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What is this?

This is a series of scripts for an animated series based on the events of Earthbound. No animation, no audio drama. Just classic words on a page.

Why are the episodes so long?

Please don’t be intimidated that every episode is 12-16 pages long! A page in script formatting is MUCH less reading than a page of regular prose. Scripts are generally one page to one minute of screen time and one minute of reading, depending on your pace. So an episode should only take around 15 minutes to read.

Will you animate it when you’re done?

While that would be a dream come true, I wouldn’t be the one to do it! Animation is entirely outside my area of expertise, nor do I expect anyone else to fully animate dozens of ten-minute stories they didn’t write. And that’s not to mention voice acting, directing, sound design… Of course, you should never say never!

Why not a movie?

Video games, Earthbound especially, are pretty episodic. There’s a cosmic horror to defeat by the end of the game, but on the way you’ll clear out the Sharks, help with a town’s zombie problem, and fight a Kraken. Basically, the focus is all over. Stuff like that doesn’t lend itself well to the hyper-focused nature of movies. I think episodic storytelling is the most appropriate way to adapt Earthbound.

Where do I start?

At this point the series is over 200 pages long, which is a hefty read even in script form. I think it’s all worth reading, but if you are intimidated by all that, good points to drop in are Episode 5: Outset (when Ness leaves for Twoson) or Episode 11: A Winters Sunrise (Jeff’s introduction). I encourage you to read it in any order you like!

This is bad.

Feel free to skip ahead! As in life, it gets better.

Right now my favorite episode is Episode 13 – The Brains. It starts off right when Jeff joins the group in Threed and reads well as a standalone Halloween Special.