List of EarthBound characters
This is a list of characters from the Super Nintendo role-playing game EarthBound.
Playable characters
Ness
Ness (ネス, Nesu) is the silent protagonist of EarthBound. He is an unassuming young boy, gifted with special powers. He comes from Onett, a small town in Eagleland. His arsenal in EarthBound is composed of baseball bats, and miscellaneous toys such as yo-yos and slingshots. His "armor" consists of various kinds of hats and badges. He is chosen by an alien named Buzz Buzz to save the world from Giygas. To do this, he must first travel to eight sanctuaries and make them his own in order to unite his power with the Earth's. At each sanctuary, he records a fragment of a melody in his Sound Stone as well as experiences a personal sense memory. Over the course of the game, he makes many friends, three of which become permanent members of the team.
Ness has also appeared in Super Smash Bros. as a hidden character and Super Smash Bros. Melee as a base character. He uses moves like PK Fire and PK Thunder. Ness's own PK Flash move was introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Ness is not silent in the Super Smash Bros. series as he is in Earthbound; instead he calls out the names of most of his special attacks. Ness is voiced by female seiyū Makiko Ohmoto in the Super Smash Bros. series.
It has been confirmed that Mother 3's Lucas will appear as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Ness' status in the upcoming game is currently unknown.
Paula Polestar
Paula Polestar ([ポーラ・ジョーンズ Pola Jones] Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help)) is an 11 year old PSI master. Paula's PSI abilities are primarily offensive and lacks the healing PSI abilities of others. Paula comes from Twoson, and joins Ness after he saves her from the Happy Happyist Cult. Paula's main weapon arsenal consists of frying pans, but she can also make use of yo-yos and slingshots like the other kids.
In Fourside, she is kidnapped by the Department Store Spook and is not released until Ness and Jeff complete a number of tasks, including going through the abnormal mirror world of Moonside, defeating the Evil Mani Mani, and making their way up to Monotoli's room. Paula's unique "Pray" command is a key part of the game, as the player must use it nine times during the third stage of the final battle to defeat Giygas.
Jeff Andonuts
Jeff Andonuts (ジェフ・アンドーナッツ, Jefu Andōnattsu) is from the Snow Wood Boarding School in Winters. His traits are those of a stereotypical nerd or whiz kid; he wears glasses and lacks physical ability, but is great with mechanics. Jeff wears glasses to correct his myopia. He wakes up in the middle of the night at a point receiving a telepathic message from Paula informing him that she and Ness need help. At that time, Ness and Paula were taken under captivity by zombies during their investigation of the undead-infested town Threed. Jeff breaks out of his dormitory with help from his friend Tony. Dr. Andonuts, his dad, lets Jeff use a machine called the Sky Runner (called Sky Walker in the Japanese version of the game) in order to travel the distance to reach Ness and save them from their imprisonment. Once he joins them, he becomes the third member of the party. Jeff is the only member of the four that cannot use PSI power, but he can repair broken items, making them into useful weapons and items.
Poo
Poo (プー, Pū) comes from the mystical land of Dalaam. He has undergone strict martial arts training, and has a special diet. In EarthBound, that means he can't eat any western-style foods, such as hamburgers or pizza and expect to recover much HP or PP (Psychic Points). However, he can drink bottles of water to recover PP, and Eastern foods will recover his HP more than they will the other characters. Very late in the game, he learns one of the most powerful PSI attacks: PK Starstorm. He also has a mirror ability, which allows him to become any enemy in the game during battles. Poo is taken from the party and trains with an old man named Ryan-Woo-Pa (Rōmaji: Ryanūpā), who shows him the powerful PK Starstorm. Poo cannot use any weapons except his fists, the yo-yos, slingshots (which both lower his attack) and one special, hard to find item, the Sword of Kings.
Other major characters
Doctor Andonuts
Doctor Andonuts (アンドーナッツ博士, Andōnattsu Hakushi) is a fictional character who first appeared in EarthBound for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and later returned in Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance.
Doctor Andonuts is Jeff's father. When Jeff leaves Snow Wood Boarding School and finds his father's lab, Doctor Andonuts reveals that he hasn't seen Jeff in 10 years. In Mother 3, he was taken from his time to the future by Pokey and forced to work for him, creating Chimeras and other inventions.
