Return of the MOTHER Comic Series

Good ol’ kenisu once worked on a really good and detailed comic series about the often-neglected MOTHER 1 / EarthBound Zero. After a lengthy break, the series is finally underway again! If you haven’t seen it before, you’re missing out. See here!

Return of the School Band Stuff

Last year I posted about EBisumaru and a school band that played a MOTHER 3 song last year (see here). It’s gonna happen again this year, here are the details:

You’ve covered the GSO before, I thought you might want to again. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re a 100-person orchestra with chorus that plays video game music.

We’re having a concert on Saturday, the 8th of May. One of the songs played will be “Oh, Buta Mask!” I am told it is from Mother 3 and has multiple names. It’s kinda marchy. We’ll also be playing stuff from Final Fantasy, Katamari, Zelda, and more. There’s more info on our site: http://umd.gamersymphony.org/ , and MP3s right here: http://umd.gamersymphony.org/?page_id=16. We’re located near Washington, DC, in College Park, MD.

If you’re in the area, see if you can go! And if you can’t, then at least there are MP3s

Well, that’s all for this week’s super-quick round-up.

No related posts.

Anyway, let’s get down to it, here’s what EarthBound stuff happened in the past week elsewhere on the web.

Community News

• The HyperBound blog was updated a few times recently, definitely check it out!
• Will Earthbound be on the Virtual Console?
• 9 Fantastically Hard Boss Battles That Were Worth It
• Dear Nintendo: A Few Menial Requests from Your Dearest Fanboy
• This Mr. Saturn thing is actually kind of old, but still worth checking out

I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Things have been kind of quiet on the EarthBound merchandise front the past few weeks. Still, here are some recent things worth mentioning.

Remember, you can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• EarthBound complete set
• MOTHER 2 cart on sale for the next two days
• Mini Mr. Saturn plushes on sale for the next few hours!
• That $3000 copy of EarthBound is back
• MOTHER 1+2 Mr. Saturn preorder strap
• A bit lot of Super NES games, including EarthBound, Chrono Trigger, and more

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• Mr. Saturn stickers from that event last week
• MOTHER 1+2 Mr. Saturn Art Book
• Strategy guide for Itoi’s Super Famicom fishing game

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound cartridges starting at $88 this week
• EarthBound Player’s Guides starting at $65 this week!

What’s Up With Itoi

• I haven’t been paying too much attention to Itoi’s stuff lately, mostly I just gloss over everything looking for Mother series stuff now. But one thing I do recall is that he recently visited some cherry tree that’s over 400 years old or something like that. It’s cherry blossom season in Japan so he’s been talking about that on and off lately.

Final Thought

It’d be nice to think that all this recent revival of Mother series merchandise might mean something’s on the horizon or that Itoi’s interested in the games again. That’s just wishful thinking, though. I look forward to seeing all the new merchandise coming later this year at least.

No related posts.

Now let’s take a look at some other EarthBound stuff from around the net this past week!

Community News

• Mother 3: handbook
• Posthumous Cult Gaming
• Chewy translated some more of Itoi’s little stories
• Duelo de Bandas!

Boo. I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Some pretty interesting stuff this week, if you’re a collector then some of this stuff is a must-have

• Official (and rare) Nintendo Power EarthBound pogs!
• Rare EarthBound promotional ruler – being sold by a visitor here even!
• MOTHER 1+2 strategy guide for only $14 – very good price for this
• A cool MOTHER 2 4-panel manga I rarely ever see on eBay – I used to have a copy of this, it was cool
• EarthBound cartridge for $85 with buy-it-now
• EarthBound set with game, box, guide, and cards
• MOTHER 1+2 and MOTHER 3
• Ghost of Starman figure being sold by a fellow fan

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• A MOTHER 1 guide I always thought looked cool
• I dunno why, but this nose seems odd – I have one of these plushies but still, this looks strange for some reason, maybe it’s just my imagination
• MOTHER 2 store poster

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound carts starting at $85 this week
• EarthBound player’s guides are down to $65 this week!

What’s Up With Itoi

• There wasn’t too much of interest this week, but here are some pictures from his office from a few days ago:

Final Thought

Someone asked on the forums, “What EarthBound/MOTHER merchandise would you most like to have?” I think I’d have to say an EarthBound 64 prototype, there’d be so much neat stuff in there I think. But if I had to choose something that was actually for sale at some point, I’m not sure what I’d choose. I almost want to say the clay models from the guides, but those weren’t for sale either. Darn it, all the coolest stuff wasn’t for sale!

No related posts.

Community News

• Resultados passados:
• Another Update!
• Dreaming Like A Gamer: 03-13-2010
• The Ghost-Alien Agenda
• Earthbound is the greatest game ever.

