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Starmen are actually very easy to sneak up on. If you approach them from the front of their sprite, you get a green swirl. You have to time your approach so that they teleport close to you; after that, you can rush in and get the advantage. If you're getting the Sword of Kings (it's better for the LP if you don't since there's a 1-in-128 chance of getting it), this is where the Casey Bat comes in handy. The game calculates an automatic victory based on the total offense of your party vs. the total defense of the enemies. Since the Casey Bat increases Ness's offense by 125, that gives you a big edge. Other than that, though, it's useless. In case you can't tell, enemies in a Sanctuary dungeon automatically run away from you after you beat the Shining Spot boss. That means you can farm them for experience without much of a hassle. Atomic Power Robots are a real bullshit enemy, by the way. You saw that they explode, but they also have the ability to fully restore one enemy's HP, so they put you in a real bind. Your best bet is to run away whenever you're up against one. The trophy description for Ness's PK Starstorm in Brawl says that it's likely that Poo taught Ness the ability to use in Smash Bros., and Paula's trophy description in Melee says the same regarding PK Fire, PK Thunder, and PSI Magnet. Lucas's Starstorm trophy says Kumatora taught him that ability, since she's the one who uses it in Mother 3. And the music for that game is good, but it's not nearly on the level of Earthbound's, mainly because the non-battle music there consists mainly of rearrangements of a handful of themes. Can't wait for 4/20 to see if we get a Western release... and for, uh, other reasons too.
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Apr 16, 2016 03:41
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Episode 32 - Starman Super   This dungeon is seriously jam packed with enemies. I do really like the aesthetic here, it's this cool underground sci-fi lab. I don't know what it is but bright purples and greens on a black background feel really spacey to me (maybe I'm just a product of the 90s). Unfortunately we don't make much forward progress with the story as pretty much the entire episode is spent getting through the rest of this dungeon. We do encounter the infamous Starman Super, who will be killed repeatedly. We're gonna go for the Sword of Kings, but it's going to be (mostly) off camera. I'm not gonna make you guys sit through what would potentially be an hours long farming session.
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Apr 19, 2016 01:39
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Good luck - it's pretty common to spend a while searching for the sword, but I once reached a level somewhere in the 80s while trying to find it. And fighting as few enemies other than Starman Supers as I could - you have to get past a fair few just to get to the lower levels, and then I'd make a beeline for the Exit Mouse, fight for as much time as I could spare, and leave to go save. The rest of the game posed little challenge, and I probably didn't even need the Sword of Kings after that. But it seems really unfair to make a unique weapon a rare drop from an enemy that ceases to exist after a short time and not put a single clue about it in the game anywhere that I know of. No wonder the game came with the strategy guide.
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Apr 19, 2016 03:10
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If you encounter a Starman Super with another enemy, the chances of you getting the Sword of Kings for that battle effectively becomes 1-in-256. The way Earthbound does enemy item drops is that it chooses one enemy in that battle that could drop the item, then it applies the odds of the item drop to that enemy. That's why you're probably going to find a few Super Bombs dropped by Atomic Power Robots when you're grinding for the Sword of Kings, and it's also why a future 1-in-128 equipment item (one that I would say is more essential than this one) is such an incredible pain in the rear end to get, since that enemy never fights alone. Of all the 1-in-128 weapons you can get, the Sword of Kings is the only one I would recommend getting, and even then only if you really want to go through all of that trouble. Jeff's ultimate weapon starts out broken, is dropped by an exploding enemy, and is still irrelevant if you have the Heavy Bazooka; I'd hesitate to call Paula's her ultimate weapon because it reduces her accuracy and gives less of an offensive boost than a weapon you can buy (although you can argue that the +100 guts boost is worth it); and Ness's comes at the very, very end of the game... as in, the enemy only spawns right before the final battle. Best of luck, and I hope you don't hit Level 99 trying to get the Sword. You're right that Starman Super uses PSI, but it doesn't have any offensive skills. It does, however, have Healing Omega, which is a revive with full HP. Always take it out first. Edit: I've never played Undertale, but I assure you that this Papyrus enemy's markings are supposed to be a callback to Starman. Practically every indie RPG out there is influenced by Earthbound. thevoiceofdog made this video outlining these "Earthbound-likes" for his LISA Let's Play that's currently on indefinite hiatus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj2uz9t3Uvc get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Apr 19, 2016 |
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Apr 19, 2016 04:45
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Super Bonus - The Search for the Sword of Kings Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys! This one is just a little bonus episode we recorded while getting the Sword of Kings. Nothing of any real plot significance happens but if you enjoy listening to us banter then here you go. It's been heavily edited, the original recording was around 75 minutes (which for an item with a 1:128 drop rate is actually not terrible). We are definitely not going to be doing this for any of the other 1:128 weapons, though. I'll have a real update ready later today, so don't change that dial!
