@@thisisnotaustin1If we went by that logic of Onett being pronounced like "Oh-net" , then Twoson would be pronounced like "Tho-son" which is really stupid sounding to me .
21:50 having the sanctuary guardian "what" meme be perfectly timed with that line in the script and the actual part of the game its from is so clever lmaooooo
I always thought that the shark approaching you just to say "Yeah?" after beating frank is really funny. Just the mental image of some guy acting tough by approaching random people and saying one word then walking away always makes me chuckle
When I got to Towson for the first time I said “oh finally I get a 2nd party member”, then I had to go through 3 more hours of playing just with ness to get her.
I, a 40 yr old woman, have just played this for the very first time last month. We bought the SNES Classic years ago and added more games to it but I finally decided to check out the other games on the default list for a change. And man, where have I been that I never noticed this game??? For one, I was never into rpgs but this game is just different. And for some reason I kept getting “flashbacks” to my childhood of seeing this game on clearance at the store because no one was buying them and I missed the chance to get it (or maybe the nostalgia if the game is rubbing off on me lol) But honestly, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it back then when I was a kid especially the pop culture references all over it. So it’s just one of those better late than never things and I’m glad it’s now.
I'm 25 and during my teenage days I discovered EarthBound and also played the first episode of Mother 3 but never liked it as much as EB nor I found any interest on beating the game (I felt like M3 wasn't going to be as exciting as EB so I skipped it). Fast forward into 2024 I give Mother 3 a second chance. Yeah, it's up there with EB in terms of fun. So if you want to experience more of the EarthBound world, I suggest you to try Mother 3. It's much like what you described here.
Vee Bee Wai that was cool of you to share. Love seeing old games have such an impact on people decades later. I'm 45 and always on the lookout for games that might inspire me the same way.
The Rowdy Mouse being capable of a Smaaash! attack can also serve as a prank on the player like the trash can too, as the player has internalized the idea of Smaaash! attacks being exceptionally powerful, and so the Rowdy Mouse's attack seeming crushing at first only to deal minor damage is just funny.
I replayed EarthBound last summer and had such a blast from start to finish. It is an astonishingly meticulous game - amazing how much thought was put into it. Itoi was operating at the height of his creative abilities and deserves as many accolades as Miyamoto. A true gaming masterpiece from a supremely intelligent child at heart. And thank you for the video.
Thank you for making this, as well as everything else you create. I played Earthbound when it was first released and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Your videos make Earthbound new to me in a way and I'm now considering doing a playthrough of it this summer.
okay i ADORE this video. i never thought about alot of this and it truly goes to show why earthbound is so special- i hope were going to get the other areas too!!
It's kinda done TOO seamlessly too, I've done everything explained here without a single thought about it! The PSI Rockin thing especially, it flew over my head entirely even though I 100% knew what I was doing in my heart.
Although I did see the scene with Lier and the Mani Mani Statue, and later heard about its evil influence in the game, I never made the connection that the statue was the thing changing his thoughts. I thought it was just his personally, bc he seemed pretty selfish, bc, well, he's a liar. Good observation!
7:01 I just wish they actually told you that going home and talking to Tracy lets you manage your Escargo Express inventory without dealing with the 3 item limit. It's still annoying but once you get teleport it's much easier just to sort your inventory that way than dealing with the annoying restrictions.
i love this so much, i really like how in depth you discuss certain little parts of it and make it resonate with the player even more, i genuinely can’t wait for how you cover twoson
11:32 The mother and mother 2 Hippie theme actually sound much more like a parody of Johnny b Goode called "Johnny Go Ska" by the Toasters. Who you might recognize from the nicktoon KaBlam. Both "Johnny go Ska" and "New Age Retro Hippie" are even in the same key.