My hair is attacking, so I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

After tons of awesome and rare merchandise, things were a little quieter this week on the swag front. Here are some of the highlights:

• Official MOTHER 2 novel! – a must-have for collectors
• This person is selling mini Mr. Saturn plushes in sets of two
• MOTHER 2 cart for only $9.99 or best offer
• MOTHER 1+2 Perfect Guide for a better price than usual – good condition too
• MOTHER 3 strategy guide for a better price than usual – also in good condition
• EarthBound Player’s Guide with all six smelly cards intact
• EarthBound, complete and in mint condition for $295
• Earthbound, complete and in mint condition for $3000?!

Remember, you can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• Set of four MOTHER 2 strategy guides! – man I wish I could afford to get these, the old guides are so awesome
• Rare-ish MOTHER 2 choose-your-own-adventure book

A set of FIFTY mini Mr. Saturn plushes – let’s see THEM ladder!

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound carts start at $85 again this week, not too bad
• EarthBound guides start at $84.99 this week, down one cent since last week. Yay?
• MOTHER 1 is back on Amazon!

What’s Up With Itoi

• Probably the most interesting thing this past week that Itoi talked about was how he’s often felt he’s in the absolute minority when it comes to certain things. One example he gives is that ever since he can remember he has peeled bananas by holding the black tip part facing up and peeling from there. At some point someone saw him do this and they were like, “What? You peel it that way? Nobody does that!” Itoi was surprised, but he only did what came to him naturally. He assumed that it wasn’t THAT surprising though, that probably 30% of people out there peeled it the same way.

  But over time he started to realize the ratio wasn’t even close to 10%. Then the Internet came around, so he looked it up and saw that indeed, most everybody peels it the opposite way he does, and that only monkeys peel it the way he does. So he says maybe he’s actually a monkey.in nature.

Final Thought

Do exploding trees actually exist? The concept always seemed so odd to me. Where would someone even get the idea for that?

No related posts.

Community News

• tattoos
• Eiffel 65 – Is That You?
• Important Importables: Notable fan translation projects
• Top 25 Favourite Games! (10-6)
• MOTHER 3: Ajuda dos fãs!

I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Things were a little slower this past week merchandise-wise. There were still some neat things and good deals, and here they are!

Remember, you can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• Official EarthBound Pogs – this auction’s STILL going? I wonder how much it’ll go for. I’d love to have more info on these, if anyone happens to get ahold of them
• MOTHER 2 Cartridge for only $10! – maybe even elss if you make a lower offer
• Official Mr. Saturn phone strap – the rare MOTHER 1+2 preorder bonus
• Extremely rare Mr. Saturn Art Book in mint condition + the plushie + insert!
• EarthBound, EarthBound Player’s Guide, and many other Super NES games!
• EarthBound complete with guide, box, cart, and various inserts
• More official mini Mr. Saturn plushies!

BTW, I’ve also noticed that MOTHER 3 Deluxe Boxes are getting very scarce on eBay and on Japanese sites. I checked, and the average price for them on eBay rose quite a bit in the past month. If you ever come across one for cheap, be sure to get it. They’ll probably only get more expensive as time goes on, much like EarthBound has.

Anyway, here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• A set of 10 mini Mr. Saturn plushes!
• Some rare Japanese Monopoly guide overseen by Itoi and APE

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound prices down to $85 this week!
• EarthBound Player’s Guides also starting at $85

Interesting how the game’s guide can fetch as much as the game itself!

What’s Up With Itoi

• This past week Itoi and everyone at his office went on a big trip. I didn’t pay too much attention, but it sounds like they might’ve gone to Kyoto this time. Last year they spent a lot of money and flew out to some islands. The trips are for letting off steam but also meant to give the employees ideas for stuff to write about or do projects about in the upcoming months.

Final Thought

If you haven’t yet, check out the Postcards for EarthBound thing!

And of course check out the new EarthBound Central forum!

Yesterday I hooked up my Super NES and played a little bit more of my game of EarthBound (using my crazy save file of course) and once again noticed how much better it felt playing the game on an actual system rather than emulation. I don’t know why that is, though. Anybody else been struck by this feeling? Or just the opposite?

No related posts.

Anyway, let’s have a look at what EarthBound stuff has happened elsewhere on the web in the past week!

Community News

• Cassie Haze’s retrospect on ebsaga.
• MOTHER x Nintendo of America
• Friday Fives – Worst Character Names
• If Mother 3 came to America…
• Mother 3 Awareness

I smell, so I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

The last few weeks have been exciting for merchandise collectors. Here’s some of the stuff on eBay from the past week that’s worth checking out!

Remember, you can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• Mega-ultra-rare EarthBound promo ruler! – Now you can measure the lengths of things too!
• Complete set of EarthBound pogs! – rare AND fadtastic!
• Rare MOTHER 3 Franklin Badge – doesn’t really deflect lightning though…
• Rare Mr. Saturn MOTHER 1+2 Art Book! – the Mr. Saturn plush and the box are in separate auctions for some reason
• MOTHER 2 for only $12!
• Mint EarthBound with original box and player’s guide
• Cute Franklin Badge made by Japanese fans and given out at Japanese conventions
• New mini Mr. Saturn plushes starting at $27.95!

