Giygas: Difference between revisions

|caption=sprite of Giygas from ''[[EarthBound Beginnings]]''.

|size2=150px

|relatives=[[Maria]] <small>(foster mother)</small><br>[[George]] <small>(foster father)</small> [[Ninten]] </small>(Grandnephew through adoption)</small>

'''Giygas''' (Japanese: '''{{tt|ギーグ|Gīgu}}''' ''Gyiyg''), also known as '''Giegue''' in ''[[EarthBound Beginnings]]'', is the main antagonist in ''[[EarthBound Beginnings]]'' and ''[[EarthBound]]''. Giygas has the title of being both the "Embodiment of Evil" and the "Universal Cosmic Destroyer", he is an alien who was originally tasked to retrieve the information about PSI, however upon failing, he had gained endless power that destroyed his mind and body, and now seeks destruction to the entire universe.

Giygas was raised as a child when [[George]] and [[Maria]] were abducted by aliens in the early 1900s. Giygas loved his adoptive parents, growing especially close to Maria, while Maria loved him as her own son. Every night Maria would sing to Giygas a special [[Eight Melodies|lullaby]]. George, however, was not involved with raising Giygas but instead was studying the aliens' [[PSI]] powers without their permission, and two years later escaped back to Earth. Because of this, when Giygas matured, he was tasked to invade the Earth to prevent the humans from using the powers against them. As Giygas did not want to betray those who raised him, particularly his mother Maria, he was forced to be separated from Maria and prepare for the invasion.  

|enname=Giygas (Giegue)

In ''EarthBound Beginnings'', Giygas leads an army of aliens and robots in an invasion of planet Earth, starting eighty years after George's escape from captivity at the hands of Giygas's faction. The influence of Giygas can be seen throught the region of [[America]]: inanimate objects come to life, animals become vicious, citizens begin attacking, and aliens appear across the land. Giygas's forces consist primarily of abducting and harrying the citizens of [[America]] in which they are stationed.

Atop [[Mt. Itoi]], Giygas is confronted by [[Ninten]] and his companions. When Ninten confronts him on the summit of [[Mt. Itoi]], he expresses his gratefulness to Ninten and his family for raising him, but mentions that George stole the information about PSI and has a hatred towards humans and wants them to perish. Giygas offers to spare Ninten's life and allow him to come with him back to his home planet, presumably out of respect for Ninten's great-grandmother, Maria, who raised Giygas. Ninten declines and, after being turned down, Giygas continues to attacks him. Once in battle, Giygas is immune to all forms of attack; while he still appears to take damage, his HP is effectively bottomless. Instead, Ninten and his friends must repeatedly attempt to sing the [[Eight Melodies]], hoping to remind Giygas of his memories of Maria. The song fills Giygas with guilt and memories of his past with her and eventually, as Ninten and company finally manage to finish the song, the emotional stress becomes too much for Giygas to handle and he retreats, calling back his forces but promising that he and Ninten will meet again.

{{Quote|No, Giygas is no longer the wielder of Evil. He has become the embodiment of Evil itself... which he cannot control on his own. He is the Evil Power.|author=[[Porky Minch]]}}

What happened to Giygas between the events of ''EarthBound Beginnings'' and [[EarthBound]] is unspecified, however he had gained an uncontrollable amount of power which destroyed his mind and physical body. He lost all rational thinking as a result and is unaware of what he is doing, in this state his only desire is to put an end to the entire universe. 10 years after the time period of ''EarthBound'', Giygas invades Earth and discovers the Apple of Enlightment. When the Apple predicts his downfall at the hands of Ness, Giygas travels ten years into the past to defeat him and to halt his progress. [[Buzz Buzz]], a survivor of Giygas' invasion, also travels back in time to inform Ness of Giygas' actions.

During ''EarthBound'', Giygas influences people, animals, and inanimate objects over Earth. Ness and his friends (deemed the Chosen Four) encounter his presence via wild animals, sentient plants, and otherworldly creatures. The [[Mani-Mani Statue]] also assists in spreading Giygas' domination by inducing control over people such as [[Mr. Carpainter]] and [[Geldegarde Monotoli]]. Spiteful of Ness as well, [[Porky Minch]] also allies with Giygas.