Dr. Andonuts has invented several devices throughout EarthBound. The first, the Sky Runner, is a UFO-styled aircraft. Jeff uses it to get to Threed and find Ness and Paula. It crashes, but is later fixed up so the gang can make their way to Summers. However, it crashes again, and while Ness and his friends are unhurt, a few chunks of debris are all that remain of it.
The Phase Distorter (Space Tunnel in Japan) is Dr. Andonuts's last invention in EarthBound. He works in conjunction with the Mr. Saturn population and Apple Kid, another inventor. The Phase Distorter takes on the appearance of a Mr. Saturn and requires Zexonyte to operate. Ness and friends must have their souls transmitted into robotic bodies to use this invention, as it would kill their human bodies. Once the Phase Distorter is used and Ness and friends arrive at their destination, it can be used to heal and to call Ness's father.
Giygas
Giygas (ギーグ, Gīgu) is once again the main antagonist from Mother. Known as both the "Embodiment of Evil" and the "Universal Cosmic Destroyer," Giygas is an evil alien that intends to sentence all of reality to the horror of infinite darkness. With an army of Starmen, UFOs, and other deadly war machines, Giygas also used his immense power to influence the evil parts of the Earth's beings to assist him.
In Mother, Giygas is raised by Maria, a woman abducted along with her husband George from Earth by Giygas' alien race in the early 1900's. George studied the aliens' PSI powers without permission, and escaped back to Earth. Once he matured, Giygas was tasked by his people to make sure that PSI never spread onto Earth. However, Giygas didn't want to betray those who raised him, particularly his beloved Maria. In the end, he forced himself to detach from Maria, and began preparations for the aliens' invasion. Eighty years later, he starts the invasion, and is eventually confronted by the great-grandson of Maria and George, Ninten, and his companions. By singing a song once known by Maria and Giygas, the loving memories he had tried so hard to suppress weaken him. Giygas eventually surrenders, but promises revenge upon Ninten someday, and flies away in his UFO.
In Earthbound, Giygas has returned and has fully taken over the world ten years in the future. Once he starts to take over the current time line of the game, Ness and his companions learn that he is attacking from the center of the Earth from an "innumerable years in the past." They finally reach him, and he is much different than in Mother. By this time, Giygas had gained such tremendous evil power that his mind and body were completely destroyed by it, leaving behind only his consciousness which manifests itself as what can only be described as pure evil; in Pokey Minch's words, "he is THE evil power" (Pokey also calls him an "all-mighty idiot" during the battle, which can also be considered an accurate, yet crude description). This is due to being banished to his own subconscious by Buzz-buzz's race, allowing him to overcome his goodness, and become true evil, thus losing his form. He is eventually defeated after Paula calls on the Earth to pray, and the combined prayers reach Giygas and exploit his weakness, which turns out to be human emotions (possibly due to his loss of Maria). He fades out into nothing, and his future is erased.
Pokey had helped Giygas by creating the Devil's Machine (an eyeball-like sphere with an image of Ness's face inside) to contain Giygas' tremendous power, but it is eventually shut off, causing all his power to be unleashed; an event that creates a chaotic, bizarre dimension all around them in which only Giygas and the five children remained trapped in darkness. His attacks random and incomprehensible, and his speech is also erratic and mindless.
Shigesato Itoi stated that his inspiration for Giygas' speech came from a traumatic childhood experience where he mistakenly walked into an adult movie theatre and caught a glimpse of a rape scene in the 1957 movie Kenpei and the Dismembered Beauty (憲兵とバラバラ死美人, Kenpei to Barabara Shibijin).[1]
Pokey Minch
Pokey Minch (ポーキー・ミンチ, Pōkī Minchi, Porky Minch) Ness's portly, obnoxious next-door neighbor. His family seems to hold a grudge against Ness' family, because Pokey's father, Aloysius Minch, apparently loaned a few hundred thousand Dollars to Ness' dad (though he admits it could have been a lot less), and never got them back. When a meteor falls outside their houses in Onett, Pokey temporarily joins Ness to find his younger brother, Picky. He learns of the impending destruction and take over, but convinces himself that he is not one of the heroes. He then goes on to join the Happy Happy cult, even going as far to have some of the other followers attack Ness.
