EarthBound
Encyclopedia
EarthBound, also known as EarthBound: The War Against Giygas! and released as in Japan, is a role-playing video game
co-developed by Ape
and HAL Laboratory
and published by Nintendo
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
video game console
. Both releases have semi-alternate titles identified in the game's attract demo: "EarthBound: The War Against Giygas!" for EarthBound and "Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back!" for Mother 2, the latter considered an official translation of its title. It was designed by Shigesato Itoi
, who also developed its predecessor, the Japan-exclusive Mother
. EarthBound was released in Japan on August 27, 1994, and in North America on June 5, 1995 as a stand-alone title. Despite being successful in Japan, the North American version was released to poor commercial response. Despite the poor sales figures, the game has been lauded by gamers for its humorous depictions of American culture and parody of the role-playing video game
genre, and has since become a cult classic
.
A sequel to EarthBound for the Nintendo 64DD
, titled EarthBound 64
, was in development for many years before finally being canceled. This project eventually resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance
title called Mother 3
and was released only in Japan. Like Mother, Mother 3 has only a loose connection to EarthBound, starring new characters, though it does include several returning characters. A collection of Mother and EarthBound was released in Japan under the title Mother 1 + 2.
world
, which is composed of villages, cities, caves, and dungeons. Along the way battles are fought against enemies, after which the party receives experience point
s for victories. If enough experience points are acquired, a character's level will increase. This increases the character's attributes, such as offense, defense, and the maximum HP and PP of each character. Rather than using an overworld
map screen like most console RPGs of its era, the world is entirely seamless, with no differentiation between towns and the outside world. Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. The game uses oblique projection
, while most 2-D RPGs use a "top down" view on a grid or an isometric perspective.
Unlike its predecessor, EarthBound does not use random encounter
s. When physical contact occurs between a character and an enemy, the screen dissolves into battle mode, similar to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
. In combat, characters and enemies possess a certain amount of hit points (HP). Blows to an enemy reduce the amount of HP. Once an enemy's HP reaches zero, they are defeated. If a specific type of enemy is defeated, there is a chance that the character will receive an item after the battle. In battle, the player is allowed to choose specific actions for their characters. These actions can include attacking, healing, spying (reveals enemy weakness/strengths), mirror (emulate a specific enemy), and running away. Characters can also use special PSI attacks that require psychic points (PP). Once each character is assigned a command, the characters and enemies perform their actions in a set order, determined by character speed. Whenever a character receives damage, the HP box gradually "rolls" down, similar to an odometer
. This allows players an opportunity to heal the character or win the battle before the counter hits zero, after which the character is knocked unconscious (although if the counter reaches zero as the battle is won, it will be set to 1 instead and the character will survive). If all characters are rendered unconscious, the game transitions to an endgame screen, asking if the player wants to continue. An affirmative response brings Ness, conscious, back to the last telephone he saved from, with half the money on his person at the time of his defeat, and any other party members showing as still unconscious. Because battles are not random, tactical advantages can be gained. If the player physically contacts an enemy from behind (indicated by a translucent green swirl which fills the screen), the player is given a first-strike priority. However, this also applies to enemies, who can also engage the party from behind (in this case, the swirl is red). If both enemy and player are facing each other, the swirl is grey. Additionally, as Ness and his friends become stronger, battles with weaker enemies are eventually won automatically, forgoing the battle sequence, and weaker monsters will begin to flee from Ness and his friends rather than chase them. While most RPGs up to the mid 1990s primarily used swords and other traditional weapons, the characters in EarthBound use less conventional weapons such as baseball bats, yo-yos
, and frying pans
, with the exception of Poo, who can actually use a sword.
Currency is indirectly received from Ness' father, who can also save the game's progress. Each time the party wins a battle, Ness' father deposits money in an account that can be withdrawn at ATMs
. In towns, players can visit various stores where weapons, armor, and items can be bought. Weapons and armor can be equipped to increase character strength and defense, respectively. In addition, items can be used for a number of purposes, such as healing. Towns also house several other useful facilities such as hospitals where players can be healed for a fee.
. Throughout the game, four characters, known as the Chosen Four, come to compose the party in the game. The player is able to change the default name of these four characters.
The player controls Ness, a young boy possessing strong psychic abilities. Early in the story, he meets an alien named Buzz Buzz with the appearance of a bee, who explains the quest that Ness must embark on. Over the course of his quest, Ness is joined by three other children his age: Paula, another powerful psychic; Jeff, a mechanical genius and child prodigy
; and Poo, a martial arts
master with some psychic ability.
The game's main antagonist is Giygas, an alien from a distant galaxy with the power to influence people using their own evil nature. While he is extremely powerful, his power has destroyed his capacity for rational thought, rendering him unable to control his power on his own. Ness' neighbor, Porky, sides with Giygas and helps to carry out Giygas' plans.
