Super Smash Bros. Original 12 10/12 Ness By JoshRyuu Watch

5 Favourites 3 Comments 332 Views

Super Smash Bros. Original 12 #10 Ness



Can you remain hopeful until the end?



Earthbound is one of those games that just carve their way into the hearts of most people who play it. Its interesting history starts with Japanese celebrity Shigesato Itoi (whose life is interesting enough in and of itself, but let's focus on this series for now) proposing an idea for an RPG to the big juggernaut of video games... and he got rejected (allegedly in a very cruel way) by Miyamoto. But Itoi was given a chance to develop his idea and he ended up creating Mother in 1989, an RPG way ahead of its time by taking inspiration on western culture as is obvious by the title of the series being inspired by a John Lennon song, and the setting inspired in the suburban U.S. The game had its flaws, yes, but that only meant that it could be improved, right? Earthbound came out in Japan in 1994 and was localized to North America on June 1995, with a pretty wacky marketing involving the game... "stinking"... They focused a lot of the marketing in the grosser parts of the game and it backfired, because the series tanked in America. Europe never got the game, even. But the people who did play it spread the word of this heart warming story of a kid going on an adventure in which he faces the transition to adulthood and, in the process, saves the world from pretty much evil incarnate.



Ness' tale is one that reminds us of many valuable things. The world Ness sees is a world of silly characters, negligent adults, and shady problems. Just like real life. Itoi took care to draw a lot of inspirations from real life and his own experiences, including the gangs in urban cities, the Aum Shinrikyo cult that inspired the Happy Happy Happyists, and the infamous scene of the movie Itoi saw as a child that eventually became the inspiration for Gyigas' demeanor. But among all the negativity you find friends! People who want to help you complete your quest, and who would like to make the world a better place. I think Earthbound became such a cult classic because of the great feeling you have when Paula joins you (Ness) and you know you're not alone, or when you see Tony help Jeff do what Jeff believes is right and join Ness, or when Poo shows up in the last moment to save the party. A journey of growth where, yeah, there are bad things, but where there is a glimmer of something worth fighting for. And the important thing when fighting the darkness in order to grasp the good in the world, is to retain the optimism, self-confidence and to value those that go through it with you. That is what hope is. Can you remain hopeful when making your life better?





Everyone having a nice 2016 so far?



I... actually really like how this one came out... I don't know if it's because I'm improving or if my eyes are becoming too lazy to tell the mistakes I've made. Either way, I like it, but if any of you guys have criticisms that is very welcome. Didn't end up finishing this project in 2015 but I'm dead set on finishing this anyway because I've only got 2 more characters to go and because I love Smash Bros.





Also, speaking of Earthbound, I replayed it recently and while it does show its age, it really IS a good game. A pretty unique RPG that focuses on suburban settings rather than fantasy. Even now you don't see that often. So I recommend everyone to take a look at it now that it's available world-wide on the Wii U eShop. And, man, the Earthbound community is amazing! All these years of patiently supporting a series that Nintendo had apparently left for dead paid off once the series was given another go on the Wii U VC. Now all we need is Mother 3 to make it there. Also Earthbound inspired very interesting projects like Lisa or Undertale. I recently got Undertale because everyone is going crazy for it and because its creator, Toby Fox, was inspired a lot by Earthbound, and am thinking of writing down my reactions to every play session I have because that might be a fun endeavor.



Fuzzy pickles!

IMAGE DETAILS Image size 1600x800px 1.06 MB Show More

Published : Jan 6, 2016