History NightmareFuel / Mother

** By Chapter 7, [[spoiler:everyone is gone. All the doors are locked, and the only people left behind are complaining about their lot. The town is still there, but its soul is sucked away bit... by bit... by bit until everyone's gone.]] Shudder.
* [[MushroomSamba Tanetane Island]]. You have to eat the funky-looking mushrooms, which send you into a trippy world of pink trees and creepy music, plus the occasional mailbox (see page quote). Oh, yes - and all the enemies look like people you know, most notably your father and your [[spoiler:allegedly dead]] brother. They spout insane dialogue ranging from funny ("I'm going to lick you all up, ice cream!"), to threatening ("I'm gonna beat you, boy. Daddy's gonna beat you."), to ''batshit insane'': "Touch my heart. See how it beats in and out? Lucas! There's noooothing to worry about now."

** During the trip, the party can enter an incredibly inviting looking hot spring... but when they enter it, Boney, the only one who ''didn't'' eat the mushrooms, will stand outside of the spring and whimper. Come back when the trip's over, and the reason Boney refused to enter is because it was a [[spoiler:pool of stagnant pond water surrounded by garbage and hazardous waste.]]

* Speaking of Porky, that's basically nothing compared to his canonical fate. True, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he did it to himself]] and he probably deserved it at this point, but still: [[spoiler:he ends up being trapped {{f|ateWorseThanDeath}}orever in the Absolutely Safe Capsule. A capsule that will keep whatever's inside it [[WhoWantsToLiveForever completely immortal]], [[GoneHorriblyRight and can never be destroyed or opened from outside]] ''or from inside''. [[TimeAbyss Even after the death of the sun]], ''[[AndIMustScream Porky Minch will still be alive.]]'']]

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS_5Wj_AUiI final battle theme]] for the Masked Man/[[spoiler:Claus]] is ''incredibly'' creepy. It's basically a giant mess of weird sounds, pianos, drums, and at one point, [[spoiler:the ''Love Theme'']].
** Notice how the background gets more and more distorted each time Hinawa interrupts the battle. Really goes to show how insane everything become at this point, as well as implies [[spoiler: this is the moment that Claus starts coming back to his senses and his own inner battle begins]].
** One of the unused songs ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkZkN7uSZfk here]]) was arguably even creepier -- in fact, that might be the very reason it remained unused, because it really is disturbing. Even after it was discovered what it is, it's still not clear what it would have actually been ''used'' for. [[spoiler:[[http://earthboundcentral.com/2010/01/clearing-up-some-myths/ It's DCMC's "One, two, three, four!" line slowed down]], but it still sounds unsettling at that speed.]]
* How about the zombies from the canceled N64 version of the game? [[http://starmen.net/eb64/images/evilhead.jpg Here's what they originally looked like]]. Compare that to what we eventually got on the resurrected GBA final version of the game, and most people will agree that they were greatly toned down, since they [[SarcasmMode merely]] resemble [[spoiler: Hinawa and Claus.]]

[[folder:MOTHER[=/=][=EarthBound=] Beginnings]]

* The first playable minutes of the game have an oddly sinister feel to them: you're a child sitting in the middle of a sparsely decorated room (with a background track halfway between familiar and nostalgic), when suddenly a lamp tries to kill you, and you must save your sisters (who also have weirdly minimalistic rooms) from another lamp and a CreepyDoll. It's likely unintentional, but the game's beginning resembles what a modern player might expect out of a (tame) {{creepypasta}}.
* While not nearly as famous as the one in the sequel, the final battle against Giygas is actually pretty terrifying when placed into an appropriate context. If you were playing as a child in 1989, this was probably the very first video game battle you'd experience where everything you thought you knew about playing games [[OutsideTheBoxTactic doesn't help you]]. You can try and try with all your might, using all the amazing powers you'd earned during your adventure, but no matter how hard you try, he will just continue mocking your ineptitude, telling you your only options are to give up or die. Coupled with the white-on-black contrast of his sprite, the ear-bleeding eeriness of his [[DroneOfDread "music"]], and the fact that there's a good chance you're in a dark room, for the NES, that was some pretty unnerving stuff. And as seen below, it gets FromBadToWorse for both the player [[SanitySlippage and]] [[WasOnceAMan Giygas]].
[[/folder]]

** And how do Ness and his friends get there? In the words of Dr. Andonuts himself, life is demolished in the process of time travelling, which is the reason why he transfers their "brain programs" to robotic bodies so they can travel, while their bodies stay behind, without any warrant that their spirits would come back to their bodies; this thought can be very terryfing beacuse this means Ness and company are doing the greatest sacrifice by renouncing to their human bodies, and go around in robotic bodies unable to feel pain or anything, and even if they manage to win and come back to the present, they still might be stuck in their robotic bodies forever. [[spoiler:Fortunately, it doesn't happen. Upon Giygas' defeat, their spirits go back to their human bodies.]]