, dominates the universe. Buzz Buzz instructs Ness to embark on a journey to defeat Giygas in the present, because he is too powerful in the future. Ness then proceeds to seek out eight "sanctuaries," to unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength required to confront Giygas. Buzz Buzz is later killed by Pokey's mom, who mistakes Buzz Buzz for a dung beetle. Dying, Buzz Buzz gives Ness the Sound Stone, an item that is vital to the completion of his quest.
Ness proceeds on his quest through a variety of locales, including the towns of Onett, Twoson, Threed, and Fourside, an icy country called Winters, a beach resort called Summers, an Eastern Asian-esque land called Dalaam, and a dream world called Magicant. As he goes on his journey, he encounters a variety of characters, including the other three chosen ones, Paula, a blond girl from Twoson, Jeff, a book-smart boy from Winters, and Poo, a young prince from Dalaam. There are several enemies that Ness encounters in EarthBound, including Giygas' army of Starmen. The group often runs into a blues band called the Runaway Five, helping them out and being helped out in return. Throughout the game, Ness runs into Pokey, who had joined with Giygas to take over the world. Ness eventually activates all of the "Your Sanctuary" locations, discovered Magicant within himself, and defeats his "Nightmare", which represented all of the evil hidden away in Ness' heart, unlocking his true power. Jeff's father, Doctor Andonuts, creates a device that will allow them to travel to the past to battle against Giygas - however, they are forced to transfer their souls from their bodies into robot bodies, as organic material cannot withstand the warp through time. In the past, they encounter Giygas and Pokey in a giant spider mech, who informs Ness and the others that Giygas has consumed so much evil power, that his mind was completely destroyed. After defeating Pokey, the machine turns off, unleashing Giygas' power which destroys the machine and creates a chaotic, bizarre dimension, trapping himself and the four children in darkness. Giygas uses psychic attacks that Ness and the others can't defend against, and speaks in a confused babble. Paula then prays reaching out to a variety of people on Earth, such as their family and friends, who all pray for their safety, and eventually, she reaches out to the player, whose prayers defeat Giygas, due to his weakness to human emotions. Pokey escapes into a time warp, and Ness and his friends manage to have their spirits returned to their bodies, and they all return to their homes (with the exception of Paula, who stays with Ness). After the credits, Picky gives Ness a message from Pokey, daring him to come looking for him.
Development on EarthBound took place as a joint effort between Ape, Inc.
and HAL Laboratory, Inc.
and was designed by Shigesato Itoi
, APE programmer Kouji Malta and HAL programmer Satoru Iwata
, both of whom were the main programmers for EarthBound. The total development time for the project was five years, much longer than was initially expected. Of this, Itoi has stated that many times he felt the project was "doomed." Because two companies were working on EarthBound, responsibilities were spread out between the two studios. Ape had more people working on the title and oversaw the data aspects of the game while HAL worked on the programming. Because the two studios were based at separate locations, employees would regularly have to travel between the studios to work.
Initial gameplay features that Itoi had in mind involved an unconventional level structure
and hit points system (HP). Itoi decided to exclude an overworld
, because he wanted no distinction to remain between towns and the outside world. This resulted in each town being carefully designed to be unique.
The first design concepts for the HP boxes were to make them like pachinko balls
and have them fall off the screen whenever a character was damaged. However, this was later changed to the "rolling counter" HP boxes because the pachinko balls did not work so well when characters had large amounts of HP.
Some of the difficulties posed by the development of EarthBound were the data restrictions imposed by the SNES
cartridge size. It was initially designed to fit on an 8 megabit
cartridge. However, it was later pushed to 12 megabits and then finally pushed onto a 24 megabit cartridge. This can partially be attributed to the large amount of music composed for the title (as an example, there are ten different music tracks for regular and boss battles). Other aspects of the project that remained difficult were programming concepts. The oblique projection
techniques proved difficult to program and were time consuming as well. The bicycle and delivery man systems posed problems as well due to their own complex programming schemes.
Some aspects of the character designs remain very personal for Shigesato Itoi. In an interview on his website, Itoi describes how his inspiration for the final battle with Giygas resulted from a traumatic childhood event. When Itoi was a young boy, he accidentally viewed the wrong movie at a theater, a Shintōhō
film entitled The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty
. According to Itoi, the film featured a graphic rape scene near a river that traumatized Itoi so much that his parents began to worry about his wellbeing. In actuality, the scene shows how the titular beauty was murdered. Years later, Itoi integrated the experience into Giygas' dialogue for the final battle.