Just wanted to say I love your channel. I recently finally got into this awesome series and just every ounce of all of the Mother games just ooze with charm From the world, characters, stories and lore, its all just so cool. Cant wait to see more from you❤️
I know two games (which are very similar btw) who allow you to instawin against enemies are are just a pests in the way, instead of ACTUAL enemies. Paper Mario 64 (though i only know there's a badge like that from the wiki) and Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (I strongly recommend, amazing game)
On first note about auto-battle completion, I was so psyched to see Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth have this mechanic. Definitely overlooked by too many rpgs
I find it really interesting that Persona 5 had an auto win system, as long as you first strikes/sneak attacked, but as far as I remember SMT 5 doesn't. It's among a number of QoL features not present in SMT 5, the most telling and annoying of which being the game cutting to the main menu upon death. Not only is there no retry option for bosses (which in no way makes the boss easier or makes you MORE prepared than without it) but it doesn't have the decency to even ask you if you want to reload the last save (and considering that none of the bosses have a 'run up' to get to them what's the point). And it's MORE resource intensive to do this, as the game has to load in the death scene, then load in the starting scrawl and main menu, and then reload the entire game from your last save, and then reload the boss and any cutscenes before it. It's a choice that's obviously only made to homage older RPGs, or perhaps to reinforce it's reputation of being more challenging and brutal than Persona, but ultimately it's not more challenging, it's a limitation of a bygone era when games lacked options and didn't respect your time. I suspect a lot of games that haven't picked up on similar novel mechanics are also just slavishly following so set of ques they believe is necessary to create an authentic classic RPG experience. Sorry, this is video is about a classic RPG and I'm ranting about SMT, but I guess my point is that SMT isn't the only one, and it's weirdly contrasted by other games from the same studio, meaning that as an example it seems to be a conscious design choice and not an oversight or limitation that I believe other studios follow as well.
That bit about V is odd because in IV. You had the estoma skill which allowed you to skip battles by striking enemies on the overworld. Also I don't remember if estoma is in V at all.
I am glad I still have my Earthbound from the 1990's along with the guide book that came with it. The book was damaged in a flood, but surprisingly the scratch snd sniff cards on the back retained their scent.
My dad raised me on a good amount of jazz music, and I thought Giant Step was supposed to be a reference to the song Giant Steps, and thought the rest of the sanctuary spots were going to also to be clever musical allusions because you get music snippets there, but was disappointed when I realized that it was all me XD
If a player goes up to a trash can and checks it, One of the main reasons is because the player already knows how to check things, and they are probably naturally wondering what would happen if you check the trash can.
Wow, Ive played through Earthbound a dozen times and i never knew rheee was supposed to be an explanation for the photo man, just figured it was one of those "Earthbound things".
"No need to read this. Onett explains everything." I will read it all! Haha! Feel like the saying "Onett explains everything" could be a saying of a conspiracy theorist. Like a secret Onett has been keeping from us..
I've never understood why the battling auto-win function flashes two other colors before going back to the overworld. It seems glitchy and it's very jarring to me, surely it was seen in development, why wasn't it addressed? It couldn't have been a stylistic choice I imagine
I wish you made it more obvious that this is a series and what part it is. Though maybe instead of just writing "EarthBound Explained | Episode 3 - Onett Town" you could do some of the seamless guiding the game does.@@MonkeyNess
Are the sharks really a reference to West Side Story in the movie the sharks are a primarily latin-american gang did that share pretty much nothing in common with the gang in EarthBound other than being called sharks.
I've been calling it "One-net" for decades now. The Onett Town sign heavily implies via its coloration that the ONE is emphasized, just like with TWOson, THREEd/THREEk, and Fourside.
The guy at the end of minute 3 actually says something if you talk to him again ".........." "QUIET!" Edit: Having watched a big chunk of the video, I have to stop to say, wow you know the game like the palm of your hand but most importantly you understand the intentions behind the details. The game does a great job making you feel "at home". Only a few of my favorite games of all time can make me feel like this.
