EarthBound

:For the series as a whole, see EarthBound (series).
EarthBound, alternatively referred to as Mother 2 which is its Japanese name (Japanese: Mother 2: 's Counterattack) is a 1994 role-playing video game developed by Ape and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second entry in the EarthBound series succeeding 1989's then Japan-only Mother, and the first installment in the series to be released worldwide. Set in a fictionalized and hyperbolized version of America, EarthBound involves four children led by the brave Ness, prophesied to save the world by collecting eight melodies strewn across the world.
After a difficult and long development period of five years, EarthBound was published in Japan and the United States. English localization was led by Marcus Lindblom, who helped translate EarthBound’s goofy tone. While successful in Japan, EarthBound was a commercial disappointment in the United States, where a $2 million advertising campaign was held to promote the game. Additionally, EarthBound received lukewarm reception. Mother 2 was packaged in the Japan-only rerelease Mother 1+2, then it received Japan-exclusive sequel, Mother 3, which was published in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance. EarthBound’s protagonist, Ness, would also be featured in the Super Smash Bros. series as a playable character.
EarthBound, and the Mother series as a whole, amassed a cult following of fans, mostly through Internet forums such as Starmen.net. Retrospectively, it has received acclaim, with critics highlighting its varied soundtrack, script, and tone. On March 20, 2013, EarthBound was rereleased on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan, and then internationally on July 18, 2013, which notably marked the debut of the game and the overall series in PAL regions. EarthBound was constantly a best seller during the Virtual Console lifespan prior to service's shutdown.
== Plot ==
The story begins when Ness is awakened by a meteor that has plummeted to the earth near his home, whereupon he proceeds to investigate the crash site. When Ness gets to the crash site he discovers a police road block and Porky Minch (rendered as Pokey Minch), his friend and neighbor, who tells him to go home. Later, Ness is woken up again by Porky knocking at his door, demanding help to find his brother Picky. They find him near the meteor behind a tree and wake him up. Then the three encounter an insect from the meteor named Buzz Buzz who informs Ness that he is from the future where the "universal cosmic destroyer", Giygas, dominates the planet. Buzz Buzz senses great potential in Ness and instructs him to embark on a journey to seek out and record the melodies of eight "sanctuaries," unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength required to confront Giygas.
With this goal, Ness travels into mainland Onett, which is under terror by a gang known as The Sharks. Ness is incentivised to go when he hears rumors about the Shark's boss knowing something about Giant Step. After an encounter with The Sharks' leader, Frank Fly, Ness battles the Titanic Ant and reaches the first sanctuary, Giant Step. However, because the way to the sanctuary was barricaded before Ness entered, the Onett police chief Captain Strong lectures Ness on trespassing through the barrier. Ness, however, asks Strong to allow passage to Twoson, and Strong forces Ness to battle his five strongest men, plus Strong himself, to prove his strength. Ness defeats all six men, then proceeds to Twoson, where he discovers that a young girl, named Paula, has been kidnapped. Paula's father suspects that Everdred, the shady owner of Twoson's Burglin Park, is responsible, and Ness confronts Everdred in the park.
After battling and defeating Everdread, he reveals that Paula has traveled to Happy Happy Village, but has not returned, suspecting that the cult of Happy Happyism has captured her. Ness attempts to reach the village, but finds the bridge leading there broken. What's worse, an iron pencil statue is blocking the other route. Returning to Twoson, he encounters and befriends Apple Kid, a sloppy yet intelligent inventor who finds himself hungry and unable to sell an invention. After being helped, Apple Kid gives Ness the Pencil Eraser, which allows Ness to bypass the Iron Pencil statue and enter Happy Happy Village. There, Ness finds Paula imprisoned in a cabin by the Happy Hapyist Cult, but is unable to open the cell she is in. Paula tells Ness that the leader of the cult, Mr. Carpainter, possesses the key, and gives Ness the Franklin Badge necessary to confront him. Just outside, however, Ness discovers that Porky (who has been promoted to a "high position" of the cult) is working against him, and sends two cult members and a crow to attack Ness. Ness defeats the cultists, then confronts and defeats Carpainter, who agrees to free Paula. Together, Ness and Paula then enter a nearby cave and battle the Mondo Mole, who guards the second sanctuary known as Lilliput Steps. Returning to Twoson, Everdread gives Ness a wad of bills, and Ness uses the money to help the Runaway Five, a band performing at a theater and stuck there through a massive debt, become free from this debt, and the band out of gratitude helps the two arrive in Threed.
