EarthBound

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{{Infobox CVG | title = EarthBound | image = Image:Earthbound Box.jpg | developer = Ape, Inc. and HAL Laboratory, Inc. | publisher = Nintendo | designer = Shigesato Itoi | engine = | released = Image:Flag of Japan.svg August 27, 1994
Image:Flag of the United States.svg June 1, 1995 | genre = Role-playing game | modes = Single player | ratings = ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) | platforms = Super Nintendo | media = 24 megabit cartridge | requirements = | input = }} EarthBound (known as Mother 2 in Japan) is a role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second title in the Mother series. It is known for its characteristic cartoon-like graphics, soundtrack (that, uniquely for its time, incorporates sampling), irreverent humor, portrayal of the Western world as seen by Japan, and quirky, almost caricatured characters.

The game is often dubbed a "sequel" to the original Mother, an NES title released only in Japan. In practice, however, the games largely exist as "stand alone" titles, with similar themes and storylines, but no direct plot or character continuity.

Contents

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Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

EarthBound is set in the year "199X" in the small town of Onett, part of Eagleland. The main character, Ness, wakes up when a meteor falls close to his house in the middle of the night. He heads out to investigate the meteor, but not before his mother reminds him to change out of his pajamas. At the crash site he meets an insect named Buzz Buzz from ten years in the future who sends him on a quest to destroy the intergalactic destroyer Giygas in this time, because he is too powerful in the time period that Buzz Buzz came from. Ness must then journey through the world, seeking his eight "sanctuaries" where the Earth's power is strongest in order to unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength needed to confront Giygas. This somewhat clichéd plot is intentionally so; the unremarkable story only augments the game's humor. This is evident in the campy dialogue (such as when Ness' mother tells him to be careful while he's out saving the world) and some of the plot elements. One noteworthy moment is Buzz Buzz's demise, a rather unspectacular end for a sturdy creature who travelled ten years in the past and can block powerful psychic attacks.

EarthBound breaks the escapist, fantasy-oriented tendencies and themes of most RPGs by placing the action in a modern day world, much like Shin Megami Tensei but without the dark overtones of that series. These changes to typical RPG stories are often taken to an absurd extreme in EarthBound, such as the inclusion of baseball bats and yo-yos as weapons instead of swords or magical staves.

One of the most unusual elements of EarthBound may be the fourth-wall-breaking inclusion of the player as an active participant within the story itself, which is in great contrast to the plots of other console RPGs that usually never reference the player behind the controller, let alone incorporate him or her into the story.

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Gameplay

Image:Starman-boss.jpg Many of the RPG elements featured in EarthBound are very traditional. In towns, players can purchase items, recharge energy, or gather information from various non-player characters. Battles are not random because the enemies are visible in the navigation portion of the game. When the characters come in contact with an enemy, a battle starts. Depending on from which angle in which the characters make contact with the enemy, the player can be at an advantage or disadvantage when the battle starts. If the enemy is approached from behind, the player get an extra turn at the beginning of the battle and vice versa. As Ness and his friends become stronger, battles with weaker enemies are eventually won immediately, skipping the entire battle sequence altogether.

The battle system is very similar to the Dragon Quest series, in the sense that the characters are not shown onscreen. Once all actions are inputted, the protagonists and the enemies perform the actions depending on character speed. Once the battle is won, players receive experience points in order to level up their characters and improve attributes. Naturally, as the game progresses, it becomes necessary to increase levels in order to cope with stronger enemies.

One traditional RPG element not present in EarthBound is an overworld. Instead, players follow a path, occasionally branching off in some areas. Later on in the game, teleporting spells help players return to previous areas quickly.

Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. The game uses oblique projection, while most RPGs use a top down view on a grid or an isometric perspective.

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Japanese release

Image:Mother 2.jpeg The game was released in Japan on August 27, 1994. Known as Mother 2: Gyigas Strikes Back!, the game is the sequel to Mother, released for the Famicom. This game became a phenomenal blockbuster, so much that it soon matched Dragon Quest in popularity.