** Think of it this way. Even after Ness and co. have fought powerful monsters, grown stronger, and even after Ness [[spoiler:defeated his inner evil and got that massive level-up]], this abomination is so horrifically powerful that all they can do is [[spoiler:''pray for help'']].

** With [[spoiler:praying]] being your only hope, one could mistake Giygas as a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]], what with the red coloration and the sheer ''horror'' that is his appearance.
** Probably one of the terrifying parts of the battle comes from a small bit of flavor dialogue: just before [[spoiler:Paula prays for the last time (which is when you come in), she gets no response from anybody]].
---> ''[[spoiler: Paula's call was absorbed by the darkness.]]''

** Giygas gets ''even worse'' if you've played or are familiar with MOTHER[=/=]Earthbound Origins. [[spoiler:He was once an alien creature whose race was the origin of PSI powers who was adopted by a human who he genuinely loved. However, his conflicting loyalty to his species who sought revenge for humanity stealing the secret of PSI from them and his love for his adoptive mother caused him to undergo catastrophic SanitySlippage. The Giygas American players are more familiar with is the end result of Giygas' incredible PSI powers collapsing in on themselves due to his [[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance mental conflict]] until an [[EldritchAbomination amorphous]] AlmightyIdiot was all that remained. With that being said, his "It's not right" line might just be the last rational part of Giygas [[AndIMustScream horrified at what he'd become.]]]]

* [[spoiler:[[TearJerker Flint's breakdown after learning of Hinawa's death.]]]] Not so bad for a kid, [[AdultFear home-hittingly scary for those who are older]].

* '''''Giygas'''''. Put simply, he is generally agreed to be the single most terrifying Nintendo villain in all of the company's history- which, considering [[VileVillainSaccharineShow Nintendo's track record]], says ''quite'' a bit. He is, of course, the most terrifying part of the game, not to mention the most memorable. After having spent the entire game fighting cartoonish monsters with baseball bats and frying pans, Ness and his friends are now fighting an EldritchAbomination with a terrifying, amorphous visage that looks like a demonic, ghostly hurricane with a warped, screaming face. The creepy, amourphous, jarring background music (and the dialogue inspired by the creator's trauma of catching a glimpse of a murder scene, which he thought was a rape scene, in [[Film/KenpeiToBarabaraShibijin a movie]] as a young child) only adds to this. The fact that most of the rest of the game is so childlike and cartoonish only makes this more terrifying, because it seems ''so out of place.''

** Not to mention when he starts calling put your name repeatedly...

* How about the zombies from the canceled N64 version of the game? [[http://starmen.net/eb64/images/evilhead.jpg Here's what they originally looked like]]. Compare that to what we eventually got on the resurrected GBA final version of the game, and most people will agree that they were greatly toned down.

* '''''Giygas'''''. Put simply, he is generally agreed to be the single most terrifying Nintendo villain in all of the company's history, which says ''quite'' a bit. He is, of course, the most terrifying part of the game, not to mention the most memorable. After having spent the entire game fighting cartoonish monsters with baseball bats and frying pans, Ness and his friends are now fighting an EldritchAbomination with a terrifying, amorphous visage that looks like a demonic, ghostly hurricane with a warped, screaming face. The creepy, amourphous, jarring background music (and the dialogue inspired by the creator's trauma of catching a glimpse of a murder scene, which he thought was a rape scene, in [[Film/KenpeiToBarabaraShibijin a movie]] as a young child) only adds to this. The fact that most of the rest of the game is so childlike and cartoonish only makes this more terrifying, because it seems ''so out of place.''