In Threed, the two find the area dark and overrun by the undead, before finding a suspicious woman in the Threed hotel. Though they try to confront her, they are ambushed and captured. While in captivity, Paula sends a telepathic message to a boy named Jeff, who resides at a boarding school in Winters. Jeff responds to the message and, with the help of his best friend Tony, begins to travel to the laboratory of his father, Dr. Andonuts, and even encounters the unshaven dungeonmaker Brick Road along the way. Entering his father's lab, Jeff acquires his father's Sky Runner in order to reach Threed. After crashing the Sky Runner, Jeff rescues Ness and Paula and joins their group. After returning to Threed, Ness enters the southern area of Threed and encounters a Boogey Tent, then receives a phone call from Apple Kid, who delivers to Ness the Zombie paper. Ness then proceeds to the Threed Circus tent and places the Zombie paper down. Ness then sleeps at a hotel, where overnight, all the zombies are glued to the circus floor. This opens the way to a mysterious passage.
The three of them travel through the passage after defeating a Mini Barf to Grapefruit Falls, which is home to Saturn Valley, a land populated by a strange race of creatures called Mr. Saturns. There, the party learns that a monster, known as Master Belch, has been kidnapping and enslaving the populace. Ness and the group infiltrate Belch's Base to defeat Belch and free the enslaved Mr. Saturns. This is successful, and the party subsequently battle and defeat the Trillionage Sprout to reach the third sanctuary, Milky Well, above Saturn Valley. With Master Belch defeated, the zombies in Threed disappear and allow the party to travel to Fourside. Unfortunately, a large traffic jam forces Ness and the party to travel through the desert in order to reach the city. Through the desert, they find the excavator George Montague trying to dig for gold, and asks for food from the party. They give him food, then travel the rest of the way into Fourside.
Upon reaching Fourside, the group enters the Monotoli Building and find Porky again, now in cohorts with the city mayor, Geldegarde Monotoli, who has been corrupted by the strange Mani-Mani Statue. Not wanting Ness to interfere, Porky forces the group out of the Monotoli Building and into the desert. Back there, they find Montague again in a much deeper hole, who explains in a distress that five large moles are infesting the mine. By defeating the moles, Montague gives Ness a diamond, which he uses to again help the Runaway Five out of debt. The Runaway Five then gives a final show alongside the singer Venus. Wishing to celebrate, the three of them visit a department store, only to have Paula kidnapped by the Department Store Spook, who also creates a blackout in the store and causes various monsters to appear. Ness and Jeff proceed to the spook and defeat it, but find that Paula is no longer with it and is now with Monotoli himself. After hearing various rumors that Monotoli visits the Fourside cafe often, Ness and Jeff arrive at the cafe, only to find a wounded Everdread, who had stolen the Mani-Mani Statue from Carpainter in Happy Happy Village, but found the statue stolen from him by Monotoli. Everdread tells Ness to check behind the cafe's counter, which warps them to a weird, hallucinogenic counterpart of Fourside known as Moonside. Navigating through the city, Ness and Jeff discover and destroy the Mani-Mani Statue, which causes Moonside to disappear.
Back in reality, Apple Kid once again calls Ness about a new invention called the yogurt dispenser, albiet it only is able to dispense Trout Yoghurt at this time, and sends it to Ness through the "neglected class" of Escargo Express. However, the delivery boy carelessly drops the dispenser in the desert, forcing Ness to return there yet again. There, he encouters a talking monkey that takes him to Talah Rama, a wise sage that gives Ness the yogurt dispenser and teaches him PK Teleport. Ness and Jeff then return back to Fourside and gives the dispenser to Monotoli's maid, who allows Ness and Jeff to enter the Monotoli Building free of charge. Navigating the building, Ness and Jeff battle various Sentry Robots before encountering a Clumsy Robot, who, despite its weak appearance, is surprisingly powerful. Fortunately, the Runaway Five barge in and turn off the robot, and Ness and Jeff proceed to Monotoli's office. Inside, Monotoli cowers in fear due to losing the Mani-Mani Statue, and allows Paula to rejoin Ness. Monotoli also explains to Ness that the statue constantly told him to not allow Ness and his friends to enter Summers, concluding that Ness should go to Summers in order to slow Giygas's plans. Although the Mayor tells Ness and his friends to use his helicopter to reach the city, Porky takes the helicopter for himself and escapes, leaving Ness with no way to get to Summers. Fortunately, Paula gets an instinct that they should return to Threed, and travel there with the Runaway Five. After returning to Threed, Jeff repairs the Sky Runner, and they set flight for Winters to discover the fourth sanctuary.