The next game in the series, Mother 3, is out now in Japan. It was in the Famitsu Most Wanted list, only falling below No. 10 twice, to No. 11. The title Mother 3 was originally planned to be a game designed for the Nintendo 64. According to Nintendo of America, the game was scrapped due to a lack of time, and an eventual public lack of interest in the Nintendo 64. However, according to Shigesato Itoi, the reality was that they couldn't run the 3D graphics in the game very well at all due to the development team's complete inexperience at 3D graphics. The new "Mother 3" is for the Game Boy Advance.

EarthBound follows the same basic plot as its predecessor, but Giygas (or Gyiyg) is the only returning character.

The Japanese release of Mother 3 has been released as of April 20, 2006 with no American date confirmed as of yet.

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U.S. release

Releasing the game in the United States was considered somewhat of a gamble, as the game's graphics were very simple, especially compared to other role-playing games of the time, such as Final Fantasy VI. Additionally, the humor of the game is tied to its quirky portrayal of the West, which may not have translated to that region. In an attempt to increase sales, the game was also extensively promoted within Nintendo Power, with various special offers, including a contest involving scratch-and-sniff stickers, as well as a Nintendo Power-published player's guide that was included as a pack-in with the initial American release to boost sales and assist players. Ultimately, EarthBound was not very commercially successful in the United States at the time of its release, although it has since spawned a large cult following among its loyal fans.

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Other appearances (cameos)

Ness also appears in the video games Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 and Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube. In addition, the Onett and Fourside cities are battle stages in SSBM, and there are several 3D renderings of EarthBound characters in the form of trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and EarthBound's Mr. Saturn also appears as one of the items. Ness' PK attacks are mentioned as PK and not PSI because the attacks were PK in the Japanese version.

Mr. Saturn appears in Kirby Super Star as a treasure in the game mode "The Great Cave Offensive", which was also developed in part by Hal Laboratory.

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Playable characters

See also: List of EarthBound characters
Name Weapons Used Description Location
Ness Bats, Yo-yos, and Slingshots The silent protagonist in EarthBound. He has good attack and decent defense, as well as the second strongest PSI attack (though the majority of his PSI powers heal or affect status). Even though Ness has low speed until after Magicant, he is still a well-rounded fighter. Occasionally, he will develop homesickness and will waste turns in battle daydreaming about his home. For much of the game, Ness is the main healer for the group; until Poo arrives, Ness is the only character with the ability to regenerate HP and cure ailments. Beginning
Paula Frying Pans, Yo-yos, and Slingshots The first character to join Ness's party, Paula is adept almost exclusively with PSI powers. She has low HP, Attack, and Defense, but her high speed and excellent PSI skills (including PSI Shield) compensate. She has a unique "Pray" ability, which causes one of several random effects to occur in battle that can either assist or weaken one or both parties. Most of her PSI is centered on attack and defense rather than status changes and healing. Found in the Cabin near Happy Happy Village, after beating Carpainter.
Jeff Guns, Yo-yos, Slingshots, Bottle Rockets, and various gadgets. Jeff is the second character to join Ness's party. He is unable to use PSI powers, but he makes up for this weakness with his ability to take a piece of junk and turn it into a useful item. He is also the only character able to use bottle rockets, which deal an enormous amount of damage to enemy parties. Jeff has a unique "Spy" ability, which allows him to see an enemy's offense, defense, and any weaknesses they may have. Winters, a country in the far north. He soon flies over to Threed in the Sky Runner to join Ness' party.
Poo Martial Arts, Yo-yos, or the Sword of Kings Poo is the final character to join Ness's party. Having spent his entire life training in the small, isolated, mountaintop village of Dalaam, Poo is unique in several ways. Most foods obtained from locations other than Dalaam barely recover his HP, and using equipment other than that labeled "of Kings" actually LOWERS his attack and defense. He has a unique "Mirror" ability, which allows him to transform into one of the enemies present during a battle and use all of that monster's attacks. He has well-rounded PSI skills, fairly good attacks, and good healing abilities. After completing his training in his homeland of Dalaam, he teleports to Ness and his friends in Summers.

