Creator of classic SNES RPG offers praise to talented fan.
EarthBound is an extremely clever game. Released at a time when most RPG developers were trying to squeeze all the detail they could out of bitmapped graphics in service of a fantasy epic, it instead used simplified artwork and color design to tell a quirky story with a sense of childlike wonder, starting off as just another day in the life of an ordinary child before gradually building to a deep reflection on the nature of emotion and a conflict that affects human happiness and a conflict in which all human existence hangs in the balance.
That combination of simple graphics and a complex story is what makes EarthBound (titled Mother 2 in Japan) so endearing. So when Twitter user @revirytic set out to create a work of fan art retelling the EarthBound story, he also wanted to keep the visuals simple, and the result is this amazing Rube Goldberg machine-style recap of the game.
無限「エイトメロディーズ」演奏装置を作りました。#blender3d #MOTHER2 #Earthbound pic.twitter.com/K18U8C2S6n
— いちかわ (@revirytic) October 12, 2022
Right away, we see what looks like a wooden recreation of main character Ness’ home, where the game starts, and out the front door rolls a ball sporting the same color palette as the protagonist. As the ball continues down the ramp, it passes by a collection of EarthBound foes, and as it topples them, they fall onto chimes, with the sounds forming the game’s iconic “Eight Melodies.”
Before long Ness is joined by balls representing the other members of his party, Paula, Jeff, and Poo.
Along the way, @revirytic throws in tons of references to memorable scenes, such as the portion of the game where the heroes’ consciousnesses are transferred into robotic bodies and even a salute to Mother 2’s Octopus Erasing Machine which was changed to the Pencil Eraser for the game’s English localization. And just like EathBound itself, the video ends with Ness arriving back home. It then loops around and starts again, just like all the veteran fans who’ve done multiple EarthBound playthroughs.
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The whole thing looks amazing, but @revirytic isn’t actually a whittler or woodworker. Instead, he’s a CG artist, and he created the video using 3-D modeling program Blender. It’s now racked up over two million views and glowing praise from commenters like:
“Every little detail in this has so much meaning.”
“Oh wow, this is hitting me right in the heart! So much love on display.”
“This is bringing back so many emotional memories of playing the game.”
“Just hearing the music is making me cry.”
“I could watch this loop forever.”
The highest praise for @revirytic’s video? That’s a toss-up between the retweets from Hobonichi Mother Project, basically the PR account for the Mother franchise, or the one from EarthBound director Shigesato Itoi himself.
▼ “This is just completely wonderful! It’s amazing how you have the entire story of the game and so many little details. Especially love how the octopus just blinks out of existence.”
ただただ、すばらしいです！ ゲームの流れが全体にも細部にも再現されているのがすごい。タコが物理的なアクションではなく単にパッと消えるのとか、たまらない。 https://t.co/TSR2EWxE9O
— ほぼ日MOTHERプロジェクト (@hobonichimother) October 13, 2022
▼ “What is this?!? Amazing!”
なんてことをするのだ。すごいのだ。 https://t.co/xsh6kpLdJo
— 糸井 重里 (@itoi_shigesato) October 12, 2022
@revirytic says that producing the visuals for the 36-second loop took about two and a half months, but considering how many fans will never forget it, we’d say it was time well spent.
Source: Twitter/@revirytic via IT Media
Images: Twitter/@revirytic
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