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Apr 20, 2016 20:36
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Episode 33 - The Great Escape Alright guys, we've fought our way through Stonehenge, we killed countless Starman Supers for the Sword of Kings, now it's time to shut this place down and rescue our friends! At the end of the dungeon we face down the dreaded Starman Deluxe who is a total pushover at this point because we are now waaaaaaay over leveled. We also discuss the Apple of Enlightenment a bit. Without getting into too many spoilers it's a pretty significant plot device. Giygas manages to obtain the Apple of Enlightenment, which contains a prophecy that a boy named Ness will defeat him. This game is the second time he's tried to avoid the prophecy by invading the Earth early (the first time he was stopped by Ninten in Mother). Oh yeah, we also buy a house! We're so mature for being a group of 13 year olds. It doesn't hurt that our dad deposited over 100 grand into our bank account. Who needs a mortgage when you've got a phone dad?
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Apr 21, 2016 01:20
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I actually once had a save file where I got two Swords of Kings (you can't throw it out, by the way, so no worries about doing that by accident). I got the second one right after the first. When I farm for them, I use Spy when I encounter a Starman Super with a different enemy. If there's no present around, then I run. That prevents me from too much overleveling. Smash/Rockin Omega costs a ton of PP, but it becomes more manageable for Ness to use it by the end of the game. The Starman Deluxe can be a pain in the rear end if you don't use the Monkey's Love (by the way, I had no idea that item affected it). It can call Starmen and Starmen Super for help, and it can wreck your party with Starstorm Alpha if you don't have PSI Shields up. In case you're wondering, Rust Promoter DX has no effect on any Starman enemies.
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Apr 21, 2016 07:50
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Episode 34 - Overcoming Shyness We finally tracked down the elusive Book on Overcoming Shyness, so it's time to head back to the Tenda Village and help these little guys out. I found this part really endearing, though I'm sure a large part of that is because Alex and Alden knew where to find the book and didn't wander around aimlessly for hours. We also get our second "intermission" segment, for lack of a better term. I really like these messages that the developers put in, it not only serves to inspire the player, but it also gives you a little bit of perspective. When the message said "Remember, when you are suffering hardships, your enemy is also struggling" it really hit home that this game is a lot deeper than it seems at first glance. This message is more than just a typical "we did it with the power of friendship!" sentiment, but I'll be going a bit deeper into all that later. I apologize for saying that a lot but there is one area in particular we need to get to before we can go nuts on the analysis side of things. Magicant
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Apr 23, 2016 01:51
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Going back to the last update: I think that bit about the Apple of Enlightenment is a bit off, since it doesn't have anything to do with Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings. There, Giygas returns to Earth to kill the descendants of George (who learned the secrets of PSI from his alien race) and Maria (who was his adopted mother, hence the Japanese name for the franchise). That's why Ninten has PSI and why Giygas wants him gone. We see the results of his battle with Ninten at the end of the game, and it ain't pretty. Also the magazine article in the terrible house you bought is one of the best bits of texts in Earthbound. For this one: hope you enjoyed that photo op, because it's the last one you can get unless you backtrack and get the ones you missed. And some of those that you missed are ones that are gone for good (there's one at Stonehedge that you can only get when you're doing the rescue mission with Jeff). It's also the last chance to change the player's name, hence why the Tenda chief asks you if you're absolutely certain. The Bag of Dragonite is always powerful, but it deals fire damage, which isn't good against enemies that resist it. The Talisman Coin is an upgrade from the Lucky Coin, so you should have given it to whoever was equipped with that (the Souvenir Coin is still more powerful) instead of throwing it away. The Diadem of Kings is also Poo's equipment that gives resistance to PSI attacks. It's not on the level of the Rain Pendant protecting you from Freeze, but it's a needed boost for him. The "blackface spheres" are an upgrade from the Smilin' Sphere, which also explode upon defeat, and are also located in the Dusty Dunes Desert where you can ill afford to fight enemies like that. But more importantly, they have a 1-in-128 chance of dropping the Broken Antenna, which can be fixed to become the Gaia Beam, Jeff's ultimate equippable weapon, when he has 65 IQ. If you want to farm for it (why would you? You've got a drat Heavy Bazooka), you'll want to do it after beating the boss, which makes it so that all enemies in the dungeon run away from you. Just like the Starman Super, the Spheres come into battle with a psychic power shield, so it's not a good idea to use Fire on them unless you use the Neutralizer first. get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 24, 2016 |
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Apr 23, 2016 22:14
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Episode 35 - Dinosaur Land It's time to finish up Lumine Hall today, we find the last rock candy item but we're not gonna abuse the glitch. We're strong enough as it is just from grinding out the Sword of Kings. The boss at the end of the dungeon is the Electro Specter. As his name suggests, he can use thunder, which is yet another reason why the Franklin Badge never leaves your inventory. By defeating him we gain access to the Lumine Hall sound stone memory, which has a really cool little section where some text scrolls by on the wall. The text reads: "I'm This is another part of the game that reminds us that the protagonists are all just 13 year old kids, some of whom have never left their home town. Life is uncertain enough for a 13 year old without having the fate of the world thrown onto your shoulders. This plays a really big part in the overall theme of the game. Ceraph fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Apr 28, 2016 |
