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Earthbound U.S. release 20th Anniversary June 5th 1995-2015

Not solely Mother 2/Earthbound but y'know
yunGkPM.png

Much larger on the DeviantArts

*I still have my cartridge and guide (though the cover/pages are loose), I have no idea what happened to the awesome box, I wish I still had it.
 
(Crossposting this here from the "FREE to a good home" thread since while I think most people here already played EarthBound, this anniversary is the inspiration.)

Since today is the 20th Anniversary of the US release of EarthBound, I would like to give away some extra eShop codes I have for EarthBound on the Wii U Virtual Console. All I ask is that you intend to actually play the game if you claim the code. No backlog stuffing, please. That said, enjoy!

>>Link to the giveaway post in the "FREE to a good home" thread<<

edit: Both taken. That was fast.
 
I downloaded it as final prize from Club Nintendo and was surprised the ESRB rating had been adjusted from K-A to Teen.

The game grew up with us
 
My 2nd-favorite game, behind only Chrono Trigger.

An absolutely amazing game, with so much to see and do and experience.

I still play through it regularly, and it's still just as wonderful as it has been for the past 20 years.

Fuzzy Pickles!
 
That's some good swag you got there, OP. I got my EB cart, M2 japanese cart, Mother 3 special edition with the GBA Micro and Ness Amiboo. A local game store has Mother 2 gachapon figures, selling the whole set (Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo and Mr. Saturn) for $50 and I've been eyeing that for a while.
 
The sole game to get me back into JRPG's... add Chrono Trigger to that and it was the icing on the cake. Happy birthday, Earthbound. It's an extremely special moment where you can change someone from literally hating an entire genre of something, to playing it exclusively (minus Nintendo games and a few others).
 
Well I've played very little Earth Bound on the Wii U virtual console. From what I've played I liked. I'll have to make time for it after I'm burned out on Bloodborne.

I for one am looking forward to the Mother 4 fan game. I can't help but think that one won't sit well with Nintendo when the company catches wind of it. I'll definitely download it ASAP upon release.
 
i-Jest said:
Well I've played very little Earth Bound on the Wii U virtual console. From what I've played I liked. I'll have to make time for it after I'm burned out on Bloodborne.

I for one am looking forward to the Mother 4 fan game. I can't help but think that one won't sit well with Nintendo when the company catches wind of it. I'll definitely download it ASAP upon release.
Click to expand...

They tweeted recently that it's delayed until they can get more people, unfortunately... :(

Agent Unknown said:
Nobody has posted Earthbound music yet? I'll start with Onett: Just listen to this and try telling me your brain doesn't scream the words "BRIGHT SUMMER FUN" as it plays:

https://youtu.be/N3md5KT2m84
Click to expand...

My favorite song is a super simple. Ness' Nightmare... that moment hit me SO freaking hard. SUPER powerful...

Earthbound - The Power - Sea of Eden
 
To be honest...

I kind of like Mother 3 better?

I actually haven't even finished earthbound. I need to get on that.

I have owned it twice. The first time in the late 90s I got it at a used store for like $8.

Sold it a few years later for $50 or something.

Then bought it in 2010 or so with the strategy guide for $75, and played through most of it.

I do enjoy the style and the world but I think I just really enjoyed the plot and the battles of Mother 3 a ton more.
 
foxuzamaki said:
Again? D: and what do they mean by more people?
Click to expand...

http://blog.mother4game.com/post/120642538209/mother-4-needs-your-help

7DollarHagane said:
To be honest...

I kind of like Mother 3 better?

I actually haven't even finished earthbound. I need to get on that.

I have owned it twice. The first time in the late 90s I got it at a used store for like $8.

Sold it a few years later for $50 or something.

Then bought it in 2010 or so with the strategy guide for $75, and played through most of it.

I do enjoy the style and the world but I think I just really enjoyed the plot and the battles of Mother 3 a ton more.
Click to expand...

I'm the opposite. Don't get me wrong... I love the characters, the world and the story of Mother 3 but the OST doesn't do it justice in comparison to Earthbound.

