EarthBound (Mother in Japan) is a role-playing game created by Shigesato Itoi for Nintendo. The series started in 1989 with Mother for the Famicom/NES, and was then followed up by a sequel, Mother 2 (known as EarthBound in North America) for the Super Famicom/Super NES system, and followed up again much later with Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance in 2006.
Like the Final Fantasy series, the Mother games are not a sequential series, but rather three "stand alone" games that feature some common characters, themes, and settings.
Although most RPGs depict knights and wizards in pseudo-medieval settings (such as Final Fantasy), the Mother series takes place in more modern present-day (western) settings told from a Japanese perspective. Mother is set in a suburban America in 1988, while Mother 2 is set in 199X in Eagleland (A reference to the United States) and Mother 3 is set on Nowhere Island (with some western overtones). Enemies consist of everything from aliens, to possessed cars, to evil hippies. Instead of swords and shields, weapons consist of household items, from Yo-yos to frying pans. The series became extremely popular in Japan, and merchandise for the game was produced, including shirts, handbooks, and even a fully-orchestrated and performed soundtrack. No Mother game, other than Mother 2, has been released outside of Japan.