Nintendo
eventually announced a release date of August 27, 1994 for Japan, and invested a large amount of money into promoting the new game. One of the marketing campaigns involved Japanese celebrity Takuya Kimura
of SMAP
, who was heavily featured in Weekly Famitsu promotional ads. For its North American release, efforts included bundling a full length strategy guide with the game, complete in a bigger box, and affixing a price much higher than other titles at the time. Scratch and sniff
stickers also came bundled with the game. EarthBound was released in Japan on August 27, 1994, and was well received. The North American version was released months later on June 5, 1995, and was met with lukewarm responses.
had anticipated. The game sold 140,000 copies in North America, and about twice that number in Japan. American audiences were largely indifferent to Japanese role-playing video game
s, and would remain this way until titles like Final Fantasy VII
took the genre into the mainstream. Years later, many American critics have praised the game for being ahead of its time, as well as for its storyline, graphics, and particularly, its humor. In the June 2008 issue of Nintendo Power
, EarthBound was revealed to be the #1 "Readers' Most Wanted" Virtual Console title, with Mother close behind at #4. Then in the July 2008 issue of Nintendo Power, EarthBound was yet again the #1 "Readers' Most Wanted" Virtual Console title, with the original Mother now placed in second.
EarthBound is regarded by critics as one of the greatest RPGs on the SNES
, as well as one of the best of the 1990s. The game has also become a cult classic and possesses substantial fanbases in both Japan
and North America
. As a result, the game regularly appears on readers' choice polls in both countries. In a 2005 readers' choice poll of the top 99 best games of all time conducted by IGN
, EarthBound was voted 46th on the list. A year later, IGN conducted a similar readers' choice poll where EarthBound moved up to be 33rd on the list. A 2005 GameFAQs
poll of the 100 best games ever had EarthBound at the 37th spot. The game has also appeared on lists conducted by the Japanese. In a 2006 readers' poll conducted by Famitsu
magazine, the game was voted the 37th best game of all time on a list of 100 titles. In a retrospective of the 20 essential Japanese RPGs, Gamasutra featured EarthBound on the list. In the January 2010 issue of Nintendo Power
, editors named the game "The Ultimate Cult Hit".
Reviews of EarthBound have generally been positive. In Allgame
's review, EarthBound was declared "one of the most original role-playing games of the 1990s." The site then went on to praise its storyline, humor, music, and characters. A point of contention between critics were the simplistic graphics. In All RPG's review of the game, the graphics were described as "horrid," while Nintendojo
and 1UP
enjoyed them, with 1UP going so far as to say "regardless of what anyone tells you, the graphics are awesome." 1UP also criticized the title's similarities to Dragon Quest
, but in the end declared EarthBound a game "worth experiencing." Nintendojo and Gamasutra
also criticized the similarities to Dragon Quest, with Gamasutra
declaring EarthBound an "unabashed Dragon Quest clone..." Despite the criticism, Gamasutra regarded the title "as one of the greatest RPGs on the SNES." The game's audio was also praised, with All RPG declaring it "some of the best music on the Super Nintendo."
Of all EarthBounds elements, however, the most lauded was its humor, being universally praised by all critics for its comedic, albeit confusing, depictions of American culture and parody of the RPG
genre. Described by Gamasutra
as "a warped, confused tribute to American culture, designed by people who've only experienced the country through books and movies" the quirky humor of the game is one of the chief reasons for its popularity. Ranging from trips in a yellow submarine to fighting a diamond dog
(although these are actually from British
culture), the game is rife with subtle cultural references. Amongst the ranks of absurd enemies in the game Ness must face down New Age Retro Hippies, Pogo Punks, Extra Cranky Ladies, and Big Piles of Puke throughout his quest. Much of the dialogue and plot of the game pokes fun at traditional RPG and sci-fi clichés. Even the advertising campaign played off of its humor, with the slogan "This game stinks", referring to the scratch and sniff stickers that were included in the Player's Guide
.
has consistently appeared as a playable character. In the first title of the series, Super Smash Bros.
, Ness appeared as a hidden character, unlocked by beating the 1 player mode on normal difficulty or higher, using three lives or fewer, not using any continues, and finally defeating Ness in a match. In Super Smash Bros. Melee
, Ness is playable from the start. Ness is once again an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, and can be unlocked in several different ways. Onett and Fourside appear as battle arenas in the Melee, while only Onett appears in Brawl. New Pork City, from Mother 3
(the sequel to Earthbound and the third game in the Mother series), appears in Brawl as well. In addition to Ness, Lucas from Mother 3
is a playable character in Brawl, Pokey/Porky appeared as a boss, and trophies for many other characters, such as Paula, Jeff, and Poo, can be collected in the two latter games. Jeff is also featured as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, using his Multi-Bottle Rockets to home in on opponents. Mr. Saturn is used as a throwing item, and the Franklin Badge is featured as a power-up.
