Whenever a character receives damage, the HP box gradually 'rolls' down, similar to an odometer. Once each character is assigned a command, the characters and enemies perform their actions in a set order, determined by character speed. Characters can also use special PSI attacks that require PP. These actions can include attacking, healing, spying (reveals enemy weakness/strengths), mirroring (emulate a specific enemy), and running away. In battle, the player is allowed to choose specific actions for their characters. If a specific type of enemy is defeated, there is a chance that the character will receive an item after the battle. Once an enemy's HP reaches zero, that enemy is defeated. Blows to an enemy reduce the amount of HP.

In combat, characters and enemies possess a certain amount of HP. When physical contact occurs between a character and an enemy, the screen dissolves into battle mode. Unlike its predecessor, EarthBound Beginnings, EarthBound does not use random encounters. The game uses oblique projection, while most 2D RPGs use a 'top-down' view on a grid or an isometric perspective.

Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. 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. This pseudo-randomly increases the character's attributes, such as offense, defense, and the maximum hit points (HP) and psychic points (PP) of each character. If enough experience points are acquired, a character's level will increase. Along the way, the player fights battles against enemies and the party receives experience points for victories. Poo, Jeff, Paula, and Ness (left to right) walking the Summers beachfrontĮarthBound features many traditional role-playing game elements: the player controls a party of characters who travel through the game's two-dimensional world composed of villages, cities, caves, and dungeons. EarthBound was later made available worldwide on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, 3DS Virtual Console in 2016, the SNES Classic in 2018, and Nintendo Switch Online in February 2022. It was followed by the Japan-only sequel Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance in 2006. By the 2000s, multiple reader polls and critics had named it one of the greatest video games ever made, and it became regarded as a ' sacred cow among gaming's cognoscenti'. In the ensuing years, a dedicated fan community spawned that advocated for the series' recognition, particularly after Ness appeared as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. Journalists attributed this to a combination of its simple graphics, satirical marketing campaign, and a lack of market interest in the genre. Since the original Mother had not been released outside Japan, Mother 2 was called EarthBound to avoid confusion about what it was a sequel to.Īlthough it was positively received by Japanese audiences, EarthBound sold poorly in the U.S. The game's puns and humor were reworked by localizer Marcus Lindblom. For its American release, the game was marketed with a $2 million promotional campaign that sardonically proclaimed 'this game stinks'. Itoi wanted the game to reach non-gamers with its intentionally goofy tone for example, the player uses items such as the Pencil Eraser to remove pencil statues, experiences in-game hallucinations, and battles piles of vomit, taxi cabs, and walking nooses. Themed around an idiosyncratic portrayal of Americana and Western culture, EarthBound subverted popular role-playing game traditions by featuring a modern setting while parodying numerous staples of the genre. Originally scheduled for release in January 1993, the game was completed around May 1994. Most of the other staff members had not worked on the original Mother, and the game came under repeated threats of cancellation until Iwata joined the team. Its returning staff from Mother (1989) included writer/director Shigesato Itoi and lead programmer Satoru Iwata, as well as composers Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka, who incorporated a diverse range of styles into the soundtrack, including salsa, reggae, and dub. As Ness and his party of four, Paula, Jeff and Poo, the player travels the world to collect melodies from eight Sanctuaries in order to defeat the universal cosmic destroyer Giygas.ĮarthBound had a lengthy development period that spanned five years. The second entry in the Mother series, it was first released in Japan in August 1994, and in North America in June 1995. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. EarthBound, released in Japan as Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū, is a role-playing video game developed by Ape Inc.

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