Train Tunnel

The Train Tunnel is a tunnel in EarthBound Beginnings that can be traversed by walking or by train. It can be bypassed completely by taking the Union Station.
It is very long and full of difficult enemies like the BionicScorp or the UltraBarbot. This makes the tunnel difficult to pass through on foot for low level players. However, for higher level players, it is a viable place to grind XP. The reason why the train tunnel spikes in difficulty early on is to encourage players to take the train from Union Station to reach Reindeer, the town beyond the tunnel. It also hints to the player that they should not be going there yet and should instead recruit Lloyd to go to Duncan's Factory to progress the story. Skipping the train has little point as the player needs to get past the Union Station to get to Yucca Desert anyway and the toll is very cheap. Traversing through the tunnel by foot is also completely optional.
There is a second train tunnel that goes from Spookane to Snowman, although it is three times shorter than the first. Unlike the other train tunnel, it has no enemy encounters, making it a safe tunnel to traverse. After acquiring PSI Teleport, traversing the train tunnels becomes obsolete entirely as the player can simply warp to any of the given locations at any time with ease, although for locations where the player has never visited such as Spookane after acquiring PSI Teleport, it would be better to take the train.
== Trivia ==
* In the original Famicom version, there are no enemies that spawn in the train tunnel. However, that also means that Ninten cannot sprint, making it even longer to go through by foot.
* Ana can be recruited in the party first if you go through the train tunnel on foot.
* Teleporting in the tunnel and then cancelling by moving up or down is the fastest and easiest way to go through it, although it is redundant because you can simply warp to the other side.
* The train tunnel from Merrysville to Reindeer is 44 windows long, with an odd white pile in the 10th window.
* The train tunnel from Spookane to Snowman is much shorter, only being 14 windows long. If you don’t have the money it is completely possible to make it from Spookane to Snowman with Ninten and Lloyd alone, especially with no enemy encounters.
* For some reason, the Gabilan seems to show up in the train tunnel, presumably getting lost along between location. However, this does not make sense as their only other location that they can be seen in is in the Yucca Desert which is noticeably disconnected from the Union Station.
* Despite the train tunnel being a dangerous area to traverse through, there is no music change upon entering.
* In the World of Mother, Mt. Itoi is shown in the middle, which means that the tunnel goes through it. This explains why the enemies are especially dangerous in the area.
* The train tunnel makes a return in Mother 3 as the Railway. This time, traversing the tunnel by foot is actually mandatory in Chapter 4: Club Titiboo and is far more developed.
== Gallery ==
Category:EarthBound Beginnings
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