The group then cross the ocean and arrive in Summers, and the nearby port town of Toto, where the group enters the Stoic Club and meet a mysterious lady that sells "Magic Cake". Ness eats the cake, but falls unconscious and dreams of a far-off land known as Dalaam. There, a young prince named Poo, who must complete his training at Mu by the request of his master, begins to meditate and encounters the spirit of his ancestor, who successively cripples various parts of Poo's body as part of the training. Afterwards, Poo has completed his training and returns to normal, then is instructed to join Ness and his party on their journey by his master. Poo teleports to Summers and finds Ness before joining his group. Ness then enters the Scaraba Cultural museum and obtains a set of hieroglyphics telling the group about Scaraba, a country with a mysterious pyramid containing the mystical Hawk Eye. The group then hears a phone call from Mr. Spoon of Fourside, who tells Ness that he has discovered something amazing, but will only show it if the player gives him the signature of Venus, a singer at the Toppolla Theater. The group gains the signature and are able to discover the fifth sanctuary, then travel back to Dalaam to discover the sixth sanctuary.
After returning to Summers, the four enter Toto, where they procure a boat and travel to Scaraba, but encounter a mighty Kraken along the way. After defeating the Kraken, they arrive in Scaraba, where they explore a pyramid in the desert and gain the Hawk Eye. Outside the Pyramid, Ness and his party encounter the Star Master, who requests that Poo leave the party with him in order to learn PK Starstorm. Poo leaves, and the rest of the party discover Dungeon Man, previously Brick Road. Dungeon Man briefly travels with them before becoming entangled in various trees. Despite this, however, Ness and his friends acquire a submarine within Dungeon Man and travel into the Deep Darkness, a path leading them under the earth. Using the Hawk Eye, Ness is able to navigate through the Deep Darkness, where they once again encounter Master Belch, now known as Master Barf. After battling Barf, Poo suddenly reappears and finishes off Barf by unleashing PK Starstorm. With Barf defeated, they find Tenda Village, a small community populated by extremely shy creatures known as Tenda. Apple Kid then calls Ness again, telling him that he is now working with Dr. Andonuts to create a machine known as the Phase Distorter. Suddenly, Apple Kid finds himself and Andonuts kidnapped by Porky, who also steals the prototype phase distorter. Returning to Winters, the group infiltrate the Stonehenge Base and battle the Starman Deluxe, the overseer of the base. After defeating the Starman Deluxe, Andonuts and Apple Kid are rescued, and Apple Kid informs Ness that the book of overcoming shyness is in the Onett Library, where Ness retrieves it.
Returning to Tenda Village, Ness gives the book to the village chief, who reads it to the entire tribe and allows all of them to overcome their shyness. This enables Ness to speak to the villagers, who allow passage to a dark, ominous cave, which contains the seventh sanctuary. The group then enters the Lost Underworld. There, they discover more Tenda and a talking Rock, who tells Ness of his destiny to unite the sanctuaries. Ness and the group then reach the final sanctuary, but Ness falls unconscious and enters a strange world composed of his dreams afterward known as, . There, he travels to the Sea of Eden and encounters his nightmare, the embodiment of Ness's evil. After defeating it, Magicant vanishes, and Ness absorbs the power of all eight sanctuaries, becoming incredibly powerful before awakening. 
After awakening, Ness and the group return to Saturn Valley where Dr. Andonuts, Apple Kid, and various Mr. Saturns have created a new Phase Distorter, a time traveling device. Unfortunately, however, they find that the machine does not work, as it is lacking a critical component: Zyoxinite, a rare material only found in asteroid deposits. Recalling the asteroid in Onett, Ness returns to his home, only to find the area invaded by hordes of Giygas's soldiers and its inhabitants locked in their homes. Ness makes his way through the invaded town and reclaims the meteorite, then returns to Saturn Valley to give the material to Dr. Andonuts. After upgrading the machine, Andonuts explains to the kids that the machine cannot warp them to the past in their current form, as living things cannot withstand time travel and it would likely destroy their human bodies. To remedy this problem, Andonuts proposes to them to have their souls transplanted into robotic bodies, though not without warning them that he doesn't know whether or not the process is reversible. Despite this critical warning, Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo are willing to take the risk.
