EarthBound (stylized Earthbound ) is an RPG video game developed by Ape, Inc. and HAL Fulleton. It is the first EarthBound title to be released in the United States, whereas the original SNES EarthBound only had a limited release in Japan and Europe. EarthBound was released in Japan on August 27, 1994 for the Super Famicom and was later released in North America nearly five years later for the SNES on June 1, 1999 under its American name Earthbound .
The development of EarthBound was strictly a one-man project; series creator Shigesato Itoi handled all aspects of the game’s production himself. EarthBound is infamous for its poor advertising campaign in North America, which led to lackluster sales. Hailed for its surrealistic themes, comedic tone and unconventional take on traditional RPG tropes EarthBound has maintained a cult following since its release. Earthbound was released on Wii U Virtual Console on June 14, 2013 in Japan and on March 20, 2014 in North America. EarthBound was EarthBound ‘s predecessor, but is not a direct sequel to EarthBound . Earthbound remained Japan-only until its Virtual Console release in 2009 due to name differences with the contemporaneous English title Mother 2: Earthbound (released as EarthBound in North America and Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back in Japan). EarthBound ‘s Earthbound’s protagonist is Ness, a thirteen-year-old from the town of Onett who dreams about a meteorite crashing into a nearby mountain and a mysterious bee from the future telling him of Earth’s destruction. Earthbound Earthbound Ness is awakened early one morning by his younger brother, who has had a nightmare of their mother pleading for help from inside their house; upon reaching the bedroom, they find her trapped in a bizarre otherworldly dimension.