* [[MushroomSamba Tanetane Island]].
You have to eat the funky-looking mushrooms, which send you into a trippy world of pink trees and creepy music, plus the occasional mailbox (see page quote). Oh, yes - and all the enemies look like people you know, most notably your father and your [[spoiler:allegedly dead]] brother. They spout insane dialogue ranging from funny ("I'm going to lick you all up, ice cream!"), to threatening ("I'm gonna beat you, boy. Daddy's gonna beat you."), to ''batshit insane'': "Touch my heart. See how it beats in and out? Lucas! There's noooothing to worry about now."

* The most terrifying part of the game is, of course, the final battle against Giygas. After having spent the entire game fighting cartoonish monsters with baseball bats and frying pans, Ness and his friends are now fighting an EldritchAbomination with a terrifying, amorphous visage that looks like a demonic, ghostly hurricane with a warped, screaming face. The creepy, amourphous, jarring background music (and the dialogue inspired by the creator's trauma of catching a glimpse of a murder scene, which he thought was a rape scene, in [[Film/KenpeiToBarabaraShibijin a movie]] as a young child) only adds to this. The fact that most of the rest of the game is so childlike and cartoonish only makes this more terrifying, because it seems ''so out of place.''

* Moonside was...[[MindScrew weird]].
* The Psychic Psychos. An enemy that looks like they've gone crazy with their psychic power. [[FridgeHorror Or, is that helmet on their heads a mind control device]]?!

* In the Lost Underworld, Ego Orbs can be this, especially on first sight. They move really fast, much faster than [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs the Chomposaur or Wetnosaur]]. Like most enemies, they can also detect you if they're even partially on-screen, catching careless players off guard, [[JumpScare as well as giving them a nasty surprise]]. Lastly, there's their faces, which easily fall into UncannyValley territory and make them suddenly darting toward your position from off-screen all the startling. I mean, how are you supposed to react when [[https://wikibound.info/wiki/File:EgoOrb.gif THIS]] makes a beeline for you?

** [[FridgeHorror What role was it meant to play in the game?]]

* [[MushroomSamba Tanetane Island]]. Oh God. The trip went bad, the trip went bad, the trip went bad...
** To clarify if you haven't played: You have to eat the funky-looking mushrooms, which send you into a trippy world of pink trees and creepy music, plus the occasional mailbox (see page quote). Oh, yes - and all the enemies look like people you know, most notably your father and your [[spoiler:allegedly dead]] brother. They spout insane dialogue ranging from funny ("I'm going to lick you all up, ice cream!"), to threatening ("I'm gonna beat you, boy. Daddy's gonna beat you."), to ''batshit insane'': "Touch my heart. See how it beats in and out? Lucas! There's noooothing to worry about now."

** The script for this was rewritten, because the original terrified its creator… So if you thought this was horrifying, [[FridgeHorror imagine what the original script could have been!]]

* The Empire Porky Building can create a deep sense of unease. The floors are extremely varied in their contents and layout, ranging from indoor pools of hippos (complete with grass and vines), a game show, a futuristic area, dozens of toilets, and even including a large area still under construction. The whole building seems to be an [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abomination]]. Compounding how disturbing it is, the player is repeatedly told that whatever floor they are on is the 100th floor, their goal. An air of futility begins to seep in, as the player may begin to wonder if they'll be trapped in this product of Porky's twisted imagination forever.

It may look like another innocent series made by Creator/{{Nintendo}}... But it's far worse than the outside implies, which delving deep into its subconscious may end up driving you mad. Case in point and putting it short, it might just be the darkest Nintendo series to date. And that's saying a lot.

** To clarify if you haven't played: You have to eat the funky-looking mushrooms, which send you into a trippy world of pink trees and creepy music, plus the occasional mailbox (see page quote). Oh yes, and all the enemies look like people you know, most notably your father and your [[spoiler:allegedly dead]] brother. They spout insane dialogue ranging from funny, "I'm going to lick you all up, ice cream!" to threatening, "I'm gonna beat you, boy. Daddy's gonna beat you." to batshit insane. "Touch my heart. See how it beats in and out? Lucas! There's noooothing to worry about now."

* The PeopleJars in the Empire Porky Building. Made all the more disturbing by the fact that you can talk to them, and they're all quite 'happy' being there. There's even a cow, who will say [[LetsMeetTheMeat he's going to become a wonderful steak.]] Yeesh.