EarthBounds soundtrack has been lauded by critics and fans, including Alex Hall, a staff writer for the online music magazine The Tune, who named it the best video game soundtrack of all time. It has also been completely remixed by fans and released as a free downloadable tribute album entitled Bound Together. The album encompasses 48 tracks and includes performances from well known video game cover bands, such as the OneUps
, as well as various artists from remixing communities like OverClocked ReMix
.
The Scott Pilgrim
comics, the film adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
, and the video game adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game
all prominently feature the Chaos Theatre, a night club named after the concert hall in Twoson where the Runaway Five performed in EarthBound. Additionally, in Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, Scott can be seen wearing a Mother 2 shirt towards the end.
The AlterniaBound interactive segment of the popular webcomic
Homestuck is partially modeled after EarthBound. An easter egg within the game allows the player to enter a room containing the main characters of EarthBound.
, entitled EarthBound 64 or Mother 3
. However, the game became plagued by problems as release date pushbacks occurred, as well as failures to appear at popular gaming conventions, like E3. Nintendo eventually announced its cancellation on August 21, 2000. Years later, Mother 3 resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance
title and was released only in Japan. On May 5, 2005, Shigesato Itoi announced that he had no plans to develop the Mother series any further. An ESRB rating suggesting an EarthBound release for the Wii Console has since surfaced; however, no official plans concerning this release have been announced. A compilation of the entire Mother trilogy for DS has not been officially announced, but Itoi has mentioned that "It is not entirely out-of-the-question".
, and was released by Sony Records in Japan on November 2, 1994.
Development of the music for EarthBound remained much easier than its predecessor. In an interview with Weekly Famitsu, Keiichi Suzuki commented on how the SNES
gave the composers much more freedom to compose what they wanted. This was an advantage, because one of the many problems the makers originally had was trying to get all of their music on to the cartridge. Suzuki also cited John Lennon
as an influential figure to all the composers while the soundtrack was being developed.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
co-developed by Ape
Creatures Inc.
is a subsidiary of the Japanese game development company Nintendo. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, as a successor to Shigesato Itoi's company Ape Inc. Its current president is Hirokazu Tanaka. The company has its headquarters on the second floor of the in Chiyoda, Tokyo, in...
and HAL Laboratory
HAL Laboratory
is a Japanese video game developer that was founded on February 21, 1980. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its name comes from the HAL 9000 computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The company is most famous for its character Kirby, the protagonist of the eponymous game series, as well as...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. Both releases have semi-alternate titles identified in the game's attract demo: "EarthBound: The War Against Giygas!" for EarthBound and "Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back!" for Mother 2, the latter considered an official translation of its title. It was designed by Shigesato Itoi
Shigesato Itoi
is one of the most influential cultural figures in Japan, known for his copywriting, essays, lyrics, Nintendo game creation, and as editor-in-chief of his popular website “Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.” He is best known outside of Japan as a game designer for his work on Nintendo's EarthBound...
, who also developed its predecessor, the Japan-exclusive Mother
Mother (video game)
, planned to be released in English as Earth Bound , is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo Tokyo Research and Development Products in...
. EarthBound was released in Japan on August 27, 1994, and in North America on June 5, 1995 as a stand-alone title. Despite being successful in Japan, the North American version was released to poor commercial response. Despite the poor sales figures, the game has been lauded by gamers for its humorous depictions of American culture and parody of the role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
genre, and has since become a cult classic
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
.
A sequel to EarthBound for the Nintendo 64DD
Nintendo 64DD
The is a peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console. It plugged into the N64 through the EXTension Port on the Nintendo 64's underside, and allowed the N64 to use proprietary 64 MB magneto-optical discs for expanded data storage...
, titled EarthBound 64
EarthBound 64
EarthBound 64, officially known as Mother 3 , is a cancelled role-playing video game that was in development by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory for the Nintendo 64DD. It was later transferred to the Nintendo 64 after the Nintendo 64DD proved to be unsuccessful. The game adopted several subtitles in...
, was in development for many years before finally being canceled. This project eventually resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
title called Mother 3
Mother 3
Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo, Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and published for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the Mother series, following EarthBound...
and was released only in Japan. Like Mother, Mother 3 has only a loose connection to EarthBound, starring new characters, though it does include several returning characters. A collection of Mother and EarthBound was released in Japan under the title Mother 1 + 2.
