Part 50: Revelations and Reunions (2)

The final boss of Mother 3 is the Masked Man, or as we know now, Claus.

At the very beginning of the thread, I said this game has one thing that is my favorite of all video games. Finally, we come to it, the final battle. I like this very much, even more so than Mother 1 and Earthbound, and considering how unique and memorable those final battles are, well, I hope you enjoy this as much as I.







The lightning attack has incapacitated everyone but Lucas.









The Masked Man starts off with some slight damage from the lightning strike.

Now, I know what you're thinking.



First move is to use Healing Omega to revive the party.









That will just cause the Masked Man to use his lightning attack and rekill everyone but Lucas. This fight is Lucas vs. Claus.







The Masked Man attacks twice, and will go between his sword and a gun-type attack. Defense Up and Shield are honestly not worth the effort for this fight.



This is where the rolling HP meter comes in. Lucas has plenty of time to attack while it's rolling down, and no matter how you buff yourself, Lucas will take mortal damage. You want to attack while you're rolling down and then use Lifeup Gamma when you're close to death.



That said, there's one last detail about this fight.



The Masked Man is Claus. Lucas has the courage to take on many fearsome enemies, but this is different. He's fighting his brother. Even if your family has turned into an emotionless killing machine, could you bring yourself to attack them?







It's a good idea to let your HP refill completely before continuing the text box. That gives you more time to... Uh... Well, we can't attack, buffs are useless, and there's no point using Lifeup until we're close to death.





The only thing to really do is Guard. Guard is the usual defense option that you never use in RPGs. In Mother 3, it has a bonus of slowing down the descent of the rolling HP meter.

So this entire fight is doing nothing while your brother constantly tries to beat you to death. That's why Lucas's inventory should be nothing but Mementos and your best PP-restoring foods.



Of course, that's not all the Masked Man has up his sleeve. He's pulled three needles. He, like Lucas, knows the power of PK Love.







And he will not hesitate to use it against you.



























The battle continues. The Masked Man refuses to cease his attacks, and Lucas can't bring himself to use his weapon or his PSI.

















There is nothing else to do. Lucas just has to keep taking the Masked Man's brutal hits, and hope that Claus is still there.













Claus, please remember... I've been looking for you for so long...

































Can Claus be saved? Now that Lucas has the drive to attack, is it best to take out the man threatening the fabric of the world? Can we survive long enough to get through to him?











Yes! He's family!



































I bet they'll accomplish things together that they couldn't alone.

I'm sure they'll argue a lot, too.

And I can see them helping each other out when they need it.





I bet we'll mix them up a lot until they get bigger...

Claus...

...and Lucas, huh...

How do you want them to grow up to be?



Oh, I was just going to say...



Great. Then it's decided.





















The Masked Man's attacks have significantly weakened. Maybe...?















Maybe...

















It's Claus!





















I'm really happy you could be with me just before the end...



Dad. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you.



Lucas. I hope we meet again someday.



Thank you.



I'm sure we'll meet again.









Claus was just hasty, that's all. You'll forgive your hasty brother, won't you?



The time has come for you to pull the Dragon's last Needle.



Both Hinawa and Claus have entrusted fate to you. Believe in yourself, and pull that final Needle. Nothing needs to be sealed away anymore. Let's make the Dark Dragon sealed underground our new friend. Pass your heart on to the Dragon! Pray to it from the bottom of your heart. Ask it to protect all life in this world. Me, and everyone else... We all believe in you. So now you need to believe in yourself.







Yes.





















And so...





Lucas saved the world with his wish.







Using the courage in his heart, Lucas wished for a better place.









A place with no evil. A place where everyone can begin again.







SILENCE



...Not quite yet, sorry. You'll have to hold your tears back just a little bit longer.



I wasn't being sarcastic. Welcome to the new world of Mother 3.



It's okay. This isn't a dream.



I thought everything was about to be destroyed...but everyone is alive! The only way to describe it is as a miracle.

Did the Dragon's revival give power to all life?

That nearly scared me to death. But I guess this is what they mean by, "A crisis gone is easily forgotten." In any case, everyone's just peachy-keen now.

That was scary. That was the very definition of scary.



Hey, everybody! Goons is over here and doing just fine!



Goons. Thank you so much for everything. And for helping Lucas and the others. This world might've been completely destroyed, had it not been for you.

To be honest, I was so scared the moment Lucas pulled the last Needle. I did have faith, though. I had faith, but I felt a kind of fear so bad that I almost expected my entire body to blow apart. But, as you can see, everyone is just fine! We've regained something incredibly immense!

Dunno why, but I can't stop my tears from comin' out. What is this feeling? What could it be?

This is the first time I've ever seen you cry, Kumatora. You're really cute, now that I look.



Even mole crickets are living creatures too, you know!



