|
The Mole Cricket is the very first enemy the player fights in the Game Boy Advance game, Mother 3.
During the prologue, when Lucas and Claus are play-fighting with a family of Dragos, the Mole Cricket shows up and attacks them both. Luckily, though, they defeat the Mole Cricket without too much trouble. Afterward, he offers to personally train Lucas before saying the next time they'll meet will be in the "Mole Cricket Hole Stadium". When he flies off, there is a stomping noise, then Hinawa shows up, saying she just stepped on a mole cricket, though she hopes it's alright. The game designer, Shigesato Itoi, stated this was a reference to Buzz Buzz, another insect character who appeared early in EarthBound, but was killed by Porky Minch's mom.
Later in the game, the player realizes the same Mole Cricket is alive. They encounter it again near the entrance to the highway from the factory, and it demands a rematch. It allows Lucas and his friends to go through the Mole Cricket Hole if they win the battle, but loses easily. The Mole Cricket Elder then tries to figure how the strongest mole cricket warrior lost against some human, and discovers mole crickets don't know a lot of things about the world, such as the Needle Lucas asks for. The Elder concludes mole crickets aren't mean to be powerful, and, since then, mole crickets start a business selling items they find on the ground. Afterwards, they let Lucas's group pass through the hole to get to Snowcap Mountain.