That and I'm also a little disappointed they didn't stick with their original vision to release it on the N64. :P
 
Even though back in the day I was sad we lost Earthbound 64 (just because I was such an obsessed EB fan I could stomach anything), I am really glad it never materialized in that form.

I probably would have vomited from how bad the N64 era visuals were. Even back then as a huge EB fan the screenshots we got were so grotesque it was hard to find anything to praise about them
 
DJIzana said:
My favorite song is a super simple. Ness' Nightmare... that moment hit me SO freaking hard. SUPER powerful...

Earthbound - The Power - Sea of Eden
Click to expand...

That's a good choice. It's an understated, but well realized track.

EarthBound simply has too much good music to chose which is best, but for now I want to give a nod to the Coffee Break track. It's the perfect example of those powerful little moments that come out of nowhere but are so special that they become synonymous with how you remember the game.
 
I love Eight Melodies so much. Probably because when it dawns on you what the game is trying to tell you by relaying those simple memories at each sound point, culminating in revealing this simplest Mother's wish for her boy's future, I don't think anything more adequately captures the melancholy and nostalgia for what it means to grow up in a home with loving parents and then have to leave it all behind when one becomes an adult.

When Ness mother looks over the crib and says she doesn't need Ness to be rich or famous, but just to be a thoughtful, strong boy... is there any bit of dialogue that better encapsulates the hopes and dreams of motherhood? In a way, the entire game is partially about Ness leaving the comfort and protection of his Mother and home and becoming that thoughtful, strong boy. The entire moment packs such a punch after the journey... and then the music is perfect. Like a little music box on a window, which you hear years later as an adult again and briefly see flashes of your youth where your always smiling mother chases after you in some typical childhood game.
 
I have actually been recently replaying Earthbound on the VC. First time I've come back to it in years. Seriously such a good game full of so much charm. Been enjoying just as much as the first time played it.
 
Amir0x said:
Earthbound has some of my favorite music EVER

Snowman
and Winters are some of my all time favorite winter world music
Click to expand...

I love Snowman, first time I heard it when getting to the boarding school scene when Jef is introduced was magical. I also love that part of the game because it feels so serene and gives you a nice relaxing break in between being pummeled in Threed. Also, is it just me or does Twoson have a nice "Strawberry Fields" kind of vibe to it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUce_1Mw6M8&list=RDEUce_1Mw6M8

PBalfredo said:
That's some good swag you got there, OP. I got my EB cart, M2 japanese cart, Mother 3 special edition with the GBA Micro and Ness Amiboo. A local game store has Mother 2 gachapon figures, selling the whole set (Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo and Mr. Saturn) for $50 and I've been eyeing that for a while.
Click to expand...

The Banpresto figures can still be had on eBay but they've gone up quite a bit in price, Ness "large size" figure cost me about $55 in 2012 now I think he goes for around $90. They also appear to be better quality than the new figure set with the red bases that released last year (forget which company made the latest ones).

Nice collection you have there, man I would love to get a Mother 3 Micro with the Franklin Badge but I should probably play Mother 3 first. :) I know, I know. Too busy with Dragon Quest V right now (another amazing game), hopefully after. Or maybe I'll play Earthbound Zero first. I started an early file on that a few years ago and liked it before my backlog got me, felt more primitive and grindy of course but still fun with the same basic charm and solid music.
 
Happy 20th, Earthbound! I may love your sequel more but you definitely are not far behind. :)

So many good times with this game, series, and probably the best fanbase of them all.

Amir0x said:
Even though back in the day I was sad we lost Earthbound 64 (just because I was such an obsessed EB fan I could stomach anything), I am really glad it never materialized in that form.

I probably would have vomited from how bad the N64 era visuals were. Even back then as a huge EB fan the screenshots we got were so grotesque it was hard to find anything to praise about them
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really think EB64 getting cancelled was a blessing in disguise. I'm so glad we were able to get a sprite based game on GBA instead... we got a timeless game out of it instead of what would have very likely been a poorly aged (visually) N64 game. I do like that old time look that a lot of N64 games had but I'd take sprites any day of the week.