Now in the form of robots, Ness and his friends use the Phase Distorter to travel to the Caves of the Past, the lair of Giygas and his men. Upon reaching the end of the cave, they encounter Giygas and Porky, who informs the group that Giygas became so powerful that his mind was completely destroyed, referring to him as an "all-mighty idiot", and can only be contained within the ominous Devil's Machine. The group battle and defeat Porky, who then shuts off the Devil's Machine to release Giygas, trapping the kids in a chaotic dimension composed of his own indefinable being. Since Giygas is too powerful for Ness and his friends to overcome by fighting, Paula begins to pray, reaching out to the inhabitants of the Earth, including family members and friends, who all pray for their safety, and eventually, she reaches out to the player. The combined prayers of both Earth's inhabitants and the player reach Giygas and exploit his weakness, which turns out to be human emotions. Giygas begins to lose his grasp on reality and begins to deteriorate, causing Porky to panic and escape through time travel. Giygas then vanishes from existence, along with the damage he had done to Eagleland and the rest of the Earth. As a result, the souls of Ness and his friends depart from their robot bodies, travel back to the present and return to their respective bodies. After bidding each other farewell, the heroes return to their homes.
After the ending credits, Picky Minch comes to Ness's house in the middle of the night and gives him a letter from Porky that says "Come and get me loser. Spankety, spankety, spankety!", and the game ends with him and Ness pondering what has become of him.
==Descriptions==
===Super Nintendo Entertainment System===
Giygas invasion!!
Bizarre aliens roam the earth!!
Intergalactic terror strikes the small town of Onett as a blazing extraterrestrial object crashes in the night! The earth now faces imminent destruction by the evil threat known as Giygas!
Armed with a cracked baseball bat, a cookie and an ATM card, a courageous boy named Ness vows to save the planet from hideous destruction. He must first find his heroic companions, Paula, Jeff and Poo, along the way to eight mysterious places called "Your Sanctuary" in order to gain power and put an end to the interstellar threat. The citizens of Onett lend their support by providing high-tech gadgets, robotic time machines, and wacky stories about how life has become.
Lurking aliens and inexplicable phenomenon are being reported throughout the countryside. Our four wonderkids band together with innovation, psychic powers and resourceful weapons. Will Ness succeed in his attempts to ambush countless frightening monsters as he travels? The ultimate test lies in the impending encounter with the all powerful Giygas!
===Super NES - Nintendo Switch Online===
Bizarre aliens roam the Earth! Can four average kids save the world from certain destruction?
Intergalactic terror strikes the small town of Onett as a blazing extraterrestrial object crashes in the night! The Earth now faces imminent destruction by the universal evil threat, Giygas. A courageous boy named Ness and his three friends vow to save the planet from hideous destruction. Battle hundreds of off-the-wall monsters, roaming dinosaurs, and alien enemies. Explore exotic locations like Saturn Valley, Dusty Dunes Desert, and Deep Darkness. The ultimate test lies in the impending encounter with the all-powerful Giygas!
==Characters==
EarthBound takes place on Earth in the year 199X in the country of Eagleland. Throughout the game, there are four playable characters come to compose the party in the game; Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo. Ness remains the lead character, a silent protagonist, for the entirety of the story. He is a young boy from Onett and is characterized by his love for baseball. He also possesses psychic abilities strong enough to affect cosmic events. Paula is the second main character in the game. She is a young girl from Twoson where her mother runs a preschool out of their home. Like Ness, she also possesses powerful psychic abilities. Jeff, the third character to join the party, is a young boy who resides at a boarding school in the northern country of Winters in the region of FoggyLand. The son of the famed professor Dr. Andonuts, Jeff is a child prodigy who can fix almost anything. The last character to be acquired is Poo. He is the oldest of the group, a residing prince from the distant land of Dalaam in the far east region of Chommo. He is presented as a powerful martial arts master.
===Playable characters===
Like its predecessor, EarthBound has four playable characters. This time, all four can be in the party rather than being limited to just three.
