The psychology of Claus - a MOTHER 3 analysis 

I'd like to expand more on my analysis, which started with the parallels between Claus and Flint being portrayed at their most vulnerable states after losing their respective visages as you already covered. In a way, Flint passes down particular traits to both of his sons in the form of his belongings--his knife and the Courage Badge, to be exact. The former is a tool of defense and, when necessary, destruction that represents Flint's power and aggression, while the latter is imbued with his resilience and desire to protect. More on the knife, though: it's interesting that Claus, who is, in chapter 1, inept and helpless, attempts to kill the Drago with it, only to fail and have Flint finish the job with what could be perceived as a similar weapon (though far more potent, obviously). Then, at the end of the game, Claus is able to best Flint in a fight. Claus reaches his peak as a stoic brute, which is how Flint is depicted in his chapter. Sure, he does back off and spares the Drago's life, but only because Alec begged him not to--and with poignant words. If Alec wasn't there, it seems that Flint would have ruthlessly slayed it. The same can be said for Claus in his fight against Lucas. If not for Hinawa's intervention, the conclusion would have been Lucas enduring the assault until he drew his last breath or Lucas fighting back and killing Claus. It's only thanks to an outpour of sincere reasoning that Claus is able to finally recall who he is and realize the enormity of his transgressions. Both Claus and Flint--but not Lucas, not even during the final battle in which the very world is at stake--exhibit the ability to kill. The Courage Badge, however, is the exact antithesis. With it in Lucas's possession, he's able to protect himself along with his friends in the first fight against Claus. Later, it indirectly contributes to Claus's demise, but Claus did so entirely on his own volition. It isn't a tool of violence like the knife is; rather, it strengthens Lucas's role as the leader of the party and makes him resemble more a hero in the same way Flint is in chapter 1. The Courage Badge alllows Lucas to protect and save those he cares about without needing to resort ro violence. I also found colors to be something worth discussing. Flint and Lucas's primary colors are red and yellow--bright, optimistic, if not ostentatious colors. On the contrary, Claus's primary color is orange, which is made by mixing the aforementioned two other colors. Is this a way of intimating that Claus is offbeat, a black sheep, unique? After all, Lucas and Flint are both heroic, they both fight with noble intentions--it's natural that they should have the same colors. Moreover, since we see the events of the game unfold from Flint and Lucas's perspectives but never Claus's, orange symbolizes the foil much in the same way that Wario's yellow, for example, contrasts with Mario's red. One more thing I'd like to point out: chapter 1 ends with Flint absorbing a powerful attack and earning renown for it in the player's eyes as an impenetrable badass and chapter 8 ends with Flint absorbing yet another attack. However, this time it's solely to protect. Actually, I can't articulate beyond this because I'm still grappling with it, but it's a parallel I always found interesting. Flint in chapter 1 is the strong, stoic badass who you want to spend the rest of the game playing as, whereas the Flint in chapter 8 is certainly more humanized albeit frail in comparison.

Honestly, Lucas and Claus really helped me during rough times. Lucas trying to deal with his bravery and overcome his loneliness. And Claus/Masked Man, just this poor child forced to do things out of his control and look a certain way that’s undesirable. I couldn’t help myself from cheering on these characters. Mother 3 is truly a piece of art and remains one of my favorite games of all time.

my interpretation of claus' decision to kill himself was that he was sparing lucas from his violence if he were to lapse back into his unfeeling non-self. I think this was supported by, in the final battle, claus has 'episodic' moments of clarity, or confusion, like when he glances around at hearing his mother's voice. I interpreted that claus was, or was under the impression that he would, be likely to lose his emotional capability again. so he struck himself to end both possibilities of freedom, and of harming his brother again.

clause swinging his sword being so similar to flint swinging his stick is such a cool detail i didn’t see notice till now. I don’t think clause knew he was gonna die before fighting the drago though because I always saw it as clause coping with hinawa’s death in a more reckless way which fits with his personality.