Still, I would love to play the beta of it someday or something, just to see what it was like.
 
Fireblend said:
This message that Itoi released in 2013 for Earthbound's Wii U VC re-release is also pretty adequate, IMO:

http://earthbound.nintendo.com/message/



Makes me teary eyed. :') he gets it.
Click to expand...

Oh my word, I'd never seen this. The part about the party-like wake resonates with me in a real way. I recently threw $150 at the fangamer I Am Earthbound kickstarter and after reading that I kinda wish I'd thrown in more. What a beautiful piece of writing.
 
I'll send Earthbound some love. Awesome game and for me up there with the greats.

During my college years I rented the game on release, played as much as I could in a 2 day span and I had a blast. So when my schedule lightened up a few months later I bought the game and it's been in my SNES RPG library of replay ever since.

Funny enough back when Earthbound was released I had several roommates who also played RPG's and from a passing glance they would usually comment that the game looked like shit, looked like a child's game, what a waste of time blah blah blah. I kept telling my one friend "you have to try it out, it will hook you and charm you, whats the big deal just give it a shot". Low and behold I come home from doing something one day and he was 4 hours into playing and absolutely took back everything bad he said about the game.

Fun memories. :)
 
This game had the worst marketing campaign ever. I was starved for RPGs at the time and probably ended up skipping this one entirely because the campaign made the game look so bad.

I've seen people blame Nintendo for this game failing because they didn't try. I think the problem is more that they did.
 
sonto340 said:
If mother 3 in America is happening its this e3 or never.
Click to expand...

I wanted a legal American release of Mother 3 for the longest time, but then I asked myself, "why?" I mean let's face it, everyone who wanted to play Mother 3 in English has most likely done so already. I don't think Nintendo would be able to top Tomato's translation.

A physical Wii U or 3DS copy featuring an enhanced version of the trilogy would be great, but just throwing up a Mother 3 ROM on the eShop? I'll still buy it, but it would just be way less exciting than if it was released 5 years ago.
 
amnesiac said:
I wanted a legal American release of Mother 3 for the longest time, but then I asked myself, "why?" I mean let's face it, everyone who wanted to play Mother 3 in English has most likely done so already. I don't think Nintendo would be able to top Tomato's translation.

A physical Wii U or 3DS copy featuring an enhanced version of the trilogy would be great, but just throwing up a Mother 3 ROM on the eShop? I'll still buy it, but it would just be way less exciting than if it was released 5 years ago.
Click to expand...
I 100% agree, but I'd still buy it just to show Nintendo the support for finally localizing it.
 
If you look closely at that Nintendo Power Earthbound preview, Giygas is referred to as "The Geek." Maybe a rejected name change request from NOA? Glad they didn't use that. "This game stinks, lol!" "Giygas sounds weird, let's call him The Geek! Kids will get that!"
 
Agent Unknown said:
If you look closely at that Nintendo Power Earthbound preview, Giygas is referred to as "The Geek." Maybe a rejected name change request from NOA? Glad they didn't use that. "This game stinks, lol!" "Giygas sounds weird, let's call him The Geek! Kids will get that!"
Click to expand...
While the marketing campaign for this game is about as 90s as it gets, looking back it's pretty fucking awful.
 
Fireblend said:
This message that Itoi released in 2013 for Earthbound's Wii U VC re-release is also pretty adequate, IMO:

http://earthbound.nintendo.com/message/



Makes me teary eyed. :') he gets it.
Click to expand...
Just realized from that link that Earthbound on VC for WiiU is rated Teen by the ESRB but on SNES when it came out it was rated K-A (6+) which would be an "Everyone" nowadays.

What gives, GAF? The game is 100% identical to the original so why this severe bump in rating? At most Earthbound deserved an E10+ re-rating. The ESRB can't possibly be this much more uptight now, can it?
 