I want an Earthbound beginnings remake because I love earthbound and mother 3 but I never beat or enjoyed earthbound beginnings because of the random encounters and the annoying movement. I’ll also don’t like how small the game looks. But the other 2 games are really good in my opinion and don’t really need a remake since they’re already good enough
@@steel7399 Dw, I know you aren't, and hope I didn't come off rude :) I mean that Starman Jr. appears with a very specific purpose that he immediatley explains, like Buzz Buzz. Meanwhile, the Photo Man's purpose isn't explicit, but nonetheless he's taking pictures, not trying to kill anyone. It's not that he's falling from the sky and is from the future that determines his purpose, it's what the characters and story do. The story dictates the Photo Man is there to take photos for the characters' keepsake, Starman Jr.'s is to stop Buzz Buzz. This, and Starman Jr. doesn't fall from the sky, he more so just appears.
@@fightingthefaith I disagree if it causes you to have to do things like take time out to teleport home to do something the service should already be mending.
@@MonkeyNess hm. I dunno, I thought part of your complaint was specifically being limited to three items at a time; which for the majority of uses isnt a big deal? Playstyles also influence this too. *shrug* I was the sort to reorganize inventories solely to put a character's four equipped items at the top of their sheet 😅
@@MonkeyNess well, I think it's like you said on the video- it's modeled after real world aesthetics and logistics. Sure, the guy COULD carry four cheeseburgers instead of three but what if you're giving him bigger stuff like picnic lunches or umm... ketchup packets lol. It's pretty arbitrary... three cheers for the For Sale sign? 😅
onett explains everything BESIDES it's pronounciation
"Oh-Net" would be most similar to the original japanese name
@@thisisnotaustin1 very wrong
Its pronounced one-tt
@@definitelynotascammerit literally isn’t
hold on let him cook
@@thisisnotaustin1If we went by that logic of Onett being pronounced like "Oh-net" , then Twoson would be pronounced like "Tho-son" which is really stupid sounding to me .
21:50 having the sanctuary guardian "what" meme be perfectly timed with that line in the script and the actual part of the game its from is so clever lmaooooo
Glad someone admires my artistry
I always thought that the shark approaching you just to say "Yeah?" after beating frank is really funny. Just the mental image of some guy acting tough by approaching random people and saying one word then walking away always makes me chuckle
When I got to Towson for the first time I said “oh finally I get a 2nd party member”, then I had to go through 3 more hours of playing just with ness to get her.
Don't you mean Twoson?
@@jamesbullen191 yes
I, a 40 yr old woman, have just played this for the very first time last month. We bought the SNES Classic years ago and added more games to it but I finally decided to check out the other games on the default list for a change. And man, where have I been that I never noticed this game??? For one, I was never into rpgs but this game is just different. And for some reason I kept getting “flashbacks” to my childhood of seeing this game on clearance at the store because no one was buying them and I missed the chance to get it (or maybe the nostalgia if the game is rubbing off on me lol) But honestly, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it back then when I was a kid especially the pop culture references all over it. So it’s just one of those better late than never things and I’m glad it’s now.
I'm 25 and during my teenage days I discovered EarthBound and also played the first episode of Mother 3 but never liked it as much as EB nor I found any interest on beating the game (I felt like M3 wasn't going to be as exciting as EB so I skipped it). Fast forward into 2024 I give Mother 3 a second chance.
Yeah, it's up there with EB in terms of fun. So if you want to experience more of the EarthBound world, I suggest you to try Mother 3. It's much like what you described here.
Vee Bee Wai that was cool of you to share. Love seeing old games have such an impact on people decades later. I'm 45 and always on the lookout for games that might inspire me the same way.
The Rowdy Mouse being capable of a Smaaash! attack can also serve as a prank on the player like the trash can too, as the player has internalized the idea of Smaaash! attacks being exceptionally powerful, and so the Rowdy Mouse's attack seeming crushing at first only to deal minor damage is just funny.