* Speaking of Porky, that's nothing compared to his canonical fate. True, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he did it to himself]] and he probably deserved it at this point, but still: [[spoiler:he ends up being trapped {{f|ateWorseThanDeath}}orever in the Absolutely Safe Capsule. A capsule that will keep whatever's inside it [[WhoWantsToLiveForever completely immortal]], [[GoneHorriblyRight and can never be destroyed or opened from outside]] ''or from inside''. [[TimeAbyss Even after the death of the sun]], ''[[AndIMustScream Porky Minch will still be alive.]]'']]
** Porky's situation provokes chilling thoughts: a little boy, yet trapped in the body of an old man and, by this point, is already the series' equivalent to [[VideoGame/MegaManZero Dr. Weil]].
** The final battle with him is rather horrifying itself.

* How about the zombies from the canceled N64 version of the game [[http://starmen.net/eb64/images/evilhead.jpg Here's what they originally looked like]]? Compare that to what we eventually got on the resurrected GBA final version of the game and many will agree they were toned down greatly.

* The Empire Porky Building can create a deep sense of unease. The floors are extremely varied in their contents and layout, ranging from indoor pools of hippos (complete with grass and vines), a game show, a futuristic area, dozens of toilets, and even including a large area still under construction. The whole building seems to be an [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abomination]]. Compounding how disturbing it is, the player is repeatedly told that whatever floor they are on is the 100th floor, their goal. An air of futility begins to seep in as the player may begin to wonder if they'll be trapped in this product of Porky's twisted imagination forever.

** And how do Ness and his friends get there? In the words of Dr. Andonuts himself, life is demolished in the process of time travelling, which is the reason why he transfers their "brain programs" to robotic bodies so they can travel, while their bodies stay behind, without any warrant that their spirits would come back to their bodies; this thought can be very terryfing beacuse this means Ness and company are doing the greatest sacrifice by renouncing to their human bodies, and go around in robotic bodies unable to feel pain or anything, and even if they manage to win and come back to the present, they still might be stuck in their robotic bodies forever. [[spoiler:Fortunately it doesn't happen. Upon Giygas' defeat, their spirits go back to their human bodies.]]

** Think of it this way. Even after Ness and co. have fought powerful monsters, grown stronger, and even after Ness [[spoiler: defeated his inner evil and got that massive level-up]], this abomination is so horrifically powerful that all they can do is [[spoiler: ''pray for help'']].
** With [[spoiler: praying]] being your only hope, one could mistake Giygas as a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]], what with the red coloration and the sheer ''horror'' that is his appearance.

** Giygas gets ''even worse'' if you've played or are familiar with MOTHER[=/=]Earthbound Origins. [[spoiler: He was once an alien creature whose race was the origin of PSI powers who was adopted by a human who he genuinely loved. However, his conflicting loyalty to his species who sought revenge for humanity stealing the secret of PSI from them and his love for his adoptive mother caused him to undergo catastrophic SanitySlippage. The Giygas American players are more familiar with is the end result of Giygas' incredible PSI powers collapsing in on themselves due to his mental conflict until an [[EldritchAbomination amorphous]] AlmightyIdiot was all that remained. With that being said, his "It's not right" line might just be the last rational part of Giygas [[AndIMustScream horrified at what he'd become.]]]]

* [[spoiler:[[TearJerker Flint's breakdown after learning of Hinawa's death]].]] Not so bad for a kid, [[AdultFear home-hittingly scary for those who are older]].

** Perhaps even more horrifying, if you DO run into it, you get to witness the Ultimate Chimera chomping and crunching on Lucas while the screen turns red.

* If you've seen the unused sprites you can pretty much tell what happened between the prologue and chapter 1. As seen in this vid [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDNtHp5prPA&feature=related here]] To make matters worse this happens BEFORE the twins were found in the river WHILE they were still with [[AdultFear Hinawa.]]
** There is also Porky Minch's original (or unused) death scene. While some people like to see what's coming to him for all he's done, others might find it disturbing when they see him in a sympathetic light. his machine crashes into the ground after his supposed defeat, breaking the glass on it. Porky tries to reach out to get out of it, but he starts to go limp and he dies. What a way to go.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS_5Wj_AUiI final battle theme]] for the Masked Man/[[spoiler: Claus]] is ''incredibly'' creepy. It's basically a giant mess of weird sounds, pianos, drums, and at one point, [[spoiler: the ''Love Theme''.]]

