2
$\begingroup$

A gaming boy gave me this riddle. He asked me to solve this puzzle given to him by his third mother.

Matt had a parakeet named Enza.
Matt got sick, and his parakeet went missing.
He was about to give up on life, but then in flew Enza.
Now, then. What illness did Matt have?
Remember, he was about to give up on life, and then "in flew Enza".

So what was Matt sick with? This might seem like an obvious answer at first, BUT it might not be what you think.

Just for the record, Matt was a custom name I used so people could not go and copy and paste this onto a search engine to cheat the system. The fact that Matt was a character in the game I got this from has no bearing on the riddle.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, the puzzle requires not status ailments in the game, but the text that is in the game.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
8
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ His third mother? $\endgroup$
    – Josh
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:47
  • $\begingroup$ His third mother might be a parakeet. I've seen them talk $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:49
  • $\begingroup$ But then there's the video game tag so I think it has something to do with flappy bird $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:50
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Maybe the riddle is about the game Mother 3 ("third mother") which has been released on the GameBoy Advance ("gaming boy"). $\endgroup$
    – SirGrapefruit
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:51
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_3 $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 6, 2018 at 23:06

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

He has:

A cold

because:

It has the same symptoms as the flu but way less severe(not life threatening).
You lose life when you have a cold. Right before he would die the cold wore off
Third mother is mother 3 (title of the game).
Gaming boy: Game boy advance is the system you play the game on.
You also have a status ability called feverish: after a while you get a new power when the fever is gone.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ If this were to be correct and accepted, it would need a better explanation as to why it references Mother 3, but you are on the right track. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 7, 2018 at 18:42
  • $\begingroup$ Closer, but there's still something missing here. Check the recent update for help. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 8, 2018 at 18:16
  • $\begingroup$ ROT13(Guvf grkg pbzrf sebz n sna genafyngvba cebwrpg. Gur nafjref fnlf gung ur tbg n pbyq naq tbg pbzcyrgryl bire vg orpnhfr n ybg bs gvzr unf cnffrq.) $\endgroup$
    – OfFPiR
    Aug 9, 2018 at 7:35
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, this is correct. Since technically you got the cold idea first, I'm going to mark yours as the best. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 9, 2018 at 16:12
1
$\begingroup$

My guess is that Matt has:

"Uncontrollable crying"

Because...

This is one of the "status ailments" in the Nintendo game "Mother 3".

A gaming boy gave me this riddle.

The game was released for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance

He asked me to solve this puzzle given to him by his third mother.

"Third mother" is a clue to the game title Mother 3.

Remember, he was about to give up on life.

Of all the status ailments in the game this is the one that best describes sadness.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Like I said on a different comment, it's possible he had the mental illness of uncontrollable crying, but it still wasn't the physical illness he had, though the reference to Mother 3 is entirely correct. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 7, 2018 at 18:13
1
$\begingroup$

Since this was asked almost 2 days ago, I'm guessing Jack Matt has

Nothing wrong with him...but had a cold (as @OfFPiR stated)

As others have stated already, this is from

Mother 3, the Japan-only GBA sequel to Earthbound (though it has been fan-translated to English)

From the script:

Stay out of the way, will ya?!
Here, I'll give you a riddle to solve, so you can go think about it somewhere else.
Alright, here's the riddle.
Jack had a parakeet named Enza.
Jack got sick, and his parakeet went missing.
He was about to give up on life, but then in flew Enza.
Now, then. What illness did Jack have?
Remember, he was about to give up on life, and then "in flew Enza".
The answer will come at a later time!
Now get out of here.

Then eventually you get the rest of it:

You're here for the answer, right?
Okay, here it is.
Jack had a cold, but he got over it completely!
...A lot of time HAS passed, after all.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ This was the full answer I was looking for. The reference was from Mother 3, and this was the best answer thus far. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 8, 2018 at 21:42
0
$\begingroup$

Well, he probably had

severe depression

judging from his reaction to losing a bird.

Oh, and possibly also

influenza. (in-flew-Enza)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • $\begingroup$ Influenza was my first guess and that is probably the obvious answer $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 7, 2018 at 4:04
  • $\begingroup$ The person who made the question said it was wrong $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 7, 2018 at 4:04
  • $\begingroup$ It also wasn't severe depression, at least not the physical illness he had. It's possible along with the physical illness he had that he was contemplating suicide, since this illness alone doesn't typically kill people, at least in modern times. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 7, 2018 at 4:08
0
$\begingroup$

The boy's 3rd mother "mother 3" and gaming boy "gameboy" both have something to do with earthbound or mother 3

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
9
  • $\begingroup$ Do I need to wholly change the answer or add something on? $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:22
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ The answer itself is wrong. The answer is not Influenza. But there are some hints that can lead to the correct answer, if you know what the riddle and the prelude to it are referencing. $\endgroup$
    – King Dedede's Secret Assistant
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:26
  • $\begingroup$ @King Dedede's Secret Assistant Is this correct? $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:35
  • $\begingroup$ "You shall not know about me. Lolz"? $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:38
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Duck - OP already said the flu was not the answer (flu is just short for influenza). $\endgroup$
    – Alconja
    Aug 6, 2018 at 22:42

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.