I replayed EarthBound last summer and had such a blast from start to finish. It is an astonishingly meticulous game - amazing how much thought was put into it. Itoi was operating at the height of his creative abilities and deserves as many accolades as Miyamoto. A true gaming masterpiece from a supremely intelligent child at heart. And thank you for the video.
Hope you'll stick around for the rest of this series :)
Thank you for making this, as well as everything else you create.
I played Earthbound when it was first released and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Your videos make Earthbound new to me in a way and I'm now considering doing a playthrough of it this summer.
okay i ADORE this video. i never thought about alot of this and it truly goes to show why earthbound is so special- i hope were going to get the other areas too!!
Eventually this series will cover the entire game!
It's kinda done TOO seamlessly too, I've done everything explained here without a single thought about it! The PSI Rockin thing especially, it flew over my head entirely even though I 100% knew what I was doing in my heart.
Although I did see the scene with Lier and the Mani Mani Statue, and later heard about its evil influence in the game, I never made the connection that the statue was the thing changing his thoughts. I thought it was just his personally, bc he seemed pretty selfish, bc, well, he's a liar. Good observation!
7:01 I just wish they actually told you that going home and talking to Tracy lets you manage your Escargo Express inventory without dealing with the 3 item limit. It's still annoying but once you get teleport it's much easier just to sort your inventory that way than dealing with the annoying restrictions.
This is a great analysis of the town that started it all. Great job man!
When i was about 6? maybe 7? I was SCARED of the drug store cause i was like 'oh, drugs are bad! i shouldnt go in there!'
I wish i wasnt joking
i love this so much, i really like how in depth you discuss certain little parts of it and make it resonate with the player even more, i genuinely can’t wait for how you cover twoson
11:32
The mother and mother 2 Hippie theme actually sound much more like a parody of Johnny b Goode called "Johnny Go Ska" by the Toasters. Who you might recognize from the nicktoon KaBlam. Both "Johnny go Ska" and "New Age Retro Hippie" are even in the same key.
very excited for part 4... thank you for the consistent bangers monkeyness
It’s pronounced one-tea-tea and no one can tell me otherwise
Just wanted to say I love your channel. I recently finally got into this awesome series and just every ounce of all of the Mother games just ooze with charm From the world, characters, stories and lore, its all just so cool. Cant wait to see more from you❤️
I know two games (which are very similar btw) who allow you to instawin against enemies are are just a pests in the way, instead of ACTUAL enemies. Paper Mario 64 (though i only know there's a badge like that from the wiki) and Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (I strongly recommend, amazing game)
I think Thousand Year Door does it but I haven't played it recently enough to say for sure.
Finally bug fables getting attention fr
That’s every paper Mario game
BUG FABLES POG BUG FABLES POG
On first note about auto-battle completion, I was so psyched to see Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth have this mechanic. Definitely overlooked by too many rpgs
You know it’s a good day when monkeyness makes a video
Now I want a series of these for all the locations of Earthbound! ❤
Hope you’ll check out the other parts of this series :)
I am so excited for the hour long video about Twoson
Yes- been waiting so long for the update to this series!
1:05 How did I never know this was a thing? I never thought to come back to Lier during the game.
I find it really interesting that Persona 5 had an auto win system, as long as you first strikes/sneak attacked, but as far as I remember SMT 5 doesn't. It's among a number of QoL features not present in SMT 5, the most telling and annoying of which being the game cutting to the main menu upon death. Not only is there no retry option for bosses (which in no way makes the boss easier or makes you MORE prepared than without it) but it doesn't have the decency to even ask you if you want to reload the last save (and considering that none of the bosses have a 'run up' to get to them what's the point). And it's MORE resource intensive to do this, as the game has to load in the death scene, then load in the starting scrawl and main menu, and then reload the entire game from your last save, and then reload the boss and any cutscenes before it. It's a choice that's obviously only made to homage older RPGs, or perhaps to reinforce it's reputation of being more challenging and brutal than Persona, but ultimately it's not more challenging, it's a limitation of a bygone era when games lacked options and didn't respect your time. I suspect a lot of games that haven't picked up on similar novel mechanics are also just slavishly following so set of ques they believe is necessary to create an authentic classic RPG experience.
