EarthBound

Ness, the red-capped boy in this picture, experiences many humorous adventures in EarthBound.

EarthBound (known as Mother 2 in Japan) is a computer role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second title in the Mother series. It is known for its unique graphics, irreverent humor, portrayal of the Western world as seen by Japan, and quirky characters.

Unlike many role-playing games, this game takes place in the present. EarthBound is set in the year "199X" in a United States-like country called Eagleland. The main character, Ness, wakes up in the middle of night, in his pajamas, when a meteor falls close to his house, and decides to investigate. At the crash site he meets a fly, named Buzz Buzz, from ten years in the future who sends him on a quest to destroy the Evil Alien Giygas in this time, because he is too powerful in the time Buzz Buzz comes from. Ness must then journey through the world, seeking eight "sanctuaries" where the Earth's power is strongest in order to gain the strength needed to confront Giygas. Unlike many other RPGs, EarthBound is not heavily plot or character driven, and is instead essentially a long sequence of various quirky and irreverent quests, most of which are only vaguely tied to a central goal.

Japanese release

The game was released in Japan on August 27, 1994. Known as Mother 2, the game is the sequel to Mother, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game became a phenomenal blockbuster. The next game in the series, Mother 3, is still in development. It continues to be in the Famitsu Most Wanted list.

Though the game is nominally regarded as a sequel, in actuality the two Mother titles do not have a sequential plot. Mother 2 is largely a re-telling of the original game, but with several new characters, settings, and plot twists.

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. 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 amongst loyal fans.

Re-release for Gameboy Advance

In Japan, Mother (EarthBound 0) and Mother 2 (EarthBound) were released on the Game Boy Advance on June 20, 2003 bundled together on one cartridge. Mother 2 remained mostly the same, but Mother was changed a lot to match the U.S. prototype.

According to commercials for Mother 1+2 in Japan and interviews with Shigesato Itoi, Mother 3 is currently in development for the Game Boy Advance. There has been no announcement regarding release of either Mother 1+2 or Mother 3 outside of Japan.

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, 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 weapons.

Mr. Saturn appears in Kirby Super Star, which was also developed in part by Hal Laboratory.

Playable characters

^* Ness' PSI Rockin attacks take the name of your "favorite thing", defined at the game's beginning. "Rockin" is the default.

Other notable characters

• Giygas - The prime antagonist, and the final boss in the game. Giygas plans to destroy the entire universe, and does so through possessing the minds of the world's plants, animals, and people. For most of the game Giygas is never seen, and only referred to. In the end, Giygas is revealed to be a non-physical being with little control over its own evil power.
• Pokey - Ness' neighbor. Pokey is swayed (but not controlled) by Giygas' power and does his bidding in hopes to gain such power for himself. He makes many appearances throughout the game, and is the bumbling middleman for Giygas.
• Picky - The younger brother of Pokey. He plays a small role during the beginning of the game when he is lost on the mountain behind Onett. He temporarily joins Ness' party after you find him on the mountain, and Ness brings him home.
• Mom - Ness must call home regularly and speak to her or he will become homesick.
• Dad - Ness' unseen workaholic father, who only appears as a voice on the telephone. Even in the ending credits, a telephone appears in his place. Some have theorized he actually is the telephone. To save the game, it is necessary to locate a phone and call dad.
• Tracy - Ness' sister, who started working for Escargo Express when his adventure began. Ness calls her to store and retrieve items when he's far from home.
• Frank Fly - The leader (later ex-leader) of the street gang called The Sharks. A misguided youth, Frank is adept with a switchblade, and only after being bested by Ness, changes his ways and starts working at the local fast-food shop.
• Captain Strong - The police chief in Onett, he catches Ness after he had trespassed into the sealed-off Onett caves to reach Giant Step. In the game, Strong and his crew of policemen attack Ness to test his strength in an effort to see if he is in fact ready to move on to the next town or not.
• Tessie - A friendly, long-necked monster which lets Jeff ride on its back to cross the lake in Winters. No doubt inspired by Nessie, the Loch Ness monster.
• Dr. Andonuts - Jeff's estranged father, who Jeff rarely sees due to the Winters boarding school he attends and his father's secluded nature. During the course of the game Dr. Andonuts builds many useful inventions, such as the Sky Runner and the Phase Distorter.
• Mr. Saturn - What all odd looking [1] (http://starmen.net/mother2/images/clay/clay_mrsaturn.png) residents of Saturn Valley are named. They all speak broken English, and at one point are enslaved by the blob king Master Belch and forced to make Fly Honey.
• Master Belch - A large, animated pile of vomit. Master Belch is one of Giygas' highest ranking minions, and is addicted to Fly Honey. Lords over smaller piles of vomit.
• Starman DX - One of the strongest Starmen of them all. Next to Pokey, he's Giygas' top-ranking minion. Kidnaps many characters, including Apple Kid, and takes them to Stonehenge.
• Evil Mani Mani - A glorious, golden statue that brings out the evil in Human beings. First found in possession of Lier X. Agerate, stolen by Carpainter, and then it was later found in Moonside, as a living entity that attacks Ness. Once defeated, it is broken forever.
• Apple Kid - A fat, dirty, lazy slob, but extremely intelligent and useful to your quest. His first contribution to your quest is the Pencil Eraser, which he makes in exchange for some food and $200.00. He goes to Dr. Andonuts' lab in order to build the Phase Distorter, which he concluded is needed to defeat the ultimate villain of their quest.
• Orange Kid - A smart kid who truly believes himself to be a total genius, while he feels Apple Kid is a loser. Paying him to fund his inventing is worthless - he never does anything worthwhile.
• Carpainter - Carpainter is the leader of the Happy Happy cult, and has stolen the evil Mani Mani statue. He has kidnapped Paula and uses powerful lightning attacks.
• Lier X. Agerate - He is an acquantence of Ness, and has something to show you. When you have no one with you, go talk to him, and he'll show you the Evil Mani Mani Statue he has under his house. Eventually, it gets stolen.

Quirks of the game

• The Runaway Five are thought to be a parody of the Blues Brothers (especially the two lead singers). This argument is strengthened when one considered that in the original Japanese version, the band wore black suits instead of the colored clothes of the American release.
• 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.
• There are numerous references to The Beatles throughout the game, including a person in Onett who questions you on their song, "Yesterday", and you reach Deep Darkness using a "Yellow Submarine". Also, among the available "default" names in the Japanese version are John (Ness), Yoko (Paula), Paul (Jeff), George (Poo), and Ringo (King).
• 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.

Special technology that the game employs

• Some of the background music of EarthBound utilizes samples obtained from frequency modulation synthesis quite extensively.
• 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.

External links

• Starmen.Net (http://starmen.net/)
• EarthBound IPM (http://ebipm.net/)
• The game at the gameinfo wikide:Earthbound

ja:MOTHER

Categories: Computer and video role-playing games | EarthBound | HAL Laboratory games | Super NES games