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EarthBound Beginnings: Difference between revisions
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It's not perfect yet but cleaned up the release sections and merged "Emulation" with the intro which had the information on the EB0 rom. Also I should've cleaned up those images long ago
m (Don't know why this was removed) |
(It's not perfect yet but cleaned up the release sections and merged "Emulation" with the intro which had the information on the EB0 rom. Also I should've cleaned up those images long ago) |
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'''''EarthBound Beginnings''''', also known by its Japanese name '''''Mother''''' (Japanese: '''{{tt| マザー| Mazā}}''', stylized as '''ＭＯＴＨＥＲ''') and sometimes retroactively referred to as '''''Mother 1''''' when using the Japanese titles, is a 1989 role-playing video game originally released in Japan on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]]. It was developed by [[Ape Inc.]] (stylized as APE Inc.) and was published by [[Nintendo]], and is the first game in the [[EarthBound (series)|''EarthBound'' series]]. Created by Japanese copywriter [[Shigesato Itoi]], ''EarthBound Beginnings'' follows the travels of four children — [[Ninten]], [[Lloyd]], [[Ana]], and [[Teddy]] — and their attempts to stop an intergalactic alien's invasion of Earth. Gameplay takes place within an [[America|overworld]] consisting of [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_(culture) Americana] themes and tropes, where random encounters trigger turn-based battles with menu interfaces. The game was released to positive reception and commercial success in Japan, although some noted its difficulty. | '''''EarthBound Beginnings''''', also known by its Japanese name '''''Mother''''' (Japanese: '''{{tt| マザー| Mazā}}''', stylized as '''ＭＯＴＨＥＲ''') and sometimes retroactively referred to as '''''Mother 1''''' when using the Japanese titles, is a 1989 role-playing video game originally released in Japan on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]]. It was developed by [[Ape Inc.]] (stylized as APE Inc.) and was published by [[Nintendo]], and is the first game in the [[EarthBound (series)|''EarthBound'' series]]. Created by Japanese copywriter [[Shigesato Itoi]], ''EarthBound Beginnings'' follows the travels of four children — [[Ninten]], [[Lloyd]], [[Ana]], and [[Teddy]] — and their attempts to stop an intergalactic alien's invasion of Earth. Gameplay takes place within an [[America|overworld]] consisting of [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_(culture) Americana] themes and tropes, where random encounters trigger turn-based battles with menu interfaces. The game was released to positive reception and commercial success in Japan, although some noted its difficulty. | ||
In 1990, Nintendo of America created an English version of the game under the name '''''Earth Bound''''' (stylized as '''''EARTH BOUND'''''). However, the then-imminent release of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and other difficulties resulted in the localization not being released for the NES. It was later released in 2015 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ''EarthBound'' releasing in North America, where it was retitled as ''EarthBound Beginnings'' to distinguish it from its sequel, despite the title screen still referring to it as ''Earth Bound''. Earlier, in 1998, | In 1990, Nintendo of America created an English version of the game under the name '''''Earth Bound''''' (stylized as '''''EARTH BOUND'''''). However, the then-imminent release of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and other difficulties resulted in the localization not being released for the NES. It was later released in 2015 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ''EarthBound'' releasing in North America, where it was retitled as ''EarthBound Beginnings'' to distinguish it from its sequel, despite the title screen still referring to it as ''Earth Bound''. Earlier, in 1998, the fan group Neo Demiforce, who had been working on their own translation of the game at the time, discovered one of the prototype cartridge had been sold to Kenny Brooks, a game collector, and made a deal with him to release a ROM of the game to the public in 1998. The ROM was released with a patch that featured minor alterations from the prototype cartridge to get around the copy protections Nintendo had placed on it. For confirmation that the patch worked, the patch also changed the title to '''''Earth Bound Zero''''', which became a common name used by fans to distinguish the game from its sequel. Since then, four other cartridges with the prototype | ||
have been found, one of which resides in Nintendo of America's headquarters.<ref>[http://www.earthboundcentral.com/2009/09/earthbound-zero-prototype-info/ EarthBound Central: "EarthBound Zero Prototype Info"]</ref> | |||
''EarthBound Beginnings'' would be succeeded by ''[[EarthBound]]'' in 1994 and ''[[Mother 3]]'' in 2006. In 2003, the game was re-released in Japan alongside ''EarthBound'' as part of the [[Game Boy Advance]] compilation ''[[Mother 1+2]]''. Following its first international release on the Wii U in 2015, the game was released again on [[Nintendo Switch]] in 2022, this time being made available for subscribers to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_Online Nintendo Switch Online service]. | ''EarthBound Beginnings'' would be succeeded by ''[[EarthBound]]'' in 1994 and ''[[Mother 3]]'' in 2006. In 2003, the game was re-released in Japan alongside ''EarthBound'' as part of the [[Game Boy Advance]] compilation ''[[Mother 1+2]]''. Following its first international release on the Wii U in 2015, the game was released again on [[Nintendo Switch]] in 2022, this time being made available for subscribers to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch_Online Nintendo Switch Online service]. | ||
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(Add info about Keiichi Suzuki here, especially Louis Philippe's [[Mother (soundtrack)|Flying Man]] song) | (Add info about Keiichi Suzuki here, especially Louis Philippe's [[Mother (soundtrack)|Flying Man]] song) | ||
[[File:M1 Soundtrack.png|right|thumb|280px|The official ''Mother'' soundtrack album]] | |||
