Poll: Title Screen Comparisons

EARTHBOUND!!! 8D

I prefer the centered-ness of the EarthBound title.

I really like both, but I guess I’d have to go with Earthbound… probably just because seeing that title contrasted with “Mother 2” makes the game seem more special. Like, a single fortuitous bolt of lightning striking unexpected from the heavens as opposed to some delicious — yet entirely expected and heavily anticipated — pastry.

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Comparing mother 2 and earthbound with pastries and lightning? Well thats mother logic for ya.

I’d have to go with Earthbound’s as well, if only because of nostalgia. However if I remove my self from experience I would say Mother 2.

Earthbound for the win!

I think what I like more about the Earthbound intro is the shimmer animation. Earthbound’s is way cleaner 🙂

Earthbound definitely has a bit more cinematic flare to it. I was actually surprised the first time I plugged in my Mother 2 cartridge a couple years ago at how different this little sequence is between the two.

Also, the music that plays for this intro… Wow, talk about nostalgia. I would rent Earthbound almost every weekend for a month, my saved game always gone, and replay the game from the beginning. And I would always watch the opening intros and sequences all the way through every time.

This all has made me think: The Earthbound intro goes to show how much effort the people who localized this game put into it. It’s really a shame it didn’t have more sales back in ’95. Even the small,15 second title intro was completely reworked and presented in a way that would western give players just the right feeling when going into the game. Everything from the music to the text is somewhat unassuming, and then that glow appears around the word EarthBound… and you know that there is some potential there. That this game’s delivery is going to be paced, interesting, and exciting at all the right moments.

At least, that’s what I see when I watch it. When you compare that to what they are trying to say with the original Japanese version, it’s clear to see their approach was completely different. Players in Japan were already very familiar with and in love with the Mother series. Seeing those letters roll in, and then the gradual reveal of the number 2 must have given people shivers to see. Promises of the continuation of something that was magical. But to the westerners first seeing Earthbound, there was nothing to base it on before, so there is that subtle difference that necessitated a bit more flare, a bit more promise.

Well, thanks for reading my old-guy rant. Have a good one everybody.

Man, it would have been so cool if they’d used the earth design in the EarthBound logo (in place of the ‘o’). I understand it was probably space constraints that made them change it, though.

My vote goes to the MOTHER 2 opening.

TragicManner makes some good points, too.

I honestly like the Mother 2 opening better. It’s smoother and less flashy than EB’s. And EB never utilized the Earth symbol, which is the icon of the series.

I agree that incorporating the Earth symbol would have been nice, but I just don’t think it would have worked in the actual name. EarthBound is a great title, And having the earth where the o is just seems a bit unbalanced to me, visually.

What would have definitely worked, though, is imagine if at the 23 second mark in the video above they had the Earth logo fade in behind the Earthbound text, more or less resulting in something like this:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8482/EBMotherLogo.png

(Thanks to images found on machpizza.tumblr.com and http://p0lar-bear.deviantart.com)

maza2, by far

Mother 2 calls out to me. It seems more serene and graceful, and integrated Earth into it.

Yes, MOTHER 2 definitely. I enjoy the earth symbol as well as the enormous 2 and red background. The Earthbound intro is fantastic too, though.

I knew Earthbound would be winning thanks to nostalgia. xD I chose Mother 2. Being a person who has beaten the original Mother (well, the GBA translation), it really gives that feeling of “this is a sequel to Mother”. Because it comes up as Mother first, and then it scrolls up and shows you the big-ass 2. xD

Do you know what I’m sayin’, G!? (Or is it “?!”, Mato? xD)

I like them both equally. No voting for me!

Earthbound just because it feels more… original to me.

It’s a mix for me.

There’s nostalgia of course, which puts EarthBound as the winner.

However, there’s also the part of me that likes “the original”, plus the “Mother” title having a lot of hidden meaning throughout the series, so Mother 2 wins the hindsight round.

From a pure design perspective, it’s still a toss up.

The “Mother 2” logo starts off with an image of the earth, while the “EarthBound” logo starts off, nonsensically, with the letter B. Had the Earth been part of the letter B, it would have worked better, but as it stands, Mother 2 wins the opening section.

However, EarthBound’s logo wins in that the title glow is perfectly timed with the swell in the music near the end. Mother 2’s logo and red background have all already faded in before that swell even starts, so there’s nothing visual to accompany the swell. Every time I see the last section of the Mother 2 title screen, I feel like something’s “missing” from the end of that sequence, like the fade to red should have waited until that swell and gone slower.

In terms of static design, again it’s preference. They both “work” and are solid designs if you ask me. The Mother 2 lettering and background match up with Mother 3’s screen better than EarthBound does though.

There’s a lot of things that conflict that make deciding on the superior startup screen very tough for me. Notably though, if either one could fix their most noticable flaw (the “B” startup in EarthBound or the lack of anything accompanying the music swell at the end of Mother 2), it’d be enough to push that one over the top.

I don’t really get how I could like one better, they both do the same thing. The only difference is the word and the color.

I guess the fact that Mother 2 starts with the Earth, and has some gradient on the top and bottom of the screen makes it better.

While I do prefer the EarthBound title screen, the Mother 2 title screen is great as well.

@TragicManner

I don’t think the sales really matter. Since so many people have expressed their nostalgia and love for Earthbound, I think that’s worth a lot more than videogames sales.

The MOTHER 2 one is so damn ugly and boring. Even though the “Earthbound” intro is pretty basic as well, it is much better! People probably just voting for MOTHER 2 ’cause it’s “the original” – get over yourselves. Lol.

My vote has to go to EarthBound for this one. The music doesn’t go well with the original, methinks.

Weirdly enough, although I’ve only played Mother 2, Earthbound’s title is the one that gets my nostalgia senses tingling. Maybe its because of all the Internet’s Earthbound material I’ve read/seen but Earthbound is just synonymous with nostalgia for me now.

Earthbound!

Earthbound seemed more polished to me. Mother 2 has a very ‘retro’ feel to it though, like a 50’s sci-fi movie and I think that is what they were going for at the time with the bland color.

I prefer the red color of the Mother 2 title screen.

I say MOTHER 2 because I’ve never been a fan of calling the series “Earthbound”.
MOTHER is a much more epic name.