EarthBound

Earthbound
Developer	Ape, Inc. & HAL Laboratory
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Super Nintendo
Release Date	Super Nintendo JP August 27, 1994 US June 1, 1995
Gallery	None
Rating	ESRB: K-A

Earthbound is a RPG created by the famous Shigesato Itoi. It is known as Mother 2 in Japan, as it is the sequel to the Japan-only game Mother. In Japan, it's extremely popular. In America, it wasn't commercially successful, but it has a cult following.

Earthbound turns RPGs upside down with it's unusual humor and setting. Instead of taking place in a medieval kingdom, it takes place in the modern world. Instead of knights and wizards, you play a bunch of psychic kids and battle UFOs and hippies. Instead of swords and daggers, you battle with yo-yos and baseball bats.

Story

Ness was sleeping one night when a meteor struck on a nearby hill. He woke up to go see it, but he couldn't get through so he went back to bed. Later, his annoying neighbor Pokey needed help finding his lost brother, Picky. They searched and eventually found Picky by the meteor. Before they left, the meteor began to glow.

A bee named Buzz Buzz appeared and explained that he was from the future. He said that in the future, an evil entity named Gigas rules the world, but they believe that four children can save the world. He explains that Ness is one of them. The group heads back home and on the way, they are attacked by Starman, Jr. He is extremely strong, but Buzz Buzz protects Ness and defeats him.

When they get home, Pokey's mom spots Buzz Buzz and swats him. Before he dies, he explains that Ness must visit eight Sanctuary Spots and gather the other chosen ones. He gives Ness the Sound Stone and dies. So, Ness begins his epic journey.

Gameplay

Earthbound uses a traditional RPG battle system. At the beginning of battle, you choose what each character will do. The HP is scrolled down, allowing the player to heal before the countdown reaches 0. The order they attack is determined by their speed. Your character can choose to attack, use a psychic ability, use an item, or another ability.

Legacy

Though the game didn't do very well in America, it was wildly popular in Japan. The popularity of the game was probably the driving force in making Ness a character in Super Smash Bros.. Also, Mr. Saturn has made appearance in a few other games.

Sequels

Originally, a Nintendo 64 sequel called Earthbound 64 was planned, but was moved to the Nintendo 64DD. In August 2000, the title was scrapped due to the developer's inexperience with the hardware and 3D graphics.

Earthbound 64 was revived as a game for the Gameboy Advance, Mother 3. The graphics were different, but the scenario work remain very much the same.

Ports and Remakes

• In Japan, Earthbound was ported to the Gameboy Advance in Mother 1 + 2. Several sounds and one bug was changed.
• A demo version of Earthbound was included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a Masterpiece. This caused confusion since the Masterpieces were all demos for Virtual Console games, and Earthbound has yet to be released (or even announced) for the Virtual Console in any region. Additionally, the Earthbound demo only appears in the Japanese version.