EarthBound, released for the Super NES in 1995, is the very definition of a cult classic. Plenty of games have a strong fan following, but I can’t think of any other game that has a group of fans that are as passionate and dedicated as EarthBound does. Their love for the game, and the series as a whole, is so genuine and so deep, it’s a spectacular testament to creator Shigesato Itoi’s ability to strike a very personal chord with every player with his masterful storytelling.

Many of today’s EarthBound fans are in their mid to late 20s, having played the game for the first time when they were young. I’ve seen a few people on message boards talk about how playing through EarthBound once a year has been a tradition for them since the first time they booted it up.

I love EarthBound, as you can probably gather from the name and layout of the blog. It’s in my top 10 games of all time. Unlike many other fans, though, I don’t have fond memories of buying the game in 1995 and marveling at its giant box. I didn’t get to smell the scratch and sniff cards that came with the strategy guide. I don’t have the Mach Pizza Air Freshener. I didn’t play EarthBound when I was a kid. I didn’t get to play it until I was 24.

EarthBound is Christina’s favorite game, so when I moved here it was one of the first things we played together. I fell in love with it immediately. Now, I’ve played plenty of RPGs. I’ve played the Final Fantasies, the Dragon Quests, Chrono Trigger, all the greats. EarthBound, however, is something else. I couldn’t put it down. We plowed through it in about four days. Normally when we play a game or watch TV, she’s the one asking questions about the plot and I’m the one saying “Just watch!” but it was the other way around during our playthrough. I was absolutely enthralled.

So, is EarthBound’s strong following and glowing praise a result of fond memories baked in the nostalgia oven for 15 years? Absolutely not. I say it all the time, but the game is an absolute masterpiece. Actually, it’s like that painting of a Cambell’s soup can by Andy Warhol. It seems simple, and not everyone gets it, but it’s a magnificent work of art whose merit cannot be denied.

EarthBound, and the Mother series as a whole, is very hard to describe. The games have a sense of humor that is soaked into every pore of the experience. However, behind the silly jokes, behind the battles with giant piles of puke, and behind the bright graphics is a very real story about what it means to be a hero. It’s a very personal, very human story about learning who you are, about inner strength, and about the bonds we form with those around us.

Although the story is deceptively heavy, that doesn’t mean that EarthBound is a downer. Not in the least. The jokes are funny, and not just “funny for a video game” funny. There’s Beatles references all over the place, including an actual yellow submarine. It’s so off-the-wall ridiculous at some points, and so attention-grabbingly somber at others that you’re constantly on your toes wondering what it’s going to throw at you next.

The battle system, the “make-or-break” factor for any RPG, is genius and unlike anything else to this day. In any other game, if you get hit for 56 damage, you lose it all at once. In EarthBound, your HP meter scrolls like an odometer, so if a character takes a hit for 56 damage and they only have 40 hit points, and you can manage to heal them before their HP scrolls down to zero, they stay in the fight.

History lesson time: EarthBound is actually the second game in the Mother series, a trio of role-playing games designed by Japanese copywriter Shigesato Itoi. The series is named after the song “Mother” by John Lennon, as Itoi is a huge Beatles fan. Rather than a medieval setting with swords and knights, as was the norm for role-playing games of its time, the Mother series takes place in distinctively modern American settings with weapons like yo-yos and frying pans replacing swords and shields.

The first game, Mother, was released for the Famicom in 1989. Nintendo of America actually completely translated the game (renaming it Earth Bound, note the space) and had it all ready for a domestic release on the NES in 1991, but at the last minute pulled the plug on the project, citing the release of the Super NES as a reason not to invest in a release for an outdated console. In 1994, one of the prototype cartridges found its way to an online auction, and the ROM was extracted and circulated amongst fans as “EarthBound Zero.” I’m not going to explain how, but there ARE ways to play it if you look hard enough (it’s not that hard).

Mother 2 did see an American release as EarthBound, which you should know if you’ve been paying attention. The game came packed with a strategy guide and scratch and sniff cards all packed in a huge box, retailing for around $80, which was a lot of money for a video game back then. The game didn’t sell very well, despite Nintendo’s heavy marketing push, but the game came out around the same time as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, so that probably had something to do with it.

Nintendo’s marketing focused on some of the more juvenile aspects of EarthBound, mainly the character Master Belch, who is a talking pile of puke. While their target demographic was young boys, their marketing completely missed the point of the game. In Japan, the emotional impact of the storyline takes the forefront. The Japanese taglines for the games are “No crying until the ending” for Mother, “Kids, grownups, and even young women” for Mother 2, and “Strange, funny and heartrending” for Mother 3. The American tagline for EarthBound? “This game stinks.”

Mother 3 was in development for the Nintendo 64 for quite some time, even appearing as a playable demo at Spaceworld 99. It received a lot of attention from the American press as well, with Nintendo planning to localize it as EarthBound 64. It was ultimately cancelled, due to the team’s inexperience with working with 3D graphics. Mother 3 was actually released for the Game Boy Advance six years later in Japan with no American release. Again, if you want to play it (and you SHOULD, it was my fifth best game of the past 10 years) there are ways.

In a way, I almost feel like an outsider when it comes to EarthBound fandom. I love the games immeasurably, but I don’t have the… experience, I guess is the word, that the dedicated fans have. I wasn’t heartbroken when EarthBound 64 was cancelled. I didn’t cross my fingers waiting for news of an American release of Mother 3 when it was announced for the Game Boy Advance. Hell, when I first played Smash Bros I didn’t even know who Ness WAS. I feel like that kid in school who went out and bought a shirt for a band that everyone else liked.

Despite my horrible, crippling insecurities, it is neat to see what EarthBound fans can do, even if I do feel like I’m mostly watching from the sidelines. A visit to Starmen.net on any given day will expose you to dozens of lovingly crafted drawings, sculptures, plushies, and stories born from the love of the fans. They create entire albums of songs inspired by the series. The EarthBound Anthology is a 268 page fan-made book, of which only 16 are in existence, created to send to various members of the gaming press and Nintendo’s head honchos as a tangible example of the community’s soul. A very dedicated team, including Clyde Mandelin (who I was a fan of long before I played EarthBound, as he did the translations for the subtitled Dragon Ball DVDs) created a translation patch for Mother 3, allowing all English speaking fans a chance to finally experience the solemn tale of Tazmily Village.

I can’t take any credit for any of the community’s successes. If the EarthBound fanbase is a sports team, I’m the guy in the stands with the giant foam finger and painted chest. Despite that, though, it’s very interesting to feel what I feel about the series, knowing the emotions I went through (I cried at the end of Mother 3, and yes, you would too), and knowing that it’s only a fraction of what they feel. I admire, and actually kind of envy, their spirit.

Unfortunately, due to potential legal issues, it’s very unlikely that EarthBound will ever see a Virtual Console release on Wii. It’s an astounding, crushing shame, too, because there are so many more people who would fall in love with it if they were ever given the opportunity. I urge you to do what you can to track down a copy (eBay is a good place to start) and give it a shot. You’ll be glad you did.

As the unstoppable juggernaut of EarthBound fandom keeps steamrolling ahead, I’ll be close behind with my foam finger.