EarthBound

Jade Plays: EarthBound (part 1)


EarthBound, aka Mother 2, is a cult classic among cult classics. A vast improvement over the first game, the game has a massive amount of charm and has its own special brand of quirky humor that isn't afraid to make fun of itself and the genre. However, when it was released in the waning years of the SNES, the game was a financial flop. And it wasn't because Nintendo didn't try. Because the first game was never released outside of Japan (it was fully translated, but Nintendo pulled the plug on it at the last second for unknown reasons), they went all out with this game. Not only did it receive an excellent translation for its time, the game got huge spreads in Nintendo Power and even packaged the game with its own strategy guide to keep newcomers from getting lost and frustrated. Despite all of this, the game received lukewarm response from gamers that were too busy drooling over the fancy graphics in Donkey Kong Country and Mortal Kombat, and the upcoming N64, PlayStation, and Saturn that were just around the corner. As a result, NoA appeared to have said "Never Again" and abandoned the series. Since then, Nintendo released Mother 3 in Japan, along with a GBA port of the first two games, while an incredible cult following developed in the west. But while they begged and pleaded with Nintendo for years for an international release of Mother 1 & 3 and a rerelease of EarthBound, NoA had continued to turn a deaf ear, only giving us what felt like a cock-tease in the Smash Bros. games. But all of that might be changing, as NoA has recently announced that EarthBound WILL be coming to the Wii U Virtual Console later this year!! I hope it sells well this time around, and the other two games will then follow! Anyway, on to LP this excellent game!!