As Ness gains the power of all eight [[Your Sanctuary]] locations, Giygas begins his invasion of Earth in the [[Eagleland]] city of [[Onett]]. Ness, along with [[Paula]], [[Jeff]], and [[Poo]] travel back in time using the [[Phase Distorter]] to face Giygas in the [[Cave of the Past]]. Enclosed within the Devil's Machine, Porky Minch states that Giygas' unfathomable power destroyed him and his mind, and as such, he can only be truly manifested in an incomprehensible form that takes place in a mysterious dimension: a dimension that is revealed to Ness and his friends when Pokey turns off the Devil's Machine. Giygas remains undefeatable by physical attacks; rather, he is destroyed by Paula's prayers to the people of Earth and to the player itself, exposing his weakness to emotion. Giygas disintegrates and ceases to exist, ending his evil influence over the world.

=== In battle ===

:''See also: [[Porky Minch#As an enemy|Heavily Armored Pokey]]''

Giygas' first phase is from within the Devil's Machine: The main threat is the now-[[Porky Minch|Heavily Armored Pokey]], who uses a variety of attacks against Ness and his party. Giygas is capable of using [[PSI Rockin]]: a PSI ability previously only available to Ness and [[Ness's Nightmare]]. Giygas has a shield that reflects all attacks: physical and psychic. It is impossible to remove this shield, making him invincible to any attacks. Only [[PSI Shield]] α and Σ that Ness' party places will work; if β or Ω are used, Giygas' attacks will reflect off the player's shield and back from his own shield, hitting Ness and his party in the progress. If a psychic attack is used while any PSI Shield is in place, the attack will still reflect and hit Ness' party. He is vulnerable to [[PSI Magnet]] and [[Brainshock]].

Meanwhile, Porky's attacks range from a very stinky gas that lowers Offense and one damage-dealing attack. Porky is vulnerable to [[Paralysis]], allowing the player to deal damage with Bashing, PSI moves, and bottle rockets. Porky has 2000 HP: Once his health is depleted, he will taunt the party and turn off the Devil's Machine, revealing Giygas' true form.

{{Quote|So, isn't this terrifying? I'm terrified, too. Giygas cannot think rationally any more, and he isn't even aware of what he is doing now. His own mind was destroyed by his incredible power. What an all mighty idiot! Yep, that's what he is! Heh heh heh heh... and you... you will be... just another meal to him!|author=[[Porky Minch]]}}

When the Devil's Machine is turned off, Ness and his friends are trapped in a strange dimension, where Giygas is now susceptible to physical and psychic attacks of all kinds (Big Bottle Rockets, however, will not work). Giygas himself, crippled mentally by his power, communicates via mysterious calls to Ness, statements of sadness, and feelings of tortured happiness. His attacks cannot be comprehended—indeed, all his attacks are prefaced by "You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas' attack!".

{{Attack table/cell|Incomprehensible attack|Deals high-level damage to one party member}}

{{Quote|Heh heh heh heh. You must really be at the end of your rope. In this bizarre dimension, you four are the only force fighting for justice... And here you stand, waiting to be burned up with all the rest of the garbage of this universe... Haaaaah! That's so sad. I can't help but shed a tear. You know, my heart is beating incredibly fast, ...I must be experiencing absolute terror!|author=[[Porky Minch]]}}

Once enough damage has been dealt to Giygas, Porky will return to taunt the Chosen Four again and will then leave the party with Giygas once more. This time, Giygas, while barely wounded, remains invincible: Although attacks can successfully hit him, Giygas will never run out of health. The only way to destroy Giygas is to have [[Paula]] [[Pray]]. The prayer is the only thing effective against Giygas, and as Paula continueosly prays, other people from the adventure send prayers for the safety of the chosen four. The prayers become too much for Giygas to handle, and after 9 prayers, Giygas vanishes and is never seen again.

{{Attack table/cell|Incomprehensible attack|Three random attacks}}

{{Attack table/cell|"(Ness..."|No effect}}

*Some fans have noted that Giygas's sprite in ''EarthBound Beginnings'' strongly resembles {{bp|Mewtwo}} from the {{bp|Pokémon}} series, and how both are beings with powerful psychic abilities.

*Giygas's dialog in ''EarthBound'' was inspired by a traumatic experience [[Shigesato Itoi]] had when he was a child. At the age of five he was going to watch a movie but walked into the wrong theater by mistake. The theater was playing a Japanese film named ''The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty'', and he entered during a lovemaking scene that led to murder, which he mistook for assault. Itoi wanted to use Giygas's dialog, being a combination of pleasure and pain, to recreate the same kind of fear he experienced. Contrary to popular belief, Itoi did not use dialog, music or imagery from the movie during the fight against Giygas.<ref>https://legendsoflocalization.com/earthbound/giygas/</ref>