Gameplay
EarthBound features many traditional RPG elements; the player controls a party of characters who travel through the game's two dimensional2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
world
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, which is composed of villages, cities, caves, and dungeons. Along the way battles are fought against enemies, after which the party receives experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s for victories. If enough experience points are acquired, a character's level will increase. This increases the character's attributes, such as offense, defense, and the maximum HP and PP of each character. Rather than using an overworld
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
map screen like most console RPGs of its era, the world is entirely seamless, with no differentiation between towns and the outside world. Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. The game uses oblique projection
Oblique projection
Oblique projection is a simple type of graphical projection used for producing pictorial, two-dimensional images of three-dimensional objects.- Overview :Oblique projection is a type of parallel projection:...
, while most 2-D RPGs use a "top down" view on a grid or an isometric perspective.
Unlike its predecessor, EarthBound does not use random encounter
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
s. When physical contact occurs between a character and an enemy, the screen dissolves into battle mode, similar to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
. In combat, characters and enemies possess a certain amount of hit points (HP). Blows to an enemy reduce the amount of HP. Once an enemy's HP reaches zero, they are defeated. If a specific type of enemy is defeated, there is a chance that the character will receive an item after the battle. In battle, the player is allowed to choose specific actions for their characters. These actions can include attacking, healing, spying (reveals enemy weakness/strengths), mirror (emulate a specific enemy), and running away. Characters can also use special PSI attacks that require psychic points (PP). Once each character is assigned a command, the characters and enemies perform their actions in a set order, determined by character speed. Whenever a character receives damage, the HP box gradually "rolls" down, similar to an odometer
Odometer
An odometer or odograph is an instrument that indicates distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or automobile. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The word derives from the Greek words hodós and métron...
. This allows players an opportunity to heal the character or win the battle before the counter hits zero, after which the character is knocked unconscious (although if the counter reaches zero as the battle is won, it will be set to 1 instead and the character will survive). If all characters are rendered unconscious, the game transitions to an endgame screen, asking if the player wants to continue. An affirmative response brings Ness, conscious, back to the last telephone he saved from, with half the money on his person at the time of his defeat, and any other party members showing as still unconscious. Because battles are not random, tactical advantages can be gained. If the player physically contacts an enemy from behind (indicated by a translucent green swirl which fills the screen), the player is given a first-strike priority. However, this also applies to enemies, who can also engage the party from behind (in this case, the swirl is red). If both enemy and player are facing each other, the swirl is grey. Additionally, as Ness and his friends become stronger, battles with weaker enemies are eventually won automatically, forgoing the battle sequence, and weaker monsters will begin to flee from Ness and his friends rather than chase them. While most RPGs up to the mid 1990s primarily used swords and other traditional weapons, the characters in EarthBound use less conventional weapons such as baseball bats, yo-yos
Yo Yo
Yo Yo is a 1965 film by Pierre Étaix. It was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:Yo Yo is a 1920s billionaire who, although having everything he fancies and living in a cavernous old castle, is not happy because he is in love with a beautiful circus artist. The stock-exchange crashes...
, and frying pans
Frying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle...
, with the exception of Poo, who can actually use a sword.
Currency is indirectly received from Ness' father, who can also save the game's progress. Each time the party wins a battle, Ness' father deposits money in an account that can be withdrawn at ATMs
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
. In towns, players can visit various stores where weapons, armor, and items can be bought. Weapons and armor can be equipped to increase character strength and defense, respectively. In addition, items can be used for a number of purposes, such as healing. Towns also house several other useful facilities such as hospitals where players can be healed for a fee.
Characters
EarthBound roughly takes place in the 1990s1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
. Throughout the game, four characters, known as the Chosen Four, come to compose the party in the game. The player is able to change the default name of these four characters.
The player controls Ness, a young boy possessing strong psychic abilities. Early in the story, he meets an alien named Buzz Buzz with the appearance of a bee, who explains the quest that Ness must embark on. Over the course of his quest, Ness is joined by three other children his age: Paula, another powerful psychic; Jeff, a mechanical genius and child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
; and Poo, a martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
master with some psychic ability.
The game's main antagonist is Giygas, an alien from a distant galaxy with the power to influence people using their own evil nature. While he is extremely powerful, his power has destroyed his capacity for rational thought, rendering him unable to control his power on his own. Ness' neighbor, Porky, sides with Giygas and helps to carry out Giygas' plans.
Story
The story begins when Ness is awakened by a meteorite that has plummeted near his home, whereupon he proceeds to investigate the crash site. After going there, he encounters a roadblock and Pokey, who states that Ness should simply go home. After he goes to bed, he is then woken up by Pokey knocking at his door. He states that his little brother is missing, and he needs Ness' help to find him. Ness, along with his pet dog, King, accompany Pokey and set out for his younger brother. After searching, they go to where the meteorite landed. After arriving, Ness encounters an alien named Buzz Buzz, who informs Ness that he is from the future where a hostile alien, GiygasGiygas
Giygas, known in Japan as or Giegue in the unreleased English translation of Mother, is the main antagonist of the video games Mother and EarthBound. He is an evil alien being bent on destroying the Earth, and is referred to by the titles "Universal Cosmic Destroyer" and "Embodiment of Evil"...