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Apr 26, 2016 03:52
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The Rabbit's Foot is the ultimate equippable charm. Like the other charms, its defense boost is negligible (+3), but the game isn't lying about its speed boost- it gives the equipped character a whopping +40 speed in addition to protection from Paralysis. The Great Charm only increases speed by 5 and gives +1 defense, and the Crystal Charm increases it by 15 with a +2 defensive boost. Unless you're giving the Rabbit's Foot to Jeff to maximize his Bottle Rocket damage output, you're better off equipping a party member with a pendant. I like to use the Rock Candy glitch/exploit when I try and farm for a certain 1-in-128 item later on. The Electro Specter is the most forgettable Shining Spot boss. It's the third boss in a row that has PP but no psychic abilities. It doesn't have the Guts of the Plague Rat of Doom or the Flash Beta equivalent of Thunder and Storm. Outside of its shock attacks, it uses Shield Killer (you don't need shields for this fight), Neturalizer (kills its own shield), and Hungry HP Sucker (actually not useless). None of them are as frequent as its shock attacks, though. Even though it has over 3000 HP, you're better off saving your Multi-Bottle Rockets for the next and last Shining Spot boss. Lumine Hall does provide for a great thematically relevant moment in Earthbound, and it's also one of the scenes that appears in the Magicant stage in Smash Bros. for 3DS (although it just says "I'm Ness..." in a different font). Since you already said what the last Sanctuary Spot melody part is going to be, I can say that I didn't know until recently that Ness's victory music in Smash Bros. 64 and Melee is the last half of the Eight Melodies sped up. Sorta wish they went with that for him in future games as well. The Lost Underworld has one of the best tracks in the game, and that's saying something in a game with a soundtrack like Earthbound's. You're gonna want that Flame Pendant for the next Sanctuary dungeon, so it's a shame that Escargo Express doesn't go to that part of the world. You're also really gonna not like getting rid of that Night Pendant, either, since Ness will need it for a future battle. The Magic Fry Pan isn't worth the effort, since it only provides a +50 offensive boost to the Holy Fry Pan's +80. It gives +100 guts (the Holy Fry Pan gives +10) but it also has a 1-in-4 miss rate. I've found it a couple of times when not intentionally going for it.
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Apr 26, 2016 07:16
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Episode 36 - Smaaaash It's time to tackle the 8th and final Your Sanctuary dungeon! As Y-Hat pointed out the flame pendant would have been really nice right about now and the lack of Escargo Express hurts for a number of reasons. The boss at the end is the Carbon Dog, whose big mechanic is that he turns into the Diamond Dog after taking enough damage. It's a pretty cool mechanic, and the Diamond Dog has a lot more defense and HP than the carbon dog so it definitely takes a while to chew through him. Unfortunately the Monkey Love doesn't work on this boss. I don't want to give away too much, but man was the scene at the end of this episode really emotional for me. Recording this game with Jackie and Alex who are about to have their first kid just really made this scene hit home. The music they play also fits the scene so well. It kind of sounds like a music box, and it has this oddly nostalgic feel to it even though I'd never heard the song before. This is definitely one of those moments in games that really stuck with me and I think it will for quite some time. Interestingly enough I don't think it would have had the same impact if I had played this game as a kid.
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Apr 28, 2016 18:28
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Yeah, the marketing for Earthbound was horrendous. But that's not why I was so interested in getting it- the preview in Nintendo Power Volume 70 got me hooked. At some point, I want to scan the images and post them here. The preview contained some things that were changed in the finished version: Giygas was referred to as "The Geek" (probably because it was translated from Giyg, the Japanese name), Poo was spelled "Pu," the Runaway Five were the "Runaway Bros," and your bottle rockets were called Pencil Rockets (this was an actual item in Mother 3). All of this was put in a newspaper format: The Irrational Inquirer. It certainly had more charm than "This game stinks." The Cloak of Kings increases Poo's Speed by 40, so he's going to be your fastest character from here on out. The Major Psychic Psychos have a 1-in-128 chance of dropping a Star Pendant, which gives +30 defense (more than any of the other pendants) as well as protection from fire, flash, freeze, AND Paralysis. Unfortunately, it only spawns in parts of the dungeon where it's joined by another enemy, so you'll never fight it alone, making the effective chances of getting one 1-in-256. It's not worth getting, since only one of the things it protects you from is something that necessitates protection at the end of the game, and you'll be able to get that later. You're right, the Evil Elementals can possess you, but the Tiny Lil Ghost it creates can also be damaged by attacks that hit the whole group, so a powerful Fire attack will kill it. You'll never get an instant victory from fighting a Soul Consuming Flame because its defense is actually 262 (it even says so in the player's guide). All stats that aren't your party's offense and defense go back down to 1 after it hits 255, though. As I said, Bag of Dragonite deals fire damage, and Carbon Dog resists fire, so it did a pathetic amount of damage. Diamond Dog's glorious light is equivalent to Flash Gamma, so you're lucky no one died. It also has a hard bite which has a chance of diamondizing. The Multi-Bottle Rocket comes in handy here if the dog doesn't put up a power shield.
