EarthBound

EarthBound
System Super Nintendo
Developer HAL Laboratory
Genre RPG
Series EarthBound (Mother) Series

A meteor lands near the town of Onett, and a young boy named Ness joins his neighbours to investigate. A time travelling beetle and an alien invader starts a chain of events that sends Ness on a quest across Eagleland to retrieve the Eight Melodies and save the world from the ultimate evil, Giygas.

Each town you visit is beset with problems caused by agents of Giygas. Defeat monsters and complete quests as you restore order to the land.

You battle enemies using a menu system to select physical or PSI attacks, items and more. Win battles to earn experience and make Ness and his friends stronger.

Release Information

Region Name Release
Japan MOTHER2 ギーグの逆襲 Mother 2: Giegue no Gyakushuu 27 Aug 1994
US EarthBound Jun 1995

Re-releases

System Japan U.S. Europe
Nintendo Power (SFC) 30 Sep 1997 - -
Wii U Virtual Console 27 Apr 2013 28 Jul 2013 18 Jul 2013
New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console 04 Mar 2016 24 Mar 2016 03 Mar 2016

Also available to play in:

Game Boy Advance Mother 1+2

Cameos

Ness

Screenshot Required

While it has long been believed that Ness's name is based on the NES, this was confirmed in an interview with Shigesato Itoi:

"The production staff named the main character Ness, a pun on the NES in America."

While this confirms a NES link, the name is also an anagram of SNES, although this hasn't been confirmed as an intentional reference.

Submitted by Da Robot

Japanese Mario Names

Japanese Mario Names

At the start of the game, when selecting names for the characters, you can select from a number of default names. In the Japanese version, one set of default names are characters from the Mario series:

  • Mario (Ness)
  • Peach (Paula)
  • Luigi (Jeff)
  • Kinopio (Poo)
  • Yoshi (Dog)

Note

Kinopio is the Japanese name for Toad.

Submitted by Fryguy64

Arcade Games

Arcade Games

In Onett's arcade you can see three kinds of arcade games displayed on the miniature screens. One of them is Donkey Kong, and another is Taito's Space Invaders. It isn't clear what the third game is referencing, but if you have any ideas, contact NinDB.

The background music is made up of 8-bit arcade sound effects. Part of the music sounds like the music from Namco's Xevious arcade game.

Submitted by Fryguy64, Johans Nidorino

Developer References

HAL Laboratory Sign

HAL Laboratory Sign

On the south side of Threed is a Billboard that reads:

"Located in the shadow of Mt. Fuji - HAL Laboratory"

This is a reference to HAL Laboratory, one of the developers who worked on the game. Their Japanese offices are in fact located close to Mt. Fuji.


APE Kid

APE Kid

In the Fourside department store, you meet a kid who says that one day he wants to work at APE Inc., one of the development studios who worked on the game.


EarthBound 2

EarthBound 2

In Fourside, a sign outside of one of the buildings says:

"Planning meeting for EarthBound 2"

Ruffini

Ruffini

Near the start of the game you meet a dog called Ruffini, who claims to be possessed by the spirit of the game's designer. He gives you tutorials on how to play.


Screenshot Required

Other EarthBound References

  • Captain Strong tells Ness: "At times like these, kids should be at home playing Nintendo games."
  • After Ness beats Captain Strong, he says: "I've been playing EarthBound. I'm having a tough time."
  • A girl on the east side of Onett says "Has EarthBound been released yet?"
  • If you say "Yes" when a Shark asks you to join their gang, they say: &qupt;Come back after you've beaten Earthbound."

Submitted by Wanderingshadow, The Qu, TV Eye screenshots by TV Eye

Debug Kirby

Debug Kirby

Using a cheat device, it is possible to unlock the game's Debug Menu. Kirby appears as the menu selection icon.

Submitted by angrysun, screenshot by nensondubois

Are we missing any cameo appearances for this game? Please contact NinDB with the details.