, dominates the universe. Buzz Buzz instructs Ness to embark on a journey to defeat Giygas in the present, because he is too powerful in the future. Ness then proceeds to seek out eight "sanctuaries," to unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength required to confront Giygas. Buzz Buzz is later killed by Pokey's mom, who mistakes Buzz Buzz for a dung beetle. Dying, Buzz Buzz gives Ness the Sound Stone, an item that is vital to the completion of his quest.
Development
Creatures Inc.
is a subsidiary of the Japanese game development company Nintendo. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, as a successor to Shigesato Itoi's company Ape Inc. Its current president is Hirokazu Tanaka. The company has its headquarters on the second floor of the in Chiyoda, Tokyo, in...
and HAL Laboratory, Inc.
HAL Laboratory
is a Japanese video game developer that was founded on February 21, 1980. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its name comes from the HAL 9000 computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The company is most famous for its character Kirby, the protagonist of the eponymous game series, as well as...
and was designed by Shigesato Itoi
Shigesato Itoi
is one of the most influential cultural figures in Japan, known for his copywriting, essays, lyrics, Nintendo game creation, and as editor-in-chief of his popular website “Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.” He is best known outside of Japan as a game designer for his work on Nintendo's EarthBound...
, APE programmer Kouji Malta and HAL programmer Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata
is the fourth president of Nintendo, succeeding the long-standing previous president of the company, Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002. He was responsible in great part for defining Nintendo's strategy both before and during the release of its Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001, a vision which...
, both of whom were the main programmers for EarthBound. The total development time for the project was five years, much longer than was initially expected. Of this, Itoi has stated that many times he felt the project was "doomed." Because two companies were working on EarthBound, responsibilities were spread out between the two studios. Ape had more people working on the title and oversaw the data aspects of the game while HAL worked on the programming. Because the two studios were based at separate locations, employees would regularly have to travel between the studios to work.
Initial gameplay features that Itoi had in mind involved an unconventional level structure
Level design
Level design, environment design or game mapping is a discipline of game development involving creation of video game levels—locales, stages, or missions. This is commonly done using level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however some games feature built-in...
and hit points system (HP). Itoi decided to exclude an overworld
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
, because he wanted no distinction to remain between towns and the outside world. This resulted in each town being carefully designed to be unique.
The first design concepts for the HP boxes were to make them like pachinko balls
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
and have them fall off the screen whenever a character was damaged. However, this was later changed to the "rolling counter" HP boxes because the pachinko balls did not work so well when characters had large amounts of HP.
Some of the difficulties posed by the development of EarthBound were the data restrictions imposed by the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
cartridge size. It was initially designed to fit on an 8 megabit
Megabit
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix mega is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 106 , and therefore...
cartridge. However, it was later pushed to 12 megabits and then finally pushed onto a 24 megabit cartridge. This can partially be attributed to the large amount of music composed for the title (as an example, there are ten different music tracks for regular and boss battles). Other aspects of the project that remained difficult were programming concepts. The oblique projection
Oblique projection
Oblique projection is a simple type of graphical projection used for producing pictorial, two-dimensional images of three-dimensional objects.- Overview :Oblique projection is a type of parallel projection:...
techniques proved difficult to program and were time consuming as well. The bicycle and delivery man systems posed problems as well due to their own complex programming schemes.
Some aspects of the character designs remain very personal for Shigesato Itoi. In an interview on his website, Itoi describes how his inspiration for the final battle with Giygas resulted from a traumatic childhood event. When Itoi was a young boy, he accidentally viewed the wrong movie at a theater, a Shintōhō
Shintoho
was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big-6 film studios during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Tōhō Company...
film entitled The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty
Kenpei to barabara shibijin
is a 1957 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kyotaro Namiki. It is a Japanese horror film .Shigesato Itoi was famously traumatized at a young age by accidentally seeing one of its more violent scenes in a theatre. Later, he drew on that experience to create Giygas' dialogue in the video game...
. According to Itoi, the film featured a graphic rape scene near a river that traumatized Itoi so much that his parents began to worry about his wellbeing. In actuality, the scene shows how the titular beauty was murdered. Years later, Itoi integrated the experience into Giygas' dialogue for the final battle.
Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
eventually announced a release date of August 27, 1994 for Japan, and invested a large amount of money into promoting the new game. One of the marketing campaigns involved Japanese celebrity Takuya Kimura
Takuya Kimura
, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...
of SMAP
SMAP
SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...