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Apr 29, 2016 04:30
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I liked Jacky's cute story about the dinosaur from the previous update.
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Apr 29, 2016 04:56
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I'm not surprised at all that Jackie got teary during the scene before entering the weird realm that I totally know the name of but won't say. It's an emotional part of the game even if you're not pregnant with your first child.
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Apr 29, 2016 06:14
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Y-Hat posted:Yeah, the marketing for Earthbound was horrendous. But that's not why I was so interested in getting it- the preview in Nintendo Power Volume 70 got me hooked. At some point, I want to scan the images and post them here. The preview contained some things that were changed in the finished version: Giygas was referred to as "The Geek" (probably because it was translated from Giyg, the Japanese name), Poo was spelled "Pu," the Runaway Five were the "Runaway Bros," and your bottle rockets were called Pencil Rockets (this was an actual item in Mother 3). All of this was put in a newspaper format: The Irrational Inquirer. It certainly had more charm than "This game stinks." You should definitely do that! I would love to see that, it sounds really cool. Testikles posted:I liked Jacky's cute story about the dinosaur from the previous update. Me too, I think it's something we can all relate to. I had a Sonic the Hedgehog plush that didn't leave my side for like 20 years haha.
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Apr 29, 2016 18:52
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not to be critical but I think getting the Sword of Kings made this too easy for you all.
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Apr 30, 2016 03:53
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Y-Hat posted:I wonder what the Casey Bat was called in Japan. I posted an article here about how the translator for Earthbound had nearly unlimited freedom to Americanize the dialog, so it's probably different there. Legends of Localization has a full guide to EarthBound's translation and localisation. According to them, it was called the "All Your Might Bat". edit: fixed link Broggly fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Apr 30, 2016 |
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Apr 30, 2016 04:44
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Mooseontheloose posted:not to be critical but I think getting the Sword of Kings made this too easy for you all. It definitely did, that is always the danger of trying to farm for the 1:128 items. The item itself doesn't provide a significant enough boost to break the balance, but the 20 levels we got along the way sure did. Broggly posted:Legends of Localization has a full guide to EarthBound's translation and localisation. According to them, it was called the "All Your Might Bat". Awesome find! Thanks for posting that.
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Apr 30, 2016 18:55
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Episode 37 - Analysis Mode Engage Alright guys, we finally got to Magicant so it's time to get real heavy on the introspective and metaphorical meaning behind this game. Magicant is a place that exists entirely within Ness' mind, which means that everything here is a reflection of him. The things the NPCs here say aren't necessarily them speaking, but it's Ness projecting how he feels about them. He feels guilty about the enemies he's defeated along the way, so they all tell him they still hurt and they blame him. He wants to believe in his friend Pokey, so Pokey tells Ness that he's just lonely and that they'll always be friends. Magicant is not just some ideal place created in Ness' head, it's a reflection of his self in its entirety. No one, not even a JRPG protagonist, is 100% good. There exists fear, anger, and violence in everyone, and here Ness has to face that ugly side of himself. I love this part of the game because it gives a lot of depth to someone who has mostly been a silent protagonist up until now. I don't want to reiterate what we talk about in the episode too much, but this is just a terrific part of this game. It's a fun, kooky little make believe level, but it also has a lot of deeper meaning to it. You don't see that kind of combination in a lot of games.
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Apr 30, 2016 18:58
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Yeah, those are tomatoes. They're also in the Magicant stage on Smash Bros. 3DS. When I was a kid, I always thought of Pokey as Ness's friend who just decided to be a dick one day. I'm not gonna say anything about your speculation about him... you'll find out soon enough. The girl in line named Niko is named for the English translator's daughter. Depending on the background you get while fighting it, the Loaded Dice calls a different set of enemies. The blue background means it will call a Fobby, an Electro Swoosh, or an Uncontrollable Sphere. The multicolored background means it'll call a Beautiful UFO, a High-Class UFO, or a Magicant enemy you haven't seen yet. The French Kiss of Death only uses its poisoning kiss of death, so you'll always want to heal after you beat it. get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Apr 30, 2016 |
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Apr 30, 2016 20:23
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Episode 38 - Unleash Your Potential Alden touches on something in this episode that I think is really important. This series is called "Mother" in Japan for a very specific reason. Yes, this game is a story about growing up and becoming an adult, but the whole point they're trying to get across is the idea that no matter what happens in life your mother is always there for you. No matter how far you travel or how long you've been away you can always stop at home for some home made socks and a good night's rest. Your mother is the first person in life that you depend on and through thick and thin she will always be your safety net. Specific to this episode the boss of Magicant is "Ness's Nightmare", which is a manifestation of all the evil and doubt that resides in Ness' mind. As a result he has all the same PSI abilities that Ness does, including PSI Rockin / Smash. In Japan his name translates closer to "Ness' Demon" but the translators wanted to avoid any potential religious references. By defeating the doubt that resides in our mind we are able to unlock the full power of the 8 Your Sanctuary locations and get the huuuuuuuuge power boost for Ness that comes with it. Because of the mechanics of the game this can potentially be a bad thing if you've already been boosting Ness' stats. First off you won't get the boost in HP, PP, offense, or defense if you hit level 99 before this point. The game only applies those changes on level up, and if you can't level up you're just stuck there. The second way you can screw yourself over is if you abused the Rock Candy glitch too much and got Ness too close to 255 in any of his stats they will wrap back around to 1. Luckily we did neither of those things! Yay!
