Difference between revisions of "Ness"

|games=First: [[EarthBound]]

|SSBappear=Latest: [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]

'''Ness''' (Japanese: '''{{tt|ネス|Nesu}}''' ''Ness'') is a boy from the town of [[Onett]]. He is the protagonist of [[EarthBound]]. He is a gifted child with various [[PSI]] powers, and has the power to use each of the eight [[Your Sanctuary]] locations throughout the game to add some notes to the [[Sound Stone]]. Upon ridding his mind of [[Ness's Nightmare|all of the evil within him]], Ness unlocks his true potential and becomes the absolute strongest member of his party.

He is also featured in the [[Super Smash Bros. series]] as a playable character in every game in the series. He uses a variety of PSI abilities for his attacks as well as weapons he uses in EarthBound, such as his baseball bat and yo-yo.

Ness is one of the most recognized characters in the [[EarthBound series]] to the point where he is often seen as the flagship character of the series. His appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series have considerably boosted his public image, as well as for the EarthBound series as a whole. Ness became more or less a mainstream character in gaming culture rather than a curious cult character from Nintendo's 90's days, and he has become a well-known character in Nintendo gaming.

Ness wears a blue shirt with yellow stripes, a brown backpack, blue shorts, red shoes with white socks, and a red baseball cap with a blue bill turned to its side. According to the [[EarthBound Player's Guide]], his cap has his favorite baseball team's logo on it. Ness is implied to be overweight by several NPCs, plus in the game's epilogue a person says Ness has lost weight further implying this. While his original clay model and appearence in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl depict him to be overweight, his American clay model and appearence in [[Super Smash Bros. 4]] and onward depict him as being more slender.

In terms of physical appearence, Ness shares many similarities to Ninten, the protagonist of [[EarthBound Beginnings]], although with a few minor differences: Ness's cap is pointed left while Ninten's is pointed right, Ness's hair is rounded whereas Ninten's is more spiky, Ness wears white socks and red shoes while Ninten wears red socks and blue shoes, and Ness carries a backpack which Ninten lacks. Shigesato Itoi confirmed Ness was intentionally designed to be similar to Ninten in appearance to allow the player to choose whether they were the same person or different<ref>[http://yomuka.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/famitsu-06191992/ Weekly Famitsu – June 19, 1992]</ref>.

==In EarthBound==

===In [[Mother 3]]===

===In the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|Super Smash Bros series]]===

[[File:Ness SSBU.png|thumb|150px|right|Ness's official artwork in [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]]]

Ness appears in the Super Smash Bros. series. He is playable in every game of the series. He is an unlockable character in the Smash 64, Brawl, the 3DS version of Smash 4, and Ultimate, but is a default character in Melee and the Wii U version of Smash 4.

Ness is overall a middleweight fighter who has slow walking speed, slightly below average run speed, and fast air speed. Ness's special moves involve him using the PSI moves PK Flash (Standard B, Melee onwards), PK Fire (Side +B Melee onwards, Standard B in Smash 64), PK Thunder (Up + B), and PSI Magnet (Down + B), and PK Starstorm for his Final Smash (Brawl onwards). His up and down Smash Attacks uses his Yo-Yo, and his side Smash Attack uses his Baseball bat. His Baseball bat can also reflect projectiles, though it is difficult. Ness couldn't learn PK Fire, Thunder, PSI Magnet, or Starstorm in EarthBound although his trophy description in Melee says Paula taught him those moves to use in Super Smash Bros..

In Super Mario Maker Ness can be obtained as a {{mw|Mystery Mushroom}} power-ups by completing the 100 Mario Challenge on normal mode, or by scanning his [[amiibo]] figure. Pressing up on the directional pad will play the sound effect when learning a new PSI move in EarthBound, and completing a level as Ness will play the fanfare when winning against a boss in EarthBound.

Although Ness's age was never confirmed by Shigesato Itoi, there are a few minor instances where Ness was given an age: The Japanese guide for Mother 2 states Ness's age as 12, however the [[EarthBound Player's Guide]] as well as the official UK website states he is 13<ref>"The future remains uncertain for teenage hero, Ness. Although just 13 years old, he is the undisputed champion of the world." -EarthBound Player's Guide</ref><ref>[http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Super-Nintendo/EarthBound-771110.html#Characters EarthBound page on UK Nintendo site, characters page]</ref>. When asked by Clyde (Tomato) Mandelin about Ness's age, this was Shigesato Itoi's response (Quoted from Clyde Mandelin's Legends of Localization book):  

===EarthBound===

=== Super Smash Bros. series ===

{{Gallery|galleryname=Super Smash Bros.|color=red}}

{{Gallery/cell|SSB Ness.png|80px|[[Super Smash Bros.]]}}

{{Gallery/cell|SSBM Ness.png|80px|[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]}}

{{Gallery/cell|Nessbust-1.png|80px|[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]}}

{{Gallery/cell|Ness _SSB4.png|80px|[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]}}

{{Gallery/cell|Ness SSBU.png|80px|[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]}}

{{Gallery|gallerynane=Super Mario Maker|color=red}}

*The clay models for Ness and Paula for the US release of EarthBound are different from the original Japanese Mother 2 models.

*In the Super Smash Bros. series, Ness is voiced by Makiko Ōmoto, who also voices Kirby.

*During the development of Melee, Ness was intended to be removed and replaced by [[Lucas]]. However, due to the numerous delay and the cancellation of [[EarthBound 64]], Ness was kept in the game.

*Ness is the only EarthBound series main protagonist to not normally have the run ability in all the games he appears in, as Ninten can run in the English release of EarthBound Beginnings and the Mother portion of Mother 1+2, and all characters have the ability to run in Mother 3.

*Early footage of [[EarthBound 64]] shows a character resembling Ness riding a [[Pork Bean]] and walking through a forest.

*In the EarthBound inspired RPG, Citizens of Earth, a message in the Police Station can be read alerting units to a "spiteful youth" who was seen "beating [[Spiteful Crow|crows]] with a [[baseball bat|cracked bat]]", referencing Ness and the beginning portion of EarthBound, along with the only weapon he can use at that point being the cracked bat.