I don't like the evaluation that Claus's suicide-by-PK-Thunder is some kind of beautiful fulfillment of "the death that he was denied." Killing yourself isn't a romantic thing. I would prefer to believe that Claus killed himself because that was all he **could** do, in resistance against the control of his cybernetics, and not simply because he didn't know how to go back to his family.

Claus's whole story and character are both tragic. He was only a child :(

Strong One (Masked Man) does have a heartbeat file. It's not possible to hear it in-game without cheating because masked man is immune to sleep, but it does exist. Battle against the masked man doesn't have one, but it DOES have a combo beat.

To add onto the whole Lucas finding a healthy medium that that part reminded me of. At the end of the game he gets a bat as his most powerful melee weapon. Even more of a middle ground between Flint’s stick and Claus’ metal sword. So still keeping a modern but not to sterile and futuristic feel. I might be thinking to hard about it tho XD

The shoe thing actually killed me

fantastic video. brought up some points i never thought of, but this further solidified Claus as one of if not my favourite character ever. he truly is a tragic character

Mother 3 is still my favorite video game of all time, seeing you continue to discuss it makes me so happy and makes my day. Claus has always felt so real to me, being an only brother myself.

The main thing I wanted to see upon clicking this video, was about Claus' decision in how he "ended." Because he did indeed already observe the Franklin badge and its effects. And so he knew that firing an "intense" bolt of lightning would be striking himself. And that factor just makes the entire ending that much more powerful. I doubt that interpretation was unheard of, it just happened to be how I saw the scene and didn't see much conversation about that detail. It was nice to see someone share that interpretation (if anything about these events could be called nice lol).

I just happened to be on RU-vid at the same time this was uploaded, so thanks for giving me something significant to watch this morning! I’m glad I did, because I think this is your best upload yet (I’ve seen all of your MOTHER videos). None of the parallels you point out feel contrived; I was nodding my head in agreement all throughout the video. I hope this takes off, the title & thumbnail are pretty eye-catching and I doubt many would click off the video with such interesting facts from the get-go! I remember seeing you talk about this project on Discord last month, so I’m glad the full thing came together so elegantly. Some specific things I really enjoyed: • I wasn’t aware of that blurb from the January 1998 64DREAM magazine, the idea that Lucas is more nature-oriented and Claus likes “high-tech stuff” is a neat idea that further divides the two thematically and ties into to the concept of the game’s logo, which is then explored again with Flint & the Masked Man’s naturalistic vs. robotic designs! I love how you directly compare & contrast the twins’ motivations, like the both of them wanting to grow stronger for opposite reasons (showing side by side screenshots of the exact dialogue is very appreciated). • Extending the dialogue box (as seen at 2:28) so that the entire text is shown on screen at once was a great editing choice, much like 7:53 giving us each of the unused animated battle backgrounds simultaneously! It seems you left no stone unturned by pointing out the extremely minute details (like Claus’ untucked shirt compared to Lucas’, for example). I did think of Claus’ happy memories being tampered with & suppressed as evidenced by the static in those unused cutscenes--but never degraded--so likening it to VHS generation loss was brilliant. • I’ve always loved the philosophy behind masks and their role in storytelling, so one of my favorite connections from this I never really thought about between Flint & Claus is how both of their obscured faces emanate untouchable stoicism, a perception later shed to reveal the vulnerable humans underneath. This is the best analysis I’ve seen in a while that made me consider new things about a game I haven't stopped ruminating about since I first played it 10+ years ago. Well done to yourself and everyone involved!

man I just love mother 3 just seeing those ending scenes are making me tear up lol

God this is such an incredible video. I really love the deeper analysis here, it brought up a lot of elements that I hadn’t given much thought to. The thing about Claus potentially knowing he was going to die and even going as far as taking his shoes off was a gut punch to think about. It goes to show how good this game is when even a video like this is enough to get me choked up about it.

