EarthBound (game)

EarthBound
File:EarthboundSymbol.png
Developer(s)	Ape, Inc. HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigesato Itoi
Released	August 27, 1994 March 20, 2013 (VC) June 5, 1995 July 18, 2013 (VC) July 18, 2013 (VC)
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Ratings	ESRB: K-A (SNES), T (Virtual Console)
Platform(s)	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Media	24 megabit cartridge
Article on WikiBound	EarthBound

EarthBound (MOTHER 2 ギーグの逆襲, Mazā Tsū Gīgu no Gyakushū, lit. Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back) is a role-playing game (RPG) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second game in the Mother series, following the Famicom game Mother which was not released outside Japan, therefore having its status as the second game in the series left unreferenced in its US title. The game is only loosely connected to Mother, in that it shares neither the primary protagonists nor the primary setting; one of the few notable connections is Giygas, the primary antagonist of both games, here seemingly executing the revenge he swore to uphold against the planet Earth at the end of Mother.

EarthBound was released on the SNES in Japan and North America, and a port of the game, coupled with its prequel, was also released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan. EarthBound was never released for SNES in Europe and Australia, and it only finally saw release in these regions following a worldwide re-release of the game for the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013.

File:Earthbound screen.gif

A screenshot of EarthBound, including Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo and a few Mr. Saturns.

In Super Smash Bros.

Ness, the main protagonist of EarthBound, is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Paula, Jeff, Poo, the Runaway Five and a Mr. Saturn make a brief appearance in Ness's 1P Game "congratulations" picture.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Characters

Ness returns as a starter character in Melee.

Items

Mr. Saturn is an item which can be picked up and thrown at opponents, dealing very low damage and knockback, though it's effective at breaking shields.

Stages

Onett, the first town from the game, becomes a starter stage complete with the meteor in the background and a "Runaway Five" bus. Curiously, the music is not from EarthBound, but from Mother. The metropolis of Fourside is unlockable after playing 100 VS. matches. It contains skyscrapers, a UFO and even Porky Minch's helicopter. Its music is a soft rock version of the Fourside theme. This track, along with Ness' victory theme from SSB64 and Melee, are the only tracks from EarthBound itself in the entire Smash Bros. Series.

Trophies

• Ness
• Ness Smash 1
• Ness Smash 2
• Mr. Saturn
• UFO
• Starman
• Jeff
• Poo
• Paula

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Masterpieces

EarthBound is one of the Masterpieces, but it is only available in the Japanese version of the game, where it is known by its Japanese name of Mother 2.

Characters

Ness returns to being an unlockable character like he was in the original Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo 64.

Stages

Onett returns as a Melee Stage and is almost identical, except for a smaller warning alarm and a less obvious meteor in the background.

Assist Trophy

Jeff Andonuts is now an Assist Trophy. He fires Multi Bottle Rockets at opponents in several waves of five, the number of waves being random per summoning.

Items

Mr. Saturn returns as an item, identical in function to his role in Melee. The Franklin Badge, a lightning-repelling badge which Ness receives in Happy Happy Village, also becomes an item.

Bosses

Porky Minch is a boss in the Subspace Emissary, although his design is taken from Mother 3's Bed Mecha.

Trophies

EarthBound trophies include:

• Ness (SSBB)
• PK Starstorm (Ness)
• Jeff
• Porky
• Mr. Saturn
• Franklin Badge

Stickers

• Jeff [PK] Attack +24
• Master Belch [Bite] Attack +9
• Mr Saturn - Carry Mr Saturn
• Ness [PK] Attack +33
• Paula [PK] Attack +10
• Poo [PK] Attack +9
• Porky [PK] Attack +15
• Starman [PK] Attack +10

Music

Data was found in indicating that four songs from the EarthBound series, three from EarthBound itself, were intended to be used in the game but ultimately did not appear. The reason for this has not been clarified, but in the case of one of the songs it may be related to a copyright issue which is generally theorised to be the reason for the ongoing lack of a release of EarthBound on the Virtual Console.

• Because I Love You
• Smiles and Tears
• Hippie Battle

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Masterpieces

EarthBound is one of the Masterpieces once again in the Wii U version, but this time being available in the American version.

Characters

Ness once again is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and a starter character in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Stages

Magicant appears as a stage in the 3DS version. It gets its design from the original Mother, but also has some elements from its appearance in EarthBound. Onett also returns as a familiar stage in the Wii U version.

Items

The Mr. Saturn and Franklin Badge both return in Smash 4.

Music

• Smiles and Tears
• Magicant/Eight Melodies (Mother)

Trivia

• EarthBound is the only Masterpiece in Brawl that was not available for sale on the Wii Virtual Console anywhere in the world, likely due to being a commercial failure in the US.
• The character of Ness is quite similar in appearance to the character Ninten, who appeared in Mother. Also, both characters names contain Nintendo references (Ninten being Nintendo with the "do" removed, and Ness being an anagram of SNES, the system EarthBound was released for, and being the pronunciation of NES, short for Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo's second video game console, (excluding the Game & Watch range, which were handhelds and the first to achieve widespread popularity).