Difference between revisions of "EarthBound (series)"

|games=''[[EarthBound Beginnings|EarthBound Beginnings/Mother]]''<br>''[[EarthBound|EarthBound/Mother 2]]''<br>''[[Mother 1+2]]''<br>''[[Mother 3]]''

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The ''EarthBound'' series has obtained a massive following and is widely seen as a cult classic. The re-releases of the games in particular has become among Nintendo's best-selling downloadable games, with ''EarthBound'' commonly seen as a best seller.

==Etymology==

The series' Japanese title, ''Mother'', was inspired by a song of the same name by {{wp|John Lennon}}. The lyrics of "Mother" deal with Lennon's experience of growing up without a father. EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi chose this name for his project because his own father was absent through much of his life. This theme is addressed in the first two ''Mother'' games, in which the main protagonist's father is never seen and only makes an appearance as a voice on a telephone. Itoi also felt the title of ''Mother'' was especially fitting as this game series is more feminine than other RPGs. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UOLj1-q67U&ab_channel=DidYouKnowGaming%3F EarthBound - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Chuggaaconroy]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved June 12, 2020.</ref>

==Franchise history==

The series was created by an influential Japanese copywriter, actor, and minor television celebrity named [[Shigesato Itoi]], who took part in Nintendo's video game industry in the late 1980s. After forming his own subsidiary [[Ape Inc.]] with then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, he began working on the franchise starting with ''{{vg|Mother}}'', later released internationally as ''[[EarthBound Beginnings]]''. Released in July of 1989, the game took on a different theme opposed to the medieval sword-and-sorcery theme found in most RPG games at the time. Instead, the game was set in modern-day [[America]] with the cast consisting of average children with [[PSI|psychic powers]], using average everyday items such as [[baseball bat]]s and [[frying pan]]s as weapons. ''Mother'' was a commercial success in Japan, and so the game was then planned to be translated and released internationally with the title '''Earth Bound'''. Though the English localization was fully completed in 1990 and was scheduled to release in the fall of 1991, <ref>http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/200407-earthbound2.shtml</ref> <ref>https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/XYRPYQfZ7HRZGgu1xA1iOeCMVeMzLVTrfdqreV5BI4PsQb6DHFoUI_pMno8l39fj1KxsMfAZWzQKsGhczkt2qjsQhJOxfwORKN8ZhtPEMn_d7MfkFzOVNZvyB1zeRmzk6VgrBWXz</ref> it was cancelled for a multitude of reasons, the largest one being the upcoming [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], which was thought to overshadow the English release of the game. Thus, the game was decided too costly to market and produce (despite all of the packaging materials for the game being finalized and ready for production <ref>https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mothertoearth</ref>) and was indefinitely shelved with no plans for a future release, with a {{wp|Canada}}-only release being briefly considered in 1994. <ref>http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/200407-earthbound2.shtml</ref>

[[File:Ness Onett.png|thumb|200px|left|[[Ness]] in [[Onett]] in ''[[EarthBound]].]]

[[File:Tazmily-Square.png|thumb|220px|[[Flint]] standing in the Idobata Square in [[Tazmily Village]] from ‘’EarthBound 64’’.]]

However, after the success of the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]], encouragement from fans eventually led to Shigesato Itoi returning to development on ''[[Mother 3]]'' for the [[Game Boy Advance]]. To promote the revival of ''Mother 3'', ''Mother'' and ''Mother 2'' were ported to the Game Boy Advance in June 2003, being the compilation cartridge ''[[Mother 1+2]]'', released only in Japan. The Mother portion featured [[Regional differences in EarthBound Beginnings|all the changes]] that were made in the then-unreleased English prototype of EarthBound Beginnings, while most of Mother 2 remained the same aside from the drop in audio quality due to hardware limitations. A commercial for the game featuring Mr. Saturn ended with the caption "''We're making '''Mother 3''' for the [[Game Boy Advance]] too. Dakota!''". On April 20th, 2006, Mother 3 had finally released in Japan on the Game Boy Advance. This version returned to the 2D pixelated art style that was used in the previous games. ''Mother 3'' received strong critical acclaim in Japan with praise to the rhythm-based RPG combat, but more so on the storyline and tragic events that were rarely seen in its predecessors.

With ''Mother 3'' finally complete, Shigesato Itoi decided that ''Mother 3'' was the official conclusion of the series, and has stated he has no plans in creating a fourth ''Mother'' installment in the future.

The ''EarthBound'' series was initially seen as a minor classic Nintendo title in the west, despite its popularity in Japan. When ''[[EarthBound]]'' was released on the Wii U's [[Virtual Console]], however, it became one of Nintendo's best selling downloadable games of all time.

Despite ''Mother 3'' not receiving an official English release (yet), the ''EarthBound'' series is now seen as a mainstream franchise in gaming culture rather than staying as a minor Nintendo classic. ''EarthBound'' in particular is widely viewed as the best example of a {{wp|cult classic}}. Many ''EarthBound'' references and cameos began to appear in many other Nintendo games, ranging from Ness and Lucas appearing as {{mw|mystery mushroom}} power-ups in ''{{mw|Super Mario Maker}}'', to an entire ''EarthBound''-themed level<!--Please put the name of the level--> in ''{{wk|Kirby Planet Robobot}}'', and continues to be an important franchise represented in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. The series has grown to the point where it has spawned fan games such as [[EarthBound hacks and fangames#Mother: Cognitive Dissonance|''Mother: Cognitive Dissonance'']], as well as numerous indie games that took inspiration from the series, a prime example being the critically acclaimed ''{{wp|Undertale}}''.

==Trivia==

==References==