The president of Nintendo of Japan at the time, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was impressed by Itoi's work on ''Mother'', going so far as to call him a "genius"<ref>[https://earthbound.fandom.com/wiki/Shigesato_Itoi]</ref> and proposed the idea of a new company meant to support new talent within the video game industry. Itoi then formed the company [[Ape|Ape Inc.]] (stylized APE Inc.) on March 1987 with him serving as chief executive producer, which then joined the ''Mother'' development team towards the end of the game's development. In coming up with the name for the project, a temporary title, "ESP1", was used until the word "mothership" provided the primary influence for Itoi. But the title held other meanings as well; the {{wp|John Lennon}} song "[[wikipedia:Mother (John Lennon song)|Mother]]" served as an influence in particular, which moved Itoi so much that he wanted to evoke the same feelings in other people through his ''Mother'' game <ref>[https://earthbound.fandom.com/wiki/EarthBound_Beginnings]</ref>, while Itoi felt that the game had a "motherly" feel compared to other RPGs at the time: the feeling of motherhood was also present in the game through [[Maria]]'s maternal love for [[Giygas]]. The title could also evoke connotations with the feel of the phrase "Mother Earth" as well. Part of Itoi's drive to complete ''Mother'' was to simply play it himself, and share the game with his friends and let them play it also: after all, his starting point for the project was to create a game that he would want to play himself if it ever existed. While the development was painful for a multitude of reasons (It was littered with detailed limitations due to the RPG's contemporary setting, which the team had to overcome), Itoi felt that by the end of the game's development, it had turned out to be something "really interesting." | The president of Nintendo of Japan at the time, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was impressed by Itoi's work on ''Mother'', going so far as to call him a "genius"<ref>[https://earthbound.fandom.com/wiki/Shigesato_Itoi]</ref> and proposed the idea of a new company meant to support new talent within the video game industry. Itoi then formed the company [[Ape|Ape Inc.]] (stylized APE Inc.) on March 1987 with him serving as chief executive producer, which then joined the ''Mother'' development team towards the end of the game's development. In coming up with the name for the project, a temporary title, "ESP1", was used until the word "mothership" provided the primary influence for Itoi. But the title held other meanings as well; the {{wp|John Lennon}} song "[[wikipedia:Mother (John Lennon song)|Mother]]" served as an influence in particular, which moved Itoi so much that he wanted to evoke the same feelings in other people through his ''Mother'' game <ref>[https://earthbound.fandom.com/wiki/EarthBound_Beginnings]</ref>, while Itoi felt that the game had a "motherly" feel compared to other RPGs at the time: the feeling of motherhood was also present in the game through [[Maria]]'s maternal love for [[Giygas]]. The title could also evoke connotations with the feel of the phrase "Mother Earth" as well. Part of Itoi's drive to complete ''Mother'' was to simply play it himself, and share the game with his friends and let them play it also: after all, his starting point for the project was to create a game that he would want to play himself if it ever existed. While the development was painful for a multitude of reasons (It was littered with detailed limitations due to the RPG's contemporary setting, which the team had to overcome), Itoi felt that by the end of the game's development, it had turned out to be something "really interesting." | ||
== Release == | == Release == | ||
[[File:EBB Famitsu Poster.jpg|left|thumb|300px|A promotional poster for ''EarthBound Beginnings'' from ''{{wp|Famitsu}}'' #20, featuring a still of the live-action ''Mother'' commercial.]] | [[File:EBB Famitsu Poster.jpg|left|thumb|300px|A promotional poster for ''EarthBound Beginnings'' from ''{{wp|Famitsu}}'' #20, featuring a still of the live-action ''Mother'' commercial.]] | ||
Mother was originally released in Japan for the [[Famicom]] on July 27th, 1989. | Mother was originally released in Japan for the [[Famicom]] on July 27th, 1989. The game was officially translated into English by Nintendo of America in 1990 and slated for a Fall 1991 release under the new title of '''Earth Bound''', but marketing delays prevented the game from being released. Unlike the original Japanese release of ''Mother'', the prototype English translation contains detailed enemy descriptions, some redesigned areas, and an ability to run, among other differences. A few of the changes were requested by Nintendo of America producer and scriptwriter [[Phil Sandhop]], who stated that there were plans to release the game with an 80-page instruction manual and a separate release of the game's soundtrack, but the production costs, memory-intensive improvements from the Famicom original <ref>http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/200407-earthbound2.shtml</ref>, and the potential financial risk from marketing and releasing an undoubtedly-expensive to manufacture NES title ended up having the game cancelled. Most of the alterations later saw official release in ''[[Mother 1+2]]''. | ||
== | ==Rereleases== | ||
===[[Game Boy Advance]] release=== | |||
{{main|Mother 1+2}} | |||
[[ | ===[[Virtual Console]] release=== | ||
On June 14th, 2015, Nintendo announced and released Mother for the Wii U Virtual Console service, in Japanese as well as its first ever English release, under the title '''EarthBound Beginnings'''. While the English version is the same as the unreleased English prototype (minus the copy protection), the Japanese version had several changes from ''Mother 1+2'' backported to it. Notably, the [[Crow]]'s cigarette was removed and a line in [[Twinkle Elementary School]] that mentioned ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_IV Dragon Quest IV]]'' had the reference to that game removed.<ref>[http://earthboundcentral.com/2015/06/japanese-wii-u-mother-has-changes/ EarthBound Central: "Japanese Wii U MOTHER Has Changes"]</ref> | |||
On February 9th, 2022, ''EarthBound Beginnings'' and its sequel ''[[EarthBound]]'' were added to the [[Nintendo Switch]] via the Nintendo Switch Online application for NES games. | |||
On | |||
==Reception== | ==Reception== | ||