I don't think so, I'm sure Claus didn't care much about his life because kids are usually less concerned with death

Oh. My. God. This is one of the best MOTHER 3 analysis videos I've ever seen, and I'm only 5 minutes in! Excellent work! This deserves more views!

I think your voice is a little too quiet, but otherwise I enjoyed this video

I've only recently played Mother 3, finishing it last year as i finished earthbound a couple months prior, and man-- it's just been unable to leave my head. I feel almost embarrassed it took me so long to finally play it, it's the exact kind of game i like. The fact that nearly seventeen years after it's release, there are still people theorizing the meaning and themes of this game-- that's how you know it's truly timeless. great video!

So I’m not the only one who draws parallels between Claus and Darth Vader?

Finally someone that actually understands how good MOTHER 3 is. I've been in love with this game since I first played it. To this day, Its my favorite game

Claus should join you like Leon does in Final Fantasy 2. The dark knight/Leon was the first thing I thought of when it came to Claus. Character is executed well tho.

I think using the fact that you can't hear Claus's in-battle heartbeat isn't evidence at all of him not having heartbeat at all. The only way to hear an enemy's heartbeat is to put them to sleep, and bosses can't be put to sleep. You might as well say the Oh-So-Snake doesn't have a heartbeat, or the Fierce Pork Trooper.

damn, he’s just like me fr fr (half joking)

When Claus As The Masked Man Remove His Helmet, He Dies So Far! :(

I love Lucas sm

This is an incredible analysis, so criminally underrated!!!

Claus was just reckless. And there was that tragic, unexpected outcome. They could've dug deeper into Claus wanting to get himself killed, but it is good enough as it is.

I love this analysis! Also oh my god claus's death is so horrifying im so about to crying again.

Can you make a video in regards to the underrated disney channel sitcom "Dog with a blog" it has some pretty interesting and thought provoking themes within it that pair with the darker themes of the mother series

9:20 Sheesh, this is HARSH. Like, I already subconsciously knew this, but hearing it said out loud... I found yet another reason to cry.

this was such a beautiful video, thank you so much. ive been wanting someone to do an analysis on claus that is honest about the ending of MOTHER 3, and this is exactly what i wanted. thank you as well for introducing the unlucky number theory! i find it fascinating that, although it may be a coincidence, claus's HP number has a tie-in with death... i absolutely adore this video, keep up the amazing work!

Claus got me on the floor nearly sobbing 😭 😭 😭 I love this game so much

Thanks for demolishing me

i love the charecter analysis videos

I've sadly never beaten the game for my own safe state got deleted, guess I'm not a true mother fan ;(

i didn't expect to see monkeyness here!

I feel like some things here are big reaches, but it’s interesting nonetheless. It only makes me disappointed that Claus was reduced to a slave robot so soon, because if he chose a different path on his own it could’ve been even stronger.

That final message was so sick. I’ll always be a mother fan. Since 14 and now I’m 25. I’ll never forget this game

hi jon :)

This is an excellent video that deserves a lot more attention - great work!!

I love watching Videos anything pertaining to games and I can honestly say I never get tired of seeing any Mother content showing up in my feed, I don't think I ever will! No matter how much time passes Mother 3 in particular is something that will stay with me forever!

this is one of the best dives into a game i've seen, nothing feels like straw-grasping

Thanks for the upload!

Mother 3 is so good!

I love Agota Kristof

Very awesome video, Jonathan

I've never really liked the way people say how Claus killed himself. Because to me, that makes his death a lot more... Shallow. My stand on this was he wasn't supposed to be alive. As stated in this video, he was basically a reanimated corpse. Claus knew this, so he made things the way they were supposed to be, with him gone. I know I just re-described suicide, but it makes a difference.

this video is awesome, a great analysis for one of my favorite characters ever! have a new subscriber :D

mother 3 is such a masterpiece of a game. it is the only game i have ever played that has made me cry and every time i've played it.