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May 4, 2016 18:06
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Note that the Earth Pendant didn't protect you from the fire attack as much as the Sea or Fire Pendant would have. That's because it really offers fire and freeze attacks (I guess it protects against flash) instead of outright protection. You can either buy a couple for the party members that don't have the Sea Pendant or stick with the Night Pendant. The player's guide is completely wrong about getting the Gutsy Bat (well, there is one instance where it's right). Krakens in the Sea of Eden will never drop one. I'm not quite sure why they declined to call the Mani-Mani Statue a "demon" when you'll find an enemy later in the game with that description. It starts the battle with a psychic shield, and it can also use PSI Smash Omega and Lifeup Beta. It's usually a long fight, and you got a fortunate SMAAAAAASH. This installment's connection to the Japanese franchise name is a lot more symbolic and less obvious than with its predecessor and successor. I'm glad that they stuck with Earthbound for Western releases, since you're traveling around the world. Pokey is only named what he is in Earthbound due to a mistranslation.
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May 4, 2016 22:51
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Seriously loving how deep and philosophical this LP has been, I wasn't really expecting that and it's been so, so good. Tangentially, The Yetee has a couple of Earthbound tees up today for their daily tees. It might be worth taking a looksie. http://www.theyetee.com/
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May 6, 2016 18:28
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FeralWraith posted:Seriously loving how deep and philosophical this LP has been, I wasn't really expecting that and it's been so, so good. Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Also those tees are awesome and I may have just bought one. Thanks for the find!
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May 6, 2016 20:49
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Episode 39 - Taking Back Onett We take a trip back to Onett to retrieve a piece of the meteor that crashed waaaay back in the beginning of the game and it's really cool how much the town has changed since then. We can see the extent of Giygas' influence all the way back in our home town. Everyone is scared to come out of their house. Even when we talk to our Mother, who has been unphased by everything up until now, she admits that she's pretty scared. Dr. Andonuts and co. finish both the Phase Distorter V2 and V3, which means it's now time to begin the final assault on Giygas. Some pretty heavy stuff goes down but I'll talk about that in the next update.
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May 6, 2016 21:14
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I said "bad decision" on your first enemy encounter. Ghost of Starman follows a set attack pattern like Robo-Pump- as you saw, it always starts with Starstorm Alpha. Then it smiles, then spends three turns counting down, then it unleashes Starstorm Omega, and it starts the process all over again. If you're not overleveled like you guys are, then the only characters that can go before it are Poo and Paula. In that case, you're best off throwing up a PSI Shield Sigma (something you should always do when it's teamed up with a Nuclear Reactor Robot). Evil Eye can diamondize a party member with its eerie glare, and you saw everything that the Mechanical Octobot (and Ultimate Octobot) has to offer. I think that the electric field it generates solidifies a party member, but it hardly ever works. Nuclear Reactor Robot is weak to Freeze, the Wild n' Wooly Shambler is the same as the regular Wooly Shambler but with better stats, and the Squatter Demon isn't really much of a threat except for its bite that has a chance of diamondizing, especially since you only fight it solo. You'll probably regret not buying a Night Pendant for Jeff.... Mr. Saturn pretty much confirmed that Pokey went back to the past to get to Giygas, but you still don't know why. Rest assured, it's as Pokey of a reason as you can get. If you say "no" to Dr. Andonuts after he tells you your party may not return alive, he defeatedly says, "I guess we have no choice but to wait for the world to end." Of course, you have to say yes. Notice that Dr. Andonuts finally acknowledged Jeff as his son, and not someone who wets the bed sometimes. One of the LPs in the archive
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May 7, 2016 00:51
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As promised, here are the NINTENDO POWER PREVIEW SCANS!!!!! This is what got me interested in Earthbound. It's as charming as the game itself. This was the cover of Nintendo Power Volume 70. Right below where the Chicago Bulls and (original) Charlotte Hornets mascot are tipping off is the section where the Earthbound preview ran. Epic Center was the dedicated RPG section of Nintendo Power, and it debuted in this very issue. They ended up running it inconsistently. Side note: I didn't keep this in good condition, so it obscures the "2" that comes after the first look at "Star Fox." That ended up being canceled. The Virtual Boy probably should have been canceled. Spoiler alert: Donkey Kong Country ended up winning Best Game in the 1994 Nintendo Power awards.  The preview hooks you right off the bat. "The Geek" is Giygas, and as I said before, it's probably because its Japanese name is "Giyg." Also, there are no living kitchen implements in the final version.  The format of the rest of the preview is in a spoof off the National Inquirer. Already, it's a hell of a lot better than the ad campaign that came out outside of Nintendo Power. Also, here is where you learn that Ness is 13.  Part one of the party and friends preview. Dodgeball, obviously, did not make the cut. And if you look closely, Ness's PSI Special is named "Drill." That's one of the default names you can choose for your favorite thing. Pretty badass. There's also a cute nod to Link and Zelda.  I didn't do as good of a job of scanning this page, but the screenshot with the Bad Buffalo shows that Jeff fired "five Pencil Rockets." That became the Big Bottle Rocket in the end. The name "Threek" became the more pleasant sounding "Threed," although it's probably a better name thematically considering that zombies overrun the town. The Inquirer calls him "Pu," but the screenshots show him off as "Poo." And they mixed up Apple Kid with Maxwell Labs, who ends up making the Bad Key Machine (your "best skeleton key in the world.") Oh, and the Ghost of Starman was originally Starman's Ancestor.  Nothing much to elaborate on here. "Escargo Express" is referred to by the actual spelling of "escargot." The end result probably makes for a better delivery pun.  There is no pie to be had in Earthbound, and they don't elaborate on what the "blobs" are made out of. 