Sorry, this is video is about a classic RPG and I'm ranting about SMT, but I guess my point is that SMT isn't the only one, and it's weirdly contrasted by other games from the same studio, meaning that as an example it seems to be a conscious design choice and not an oversight or limitation that I believe other studios follow as well.
That bit about V is odd because in IV. You had the estoma skill which allowed you to skip battles by striking enemies on the overworld. Also I don't remember if estoma is in V at all.
Wake up y'all new MonkeyNess video just dropped
Great video. Just played and beat the game for the first time ever. It’s incredible and way ahead of its time.
I hope this becomes a (probably) 12 part series.
Mapped out what I want to cover with each part, and it'll eventually be a little bit longer than that.
@@MonkeyNess My bets are on 15 parts tops
the onett public library reminds me of how some of the earlier final fantasy games had tutoria buildings in the first towns
24:28 one of my favorite sprites is Captain Strong holding the radio
I am glad I still have my Earthbound from the 1990's along with the guide book that came with it. The book was damaged in a flood, but surprisingly the scratch snd sniff cards on the back retained their scent.
I love your content, I’m a huge fan. Keep it up!!
Now we need Twoson
eventually...
My dad raised me on a good amount of jazz music, and I thought Giant Step was supposed to be a reference to the song Giant Steps, and thought the rest of the sanctuary spots were going to also to be clever musical allusions because you get music snippets there, but was disappointed when I realized that it was all me XD
Love your videos man :)
thanks man :)
man you love this game sooo much
Real
Real
Real
If a player goes up to a trash can and checks it, One of the main reasons is because the player already knows how to check things, and they are probably naturally wondering what would happen if you check the trash can.
Thanks Oniette for explaining everything
21:45 Okay that was incredible layered joke.
Wow, Ive played through Earthbound a dozen times and i never knew rheee was supposed to be an explanation for the photo man, just figured it was one of those "Earthbound things".
The cops in Mother also attacked you. Maybe Itoi just hates pigs.
This series is just focusing on the American localization of EarthBound, which is why Mother 1 was not mentioned.
"No need to read this. Onett explains everything."
I will read it all! Haha! Feel like the saying "Onett explains everything" could be a saying of a conspiracy theorist. Like a secret Onett has been keeping from us..
I never once noticed any phone took money to use. Crazy
I've never understood why the battling auto-win function flashes two other colors before going back to the overworld. It seems glitchy and it's very jarring to me, surely it was seen in development, why wasn't it addressed? It couldn't have been a stylistic choice I imagine
I definitely think it was a stylistic choice, it appears violent, emphasizing how much the party’s strength outweighs the opponent.
At the part with the alien invasion in onett, I kept thinking I accidentally teleported to threed because of the different palette. I was a bit stupid
Dont you love it when your local hotel just has a sign that says hotel, with another sign that says hotel in front of it?
Beautiful video. And this game showed how an RPG "tutorial" should be!
12:05
PLEASE MISS
I love this analysis. Onett really is the perfect start to a game
Thank you so much :)
i actually love that you get trapped in a room with five pigs and just wail on em
i would love for this to be a whole series
It is and is in progress! :) check the description!
this series kinda makes me want to give this game another chance
This would make an amazing series if you did this for an entire play through. (You should totally make this a series)
It is! This is part 3! The entire series is linked in the description :)
I wish you made it more obvious that this is a series and what part it is. Though maybe instead of just writing "EarthBound Explained | Episode 3 - Onett Town" you could do some of the seamless guiding the game does.@@MonkeyNess
@@WohaoG I like allowing people to experience them as individual works. Eventually I plan on combining all these parts into one seamless film. :)
@@MonkeyNessOkay.
