Earthbound (USA) (Proto) is the unreleased, fully localized English prototype of the seminal 1989 Japanese RPG Mother for the NES. Developed by Ape and Nintendo, this iconic role-playing game breaks from traditional fantasy tropes by placing players in a quirky, modern-day American setting. Armed with baseball bats, frying pans, and powerful psychic abilities (PSI), you must journey across the country to uncover the mystery behind an alien invasion, battling rogue hippies, wild animals, and strange machines along the way.
How to Play
Players navigate the overworld, recruit party members, and engage in turn-based, first-person battles. As an NES game, the controls are straightforward: use the D-pad (mapped to your keyboard’s arrow keys) to move your party, the A and B buttons (mapped to Z and X) to select commands, talk, check your surroundings, or cancel actions, and Start (Enter) to open the main menu and manage your characters.
Tips
- Check everything: Use the “Check” command frequently, as important items or clues are sometimes hidden in seemingly ordinary objects.
- Grind early: The beginning of the game can be quite difficult. Spend some time fighting weak enemies near your starting house to level up your PSI abilities and earn money before venturing too far.
- Manage your inventory: Each character has a limited inventory space, so regularly deposit excess items or cash by using a telephone to call your dad or speaking to your sister.
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