get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 03:33 on May 7, 2016 |
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May 7, 2016 01:13
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Oh, man, I remember that issue. I subscribed to Nintendo Power from late 1993 until about 2000 or so. I still have a few of them around in a box somewhere. I hadn't even touched RPGs early on, and wouldn't until about early 1996 with Chrono Trigger. At the time, I think I only had the NES system, but a friend of mine had the Super NES and invited us over to play Super Mario World one time. It was just amaze-balls. After that, my brother saved his allowance (and whatever else he earned) for I have no clue how long, bought the bundle with Donkey Kong Country, and we played whatever we could get for cheap at the local used game store. As it relates to Earthbound, didn't actually play it until 1998. By this time, the N64 was out and, for how old I was, it was the greatest thing since recess. But when me and my mom were shopping at K-Mart, I saw in their gaming lock-up a ginormous SNES game box. Didn't even realize what it was, I just knew that I wanted it. Got it (because moms are awesome and I had some allowance saved up), and fell in love with it straight away. It's been one of my favorite games ever since. Doesn't really have to do with anything in particular, just felt like sharing. Thanks again, Ceraph, Team DOO Play, and Y-Hat (for your posts). This LP has been a lot of fun and I eagerly await the ending. (Fake Edit - also I remember those scratch and sniff cards, hoooooooly crap they were bad.)
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May 7, 2016 02:31
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I got Earthbound for my birthday or Hanukkah at the end of 1995, when I was 9. The weird thing was that I didn't like RPGs at the time. Even after I played (and loved) Earthbound, I didn't get another one for years. I came late to Chrono Trigger since I first played it on the DS, and I really enjoy it. But Earthbound has so much charm from the characters, the NPC dialog, the enemies, and just about every element of the game that I always replay it every so often. Edit: Oh, and we haven't even gotten into discussing the music. Not only does it have one of the finest soundtracks on the SNES, but a few of the titles play into the theme of growing up that the DOO Play guys discuss. One example: the Twoson theme is titled "Boy Meets Girl." We haven't heard the two tracks that play into that the most, though. Maybe I'll discuss the music more at length in the next update, since my favorite track is coming up. get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 03:27 on May 7, 2016 |
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May 7, 2016 03:01
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Thanks again for those scans, that was an awesome read! You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into putting that together. I'm gonna have to add those to the OP as well. I'd love to hear your take on the music, I didn't realize it had over 100 different tracks on it until I found a playlist of the whole dang thing on YouTube. Granted some of them are like 10 second sound bites but it's still impressive. Ceraph fucked around with this message at 03:01 on May 8, 2016 |
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May 8, 2016 02:56
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Episode 40 - The Fight With Giygas Alright guys, this is it. We've traveled all around the world, from the sleepy little town of Onett to the big city of Fourside, and all the way to the lost world full of dinosaurs. We even gave up our physical bodies to travel to the past, all for this moment. Remember way back when we first got control of Poo and we had to give up all of our worldly senses? I can't be certain but I'm fairly sure that was foreshadowing for this point in the game. As with then, we really don't know the ramifications of our decisions while we're making them. Dr. Andonuts is pretty clear that we might not make it back if we go through with this. Maybe I'm reading into this a bit too much, but you could also consider this being somewhat metaphorical as well. Everyone at some time in their life hits the point where they realize that their life is not entirely in their control. A huge part of growing up is confronting this and learning to accept it. Some people might even feel like they're becoming robots: getting a white collar job, going to an office every day and doing the same thing over and over. I don't know that that's what the developers intended but there are some parallels you can draw. As for the actual fight with Giygas, it was a pretty freaky experience especially when you don't know that you stop doing damage to him after a certain point. The dialogue is understandably creepy and the thought of fighting something that no longer has a will of its own but has become the literal embodiment of evil is terrifying in its own way. I have mixed feelings about needing to use Pray in the fight in order to finish, I love the idea of needing to call for help from everyone you've helped up to this point but it would have taken me a long time before I thought to try using Pray to do that. I was expecting some out of the box thinking for this boss fight but the exact mechanic threw me for a loop, though I guess that's kinda what they were hoping for. You would try everything at your disposal and throw everything you had at him, and when all else failed you would use Pray as a last resort and miraculously it would work.