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===Antagonists===
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== Battle ==
Unlike the original Mother, EarthBound has enemies that appear directly in the overworld, rather than in random encounters. If Ness touches an enemy, he will engage in a battle. The battle system is mainly the same as in Mother. Ness can fight the monster, use PSI, or run if the enemy is too powerful. If Ness defeats the bosses of a area, the enemies will run away from Ness if he approaches them. Additionally, if Ness is at a higher level than the enemies, he can defeat them instantly.
==Status Ailments==
*Can't Concentrate - Renders a party member unable to use PSI.
*Cold - Causes a party member to loose 3-5 HP each turn. In the overworld, this occurs every four seconds.
*Crying - Heavily decreases the accuracy of regular attacks.
*Diamondization - Renders a party member immovable.
*Feeling Strange - Causes a party member to become confused, causing them to accidentally hit members of their party or heal their enemies.
*Homesick - Only applicable to Ness. Causes him to waste turns thinking about home.
*Mushroomization - Same as Confusion inside of battle, but outside of battle, it can cause the controls to be flipped.
*Nausea - Same as Cold, except party members loose 15-25 HP.
*Poison - Identical to Nausea.
*Paralysis - Renders a party member unable to use normal attacks.
*Possession - Renders a party member to be haunted by a spirit, who will either attack or solidify party members.
*Sleep - Renders a party member unable to do anything.
*Sunstroke - Identical to Cold.
*Unconscious - Occurs when a party member has zero HP, causing them to be unable to do anything. If all party members have this, its game over.
==Stats==
*HP (Hit Points) - Shows how much damage a party member can withstand. 
*PP (Psychic Points) - Shows how much PSI a party member can use.
*Offense - Shows how much damage a party member can inflict.
*Defense - Shows how much damage a party member can resist.
*IQ - Determines how much PP is gained when leveling up.
*Vitality - Determines how much HP is gained when leveling up.
*Guts - Determines the likelihood of an attack being a hit.
*Luck - Determines the accuracy of an attack.
==Enemies and Bosses==
===Normal Enemies===
Image	Name 	HP 	PP 	EXP 	Money	Location
 	Coil Snake 	18 	0 	1 	$4 	OnettThreed
 	Spiteful Crow 	24 	0 	3 	$5 	OnettHappy Happy VillageWinters
 	Runaway Dog 	21 	0 	4 	$3 	OnettTwosonWinters
 	Pogo Punk 	35 	0 	15 	$18 	Onett
 	Skate Punk 	31 	0 	12 	$17 	Onett
 	Yes Man Junior 	33 	0 	13 	$18 	Onett
 	Attack Slug 	30 	6 	27 	$6 	Giant StepRainy Circle
 	Black Antoid 	34 	25 	37 	$7 	Giant StepTwosonGrapefruit Falls
 	Rowdy Mouse 	36 	0 	34 	$9 	Giant StepBrick RoadRainy Circle
 	Cop 	75 	0 	86 	$18 	OnettTwoson
 	Ramblin' Evil Mushroom 	60 	0 	95 	$15 	Twoson
 	Annoying Old Party Man 	99 	0 	130 	$32 	Twoson
 	Cranky Lady 	95 	0 	200 	$17 	Twoson
 	Mobile Sprout 	79 	9 	133 	$13 	TwosonPeaceful Rest Valley
 	New Age Retro Hippie 	87 	0 	160 	$23 	Twoson
 	Unassuming Local Guy 	87 	0 	160 	$23 	TwosonHappy Happy Village
 	Li'l UFO 	82 	0 	223 	$14 	TwosonHappy Happy Village
 	Spinning Robo 	113	17 	297 	$21 	Peaceful Rest Valley
 	Territorial Oak 	145	41 	356 	$29 	Peaceful Rest Valley
 	Insane Cultist 	94 	0 	353 	$33 	Happy Happy Village
 	Mighty Bear 	167	0 	609 	$49 	Lilliput Steps
 	Mole Playing Rough 	103	0 	456 	$36 	Lilliput StepsDusty Dunes DesertSummers
 	Mr. Batty 	86 	0 	304 	$30 	Lilliput Steps
 	Handsome Tom 	133	16 	520 	$45 	Threed
