That EarthBound Game Is Now Available on Wii U

...call me a bad person, but I'd prefer to play this on ZSNES with my SNES controller/USB adapter. Maybe I'll pick this up to support the idea of Mother 3 being released officially, but I already played (and thoroughly enjoyed) that game on a flash cart with the excellent, excellent fan translation.

I don't have a Wii U yet anyway so I guess it's a moot point right now. I very nearly picked up this game when I found it for $60 somewhere but it just didn't make a lot of sense. Now it's hard to find it under $100 if that even.

That was a pretty cool trailer

Playing this would certainly make for some interesting content.

System seller!!!

Nintendo learned a lot, but still can't manage to make VC the same across Wii U and 3DS.

People love to rag on the Vita, but at least it has that.

Earthbound is one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite period. The soundtrack is astonishingly good, the battle system is creative and not used outside the Mother series, the humor is great, the overall style is fantastic, the gimmicks work well, it's not a flawless game but I still have the fondest memories of it out of any SNES game I played.

I still would not buy a WiiU to play it. There's not enough to justify the purchase of a WiiU, a console that is sorely lacking in almost every other department. I would actually go out and buy a 3DS tomorrow if it meant I could buy Earthbound on it, however, as there's more options there and the bonus of having Earthbound available would push me over the edge into making the purchase now rather than waffling on it. It baffles me why they wouldn't just make it WiiU AND 3DS. But whatever, I've lost faith in Nintendo long before now, this doesn't surprise me in the least.

Next ER, I'm calling it.

Not what I thought it would be but it looks fun.

If buy stupid you mean smart. The WiiU needs anything at this point to push units and this is a bigger deal than one might think.

Yea that's the only issue here really. The "design" isn't the problem. It's that there's no SNES emulator for 3DS VC and which is why there are zero SNES games on the thing.

Poo lol.

Yanno, I haven't really known many games that would be good for an Endurance Run aside from the ones they've done already. But Earthbound would make for a good one, just because it's really damn unique from pretty much any RPG ever. Also, a Japanese game based on an American-styled world was interesting in and of itself. Not to mention the MUSIC IS AMAAAAAAAAAZING. SMMAAAAAAAAAAAASHING.

Also, I've been planning on buying a 3DS and would totally buy Earthbound on there, it's fucking stupid to only release it on something like the WiiU.

I get all that, I know LoL. I am talking about the fact that the Mother games found their way to a handheld console despite not being "designed for portables".

I get all that, I know LoL. I am talking about the fact that the Mother games found their way to a handheld console despite not being "designed for portables".

The Japanese GBA version of Mother 2 (or EarthBound if you are from these parts) had only a few minor differences from the SNES version of Earthbound. If I remember correctly it was mostly signage and a few sentences altered.

Legends of Localization ran a story about the differences between Mother 2 and Eartbound for the Super Famicom and SNES a little while back. It's full of pretty pixels so don't be afraid to check it out.

http://legendsoflocalization.com/earthbound/

I'm pretty sure ruthloose knows that. The point is that the version of Mother 2 on Japanese GBAs is not the same ROM that was localized and released in North America.

Mother 2 is Earthbound. Thanks for pointing out the obvious.

QFT

Read my post again. I know what the joke was "supposed" to be. The joke as it was presented doesn't make sense.

@def: The joke was that the Wii U sold poorly. It has.

Odd troll attempt. Isn't really funny because the logic is flawed. Plenty Wii Us are out there, more people just need to buy one. And this release is another reason to do so.

It's not like only a few systems exist in the world, thus giving hardly anyone access. Anyway, better luck next time.

Only on Wii U? So not really available at all, is it?

@patrickklepek: Yeah you should definitely give the games a try. I really enjoyed them, just remember that the game is pretty old school as far as leveling though so you may have to stop and grind at some point. In addition the game starts tough but gets easier later on. After playing this you should give the English translation of Mother 3 a try if you have the time for it.

Why won't you even CONSIDER the digital guide guys?! WHY?!

