Anyone that has stuck around the Earthbound community long enough knows that Earthbound is actually a sequel to the NES RPG Mother. I’ve never played the game, but it seems like the connections between Mother and its sequel are loose connections. In fact, Earthbound seems like more of a remake than a sequel. Both games follow a crew of four going after a possessive and destructive alien. Sure, you have all those connectionspiracy theories about how Ninten, hero of Mother, is the father, grandfather, godfather, uncle, soul brotha, ect. to Ness, but until Itoi has a press conference explaining that they are indeed related, I’m not buying it. Maybe Giegue, the Mother baddie, is the same alien or part of Giygas’s crew, but I still don’t think any official connection has been made. Sure, a little thinking on the audience’s part is good, but even the Matrix series was more direct with its unanswered questions.
If Earthbound was a remake, I’m not sure what to call what was supposed to be Earthbound 64. Based off what I saw, there were a few recurring characters, such as Dr. Andonuts and the Mr. Saturns, but they’re supporting characters. For it to be a sequel, I want one of the main characters back. In the sequel, I want to see one or more of the chosen four, Giygas, or even someone with an obvious connection to one of those. If I don’t get that, I think it is more of a sequel for an easy hit (or at least an easy one in Japan). It wouldn’t be a true sequel to me in that situation. It would be a Final Fantasy style sequel. A sequel to a historical war movie makes more sense to me than the Final Fantasy connections do to me. Itoi made a fishing game for the Nintendo 64. If he wanted to make a Deer Hunter ripoff, it wouldn’t be best to call it “Shiggy Itoi’s No. 1 Bass Fishing: Part 2”. They’d probably be good games, but I’d hate to see Earthbound games being made just to sell the name.
Earthbound sets itself up nicely for a sequel. The only thing more direct that I can think of is the “James Bond Will Return” used at the end a Bond movie’s credits. If you’ve never made it past the game’s credits, Picky shows up to your place in the middle of the night with a letter from Pokey. Pokey writes that he’ll be back, badder than ever. So what’s the need for all this Flint the Cowboy stuff they were going to do in Earthbound 64? RPGs need more cowboys, but if Itoi wants to use Flint, he should make a new game based around him. The setup is in place and passing up on it would just have wasted my time by making me go through the credits.
This is the perfect time for a sequel. Part of the problem with Earthbound 64 was that the programmers were having problems getting everything in 3-D. This was when the most advanced handheld was the Game Boy Color. Now, the Game Boy Advance has guys gaming out every time possible. The Game Boy Advance is way more advanced than the Game Boy Color and can at least match the SNES’s capabilities. In fact, I read in a review for the latest GBA Harvest Moon game that it was basically a port of the Playstation’s version, with added features. If the GBA can out-do the Playstation, it can certainly handle a sequel to a 16-bit game. A sequel to the game is still possible to make and sell. It’s been a while, but Earthbound has stood the test of time. Driver 2 for the PS1 used to be the hottest thing around but now, it’s impossible to play. It’s just so outdated. Bad Boys II came out last summer and the original is as old as Earthbound. It did fairly well and it totally owned. But a good chunk of the film’s audience probably never saw the original. With the right advertising, anything can be sold.
Honestly, if the next Earthbound game is a port or a glorified remake of the SNES version, I’m not buying it. If it’s an indirect sequel, I’m buying and complaining. To me, a sequel should only be made if there’s a real need for one. Like Costner said back in the summer, sequels shouldn’t be made just “to get a big fat hit”. If they’re going to make an Earthbound sequel, it should make a real contribution to the series.