It’s an affliction well known through the gaming world. Devotees to lesser-known or perennially unlocalized games are numerous and outspoken. Every gamer you know has their own obscure Japanese puzzle-shooter, dating sim, or quirky platformer that they would give their college savings to see come to the US. These cults are a staple of gaming fandom, and for the most part, they’re innocuous.
Enter EarthBound. EarthBound, for the uninitiated, was by merit one of the best Super Nintendo RPGs, standing unceremoniously with Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III (FF6 as we know it now) and Super Mario RPG at the pinnacle of 16-bit roleplayers. Despite a poor reception in the USA (due in part to an ironic marketing campaign that backfired), many of those who played EarthBound were drawn deeply into to the game’s universe. Fan communities sprung up, and anticipation of a sequel was high.
Then began the turmoil. Mother 3, the sequel to EarthBound (Mother 2 as it’s called in Japan), fell victim to the high-speed come-apart that was the 64DD. Years after the game and its development platform had been scrapped, bitterness and disappointment were still potent in the minds of fans, especially because so much of the game for the N64 was complete. Each year, an increasingly organized mob of EarthBound fans would gather to watch trade shows and expos go by, where rumors of a new announcement were always met with a predictable “Nope” or “Sorry”.
As the years went on, the relationship between these fans and Nintendo became almost farcical. Petitions, PR stunts, and grassroots campaigning made it harder and harder for Nintendo to deny the existence of their franchise’s rabid following – a franchise they’re content just sitting on. Even more torturous for the fans was watching a sequel finally come to the Game Boy Advance in Japan… but not come to the USA.
The fans have been resourceful and crafty and have translated Mother 3 themselves. But it would seem that after such a long history of adversity, EarthBound has become somewhat of an inside joke to Nintendo of America, and the fans their whipping boys. Most recently at E3, a mysterious door labeled ‘Dr. Andonuts’ was sighted, behind which real Nintendo folks were encamped, curiously silent on the subject of the door’s implication for the future of the EarthBound franchise. The fans once again were driven into a frenzy of speculation that has yet to die down. Furious for an explanation or a hidden meaning, the fans continue to carry on like a crazed ex-girlfriend, becoming more obsessed as they become more upset.
It’s likely that we will never see an official Mother-related release in the USA again. Shigesato Itoi, the mind behind the franchise, has indicated he will not pursue the franchise further. Odds of a release of EarthBound on Virtual Console are pallid and slim (most concretely based on music licensing issues). This fact, however, has not prevented Nintendo from continuing to invoke the name of EarthBound — look at the Super Smash Bros. series and their use of both Ness and Lucas. Whether truly intended or not, each reference provokes the battered fan base even further.
Teasing is nothing new to the world of gaming (or marketing in general), and it’s a very effective way to reinforce interest and stickiness in a brand. But what is the advantage to Nintendo’s persistent teasing about EarthBound, a property that stands to make the company almost zero money in the US without any sort of release? Is it innocent corporate nostalgia that unknowingly evokes bitterness in the consumer, or is it abusive behavior toward gamers whose only sin was supporting an exclusive Nintendo property long after release? It honestly feels like Nintendo is corralling EarthBound fans into one of the most sinister videogame long-trolls of all time.
In any case, ask an EarthBound fan how it feels to play along with Nintendo’s cruel joke and they’ll give it to you straight: This game stinks.
Every summer I pick a classic game to play through that I haven’t before.
This year I pick Earthbound. I will start this task very soon.