FEATURES - EarthBound - Mother 2 Game Description :: In 1994, Shigesato Itoi set his sights back on Mother to create an updated version for the Super NES. With better graphics, a more intricate plotline, and a unique approach to doing away with archaic random battles, Mother 2 became an instant success in Japan. This time around, with more RPGs being released in the United States every year by companies like Square and Enix, Nintendo decided to try marketting the Mother series in America. And so came June 15th, 1995, the day we all had our first encounter with the most amazing game in history, the English-translated Super NES monster of a sleeper hit, EarthBound. EarthBound showed us how to have a good time with RPGs by treating us to a fantastic adventure not too different from everyday life. We got to do ordinary things like riding on busses and bicycles, ordering delivery pizza, and grabbing cash with ATM cards, while still going on a fantastic adventure, travelling through time in lifeless robot shells and bashing up dinosaurs in an underground lost world. Not unlike Mother, the game starred a young man, this time named Ness, and his three friends, caught up in a world-saving prophecy having to do with evil brainwashing aliens and ancient psychic powers. In short, it was a 1990's childhood dream. It's good that Japanese game players seem more interested in playing a fun game with quirky characters and a neat plotline, but, unfortunately, most Americans are only looking for a glittery game with state-of-the-art graphics and generally very little more. As if it needs to be said, EarthBound didn't do as hot as it should have in the US. Despite the poor sales, true fans have stuck around through the years, and the online EarthBound fan base has gelled into one of the most dedicated video game groups around. Shigesato Itoi had finally acheived video game perfection with Mother 2, but until either the release of a more eye-catching game or a tidal shift in the market's taste in games, the US has yet to truly discover the greatness of the Mother series.