EarthBound Central

EarthBound Reshuffle Demo Hack

Mato — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:28:18 +0000

Recently I decided to start learning the C# programming language since I’m way behind the times and only program in C anymore. So to kick off my foray into the language, I started by doing some EarthBound hacking with it!

What I’ve done is “reshuffle” lots of stuff in the game and introduced a lot of random changes too, with stats, actions, and more. A few days ago I showed it to Poe and she loved it enough to make a video out of a random play:

It’s surprisingly cool – the level of uncertainty about everything and the new challenge it brings makes it feel like you’re playing EarthBound again for the first time!

Anyway, the full program isn’t ready yet – when it is I’ll release it and then anybody can create zillions of crazy versions of EarthBound. But for now here’s a sample of the kind of stuff it’ll do:

EarthBound Reshuffle Demo Patch

(Note that the contents of the patch are different from what you see in the video)

I think it’d be fun to do a community playthrough of a new patch like this every couple months – what do you think?

Also, if you try the patch out and have any suggestions for any other stuff I can mess with, let me know!

Avoiding Sentry Robots

Mato — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:44:36 +0000

There are sentry robots in the Monotoli Building in EarthBound, and usually there are some you can’t avoid getting into battle with. It turns out that if you use Skip Sandwiches and time things just right, you CAN get past them!

The video above was done using some hackery to jump straight to that portion of the game without having to play through everything, that’s why Jeff isn’t there and Ness’ items are weird. But I’m fairly sure the trick will still work in a normal game. If anyone gets a chance, try it out next time you play and let me know your findings!

No related posts.

EB0 Remake: North Reindeer Map

Mato — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:32:48 +0000

H.S has put together another map for the EarthBound Zero remake hack, this time it’s the area north of Reindeer, which includes the house with the old man’s dentures nearby.

Here’s a look at what H.S has:

Because EarthBound maps have to be much smaller than EarthBound Zero maps, some simplifying and streamlining is always necessary. For reference, here’s the same area in the NES version:

Again, there’s still a LOT of work left to do until this hack is functional. Also, if you’ve missed them, check out previous updates about the project here!

EarthBound-Themed Blanket

Mato — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:58:47 +0000

Someone sent me these pics a while back – apparently someone made this really cool EarthBound blanket!

Unfortunately, I have no info on it – I don’t know who made it or when, so if you know, let me know! Whoever made it did a great job

Oh Buta Mask Orchestrated

Mato — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:26:48 +0000

A few years ago I posted about a school orchestra performing “Oh Buta Mask” from MOTHER 3 (see here). Well, a good while ago xfis sent me an actual video of the performance, which you can see here:

This was like four years ago – I wonder if any other school orchestras have done any EarthBound/MOTHER stuff like this. If you know, let me know!

Natural Killer Giygas

Mato — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:15:43 +0000

JRokujuushi recently sent this in:

I recently started uploading my music and arrangements to YouTube, and one of the arrangements was a mix of the first part of the Giygas fight and the Natural Killer Cyborg fight. I thought the site visitors might enjoy it.

Check it out here:

I wasn’t sure how well they’d mesh, but it worked out surprisingly well

Brownie Brown’s “Project B”

Mato — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:30:40 +0000

Many years ago, well before MOTHER 3′s release, Brownie Brown (the game’s developer) posted a mysterious Flash animation on its website. With the help of a fellow forumgoer, I translated the text into English. If you’ve never seen the animation, check it out here:

View Brownie Brown’s “Project B”

There had been no news about MOTHER 3 in years, so the fan response to this animation was insane. It even got into a magazine very shortly after!

I think the funniest thing is that at the time, I thought the second character was a girl, possibly partly because that’s usually Paula’s spot in EarthBound. Only later did I find out it’s actually a guy. Oops!

An EB0 Remake Coming in 2013?

Mato — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:08:20 +0000

Over the years there have been many attempts at recreating MOTHER 1/EarthBound Zero in a more modern format. As far as I know, none have the projects have reached completion yet, but I was recently shown this project that looks promising:

There’s not much information, but it looks like it’s being made for Macs. See for more info and some screenshots.

Now if someone would just make this a reality too

EarthBound-like Kickstarter Games

Mato — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:58:44 +0000

Over the past couple weeks there’s been a lot of talk about games being financed through Kickstarter – it seems like everyone and their dog has a Kickstarter game in the works Anyway, here are two EarthBound-y-ish ones that people have been discussing!

Boot Hill Heroes

First up is Boot Hill Heroes, which has already gotten a good amount of press. It’s described thusly:

Take one part Final Fantasy, one part Earthbound, and one part Chrono Trigger – then dip the whole thing in spicy Wild West sauce! Boot Hill Heroes is a true retro RPG set in the American Wild West. You’ll find all the trappings of a spaghetti western – gunslingers, saloons, Indians, ranches, spittoons, Mexican standoffs, heroism, villainy, and everything in between. Boot Hill Heroes has adventure, drama, and a fair helping of humor. It’s just like the classic RPGs you remember from yesteryear but with an inventive new spin!

Do You Remember ~An RPG from your childhood~

Next, here’s a project by Yui, meant to be “an EarthBound-inspired game with some modern twists to it”:

So there you go! It’s neat to see EarthBound fans growing up and working on games of their own

Responses from Nintendo

Mato — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:01:43 +0000

I often get e-mails from people who’ve e-mailed Nintendo asking about EarthBound/MOTHER stuff, so I figure it’s about time to post something about it

Alexander e-mailed me the other day with this:

Hi EarthBound Central! I just recently asked the Nintendo Support team if Mother or Earthbound was going to be released at VC, and I pointed out that no other company has been sued for using pop music in video games. This was their response witch may explain why they have not yet been touching on WHY it has not been released:

Hello Alexander,

I can see why you want to see the Mother/Earthbound series released in the Americas, but at this time we have no plans to release them in this market, either on disc or via download. Additionally, we do not have any details regarding why the games have not been made available here, so I’m unable to confirm or deny any rumors you may have heard.

I realize this is disappointing, but your comments have been documented and made available for other departments here to use as they see fit.

Sincerely,
Karen Johnson

From my experience, that’s pretty much the kind of response everyone gets when asking about EarthBound or MOTHER stuff – I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some sort of template they use. I wonder if they really do “document” and “make available” this stuff though, or if that’s just corporate speak for something else.