 	No Good Fly 	100	0 	415 	$26 	Threed
 	Putrid Moldyman 	203	0 	830 	$53 	Threed
 	Smelly Ghost 	194	50 	606 	$71 	Threed
 	Smilin' Sam 	161	55 	712 	$48 	Threed
 	Trick or Trick Kid 	142	0 	570 	$47 	Threed
 	Urban Zombie 	171	0 	700 	$58 	Threed
 	Zombie Dog 	210	0 	1354 	$54 	Threed
 	Zombie Possessor 	176	0 	950 	$81 	Threed
 	Gruff Goat 	45 	0 	20 	$9 	Winters
 	Mad Duck 	51 	0 	41 	$12 	Brick Road's DungeonSaturn ValleyGold Mine
 	Worthless Protoplasm 	38 	0 	17 	$11 	Brick Road's DungeonDungeon Man
 	Cave Boy 	314	0 	618 	$17 	Winters
 	Armored Frog 	202	0 	1566 	$77 	Grapefruit Falls
 	Farm Zombie 	171	0 	700 	$58 	Grapefruit Falls
 	Plain Crocodile 	314	0 	618 	$17 	Grapefruit Falls
 	Red Antoid 	112	30 	1175 	$35 	Grapefruit Falls
 	Foppy 	120	10 	1311 	$93 	Belch's Base
 	Mostly Bad Fly 	141	0 	1116 	$84 	Belch's Base
 	Slimy Little Pile 	224	0 	1978 	$124 	Belch's Base
 	Ranboob 	232	42 	2486 	$158 	Milky Well
 	Struttin' Evil Mushroom	157	0 	1492 	$95 	Rainy CircleMilky WellMonkey Cave
 	Tough Mobile Sprout 	179	13 	1865 	$119 	Milky Well
 	Bad Buffalo 	341	0 	4108 	$172 	Dusty Dunes Desert
 	Crested Booka 	265	0 	3011 	$130 	Dusty Dunes Desert
 	Criminal Caterpillar 	250	168	30384	$0 	Dusty Dunes Desert
 	Cute Li'l UFO 	162	25 	1519 	$110 	Dusty Dunes DesertDungeon Man
 	Desert Wolf 	247	0 	3740 	$114 	Dusty Dunes Desert
 	Skelpion 	137	21 	1823 	$140 	Dusty Dunes Desert
 	Smilin' Sphere 	223	60 	2218 	$191 	Dusty Dunes Desert
 	Annoying Reveler 	288	0 	2373 	$268 	Fourside
 	Extra Cranky Lady 	277	0 	3651 	$134 	Fourside
 	Crazed Sign 	295	98 	3618 	$244 	Fourside
 	Mad Taxi 	253	0 	2336 	$216 	Fourside
 	Noose Man 	231	0 	1990 	$220 	Gold Mine
 	Gigantic Ant 	308	81 	3980 	$304 	Gold Mine
 	Thirsty Coil Snake 	270	0 	2786 	$276 	Gold Mine
 	Mystical Record 	263	35 	2736 	$310 	Grand Department StoreDungeon Man
 	Scalding Coffee Cup 	190	0 	2462 	$280 	Grand Department StoreDungeon Man
 	Musica 	292	0 	3748 	$341 	Grand Department Store
 	Abstract Art 	301	60 	4361 	$255 	Moonside
 	Dali's Clock 	296	0 	2503 	$314 	MoonsideDungeon Man
 	Enraged Fire Plug 	309	0 	4231 	$346 	MoonsideDungeon Man
 	Robo-pump 	431	0 	4793 	$349 	MoonsideDungeon Man
 	Sentry Robot 	372	0 	5034 	$392 	Monotoli Building
 	Mighty Bear Seven 	367	0 	8884 	$440 	Winters
 	Arachnid! 	216	0 	4933 	$196 	Rainy Circle
 	Elder Batty 	294	0 	4177 	$371 	Rainy Circle
 	Strong Crocodile 	417	0 	10122	$495 	Rainy Circle
 	Over Zealous Cop 	325	0 	7448 	$420 	Summers
 	Tough Guy 	342	0 	9310 	$525 	Summers
 	Deadly Mouse 	416	0 	9225 	$406 	Magnet Hill
 	Filthy Attack Roach 	399	0 	10543	$432 	Magnet Hill
 	Stinky Ghost 	444	0 	13179	$541 	Magnet Hill
 	Conducting Menace 	445	238	14792	$574 	Pink Cloud
 	Kiss of Death 	333	0 	10354	$528 	Pink Cloud
 	Tangoo 	371	5 	14718	$572 	Pink Cloud
 	Thunder Mite 	293	200	10798	$430 	Pink Cloud
 	High-class UFO 	433	72 	12385	$456 	Scaraba
 	Beautiful UFO 	339	15 	8257 	$426 	Scaraba
 	Dread Skelpion 	214	125	9908 	$609 	Scaraba
 	Great Crested Booka 	452	0 	16365	$604 	Scaraba
 	Marauder Octobot 	482	0 	14475	$499 	Scaraba
 	Master Criminal Worm 	377	300	82577	$0 	Scaraba
==Development==
After Mother was released in 1989, development for Mother 2 began. The game was directed by Shigesato Itoi once again and there was a development team different from the previous game of the series, and they were willing to work all night on the project. Mother 2's development took much longer than expected. But in the end, Mother 2 was finally released. Marcus Lindblom worked on the English localization one year after Mother 2 was released afterward.
