[1989: p. 145]
[2003: p. 149]
DIMENSIONAL SLIP 6
The Battle Ends and the Sun Comes Up...¹
Kiminobu Mouri
毛利公信
Famicom Master²
It's said that video game fans play about thirty games a year. Last year I played sixty software titles, give or take. But to tell the truth, only two of them — Dragon Quest III and Tetris — were any fun.
That's not to say all the others made me go, "What a dungpile of a game..." but they weren't 100% satisfactory either. I'd finish one game, then say to myself, "Let's see if there's anything fun for my next playthrough", grab a gaming magazine and turn to the new releases page... Nothing jumps out at me... Nothing looks fun even at the arcade... Yeah, but I want something I can play for several dozen minutes a day... Oh, to heck with it. I'll play an old Dragon Quest. ... And I've been having days like this since around '87.
Then came a day, after several of being so frustrated I was sick of games, when I heard the news that Nintendo was coming out with an RPG. I couldn't help but get my hopes up. Getting burned by each game I bought, time after time, made my anticipation all the stronger.
Four months later, I was unexpectedly brought onto the staff of MOTHER's developer, APE. And what made me happier than anything was being able to take on the challenge of the MOTHER prototype before anyone else.
What I noticed right away on my first try was, even in battle with the enemy characters, for some reason I wasn't feeling all that ferociously competitive. Somehow I couldn't bring myself to hate these guys, they were all kinda cute. This is a little troubling for a gamer.
Another big surprise was the diagonal scrolling. The rush it gave me was nearly as comfy as trading in a Corolla for a Ferrari. I thought, now here's a game that can give me that F1³ sensation I love so much, and that hunch stayed true to the end. The first time I took the diesel from Santa Claus Station offered me this exhilarating feeling like I'd just come out of a tough hairpin turn and an S-curve, then emerged heading for the home stretch and blew past several cars. When I rode the plane in the desert, I was in such awe I seriously considered trading in my collection of F1 miniatures for an airplane collection.
But the final clincher, whatever else I've said, was when I learned Teleportation in Easter. At the time I forgot about my characteristics as a game master, and did something embarrassing: I went back to all the towns I could and reexamined all the events I'd passed by. But even when he does something shameful, a master is still a master: During these side trips, if you can believe it, I ended up discovering two secret tricks I can never tell you about that use Teleportation.
And now, if you'll indulge me, let me tell you about two or three more things I got a kick out of. The dialogue sometimes made me howl with laughter. One of my favorites in particular was "Look me in the eye!"⁴
I also like the Flying Men. In attempting to find a way to bring one with me to the Earthly plane, I tried Teleportation with him in my party, but each time I did that it killed him. Sorry!
You see, while one could say the difficulty level is kind of low for a speed-runner, on the other hand, the many events I found myself caught up in taught me that games are not all about speed, and I wound up getting sucked into the game's other enjoyments.
So I guess you could say, what it was about MOTHER that kept me playing till the sun came up, wasn't so much the battles as it was the side trips.
(N) Mourii
(L) Benz
(A) Romeo⁵
(T) Ferrari
(F) Yukgaejang⁶
¹ A play on 戦いすんで日が暮れて, the title of a 1969 book by Aiko Satou (佐藤愛子). The book's title means The Battle Ends and the Sun Goes Down.
² Famicom Master: Kiminobu Mouri is famous for being a master at video games, and starred in the 1986 film GAME KING 高橋名人VS毛利名人 激突!大決戦 (Game King Master Takahashi Vs. Master Mouri: Clash! The Great Decisive Battle), in which he went toe-to-toe with another expert, Master Takahashi (the Adventure Island guy). He would go on to join the editorial department of Famitsu magazine. Nowadays he's known as "Master Mouri".
³ F1: As in Formula One, the auto racing sport. Sort of like NASCAR but international and with go-karts.
⁴ "Look me in the eye!": The dog who stands guard at Duncan's Factory says this to you as you enter battle with him.
⁵ As in Alfa Romeo, an Italian motor manufacturer with a history of participating in Formula One.
⁶ Yukgaejang: From the Wikipedia page: "[Yukgaejang is] a spicy, soup-like Korean dish made from shredded beef with scallions and other ingredients, which are simmered together for a long time. It is a variety of gomguk, or thick soup, which was formerly served in Korean royal court cuisine. It is believed to be healthful and is popular due to its hot and spicy nature."
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