love sushi rice, so it's a delicious dish I never get tired of, no matter how often I eat it. Chirashi-zushi every time I return to my parents' house. The best.

Here is the explanation (setting) of the protagonist's family.

Mom prepares my favorite food and waits for me,
and although I only ever talk to Dad on the phone, he deposits money for me, records my adventures, and worries about me playing for too long.

Oh, I don't know, I'm just so moved.
It might be strange to be this moved at such an early stage, but
isn't this protagonist's family amazing?
They never get in the way of the protagonist's (the child's) adventure.
I have a son of my own, so I think about this, but even in situations where I would instinctively
try to stop him by saying, "It's dangerous, don't go," the mom and dad in this MOTHER world say,
"You're going to go anyway, aren't you? At least change your clothes properly before you leave," and
gently push them forward. (Changing clothes is a mandatory condition for departure.)

But they don't just let them go and forget about them.
They worry and deposit money for them,
they worry about their health and offer words of comfort,
and no matter when they return, they have their favorite food prepared and waiting.
Chirashi-zushi takes quite a bit of time and effort! And they do it every time! They make it and wait for a child who doesn't even know when they'll be back. It's so kind.

The depth of this family's heart is incredible!!
As a mother myself,
I feel like I need to learn from this MOTHER's mother. (Sorry for saying mother mother so much.)
I'm playing through it while crying on my own!

I never expected that at 45, I'd be learning how to live as a mother through a game!!
I can't move forward if I just keep crying from being moved, so
after I finish writing this note, I want to pull myself together and do my best to clear the game.

For those who haven't played the [MOTHER] series, I highly recommend it! You can play it on the Nintendo Switch now.

#WhatILearnedFromGames