* Ness' PK Kiai/PSI Rockin' attacks take the name of "your favorite thing", defined at the game's beginning. "Kiai" is the default in Mother 2 & "Rockin" is the default in EarthBound.

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Special Features

Image:Earthbound debug.PNG

  • Many of the animated backgrounds of the fight sequences in EarthBound are actually mathematical graphs that employ dynamic variables.
  • Because of the unusually orderly structure of the game's memory, it is rather easy to modify in ROM format.
  • The game used the Super Nintendo's special "Mode 7" graphics.
  • ROM hackers of EarthBound discovered a debug menu featuring a Kirby cursor sprite and a hidden BGM track not present in the game itself. The debug mode can only be accessed through a Game Genie (or equivalent), or by modifying the ROM.

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Hidden references

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The Beatles

It is interesting to note that the team that designed EarthBound are also open fans of the British pop and rock band, The Beatles. Throughout the game, there are countless examples of this:

  • In the Japanese version of EarthBound, Mother 2, many of the extra alternate names for characters and such are that of Beatles band members. Among them are John (Ness), Yoko (Paula), Paul (Jeff), George (Poo), and Ringo (King). In this particular set, the main character's favorite food is "Honey Pie", and his favorite thing is "Love".
  • A question is asked by a townsperson in Onett that relates to the band's song "Yesterday".
  • The yellow submarine in the game is obviously a nod to their song and animated movie, Yellow Submarine. (A sign near the submarine says "The yellow color is a coincidence.")
  • A member of a band in the game called the Runaway Five references a song which The Beatles covered called "Money (That's What I Want)", originally by Barrett Strong.
  • The song played while the Dungeon Man is in your party contains a sample from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise).
  • After you have been to the Tenda Village and progressed to The Lost Underworld, the Tenda Elder will bid you farewell by saying, "So long. I say goodbye", a possible reference to the Beatles songs "Kansas City" and "Hello, Goodbye".
  • The first few measures of the song played when you wake up at a hotel closely resembles a slowed down version of the melody from The Beatles song "Good Morning Good Morning."
  • When entering Giygas's lair via the Lost Underworld, a song reminiscent of the prelude to "All You Need Is Love" (the trumpets performing the Marseillaise) is played.
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Other references