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May 8, 2016 03:18
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I'll get into the music in my next post. In addition to being really good, there are themes to it as well. But I'll get into that after the last update. Pokey Means Business (the track that plays in the first phase of the Giygas fight) is one of my favorite bits of game music ever. Seriously, guys, PSI Shield Sigma is your best friend at this point in the game. It saves you a lot of healing from Starstorm and Smash. The Bionic Kraken drops the Gutsy Bat (1-in-128 odds as usual), not the regular Kraken. It increases Ness's Guts by 127. It only spawns in those last two areas before Giygas, though, so forget it. The Ghost of Starman has a 1-in-128 chance of dropping the Goddess Ribbon, which increases Paula's defense by 125. But at that point, physical defense isn't so important, and it doesn't increase Luck like the Saturn Ribbon, plus you have less of a chance of getting it when there are multiple enemies. Don't bother. So yeah, Pokey was led here by Giygas because he's a toad that only wants to help the powerful. It's not because he was corrupted, he's just that big of an rear end in a top hat. He's a video game version of Eric Cartman in more ways than one. He's actually vulnerable to Paralysis, though. Outside of the Thunder Beta attack, Giygas uses something like Flash Beta (that's why it insta-killed Jeff) and a Freeze Alpha equivalent that hits all party members instead of one. That's why the Night Pendant is very useful. The reason why Giygas is a Lovecraftian abomination happens at the end of Earthbound Beginnings/Mother. In that game, he tries to take over Earth because George, the great-grandfather of Ninten (the game's hero), stole the secrets of PSI from his race. But Giygas was also raised by Maria, George's wife. Ninten defeats Giygas by singing a lullaby that Mary would sing to him as a young alien. Mechanically, it's similar to how you use Pray in this final battle. So after being reminded of his adopted mother's love, Giygas goes insane and you get... whatever he is. There's a reason why Pokey was an rear end in a top hat to Ness, but that will have to wait for a Mother 3 LP. The part where Pokey turns off the Devil's Machine is part of one of the best anti-piracy measures in video game history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmyoV1bkXNI And that fetus imagery is the source of a fan theory that Ness travels back in time to perform some kind of cosmic abortion. It's not true, but it's the source of this image. 
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May 8, 2016 07:20
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Music, part one The music in Earthbound is my favorite of any SNES game, which is no small feat given the competition. Some of my absolute favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1QfIbLulf8 (this plays during the first part of the Giygas fight) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kIE2xVJdTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D20dF5Ao1mE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoCjyUMwPuM Additionally, some of the songs in Earthbound are based off of songs from Mother/EB Beginnings. The song that plays at Ness's house and the Polestar Preschool... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKfLOMirwho ...is known as "Pollyanna (I Believe in You)" in its predecessor. It plays when Ninten is alone, and it's also a sort of main theme for the Earthbound series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w6siYk_Ge0 You also hear the opening to that song as you exit Pokey's house after Buzz Buzz dies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNGY_fvXUCY The Dusty Dunes Desert's music sounds like it's coming from a radio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um6KR1rYZ3A It's also based off the theme that plays in Yucca Desert in Mother. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7BmEKWK_ko The first part of Belch's Factory takes heavily from the factory theme in Mother. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBMyCOUq8TI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoK-MgBCdBE There's other music comparisons for my next post, but last one for now: here you have Paula's Theme (what plays in Paula's prison cabin and the Polestar Preschool before you rescue her): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQxbPK8ixNY ...and here you have Youngtown from Mother, which is the place where all the adults have been abducted by Giygas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQqipQvtz7w My next music post will go over more stuff that made the jump from EB Beginnings to this Earthbound, as well as themes in the music and its titles. get that OUT of my face fucked around with this message at 16:45 on May 8, 2016 |
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May 8, 2016 10:30
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Well, Pokey does tell you to call for help before that phase starts. If you don't catch the hint, you have only yourself to blame. I doubt I would have figured it out, but then, I was pretty much just letting the strategy guide play the game by this point.