It being bad is a pretty good excuse. Play Mother 3 instead.

But the game design isn't any different in the GBA compilation.

@hailinel: I played ChronoTrigger on a DS and had a wonderful experience. JRPGs can play well on handhelds if ported properly. I feel earthbound could do really well if sold on the DS platform.

I'm still sad there is no (legal) way to play the original in english. I loved Mother but I had to play in on an emulator for lack of an actual English release. I really like Mother 2 (Earthbound) but I love the original just as much.

Frankly, Nintendo can think what they like about how I spend my money - I'm just opposed to inconsistent platform pricing. Having access to a strategy guide is a nice touch, but what if I don't want the strategy guide? It becomes similar (though only vaguely, admittedly) to the Xbox One and Kinect argument - making something mandatory, that should be optional, and using that as justification for increased pricing.

If Nintendo fail to see that pricing can have an effect on subsequent sales, regardless of whatever product it might be, then I'd say that they don't know how to run a business. They do, of course, and it pretty much comes down to this: Exploitation of loyal fans.

A cartridge of a highly sought after game and a digital download are not the same thing. Rarity becomes completely irrelevant once it's digital, and it not (in my eyes) a justifiable reason for a price hike. Comparing a near 20 year old game released digitally, and a modern game released digitally is something of a moot point.

It's nothing to do with being a skinflint, and is purely based in principal on my part. I'm not trying to say I'm taking a highground, which makes me in some way morally superior to those that are happy to pay, I just get a very distinct impression that Nintendo are trying to 'juice' me for a much as they think they can get away with, and I feel like I'd be a sucker if I just tow the line.

This game is really fantastic... I njoyed Earthbound

I second that

More exposure for Earthbound is good. I'll never forget those scratch n sniff stickers that it came with.

I still have the cart sitting in my SNES, but the last time I played was probably 10 years ago.

All that "vote with your Wallet" does in this case is that it tells them you don't give a crap about Earthbound. If you'd consider for a second that you also get a free digital version of the player's guide that goes for more than a brand new retail game on eBay alone (and which has apparently been optimized for viewing on the WiiU browser) on top, those two extra bucks really aren't anything to complain about. Especially since your only legal alternative is a $100 used cart.

How does it being "a ROM" mean it's overpriced? Are retail game downloads overpriced because they're basically ISO rips? Just because you can pirate it for free doesn't mean the actual legal thing isn't worth anything.

That's not the version that was localized.

@patrickklepek: GOOD! It’s a superb game and I played it for the first time last year. I know a guy.

Well, if I ever decide to get a Wii U, I'll get this game. But...I'm still not paying $350 fucking dollars for a Wii U when PS4 is going to be literally only $50 dollars more in a few months. Seriously, what a joke, Nintendo.

Well, it did come out for GBA along with Mother 1 in Japan, though.

I just realized we'll never get a *real* Endurance Run ever again. Wasn't planning on feeling this bad so soon...

@branthog: Just emulate it. I've been playing it on my phone.

"Only on WiiU" was a Shyamalan style twist ending. Somehow I missed that in the post title.

looking at ebay auctions for just the snes cart of earthbound and I see listings around 130$ usd. Makes me feel good about buying this again for 10 bucks, which oddly is about how much i paid for my copy from blockbuster.

So much endurance run potential with this game. Never gonna happen, but one can dream. :P

Despite it's problems, this game is by far my favorite Nintendo game ever because it has soooo much character and quirky awesome things.

This is a wonderful game, i'm still sore that it took Nintendo so looooong to release this game on a modern console. Still, to those who haven't experienced it and have a Wii U... get this game. It's quirky, funny, and touching.

It's amazing how much personality this game has. Although none of the main characters in the game really have more than a few lines of dialogue, the developers still managed to create a world that people liked so much that it was still relevant after almost 20 years.

It didn't have a quick save. It has save points, but it has a sleep mode. It was a late era GBA game and was sort of designed with the later model GBA SP and GB micros in mind.

That looked incredible. I need to play that game.