Earthbound is a game designed around its oddities. There is no princess to save, no castles to explore, and no dragons to slay. Instead, one spends the entire game controlling a young, American boy named Ness. But what is it about these oddities that make Earthbound so unique? I believe that it is because there is a deliberate method to the madness within Earthbound. That method is that Earthbound is the journey of a child, Ness. While Ness is a chosen hero, he is still young and human. Journeying through the world is an experience that ultimately proves to be a coming of age for Ness, but also keys the audience into how children process the world around them.
In most games, the initial enemies you fight are often weak monsters like goblins or giant ants. What is that analogues in Earthbound? Stray dogs and persistent crows. Things that anyone could find in their own hometown. This is one of many instances that poses enemies as thing people deal with daily. Things turn even odder after Ness makes it to Onett and finds the town infested by a gang and the police powerless to stop them. After fighting the gang members their leader, Frankie, surprisingly helps Ness in his quest. One dungeon later, Ness returns to the town and is accosted by the police for trespassing on property. He is forced into a room by the policemen and must fight them. Ness is learning the there is more than meets the eye. The frightening gang leader becomes a helpful ally. On the other hand, the police that sat around when trouble got going only serve to hinder Ness. Games typically do not address the uselessness and active hinderance police officers can, and often do, “provide”. Other games often touch on broader themes such as hope or the human spirit. Here, a child is face to face with the fact that his hometown is full of corrupt officials. Moreover, the cute sprites and quirky music help the audience digest what is happening.
As the plot continues, Ness needs to find a kidnapped girl named Paula. How does he do so? He enters what is essentially a black market and beats up a man named Everdred until Everdred gives Ness the info he needs. Ness then proceeds to infiltrate a town filled which has been taken over by Happy Happy cultists. Other JRPGs such as Final Fantasy 6 have adult player characters perform similar actions in an imperial camp. While some games portray war realistically, many games at this point had treated it as a fantastical far away point in the distance filled with airships and magic. Ness, meanwhile, has to deal with the prospect that a cult can spread its influence in a town not that far away from his.
It somehow gets worse too. In the original Japanese version, the cultists looked incredibly similar to the KKK. In the span of ~1 hour of gameplay, Ness must confront several uncomfortably close evils that many of us hardly acknowledge.
In Threed, Earthbound seems to deviate into the more whimsical as the town is beset by a zombie apocalypse. The story progresses cartoonishly. That is, until Ness and Paula are lured into a room by a lone woman, ambushed, and subsequently kidnapped. Ness and Paula are then kept prisoner in a factory (don’t worry, the laborers are friendly creatures known as Mr. Saturns). While the game has been pretty brutal so far, this scenario is chillingly realistic. They are saved by a new party member named Jeff and continue to Fourside.
The kids’ adventure in Fourside is relatively lighthearted until Everdred is found severely wounded and dies offscreen.
Earthbound ends with one of the most frightening final bosses ever. Fittingly enough for the awful parts of humanity Ness must face, Giygas is quite literally evil incarnate. It is best described as a tv-static Lovecraftian monster who wails the entire fight. In the end, the kids cannot manage to fend him off. Instead, Paula must pray. Pray, pray and pray, until her voice is heard throughout the world and people pray back. The love that for Ness and company resounding in these prayers is enough to kill Giygas.
Earthbound poses meaningful and realistic problems through a medium that streamlines the experience. Ness and his crew often have to deal with dangers kids have to face or difficulties with growing up. They must learn about the unjust nature of the world. That bad people are capable of good and that some officials cannot be trusted. They learn that the world is a cruel place and people will take advantage of their naivety. They learn that they cannot solve every problem on their own. However, their journeys are ultimately worth it as it gives them the love to stand up to even the ultimate evil. These are not “oddities”. Rather, every other game from this period is the oddity. Since when do you see 4 people manage to storm through an enemy fortress? Since when do you see knights and dragons? Earthbound uses the RPG format to discuss real world issues that many of us neglect to consider how they affect our youth. The visuals and music further drive home this point by lulling you into the innocent world of the child before that innocence is torn away from you.
