I always felt that the original Mother for the NES would make its way to North America in some form or fashion. The game was mostly translated in the early 90s when it was shelved late in development so focus could be put on Mother 2’s localization, which would later become Earthbound for the Super NES. It took a long time, but roughly 26 years after its release in Japan, Mother has officially been released in North America as Earthbound Beginnings. People may have played the unreleased ROM that surfaced about 15 years ago, but now it’s out officially in North America. The question remains...is it any good? To compare Beginnings to its more well known sequel would be unfair. But by its own merits, Earthbound Beginnings is a fun, engaging title that, for the most part, manages to stand the test of time.

The game’s story revolves around mysterious occurrences in the United States. After battling what appear to be poltergeists in his own house, a young boy by the name of Ninten sets out on an adventure to figure out just what exactly is going on. The story here is engaging and the game’s script, while not as strong as Earthbound’s, is pretty funny at times. It’s not without problems, though. Sometimes it does show its age and is hard to fully follow. There are also a few grammatical errors here and there and weird yes or no prompts strewn about the game in places where they don't really belong. Despite these issues, overall the story is fun and quirky, setting the tone for it’s future installments.

Enemies you’ll come across are also unique with everything from dragons to grizzly bears to even hippies confronting you during battles. This definitely has the “Earthbound” touch to it in that this doesn’t feel like a conventional RPG. Graphically, it's a mixed bag - it feels kind of flat at times with repetitive surroundings, but at the same time it’s also pleasant, colorful and ultimately gets the job done given the NES’s limitations. The music is a big highlight. Familiar tunes fans of the series will recognize immediately can be found here, such as Pollyanna and the Onett theme, but there’s also some really great tracks here as well, such as the Yucca Desert and Magicant Castle. Overall, the presentation of the game makes it feel uniquely different from other role playing games of its time. It’s somewhat out there, but also manages to be believable at the same time.

I did have one complaint about the game. While I don’t mind the overall gameplay, as it was relatively easy to get into, the grinding that it took to beat the game became a chore by the game's end. For example, when I reached the game’s final destination, Mt. Itoi, I was nearing level 30. If I wanted to make my confrontation with the final boss a bit easier on myself, I would have to grind to level 38 to learn a new PSI technique for Ninten. To say that I was not looking forward to having to grind eight more levels would be an understatement - I had already did that plenty on my way there, traversing through a long swamp area. Of course, like most RPGs of the era, grinding was a necessary evil in order to make games longer, but it doesn’t make Beginnings a better game. Setting battles to auto mode is a nice touch that counteracts this at times, but it’s still boring to spend a few hours grinding just to further the experience a bit more before you go back to more grinding.

Earthbound Beginnings is a game I didn’t imagine I would be playing a few weeks ago. But now that I have, I enjoyed the experience. It shows its age, with an antiquated script and relentless grinding, but the wit and humor that other Earthbound/Mother games possess shines through. Even with the grinding, my fascination with the game never truly peaked. Judging it solely on it’s own merits, the original Earthbound is a charming, engaging game that lays a great foundation for its future sequels.