Image:EarthboundTwoson.png

  • The music played when starting a new game and naming the characters contains a short musical sample from the theme song for the show Monty Python's Flying Circus, John Philip Sousa's Liberty Bell March.
  • In Jackie's Cafe, the music contains a sample from the theme song for the Our Gang film series. Also heard in the background are the first four bars of The Star-Spangled Banner.
  • The background music for Moonside has a sample from the Ric Ocasek song, "Keep On Laughin".
  • One of the weapons Ness can equip is called the Casey Bat. While it increases his Offense more than any other weapon he can equip, it misses three times out of four (all his other bats miss one time out of sixteen). Appropriate, since the bat's name is a reference to Casey at the Bat, the baseball poem by Ernest Thayer about a revered batter, the "mighty" Casey, who strikes out.
  • One battle music track features music similar to the intro from "Johnny B. Goode" and several other Chuck Berry songs.
  • The Runaway Five sharply resemble the Blues Brothers (especially the two lead singers). The original Japanese version had the band wearing black suits instead of the colored clothes of the American release, and were called the "Tonzura Brothers".
  • An NPC in the Onett arcade says he doesn't think Ness is "a real Rambo type guy".
  • Giant Step and Lilliput Steps are references to Gulliver's Travels.
  • One of the non-player characters in the game looks almost exactly like Mr. T (though he is never referred to as such or says anything Mr. T might be thought to say). Fans of the game refer to him almost exclusively as such.
  • Two enemies in the game share the names of famous David Bowie songs: "Starman" (the trademark Starmen enemies appear throughout the game) and "Diamond Dogs" (Diamond Dog is one of the major bosses in the game). The veiny machine from his "Ashes to Ashes" video also resembles the final boss of the game, Giygas.
  • The Starmen characters appear to be based on the alien from the classic sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still.
  • During the battle with the Slimy Little Pile (one of Master Belch's minions) one can hear a sample of the Super Mario Bros. theme.
  • Aloysius Minch, Pokey's father, is a clever opposite to Atticus Finch from the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
  • In the Japanese release of EarthBound (Mother 2), there is a set of default names for the characters and items related to the Mario series. Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo become Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Toad, respectivly. The dog (King) becomes Yoshi, the player's favorite food becomes "mushroom", and the player's favorite thing becomes "goal".
  • The arcade in Onett contains a couple of Donkey Kong arcade machines. There are no real titles on the machines, but the tell-tale red girder pattern of the first level shows on the first machine in front row, and on the second-to-last machine in the back row. Also, the main stage theme for Xevious can be heard in the background noise.
  • One of the battle themes resembles the song Tequila by The Champs.
  • A character in Onett will play a melody from Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, movement 2 on trumpet upon being spoken to.
  • Shigesato Itoi has revealed in interviews that Giygas' dialogue was inspired by a traumatic childhood experience wherein he mistakenly walked into an adult movie theatre playing a rape scene.
  • The Mr. Saturn's font is inspired by Shigesato Itoi's daughter's handwriting.
  • There is a boss fight with a fire-breathing, snake-like sea monster called the Kraken. This is a reference to the sea-creature of legend.
  • The second song played by the Runaway Five in the Chaos Theater strongly resembles the song The Changeling by The Doors.
  • The second-weakest hat for Ness is the "Mr. Baseball Cap". This is a reference to the Tom Selleck movie Mr. Baseball about an American baseball player who played on a Japanese baseball team.
  • The Peaceful Rest Valley was known as the Grateful Dead Valley in the original Japanese Mother 2.
  • You can find a joke story about a man making excuses to a police officer after being pulled over on the New Jersey Turnpike if you search near the desk of the purchasable house in Onett.
  • Mother 2 makes a Star Wars reference with a ship called "Sky Walker" (translated as "Sky Runner").
  • The theme played while in the Sky Runner sounds similar to the synthesized introduction of The Who song, Won't Get Fooled Again.
  • The man who pops in periodically and takes your photo bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Demento.
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Cuts and changes

As with any Japanese property, EarthBound underwent a number of changes in translation.

  • Several names of towns are different:
    • Threed was originally Threek.
    • The Dusty Dunes Desert was originally the Doko Doko Desert/Dokodoko Desert.
    • Dalaam is known as Ramma. It is unknown whether or not this was to prevent confusion with anime property Ranma 1/2.
    • Scaraba is known as Scarabi.
  • All references to alcohol were removed. Jackie's Cafe, for example, was originally known as Boruhesu's Bar. Coffee is uniformly substituted in place of alcohol.
  • In the original Japanese version, the hospitals all had red crosses somewhere on the building. They were removed from the English version, presumably because of possible copyright conflicts with the Red Cross.
  • All the "PSI" abilities in English are known as "PK" abilities in Japanese.
  • In the Japanese version, Ness is nude in Magicant wearing only a hat. In the English version, he is wearing his pajamas without his hat.
  • The Peaceful Rest Valley was known as the Grateful Dead Valley. This was changed to avoid a copyright conflict with the band The Grateful Dead.

There were many other cuts made to the games, which can be seen through the links below.

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In the Player's Guide

  • On page 17, Killer Instinct is mentioned as being one of the games available in Onett's Arcade.
  • On page 111, there is an image of Ness in the nude on the bottom left of the page. This is an oversight on the part of NoA, as Ness was nude in Magicant in Mother 2.
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External links

Template:Mother seriesde:Earthbound fr:EarthBound es:EarthBound ja:MOTHER sv:EarthBound

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