Difference between revisions of "EarthBound (series)"

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>

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 <ref>http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/200407-earthbound2.shtml</ref> [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rebecca-Carlson-9/publication/336936912/figure/fig2/AS:820321233944576@1572591231564/A-page-from-the-1990-November-December-issue-19-of-Nintendo-Power.ppm and was scheduled to release in the fall of 1991], 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>

Despite this, the game began to receive recognition because of Ness, the protagonist of ''EarthBound'', receiving representation in the 1999 [[Nintendo 64]] title ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' and its successors. Because of this, the game began to receive a large following on internet fan sites such as Starmen.Net (originally EarthBound.Net) and EarthBound Central. In addition, a copy of the English version of ''Mother'' was found on {{wp|eBay}} and was eventually dumped online by the hacker group Neo Demiforce in 1998 under the name "EarthBound Zero" (17 years before the game would be officially released by Nintendo as ''EarthBound Beginnings''), bolstering the [[EarthBound fan community|''EarthBound'' fan community]] even further and simultaneously popularizing the concept of preserving unreleased video games with one of the first unreleased first-party "prototype" titles. Retrospectively, ''EarthBound'' became a massive success, with critics calling it not only one of the best RPGs of all time, but also the most original. The game received praise for its quirky humor and its many parodies of American culture. After massive outcries from the ''EarthBound'' fanbase to get the game released for the Wii U's Virtual Console service on sites like Nintendo's own {{wp|Miiverse}}, the game was released on the service in Japan on March 20th, 2013, with an international release releasing on July 18th, 2013. The Wii U Virtual Console release of the game was the first time the game was released in PAL regions, and it was one of Nintendo's most popular downloadable games of all time.

After the release of ''Mother 2'', Itoi began on a sequel to the game, ''Mother 3'' (named ''[[EarthBound 64]]'' by western fans, and ''Mother 64'' by Eastern fans). The subtitle used in the Japanese game was changed several times during development, with one being ''Forest of the Chimera'' (森のキマイラ), but the most common one being ''Fall of the Pig King''. Initially developed for the Super Famicom (and its [[Super NES CD-ROM|CD-ROM add-on]] before it was cancelled), development was halfway completed before moving to the [[64DD]] disk drive add-on for the [[Nintendo 64]], where it was planned to utilize the add-on’s advanced capabilities; it was also planned to be a launch title for the add-on in {{wp|Japan}}. When the disk drive's repeated delays made its future as a viable commercial accomplishment uncertain, the development moved to the N64 console with its cartridge-based format. ''EarthBound 64'' featured 3D graphics as opposed to the 2D art style from the previous 2 games. However, the development team faced many difficulties, forcing the game to have numerous delays across the years of the N64 lifespan. One of the biggest difficulties was how Itoi and his team were inexperienced with developing 3D video games, which was eventually alleviated with outside help and the assistance of the team which worked on HAL's ''{{bp|Pokémon Stadium}}''. While development was steadily progressing along at a healthy pace, with a fully playable demo even appearing at {{wp|Space World}} 1999, further developmental progress would have meant taking away much-needed resources from Nintendo's upcoming console, the [[Nintendo GameCube]]. Additionally, the team also struggled with reducing the scope of the game to fit the Nintendo 64's hardware limitations, with Itoi considering reducing entire sections of the game’s story into a series of images and music. After more delays, the 30-60% game was officially cancelled in August 2000, with Itoi citing that he did not want to make anything other than "something truly special" in addition to the project becoming too complex with its interest in 3D graphics.

[[File:LucasBoneyNippolyteCemetery.png|260px|left|thumb|[[Lucas]], [[Boney]], and [[Nippolyte]] at [[Hinawa]]'s grave in [[Chapter 7]].]]

!width=15% style="background-color: #e0e0e0;"|Screenshot/Concept Art, unreleased status, and system

|In the Summer of 2003, the director of {{wp|Ben Kaitos}}, Yasuyuki Honne, met with then-NCL president [[Satoru Iwata]] and Shigesato Itoi to discuss making an ''EarthBound'' game for the Nintendo GameCube, with {{wp|Namco}} as the developer. The concept art that Honne brought with him depicted the game's graphics being made entirely out of a felt art style, with Ninten/Ness as the protagonist. While Itoi was not interested in developing the project (and was initially "flabbergasted"), he grew to like the 1980s felt recreation of America by the end of the proposition.