[[folder:MOTHER 4/[=EarthBound=] 3 (fangame)]]
* All we can tell from the teaser thus far is that the game takes place in a fantastical, whimsical EagleLand... But if the ominous, cacophonic music and title screen is any indication... Something in this world is very, VERY wrong.
** "Whoa, this game looks ''awesome''! I can't wait to see how... w-wait...why is...why is the music getting weird? ...Is that...was that a ''baby''?!"
[[/folder]]

* The Ultimate Chimera. After the duel with the Almost-Mecha Lion in the Chimera Laboratory, your fellow Pigmask co-worker alerts you to pretty much get the hell out of a room if you see it, and for good reason: running into it kills you, no ifs, ands, or battles. If that warning doesn't scare you, the next part will: the creepy music will cut out, replaced with background sounds of other Pigmasks fleeing for their lives only to get devoured by that thing. Can you confidently traverse from one room to another knowing that such a powerful creature is loose inside the lab?

*** Travis343 [[http://lparchive.org/Earthbound/Update%2021/ describes this nightmare training best]] (as told from Ness' point of view):

** The Japanese version is even scarier; where in English the spirit informs you that he will "take your eyes," in Japanese he says he will "crush your eyeballs." See [[http://earthboundcentral.com/m2eb/dalaam/ here]] for the comparison between the Japanese and English versions.

* The final battle against Giygas. You spend the entire game fighting cartoonish monsters with baseball bats and frying pans, and end up battling an EldritchAbomination with a terrifying, amorphous visage that looks like a screaming face, a demonic ghost, and a fetus. The creepy, amorphous, jarring background music (and the dialogue inspired by the creator's trauma of catching a glimpse of a murder scene, which he thought was a rape scene, in [[Film/KenpeiToBarabaraShibijin a movie]] as a young child) only adds to this. Then when you finally defeat Giygas, the visual and audio distortions get worse and louder until they peak, then instantly blip out like a TV set turned off. The fact that most of the rest of the game is so childlike and cartoonish only makes this more terrifying.
** It eats prayer. Also,
--> '''Giygas:''' It hurts. It feels... G O O D.
** And just before [[spoiler:Paula prays for the last time (which is when you come in), she gets no response from anybody]].
---> ''[[spoiler: Paula's call was absorbed by the darkness.]]''
** "[[MadnessMantra NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS NESS]]"
** "It's not right...not right...not right..."
** Think of it this way- Even after Ness and co. have fought powerful monsters, grown stronger, and even after Ness [[spoiler: defeated his inner evil and got that massive level-up]], this abomination is so horrifically powerful that all they can do is [[spoiler: ''pray for help'']].
** With [[spoiler: praying]] being your only hope, one could mistake Giygas as a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]], what with the red coloration and the sheer ''horror'' that is his appearance.

* Really, besides the infamous Giygas battle theme, there are some pretty unnerving tunes in this game. Most of it has to do with creating an otherwordly-effect on the atmosphere of certain parts; a good example would be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53IZJDOANGM/ Alien Invasion]].

* The final level of the game, the cave of the past, an eerie and melancholic place with a gray fog covering all the place. You find [[BossInMookClothing powerful enemies]] that easily can [[OneHitKill one-shot]] half of your party, then you find the cave where the Devil's Machine lies, at the end of a [[WombLevel fleshy, intestine-like]] [[BossCorridor corridor]], and the whole thing seems to be breathing and pulsating with life. The eerie, ominous music doesn't help at all.

[[folder:'''MOTHER[=/=][=EarthBound=] Beginnings''']]

[[folder:'''MOTHER 2/[=EarthBound=]''']]

[[folder:'''MOTHER 3/[=EarthBound=] 2''']]

[[folder:'''MOTHER 4/[=EarthBound=] 3 (fangame)''']]

'''MOTHER[=/=][=EarthBound=] Beginnings'''

'''MOTHER 2/[=EarthBound=]'''

'''MOTHER 3/[=EarthBound=] 2'''

'''MOTHER 4/[=EarthBound=] 3 (fangame)'''

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/EarthBound https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/giygas_wallpaper_by_doctor_g.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:'''''NESS... IT HURTS...IT HURTS...''''']]

It may look like another innocent series made by Nintendo... But it's far worse than the outside implies, which delving deep into its subconscious may end up driving you mad. Case in point and putting it short, it might just be the darkest Nintendo series to date. And that's saying a lot.