After the cult is disbanded, he and his father end up working as business consultants for Mayor Monotoli. He uses the money to live a luxurious life, but he eventually steals Monotoli's helicopter after Monotoli is confronted by Ness. That helicopter is shown to have been crashed in the Deep Darkness swamp, and Pokey is not seen until he appears with Giygas, where he claims that Giygas was leading him the whole time. He appears in a spider-like machine, and battles Ness alongside Giygas because he feels that the universe should be destroyed. Once Giygas is destroyed, Pokey uses time travel to escape into another era, but not before taunting Ness one last time. His last message comes through Picky in the form of a note that says ""Come and get me, loser!" He later appears in Mother 3 as The Pig King.
Minor characters
Apple Kid
Apple Kid is a fat, dirty slob, but extremely intelligent and useful to Ness' quest. His first contribution to the quest is the Pencil Eraser, which he makes in exchange for some food and $200.00. He later goes to Dr. Andonuts's lab in order to build the Phase Distorter, which he concluded is needed to defeat Giygas. Apple Kid also has a mouse assistant. However, since it has no name, it is called the No Name Mouse.
Brick Road
Brick Road is a self-proclaimed dungeon master, Brick Road is seen in two forms, first by Jeff in Winters as a normal human, and second by the whole party in the Scaraba desert as a the first Human/Dungeon hybrid.
Bubble Monkey
A monkey which first appears in a drug store when the player is controlling Jeff. If Jeff gives him bubble gum, the monkey will join Jeff, and will be able to float over certain obstacles. He leaves Jeff for a female monkey near the end of Jeff's story, but appears later in the game to teach Ness PSI Teleport.
Buzz Buzz
Buzz Buzz is a bee-like creature from ten years in the future. He arrives in Ness' time via the meteorite that crashed into the mountain behind Onett. He informs Ness of Giygas' plan, and gets him started on his adventure. Buzz Buzz fights alongside Ness on the journey down the mountain. He is somewhat powerful in battle, but he was defeated when Lardna Minch (Pokey and Picky's mother) swats him, mistaking him for a dung beetle. Before Buzz Buzz dies, he gives Ness the Sound Stone and tells him to seek the eight "sanctuaries."
Captain Strong
Captain Strong is the police chief in Onett, he catches Ness after he had trespassed into the sealed-off Onett caves to reach Giant Step. In the game, Strong and his crew of policemen attack Ness to test his strength in an effort to see if he is in fact ready to move on to the next town or not. Captain Strong tells Ness that kids should be "at home playing Nintendo" when he captures him.
Carpainter
Carpainter is the leader of the Happy Happy cult, and has stolen the Evil Mani Mani statue. While under the influence of the statue he believed the key to happiness was to paint everything in the world blue. He has kidnapped Paula and uses powerful lightning attacks.
Dad
The character of Dad is Ness' unseen father, a reference to the creator's plight in work-centered Japan, who only appears as a voice on the telephone. Even in the ending credits, a telephone appears in his place. To save the game, it is necessary to locate a phone and call dad. Dad also deposits all the money Ness earns into his bank account. At the end of the game, Ness' dad stops saving the game for you and states how he will be home in time for Ness' fourteenth birthday.
Everdred
Everdred is a hustler and thief whom the party runs into at Burglin Park in Twoson. He attacks at first (to rob Ness's party), but when he loses, Everdred gives them information about where the kidnapped Paula is being held. The next time he appears is in Fourside, where he is found lying wounded outside Jackie's Cafe. He claims that he got too close to the Mayor's secrets, and tells Ness about how to get to Moonside. Ness can ask him to repeat what he said twice, but the third time Everdred will lose his patience and stagger out of sight (off-screen).
Evil Mani Mani
Evil Mani Mani is a glorious, golden statue that brings out the evil in human beings. First found in possession of Lier X. Agerate, it is stolen by Carpainter and used to control the minds of the Happy Happy cultists. It is later found in Moonside, as a living entity that attacks Ness. Once defeated, it is broken forever and Moonside vanishes. It returns as Ness's Nightmare, which is fought in Magicant.
Frank Fly
Frank Fly is the leader (later ex-leader) of the street gang called the Sharks. A misguided youth, Frank is adept with a switchblade, and only after being bested by Ness, changes his ways and starts working at the local fast-food shop.
Lier X. Agerate
Lier X. Agerate is an acquaintance of Ness', and has something to show him. When Ness has no one with him, if talked to, he'll show Ness the Evil Mani Mani Statue he has under his house. Eventually, it gets stolen, leading to subsequent trouble that lasts through part of the game.
Master Belch
Master Belch is a large, animated pile of vomit. Master Belch is one of Giygas' most esteemed minions, is addicted to Fly Honey, and is lord over smaller piles of vomit. He enslaves the Mr. Saturns at one point to mass produce Fly Honey.