Heehee! Who poked you in the back? Guess who! Incidentally, I'm Wess. And it wasn't me.

I'm Alec. I didn't poke you in the back, Goons. He's playing innocent, but Wess was the one who did it. We're both alive and well. Isn't that right? We're both well.



I was just considering living a quiet life as a Snake Rope now. If you happen to find that kind of sad, then please talk to me... and say, "Thanks." And, "Your jaw saved us all." No ordinary snake could've done that. Nor an ordinary rope. This conversation is turning out to be long, just like the snake I am. But I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. Goons, was it? I'll be certain to etch that name into my mind. Have a good new year! Have a good new year!







Now that my saving job is over, I think I'll settle down and take care of the tadpoles. Thank you for everything. No, wait, it's the other way around.



Woof! (I'm doing well, too!)





SILENCE









Thanks. I feel so utterly, incredibly thankful for everything you've done.

Thanks for everything.

I wish we could always be together. We just met, and now we have to say goodbye.

All the people of this world are saved, thanks to you. Thank you, Goons.

*giggle* That was fun, Goons!

Let's meet again sometime. We can meet as many times as we want.

Goons!

Bye!

What's the world there like? It looks like things will work out here, but what about your world? Will it be alright?

Hey, other world. Be good to Goons!

Thanks.

Goodbye.

Goodbye...

Goodbye!

Thanks so much!

Come back sometime!

Thanks for everything.

Goons!!! We'll meet again sometime, right?

Don't forget us.

Goodbye.

Thanks. We sure had a lot of fun, didn't we?











Thank you for following this Let's Play of Mother 3.







This is the part where I'd usually sum up the cast, but I don't really know what to say for this game.









I mean, we've talked a lot about the Tazmily crew.







They were a bit selfish at times and a bit thick in the head at other times, but they're good people in the end.







Even if they all brainwashed themselves to be that dumb.







But overall, in the end, they're good people. Probably would've ended up alright if not for Porky.







Now, these guys, talk about dependable. Duster has a nice underdog story, being a gimp thief chosen to protect the memories of the Tazmily people, even if he doesn't remember his memory is in that egg.







Of course, the DCMC crew is up there with the Runaway Five. And Kumatora is a pretty awesome fake princess.







The various twisted creations of Dr. Andonuts and the Pigmasks were appropriately messed up just enough to be both funny and scary.









Damn it, Rope Snake.







That not enough? Here, have all these random NPCs too!





And these animals, too! Poor Dragos.







The Magypsies were fabulous, of course. More games could use characters like the Magypsies.



That is a lot of save frogs.







Although not always the most fearsome foe, the Pigmasks usually got the job done and were threatening enough to be a force to be reckoned with.













The family may have been torn apart by unfortunate circumstances, but in the end they came together and held through.







And of course, I can't finish this without mentioning the most important character of this journey, Flint's doorknob.





First off, enjoy this nice piece featuring the themes of each game in the series.



Second, thank you very much for following along with this Let's Play.



This was the most work-intensive one I've finished yet. I've made close to two hundred separate sprites and have around three hundred Tindeck links. And then there's all the various battle themes...



But trust me, it was worth it. I'm really happy with how this turned out.



Plus, it was great to revisit a game I've only played once before and gain a new appreciation for it.



The first time I played it, I certainly still enjoyed it and fell for the emotional parts as hard as anyone, but it wasn't Earthbound.



It's a lot smaller, more intimate, and goes in a completely different direction than the first two games.



Now, it's my favorite of the series. It takes the charm and brilliance of the first two games and goes in completely new directions, with wonderful results.



Earthbound had moments that could get to you, but man, this game really knows how to get to your heartstrings. And not just with tragedy, either.



You cheer when Salsa finally escapes his seemingly never-ending torment. You smile seeing Duster find his place in the world. You scratch your head as Lucas undergoes a bad trip. You're creeped out when you see a friendly dragon turn into an aggressive robot.



This game is its own thing, and I love it for what it is.



And of course, it's a damn shame it never got a proper English localization. Though that said, Tomato did a fantastic job and can't get enough praise for bringing this to us.



OK, I'm running out of wistful things to say about a video game and there's still a few more memory screenshots to go. Uh, this run took 25 hours.



Of course, the core of this game is the family. How it's torn apart, how it forces Lucas to grow after losing everything, and seeing the end result.



Do you think Lucas would save the world if his mother was still alive to coddle him? Nah, Claus would be the new Ness or Ninten in a world-saving adventure while Lucas would manage items or whatever.



Instead, Lucas was forced into being a hero, and that makes his story all the more remarkable.



Thanks for all the great discussion and fan stuff and everything as always!



And to close things out, here's Hinawa about to eat a bird.

Take some time to enjoy the updated logo in the final screen of the Let's Play.





You may cry now.