==Release==
Mother 2 was released in Japan on August 27th, 1994 for the Super Famicom. The game was then released in North America as EarthBound on June 5th, 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Each copy of EarthBound in North America came packaged with the EarthBound Player's Guide instead of a typical instruction booklet.
In addition, Mother 2 was available as a downloadable game for the Nintendo Power, a Japan-only flash-memory cartridge that allowed owners to purchase Super Famicom games at a lowered price.
===Virtual Console re-releases===
On March 20, 2013, EarthBound was re-released in Japan for the Wii U Virtual Console, and on July 18 of the same year in North America and Europe. During the Nintendo Direct announcing EarthBound's approval for the Wii U Virtual Console, Satoru Iwata mentioned the fan outcry being one of the reasons. The re-release was highly publicized, with Shigesato Itoi himself doing a live stream of playing the game. The game received some minor edits from the original SNES release: a line of text by Lardna Minch and another in Burglin Park were slightly tweaked in Japan. In all versions, the animations for PSI Fire Ω, PSI Flash Ω, PSI Rockin γ, Brainshock Ω, the Shield killer, and both PSI Starstorm α and Ω were altered to reduce the flashing.
Furthermore, in March of 2016, EarthBound was re-released again in all three regions for the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service.
EarthBound was included as one of the games on the Super NES Classic Edition (known as the Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and Oceania and Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Famicom in Japan), released on June 26, 2017. The game appeared in the North American and European variants. This version does not contain the changes made to the aforementioned animations with bright flashes as the Wii U version did. Instead, to blur out the flashes the game uses the system's built in anti-seizure filter, which automatically creates an "after image" effect whenever it detects rapid bright flashes.
Along with its prequel, EarthBound was added to the Nintendo Switch Online service on February 9th, 2022.
==Copyright issues rumors==
EarthBound has been noted to feature a number of samples/homages to copyrighted elements. For example, the Onett trumpet player plays Symphony No.9 Movement 2, the music that plays while fighting Frank or a New Age Retro Hippie bears some resemblance to the beginning of Johnny B. Goode, and the Megaton Walk sounds remarkably like a segment from The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Music composer Hirokazu Tanaka stated in an interview, "The sampling issue is a little sensitive because, well, I don't know for sure, but it sounds like that is one of the reasons EarthBound is not able to come out in America.". As a result, it was widely believed these samples of music caused copyright issues for Nintendo of America when the company tried to approve the game for digital distribution on the Wii's Virtual Console. A similar rumor spread during this time reguarding the Dali's Clock, an enemy based off of the famous painting by , with many believing the enemy would need to be redesigned or removed entirely for the game to be approved for a re-release.
Contrary to these claims, the music was not changed in the game's various re-releases. Marcus Lindblom clarified in an interview that the sampled music was likely not the reason why EarthBound was excluded from the Wii's Virtual Console as it wasn't an issue during development, instead believing Nintendo of America simply didn't realize the popularity of the series and a re-release was not considered a priority at the time.Schreier, Jason (August 23, 2013). "The Man Who Wrote Earthbound". Kotaku. Similarly, the Dali's Clock remained intact in all further releases.
==Reception==
===Initial release===
Mother 2 sold 518,000 units in Japan, being the tenth best-selling game of 1994. In contrast to Japan, the game had very poor initial sales in North America, being roughly 140,000 copies, deeming it a commercial failure. The cause, according to critics, was the combination of the game's poor marketing campaign, unimpressive visuals, and the general unpopularity of the role-playing game genre in western countries.