Mr. Saturn
Mr. Saturn (どせいさん, Dosei-san) is a friendly species that aids player's party. All individuals of the species are named Mr. Saturn, except for the friendly Dr. Saturn. They are identical in appearance, each short, peach, with an overlarge nose, whiskers, and a bow on its one hair. They speak broken English, and erratically use the words "boing," "ding," and "zoom" in their speech. Also, in-game, the text that appears in the Mr. Saturn text windows is a different font than any other in the game, which can be difficult to read at first. The Japanese font is said to be inspired by the handwriting of the young daughter of EarthBound's designer, Shigesato Itoi. They make a return appearance in Mother 3, the sequel to EarthBound. In both games, they help with repairing or building various machines.
Mr. Saturns make their home in Saturn Valley, in Eagleland. Their village has round homes which resemble flying saucers and/or the planet Saturn and strange furniture, such as ATMs which bounce up and down in place and resemble Mr. Saturns. Some of the Mr. Saturn's preferred foods are "almond monaka" and "pig yōkan" (changed to "peanut cheese bars" and "piggy jelly" in the English version of the game), goods that can be purchased in the Saturn Valley shop.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mr. Saturn appears as an item. He walks around the stage harmlessly until someone picks him up, allowing the player to hurl him at opponents. If you KO an opponent with a Mr. Saturn, the player is awarded with the bonus "Mr. Saturn KO". Mr. Saturn will also return in the sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[2]
Mom
The character of Mom is Ness' mother. He must call home regularly and speak to her or he will become homesick. She can also fix meals for Ness to recover his health.
Orange Kid
Orange Kid is a smart kid who is much more popular with the girls of Twoson than Apple Kid, whom everybody thinks is a total loser. Paying him to fund his inventing is worthless, as all he does is exult in his own 'greatness' and never does anything worthwhile.
Photo Man
Photo Man is a photographer that spins down from the sky at important times to take pictures of Ness & company. Before taking a picture he says "Say Fuzzy Pickles" as opposed to "say cheese". Photographs of these occasions are shown behind the closing credits, but the pictures are pre-generated standard images, and do not change to reflect the situation (odd positioning, extra Teddy Bears and the like) present when the Photo Man took his picture in the game just played.
Picky Minch
The younger (though far more mature) brother of Pokey. He plays a small role during the beginning of the game when he is lost on the mountain behind Onett. He temporarily joins Ness' party after he finds him on the mountain and Ness brings him home. Unlike Pokey, Picky provides some small aid to Ness in battle during this inital part of the game.
Runaway Five
Runaway Five is a band that performs in Twoson and, later, Fourside. In Twoson, Ness frees the band from a large debt to the owner of the Chaos Theater with a wad of bills acquired from Everdred. In return, the band gives Ness a ride to Threed. In Fourside, the band has incurred an even larger debt to the owner of the Topolla Theater and Ness pays it with a large diamond. They repay this second act of charity by aiding Ness in the Monotoli Building.
Many believe them to be an homage to the SNL Blues Brothers Band as they are often caught in a pinch with money and resemble the characters. They also resemble the Mario Brothers (as one is heavier, and wears red, while the other is thin and wears green).
Starman DX
Starman DX is a powerful and high-ranking Starman in the employ of Giygas. He abducts several characters, including Apple Kid and a Mr. Saturn, and imprisons them in the Stonehenge Base.
Tendas
The Tendas are first encountered in the aptly named Tenda Village. Initially, they are extremely shy and will not talk to Ness until they are given the book "Overcoming Shyness". There is a second, extroverted tribe of Tendas living in the Underworld who believe that the area outside their village is a cage (despite the fact that the Underworld is incredibly large and completely surrounds this Tenda tribe).
Tessie
Tessie is a friendly, long-necked monster which lets Jeff ride on its back to cross the lake in Winters. No doubt inspired by Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
Tony
Tony is Jeff's best friend and roommate. He joins Jeff's party during the period of the game the player controls Jeff and gives Jeff the boost needed to jump the fence of the boarding school.
References
- ^ "ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 『MOTHER』の気持ち。" (in Japanese). 2003-04-24. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- ^ "【イベントリポート】『メタルギア』20周年記念イベントで『スマブラX』の最新映像が披露" (in Japanese). 2007-09-20. Retrieved 2007-09-20.