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May 8, 2016 15:04
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I've heard about that anti piracy measure and I think it's second only to the stunt the Game Dev Tycoon guys pulled. They released a version of the game on The Pirate Bay where in the 1990s - 2000s your profits would drop significantly due to software piracy. When people posted on the forums asking how to make money in this time period they were simply told to not pirate the game. The Ness' Home / Pollyanna track is easily my favorite track in the Earthbound soundtrack, and one of my favorite game tracks of all time. It has a special place in my heart because, as I've mentioned on camera, my first exposure to Earthbound as a series was through Smash, and Pollyanna is the bonus track that plays on the Onett stage in Melee. I wish I were kidding, but as a kid I would play 99 stock matches against computers on Onett just to hear this song play on repeat the whole time.
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May 8, 2016 16:43
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Without Smash Bros. there probably wouldn't have been a long-overdue re-release of Earthbound on Virtual Console. When I was Ness for Halloween in college, I'd say that he was from Smash Bros. so more people would be familiar with him. Might as well do the rest of the Earthbound/EB Beginnings comparisons, since there are a lot more of them than I thought. The battle theme that plays against most of the Sanctuary Guardians is derived from one of the battle themes from Beginnings, which is by far the most common one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smuVBQAOvOc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-rwgE38ZQs The battle theme that plays against Frank, the New Age Retro Hippie, and a few other enemies is more directly related to the battle theme against the Hippie in Beginnings. I think it's also derived from an old rock n' roll song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYeo3mphjoE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEmxnPT6-LM The shop theme is the same as the one in Beginnings, except in Earthbound they add a little bit of guitars at the end. In Earthbound, the song is also named for what the shopkeeper in the original Zelda says to you. In Beginnings, it goes by the name you see the song as in Brawl. I'm not sure why it's called that because you don't buy dogs there (but you do buy a pet bird). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNBEUbBslCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjDooY1zye8 There are similarities between the Magicant theme in both games, but they're both their own track, really. Also, notice that the Earthbound Magicant theme is titled "Welcome Home," which is thematically appropriate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5AZERT4UmU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-DIedhaTqo The menu selection theme in Earthbound is derived from the theme that plays in the elementary school in Beginnings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKF2y3I9Pc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en5MpP4Wnhg Snowman is one of the few tracks that appears in all three games of the series. The Earthbound version that plays in Snow Wood Boarding House is closer in atmosphere to the track in Beginnings (and the remix in Brawl) than the more upbeat version you'll find in Mother 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65l1H1FGn8A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzlhLX-4AW4 That little flourish that plays at the end of the Saturn Valley theme (appropriately called Hi Hi Hi) comes from the theme that plays in the monkey cave in Beginnings. You access that cave after driving the tank, which is easily the most badass part of the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfE8sw91mI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYSPtfirLM And finally, "Save the Miners" is a spin on the theme that plays in the caves that lead to Mt. Itoi in Beginnings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXn1Jzqy8f0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojrnBt1zAyM
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May 8, 2016 18:16
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Episode 41 - Going Home (Epilogue) Well guys, it's been a hell of a ride but we finally made it. Giygas has been vanquished and even though Pokey escaped (and basically confirmed what I suspected all along: that he really is just a dick) we finally get to go home. The little ending sequence we get here is really hearwarming (and oh my god the music gets me every time I hear it). It's hard to tell exactly how much time has passed since the start of the game but there are some bits of dialogue in this little epilogue that clue us into the fact that it's been quite a while. When we try to call the Stoic Club we get "The Lazy Cowpoke Stop'n Go" who has completely remodeled the location. That kind of thing usually takes months and we stopped there about halfway through our adventure. Of course the game ends with us coming home to Onett and telling our mom all about our adventures. I had a lot of fun doing this LP and I hope you guys had fun too! Thanks for joining me for the ride and a special thank you to Y-Hat for all the info you've been dropping with each update. Unfortunately as of this post Nintendo has not announced any official plans to release Mother 3 in the US but if it does come state side I have to imagine that the four of us will sit down and tackle it at some point. Thanks for watching everybody, I'll catch you guys next time! P.S. getting these last few updates together has been tough but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post the last update on Mother's Day!
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May 9, 2016 06:48
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Thank you for the LP guys. I think I've said this before in other Earthbound LP's but I really love Pokey Means Business. It starts off with a very 8 bit stereotypical boss intro. It sounds kind of cutesy and it's exactly what you'd expect boss music to sound like: a little over-grandiose, and a little overblown, just like pokey, but not very threatening. Then one minute in it suddenly drops and turns into vicious sounding metal. Pokey is no longer just some kid from Onett either: Pokey means business. He's here to kill you. Testikles fucked around with this message at 07:40 on May 10, 2016 |
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May 10, 2016 07:37
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I finally got caught up on this. I did not expect I.T. Crowd references in it at all. Good stuff though. Thanks for playing, guys. Also, Jet Set Radio on Steam has an annoying save bug. Watch out for it.
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May 11, 2016 12:18
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