Alex_Mexico said:
Just realized from that link that Earthbound on VC for WiiU is rated Teen by the ESRB but on SNES when it came out it was rated K-A (6+) which would be an "Everyone" nowadays.

What gives, GAF? The game is 100% identical to the original so why this severe bump in rating? At most Earthbound deserved an E10+ re-rating. The ESRB can't possibly be this much more uptight now, can it?
Click to expand...

Its darker themes are probably more apparent now since the game gained more recognition.
 
amnesiac said:
I wanted a legal American release of Mother 3 for the longest time, but then I asked myself, "why?" I mean let's face it, everyone who wanted to play Mother 3 in English has most likely done so already. I don't think Nintendo would be able to top Tomato's translation.

A physical Wii U or 3DS copy featuring an enhanced version of the trilogy would be great, but just throwing up a Mother 3 ROM on the eShop? I'll still buy it, but it would just be way less exciting than if it was released 5 years ago.
Click to expand...

I guarentee you majority of people played earthbound via rom on their PC, that didnt stop a shit ton of us from buying a legit copy to show support. It means alot more to finacially throw money at a project then to pirate it online.
 
I love this game.

You know what, I'm going to give out a download code for this game in this post. All I ask is that whoever gets it promises to play through the whole game (and say who you are if you get it!). Random act of kindness. Quote to see code (NA code btw).

 
I thought this game was incredible!!

I'm in the UK and my cousins brought me back 2 copies in Summer 1995 from the U.S. to play on my import Super Famicom (using a cartridge bridge).

Loved it so much that I after I completed it I instantly restarted a new game and completed it again. For years I was always trying to find a convenient time to play it again and then the Wii U Virtual Console release came out. (That was quite a day here on NeoGAF).

But someone tell me, for a game I used to love so dearly, why couldn't I find the motivation to play through the VC version of the game? I think I got a bit bored after around halfway, back in Summer 2013, and I've never been bothered to carry on playing since.
 
amnesiac said:
I mean let's face it, everyone who wanted to play Mother 3 in English has most likely done so already. I don't think Nintendo would be able to top Tomato's translation.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. The translation was made by "the dream team", the best ROM hackers and ROM translators in the world which includes Neo Demiforce and Aeon Genesis as well as starmen.net masters reidman and tomato. The fan translation was in really...really good hands. Can't get any better than that.
 
There's a lot I love about Mother 3, but ultimately Earthbound nudges it out as my favorite of the trilogy. Really weird, sometimes creepy and unique ambiance to the entire game that sets it apart from the rest of Nintendo's line-up as well as making a lot of more archaic JRPG mechanics it's inspired by easier to digest for people like me who aren't too crazy about JRPG's in the first place. If it weren't for Ness being a Smash mainstay I'd probably have never checked out the series.
 
foxuzamaki said:
Its darker themes are probably more apparent now since the game gained more recognition.
Click to expand...
I don't get this. The dark themes were right there since 1995. Why now they decide the game is worth not one, but two upward bumps in age rating by the ESRB (E -> E10+ -> T).
 
Ninja Dom said:
I thought this game was incredible!!

I'm in the UK and my cousins brought me back 2 copies in Summer 1995 from the U.S. to play on my import Super Famicom (using a cartridge bridge).

Loved it so much that I after I completed it I instantly restarted a new game and completed it again. For years I was always trying to find a convenient time to play it again and then the Wii U Virtual Console release came out. (That was quite a day here on NeoGAF).

But someone tell me, for a game I used to love so dearly, why couldn't I find the motivation to play through the VC version of the game? I think I got a bit bored after around halfway, back in Summer 2013, and I've never been bothered to carry on playing since.
Click to expand...


Sometimes it's the memories that keep the love alive
 
I read Earthbound U.S. Release only and thought this was a release for Earthbound 2. And then I read the rest

:(
 
Being in Europe was terrible twenty years ago. From the day I saw screens in Club Nintendo Magazine I wanted this game. Had to wait until 2013 for the Virtual Console release.

It was so worth the wait. Absolutely amazing game. Happy birthday!
 
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