Despite Nintendo of America spending roughly $2,000,000 on marketing, EarthBounds advertising was seen as one of the major detractors. Advertising of the game mainly appeared in select gaming magazines (such as Nintendo Power), it's only other appearance was in an in-store only commercial. The game was released as part of Nintendo of America's Play It Loud! campaign, a marketing attempt at trying to appeal to teenage boys. As such the marketing heavily focused on humor revolving around rude smells, most infamously with its tagline "This game stinks" and foul-smelling scratch and sniff cards, which was deemed by critics as bizzare and did bare minimum to describe the actual game. The graphics were heavily criticized, as during the time of when the game was released, a major selling point was impressive graphics akin to and ; by contrast, EarthBounds simplistic graphics was viewed as being dated and "too cartoonish" by many critics compared to the aforementioned games. The overall price of the packaged game is also precieved to have hindered its sales. The poor sales and reception resulted in the game being excluded in the European market.
Despite its failure, EarthBound aquired a large following through the following years, further fueled by its representation in the Super Smash Bros series, which greatly changed the perception of the game by the time of the game's re-release.
===Re-releases===
Upon reaching the Virtual Console, the game received strong acclaim with its Wii U Virtual Console re-release. The game received a GameZone score of 10/10 and the Nintendo World Report gave it 9.5/10, while receiving a GameRanking score of 88%. Critics praised the wacky humor, characters, and unique modern-day real-world setting, considering it as not only one of the greatest RPG games of all time, but the most original. They also enjoyed how the game can shift from being "dark and serious" to "lighthearted and silly". The visuals, which were originally seen as detrimental, are now considered one of the many charms of the game. Many have praised the soundtrack as one of the big selling points. EarthBound has been viewed as the biggest example of a cult classic.
EarthBound became one of Nintendo's best selling downloadable games in the Virtual Console lifespan, constantly topping the charts of the Wii U's most bought downloadable games. Prior to the closure of the eShop on the Wii U, the game was the fourth best selling Virtual Console game on the Wii U, surpassed only by , , and , and was the sixth best selling downloadable game on the Wii U overall. Throughout the years, multiple reader polls and critics had named EarthBound one of the greatest video games ever made.
==Gallery==
For the game's main image gallery see Gallery:EarthBound.
===Boxart and promotional art===
Mother 2 Box.png|Japanese box art
EarthBound box.png|North American box art
EarthBound box NSO.png|North American Nintendo Switch Online box art
EARLY EB BOX BOI.png|Early American box art
Early EarthBound Boxart.png|Another early version of the American box art
EarthBound Poster.jpg|The promotional poster that was sent to retailers
EB Player's Guide Cover.jpg|The Player's Guide/Manual that came with EarthBound
EB banner1.jpg|First banner from the official website
EB banner2.jpg|Second banner from the official website
===Logos===
EarthBound logo.png|American logo
Mother 2 logo.png|Japanese logo
Mother 2 Logo (Prototype).jpg|An early 1992 prototype version of the Japanese logo
Alt EarthBound logo.png|Alternative American logo
===Title screens===
EarthBound Title Prototype.jpg|Prototype English title screen
EarthBound title.png|English title screen
Mother2 title.png|Japanese title screen
==Trivia==
*The ESRB, the American rating system for video games, rated EarthBound for the Wii Virtual Console. This rating, however, was a mistake.Article of the Wii's VC's Earthbound ESRB rating The game was later confirmed for a Wii U Virtual Console release and released in mid 2013.EarthBound Central's Article on the Wii U's VC's EarthBound release
*All of the game's areas are connected to each other. Using a glitch to walk through otherwise impassable objects and off the map, players can walk to Giygas' lair in the Cave of the Past. 
*The game has several checksums to avoid abusing the previously mentioned map glitching to complete the game: the player must fall down the hole in Lumine Hall and must have defeated Ness's Nightmare.
*EarthBound takes place in a fictional world based off of the real world: Eagleland is based off of America, FoggyLand (Winters and Summers) is based off of Europe, and Chommo (Dalaam, Scaraba and Deep Darkness) is based off of Asia and northern Africa. Shigesato Itoi intended the setting to have an international feeling, this is why party members like Poo appear to come from different cultures.
*The text in the Japanese version of EarthBound is oddly bigger than the text in the American version.
==References==
==External links==
* Wii U Virtual Console release trailer
* Article from GameHiker
* Walkthrough of the game by Starmen.net
* Wikipedia
* NintendoWiki
*
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