30 Years Later, Earthbounds Legacy Lives On in the Indie Gaming Space

While many iconic titles from the SNES era have become legendary within the gaming community, Earthbound stands out as an odd outlier in many regards. When it originally launched in 1994, Earthbound didn't receive the same critical reception that other titles released on the console that same year — like Donkey Kong Country and Super Metroid — had, and its bizarre marketing campaign in the West led Nintendo to deem it unsuccessful. However, 30 years after its release, Earthbound has finally found an audience as a cult classic, quirky RPG that has gone on to inspire dozens of successful indie titles in the modern age of gaming.

Titled Mother 2 in Japan and designed as a follow-up to the Famicom's Mother, Earthbound was the first of the series to be released outside of Japan, warranting a name change. While other SNES games of the time had connections to larger franchises and starred iconic characters, Earthbound lacked this key puzzle piece since its only predecessor was a Japan exclusive. However, despite flying under many players' radars at the time of release, the game has gone on to become a beloved title among classic JRPG fans thanks to its charming characters, quirky humor, and endearing story.

Earthbounds Cult Classic Potential Has Never Been Fully Realized by Nintendo

Although Earthbound has seen some degree of representation within Nintendo's catalog of iconic IPs, it has a hard time standing up against the likes of Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, and Animal Crossing. For the most part, Earthbound was the only entry in the franchise that ever made its way outside of Japan, that is until Nintendo released the original Mother on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015 as Earthbound Beginnings. Nintendo has thrown Earthbound a bone in other ways — like with the inclusion of protagonist Ness in the Super Smash Bros. series — but the IP has never really reached its potential with official content.

Fans Have Picked Up Earthbound's Legacy Where Nintendo Hasn't

Nintendo may be resistant towards new Earthbound content, but fans have picked up the slack over the years to fill in the gaps left by official releases. The Earthbound community is very dedicated to a game that has never seen an official sequel released in the West, though there has been a fan translation of Mother 3 and an infamous campaign to get it an official release. There have been other creative attempts to carry on the spirit of Earthbound through fan mods and ROM hacks, which have ultimately led to many spiritual successors in the form of stand-alone indie games.

Indie Games Have Carried the Torch for Earthbound in the Modern Gaming Age

Although Earthbound's brand of quirky humor weaved between surprisingly dark undertones may have been a one-time thing, at least in the West, many indie games have successfully replicated the feel of the game. These Earthbound-inspired indies like Undertale, OMORI, and Lisa: The Painful show a clear dedication to the style and charm that made Earthbound a unique experience for players and why it has persisted as a cult classic for 30 years. Many of them lean into aspects that Earthbound could only scratch the surface of, such as more overtly dark themes and even elements of horror in the case of titles like OMORI and Yume Nikki.

Undertale is likely the most famous Earthbound-inspired indie, with creator Toby Fox having created the Earthbound "Halloween Hack" as one of his first forays into the gaming space before creating the beloved indie. Other titles like OMORI have featured Earthbound's iconic format of a four-character party of children tackling darker themes than the game's charming exterior would have players believe. Even if Earthbound never sees a new entry, there are clearly passionate fans willing to play with many of the themes the game pioneered and create fantastic successors to the legacy Earthbound has left behind.