EarthBound 64: Difference between revisions

Though the storyline of the game is, for the most part, the same as the Game Boy Advance release, several things were changed from the planned Nintendo 64 game. For one, ''EarthBound 64'' was intended to be placed some ten years after ''EarthBound'', in 200X, rather than the unstated amount of time the final game occurs after its prequel. <ref> </ref> The length of the game's story, in time, also was altered, with ''EarthBound 64'' having 12 chapters spread over the course of ten years, each with their own main character, unlike the final game, which only has eight chapters spread over the course of three years. (During the switch from the 64DD add-on to the N64 console, the 12-chapter system was reduced to only 9 chapters.) The overall tone of the story was intended to be darker than the final product was. Particularly the final boss was intended to include no dialogue and to be more of a terrifying experience.   

As for the setting, [[Shigesato Itoi]] stated that "there’s a strange world that you can’t quite decipher between the middle ages or the old west, and in the end you realize the circumstances of what made it so strange. It was made in a way that you’d be thinking “This is weird…” then make it through Chapter Eleven, and hit Chapter Twelve and scream. It’s terrible." <ref>https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/earthbound-64-cancellation-interview-itoi-miyamoto-iwata/</ref> Unfortunately, the story was deemed too complex to be told on the Nintendo 64's hardware, given its limitations. The size and scope of the game's story had to be dramatically reduced in order to accommodate the Nintendo 64DD's hardware, which was then further shrunk to fit within the scope of a standard Nintendo 64 cartridge.

Little is known about the other chapters that were cut. [[Flint]] was meant to be playable for longer during the game, as evidenced by a battle shown in the trailer depicting a party of Flint, [[Kumatora]] and [[Lucas]], along with Flint replacing Kumatora when the party grabs onto the [[Mother Porkship]]. A mine-cart scene was displayed in a trailer that included Lucas and [[Claus]] together in the [[Spectacular Cave]], a location cut from the GBA version. <ref>https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Mother_3/Differences#Locations</ref> This took place during [[Chapter 1]], when the twins are escaping the Sunshine Forest's fire and right before the twins wash up in the river, suggesting Claus was to be in your party for a longer period of time. In addition, the search for Hinawa was spread over a period of two days, beginning with the Sunshine Forest fire in Chapter 1 and ending with the campfire scene the next evening; the Game Boy Advance version instead has Hinawa's search taking place during a single evening.

''EarthBound 64'' was planned not long after ''[[EarthBound]]'' itself was nearing release, with an in-game reference to the development team planning ''Mother 3'' in Japan, localized as them planning ''EarthBound 2'' in the English release. According to Starmen.Net co-founder Reid Young, the initial planning stages were for a Super NES release, using pre-rendered graphics akin to Donkey Kong Country <ref>https://twitter.com/reidman/status/1188522984132116480?s=19</ref>, but this fact is unsubstantiated. Itoi stated in a 1992 interview, however, that "it was decided" that they were creating ''Mother 2'''s successor on the [[Super NES CD-ROM|Super NES CD add-on]]. <ref>https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/famitsu-06191992/</ref> But when the add-on was cancelled, development instead begun on the Super Famicom shortly after the Japanese release of ''Mother 2''. However, the Super NES was quickly on its way to being replaced by the Nintendo 64, so development shifted to the Nintendo 64 in late 1995 after the Super NES version was halfway complete. Inspired by the Nintendo 64's planned launch title, ''{{mw|Super Mario 64}}'', the development team decided that ''EarthBound 64'' would be a 3D game, rather than it being a 2D sprite-based game like the first two titles in the series. When the project moved to the [[Nintendo 64DD]] later that year, it allowed the team the freedom to implement the planned scope of the game in accommodation with the vast potential for the 64DD hardware. <ref>https://staff.starmen.net/eb64/miscinfo/history.php</ref> But when the 64DD add-on kept getting delayed, and its future as a commercial success began to be uncertain, the game was changed to a cartridge release in late 1998, with a planned use of the same size cartridge which contained ''[[zeldapedia:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'' and utilization of the Rumble Pak add-on for the Nintendo 64 controller.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010221002017/http://www.ant.com/n64/previews/earthbound/earthbound.html</ref>  

{{gallery/cell|Marukatsu Shonen.png|580px|A Japanese magazine named ''Marukatsu Shonen'' covered ''EarthBound 64'' in a 1997 issue before the magazine was cancelled. Other magazines, such as [[Nintendo Entertainment System#Nintendo Power|Nintendo Power]], also covered ''EarthBound 64'' until the game's cancellation in August 2000.}}

{{gallery/cell|E64 Mother 3 Logo.jpg|110px|The first iteration of the ''Mother 3''/''EarthBound 64'' logo, designed after the Japanese ''[[EarthBound|Mother 2]]'' logo.}}

{{gallery/cell|Logo-1.jpg|300px|The second (and final) iteration of the ''[[Mother 3]]''/''EarthBound 64'' logo from 1997.}}

{{gallery/cell|Forest-of-Strange-Creatures-Logo.jpg|300px|The Space World 1997 version of the ''EarthBound 64'' logo, with the "Forest of Strange Creatures" subtitle being present underneath it.}}

{{gallery/cell|Logo.jpg|300px|The Space World 1999 version of the ''EarthBound 64'' logo, featuring the final subtitle "Fall of the Pig King".}}

**Various sound samples from the ''EarthBound 64'' soundtrack were reused in Melee's OST.

*Lucas had a unique battle ability named [[Call]], which would summon friendly animals to aid in battle.