, who was heavily featured in Weekly Famitsu promotional ads. For its North American release, efforts included bundling a full length strategy guide with the game, complete in a bigger box, and affixing a price much higher than other titles at the time. Scratch and sniff
Scratch and sniff
Scratch and sniff technology generally refers to things that have been treated with a microfragrance coating. When scratched, the coating releases an odor that is normally related to an image being displayed under the coating...
stickers also came bundled with the game. EarthBound was released in Japan on August 27, 1994, and was well received. The North American version was released months later on June 5, 1995, and was met with lukewarm responses.
Reception
EarthBound became a great success in Japan, eventually rising to #1 on Weekly Famitsu's top 30 chart along with hearty recommendations by the magazine reviewers. Commercial reactions in America, on the other hand, were much lower than NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
had anticipated. The game sold 140,000 copies in North America, and about twice that number in Japan. American audiences were largely indifferent to Japanese role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s, and would remain this way until titles like Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
took the genre into the mainstream. Years later, many American critics have praised the game for being ahead of its time, as well as for its storyline, graphics, and particularly, its humor. In the June 2008 issue of Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, EarthBound was revealed to be the #1 "Readers' Most Wanted" Virtual Console title, with Mother close behind at #4. Then in the July 2008 issue of Nintendo Power, EarthBound was yet again the #1 "Readers' Most Wanted" Virtual Console title, with the original Mother now placed in second.
EarthBound is regarded by critics as one of the greatest RPGs on the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, as well as one of the best of the 1990s. The game has also become a cult classic and possesses substantial fanbases in both Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. As a result, the game regularly appears on readers' choice polls in both countries. In a 2005 readers' choice poll of the top 99 best games of all time conducted by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, EarthBound was voted 46th on the list. A year later, IGN conducted a similar readers' choice poll where EarthBound moved up to be 33rd on the list. A 2005 GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
poll of the 100 best games ever had EarthBound at the 37th spot. The game has also appeared on lists conducted by the Japanese. In a 2006 readers' poll conducted by Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
magazine, the game was voted the 37th best game of all time on a list of 100 titles. In a retrospective of the 20 essential Japanese RPGs, Gamasutra featured EarthBound on the list. In the January 2010 issue of Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, editors named the game "The Ultimate Cult Hit".
Reviews of EarthBound have generally been positive. In Allgame
Allgame
Allgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
's review, EarthBound was declared "one of the most original role-playing games of the 1990s." The site then went on to praise its storyline, humor, music, and characters. A point of contention between critics were the simplistic graphics. In All RPG's review of the game, the graphics were described as "horrid," while Nintendojo
Nintendojo
Nintendojo is a non-profit website that focuses on Nintendo-related subject matter, created and run by fans. Nintendojo is the oldest Nintendo-specific fansite still in existence, having been founded by Peer Schneider in September 1996...
and 1UP
1UP!
-Art/photography:*Swavek Piorkowski — art direction, photography*John Wellman — design, layout*Margaret Malandruccolo — photography-Instruments:*Alex Norman — guitar*Swavek Piorkowski — drums*Will Marr — guitar...
enjoyed them, with 1UP going so far as to say "regardless of what anyone tells you, the graphics are awesome." 1UP also criticized the title's similarities to Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
, but in the end declared EarthBound a game "worth experiencing." Nintendojo and Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
also criticized the similarities to Dragon Quest, with Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
declaring EarthBound an "unabashed Dragon Quest clone..." Despite the criticism, Gamasutra regarded the title "as one of the greatest RPGs on the SNES." The game's audio was also praised, with All RPG declaring it "some of the best music on the Super Nintendo."
Of all EarthBounds elements, however, the most lauded was its humor, being universally praised by all critics for its comedic, albeit confusing, depictions of American culture and parody of the RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
genre. Described by Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
as "a warped, confused tribute to American culture, designed by people who've only experienced the country through books and movies" the quirky humor of the game is one of the chief reasons for its popularity. Ranging from trips in a yellow submarine to fighting a diamond dog
Diamond Dogs (song)
"Diamond Dogs" is a 1974 single by David Bowie, and the title track of the album of the same name.The lyric introduces the listener to Bowie’s latest persona and his environment; Halloween Jack dwells on top of tenement buildings in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan...
(although these are actually from British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
culture), the game is rife with subtle cultural references. Amongst the ranks of absurd enemies in the game Ness must face down New Age Retro Hippies, Pogo Punks, Extra Cranky Ladies, and Big Piles of Puke throughout his quest. Much of the dialogue and plot of the game pokes fun at traditional RPG and sci-fi clichés. Even the advertising campaign played off of its humor, with the slogan "This game stinks", referring to the scratch and sniff stickers that were included in the Player's Guide
Nintendo Player's Guide
The Nintendo Player’s Guides are a series of video game strategy guides from Nintendo based on Nintendo Power magazine.-Original format:The first Player’s Guide was simply called The Official Nintendo Player’s Guide, featuring dozens of different NES games...