Onnet just reminds me of Green Hill Zone
Are the sharks really a reference to West Side Story in the movie the sharks are a primarily latin-american gang did that share pretty much nothing in common with the gang in EarthBound other than being called sharks.
How have I beat this game three times and not know about the secret hideout!
Is the camera man from earthbound Alec in mother 3? They share a pretty close resemblance and I've had that question for a while now
9:28 Giant step reference?
I always saw the police officers attacking you as a sort of trial and you need to “prove your worth” before you leave.
this video has made me realize that earthbound is one of the few games ive ever finished
It truly does
I've been calling it "One-net" for decades now. The Onett Town sign heavily implies via its coloration that the ONE is emphasized, just like with TWOson, THREEd/THREEk, and Fourside.
Did a video on this!
th-cam.com/video/NVAzEmnqmOc/w-d-xo.html
The guy at the end of minute 3 actually says something if you talk to him again
".........."
"QUIET!"
Edit: Having watched a big chunk of the video, I have to stop to say, wow you know the game like the palm of your hand but most importantly you understand the intentions behind the details. The game does a great job making you feel "at home".
Only a few of my favorite games of all time can make me feel like this.
I want an Earthbound beginnings remake because I love earthbound and mother 3 but I never beat or enjoyed earthbound beginnings because of the random encounters and the annoying movement. I’ll also don’t like how small the game looks. But the other 2 games are really good in my opinion and don’t really need a remake since they’re already good enough
Holy shit you sound like Mike Matei
great video
I had never seen the hideout!
I FUCKING LOVE MOTHER 2!!!!!!!!!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤
22:54 longging
Yeah?
Yeah
onett is pronounced "ON-ETTE"
I had no idea some phones cost money?! Lol I've beat this game so many times 😅
Probably beacuse the only ones that do only cost $1!
@MonkeyNess thanks for the reply! Keep up the good work. I enjoyed your Mother 3 playthrough. Nice job on the voices! 👍
@@Gangfang Thank you for your comments! Hope you stick around!
21:50 ayo pause
Now do twoson
where does it say the camera man is from the future???
we dont see time travel ever pulled off like that in the series so idk what you're on.
From an official EarthBound guide book.
What about the Starman Jr.? Doesn't he also drop in from the sky, travelling from 10 years in the future?
@@steel7399 Context is everything.
@@MonkeyNess I don't get what you mean by that, could you elaborate, please? (not trying to start anything, dw)
@@steel7399 Dw, I know you aren't, and hope I didn't come off rude :)
I mean that Starman Jr. appears with a very specific purpose that he immediatley explains, like Buzz Buzz. Meanwhile, the Photo Man's purpose isn't explicit, but nonetheless he's taking pictures, not trying to kill anyone. It's not that he's falling from the sky and is from the future that determines his purpose, it's what the characters and story do. The story dictates the Photo Man is there to take photos for the characters' keepsake, Starman Jr.'s is to stop Buzz Buzz. This, and Starman Jr. doesn't fall from the sky, he more so just appears.
PP
First ❤❤❤❤
I mean, complaining about Escargo Express late game when you can teleport back to Tracy in Onett and do things much faster, feels a little nitpicky
@@fightingthefaith I disagree if it causes you to have to do things like take time out to teleport home to do something the service should already be mending.
@@MonkeyNess hm. I dunno, I thought part of your complaint was specifically being limited to three items at a time; which for the majority of uses isnt a big deal? Playstyles also influence this too. *shrug* I was the sort to reorganize inventories solely to put a character's four equipped items at the top of their sheet 😅
@@fightingthefaith The three items at a time rule has always seemed so arbitrary to me. What’s the point of making me call them again…?
@@MonkeyNess well, I think it's like you said on the video- it's modeled after real world aesthetics and logistics. Sure, the guy COULD carry four cheeseburgers instead of three but what if you're giving him bigger stuff like picnic lunches or umm... ketchup packets lol. It's pretty arbitrary... three cheers for the For Sale sign? 😅
first??
??