.
Legacy
EarthBound has been featured in all of the titles of the blockbuster Super Smash Bros. series. Since the first title in the series, NessNess (character)
is a fictional character from the EarthBound series. He is the main protagonist of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game, EarthBound . He is analogous to Ninten and Lucas in their respective games....
has consistently appeared as a playable character. In the first title of the series, Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as , is a fighting game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan on January 21, 1999, in North America on April 26, 1999, and in Europe on November 19, 1999. Super Smash Bros. is the first game in the Super...
, Ness appeared as a hidden character, unlocked by beating the 1 player mode on normal difficulty or higher, using three lives or fewer, not using any continues, and finally defeating Ness in a match. In Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
, Ness is playable from the start. Ness is once again an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, and can be unlocked in several different ways. Onett and Fourside appear as battle arenas in the Melee, while only Onett appears in Brawl. New Pork City, from Mother 3
Mother 3
Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo, Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and published for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the Mother series, following EarthBound...
(the sequel to Earthbound and the third game in the Mother series), appears in Brawl as well. In addition to Ness, Lucas from Mother 3
Mother 3
Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo, Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and published for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the Mother series, following EarthBound...
is a playable character in Brawl, Pokey/Porky appeared as a boss, and trophies for many other characters, such as Paula, Jeff, and Poo, can be collected in the two latter games. Jeff is also featured as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, using his Multi-Bottle Rockets to home in on opponents. Mr. Saturn is used as a throwing item, and the Franklin Badge is featured as a power-up.
EarthBounds soundtrack has been lauded by critics and fans, including Alex Hall, a staff writer for the online music magazine The Tune, who named it the best video game soundtrack of all time. It has also been completely remixed by fans and released as a free downloadable tribute album entitled Bound Together. The album encompasses 48 tracks and includes performances from well known video game cover bands, such as the OneUps
The OneUps Volume 1
The OneUps Volume 1 is a 2005 album of 17 songs, contemporary arrangements of the music from various video game soundtracks. A fan-made production, OneUp Studios nonetheless licensed the use of the original music arranged for the album. The album's catalog number is OUS-004...
, as well as various artists from remixing communities like OverClocked ReMix
OverClocked ReMix
OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...
.
The Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins...
comics, the film adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...
, and the video game adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game based on the Scott Pilgrim series of comic books by Bryan Lee O'Malley, tying in with the release of the film of the same name. It is published by Ubisoft and developed by Ubisoft Montreal with Ubisoft Chengdu. The game was...
all prominently feature the Chaos Theatre, a night club named after the concert hall in Twoson where the Runaway Five performed in EarthBound. Additionally, in Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, Scott can be seen wearing a Mother 2 shirt towards the end.
The AlterniaBound interactive segment of the popular webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
Homestuck is partially modeled after EarthBound. An easter egg within the game allows the player to enter a room containing the main characters of EarthBound.
Sequel
A sequel was announced in 1996 for the Nintendo 64DDNintendo 64DD
The is a peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console. It plugged into the N64 through the EXTension Port on the Nintendo 64's underside, and allowed the N64 to use proprietary 64 MB magneto-optical discs for expanded data storage...
, entitled EarthBound 64 or Mother 3
Mother 3
Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo, Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and published for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the Mother series, following EarthBound...
. However, the game became plagued by problems as release date pushbacks occurred, as well as failures to appear at popular gaming conventions, like E3. Nintendo eventually announced its cancellation on August 21, 2000. Years later, Mother 3 resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
title and was released only in Japan. On May 5, 2005, Shigesato Itoi announced that he had no plans to develop the Mother series any further. An ESRB rating suggesting an EarthBound release for the Wii Console has since surfaced; however, no official plans concerning this release have been announced. A compilation of the entire Mother trilogy for DS has not been officially announced, but Itoi has mentioned that "It is not entirely out-of-the-question".
Music
Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back (マザー2 ギーグの逆襲) is the soundtrack for EarthBound. The album was composed by Hiroshi Kanazu, Keiichi Suzuki, and Hirokazu TanakaHirokazu Tanaka
is a Japanese composer and musician, best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo. He is also the current President of Creatures, Inc.-Video game soundtracks:*Radar Scope *Space Firebird...
, and was released by Sony Records in Japan on November 2, 1994.
Development of the music for EarthBound remained much easier than its predecessor. In an interview with Weekly Famitsu, Keiichi Suzuki commented on how the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
gave the composers much more freedom to compose what they wanted. This was an advantage, because one of the many problems the makers originally had was trying to get all of their music on to the cartridge. Suzuki also cited John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
as an influential figure to all the composers while the soundtrack was being developed.