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• Rare official MOTHER 3 t-shirt!
• Set of two MOTHER 1+2 strategy guides
• Cool-looking MOTHER 1 strategy guide – I miss the charm that old guides like this were filled with

Last week there was a GREAT deal on Amazon where someone was selling EarthBound + Player’s Guide for only $79.99. I usually post super-awesome deals that won’t last long on the site’s Twitter account, so check it out if you’re into that sort of thing.

Anyway, here’s some stuff on Amazon this week:

• EarthBound prices start at $89.99 this week
• EarthBound Player’s Guide starts at $125
• MOTHER 1+2 sountrack CD, new – only 1 left

What’s Up With Itoi

• This past week Itoi talked a lot about the Olympics and the various Japanese winners. Nothing else of much interest.

Final Thought

Has anyone sent in their postcards for the Postcards for EarthBound thing? If so, what kind of postcard did you send? What did you say on it? How much did it cost to send? Think it’ll make any difference? Tell us all!

Also, I just put up a banner for it here, but I’m horrible at making things like this. Would anyone be willing to make a better one? It needs to be 558×50. If anyone can help, that would be awesome + 2!

No related posts.

Community News

• Some Japanese folks look at one of the EB Central posts from last week, including many of the comments.
• Retro Gaming Life: Retro Game of the Week 028: Earthbound(NES)
• If You Want EarthBound On VC – Send Nintendo A Postcard
• Interview of customers vol.21 (Mother[GAME MUSIC] CD ALBUM)
• video game inspired figurines
• Novidades sobre EarthBound e MOTHER 3!
• Awnsering some questions
• Newspaper headlines from videogames

I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Again, the big news this week was the EB Zero prototype that sold for a ton of money, but here’s some other cool stuff showed up this week that didn’t get in the spotlight>

You can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• EarthBound (complete with box, guide, game, etc.) in mint condition, never been used!
• EarthBound in-store display card – this is the last one!
• EarthBound advertisement flier from 1995, including the $10 off coupon! – Really rare, also has scratch n sniff stuff.
• Mother Encyclopedia – this is the official player’s guide for Mother 1/EB Zero, and has a lot of the cool humor and stuff that the EB Player’s Guide had
• EarthBound cart + mini Super NES console + some more games
• EarthBound cart + EarthBound Player’s Guide
• Mr. Saturn plushes starting at $27!

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• SF Memory cartridge with MOTHER 2 on it – these were carts you could take to stores in Japan and have a game downloaded onto it for a small fee. They’re no longer in service, and finding one with MOTHER 2 on it will be pretty tough from now on. This is definitely something for serious collectors Some more info here.
• MOTHER 1+2 Alto Recorder music book

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound is at $89.99 this week
• EarthBound Player’s Guides at $125 this week

What’s Up With Itoi

• This past week Itoi mostly talked about the Olympics and Olympic-related stuff, it’s a really big deal over there. Someone from Japan won a bronze medal and a big congratulatory banner was added to Itoi’s site. Itoi also talked about how next month will have another one of his “everyone at the office goes on a big company trip”.

Final Thought

You know that MOTHER 1 novel summary I’ve been neglecting? I was thinking it might be neat if (whenever it’s done) we draw one picture per page and then put them together along with some narration to make a simple video version of the novel. That’s a lot of pages to draw though. Still, I think it could be interesting, and after that a MOTHER 2 version could be done. I actually gotta finish that darn M1 summary first though, but does that sound like a neat idea? Or is it lame and should be burned?

No related posts.

Okay, let’s see what EarthBound-ish stuff has happened elsewhere on the web!

Community News

• Regarding Earthbound on Virtual Console.
• Mother 3 (Earthbound 2) [GJ week 1]
• Games that offer commentary on the player isn’t exactly a new concept
• A Persona 4/Mother 3 mash-up, found on Danbooru…
• Mother 3 Gba | Good GBA Games

Sometimes I see dead people so I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Another awesome week for EarthBound merchandise collectors. Here’s some stuff from this past week that might be worth checking out.

You can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• EarthBound and 34 other Super NES games!
• MOTHER 1 (complete in box) + two cool-looking strategy guides – a very good deal, and the guides look cool
• EarthBound + guide + box
• MOTHER 2 cartridge for $9!
• EarthBound + EarthBound Player’s Guide + Super NES system + many other games
• Rare EarthBound in-store display box – the price has come down on these

And here are some of the new mini Mr. Saturn plushes:

• Mini Mr. Saturn Plush/Strap for $29.95
• Mini Mr. Saturn Plush/Strap for $28.89 each
• Mini Mr. Saturn Plush/Strap for $46.99 each
• Mini Mr. Saturn Plush/Strap for $29.95
• Mini Mr. Saturn Plush/Strap for $29.95

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• MOTHER 2 promotional in-store flier!
• MOTHER 2 in-store poster
• It’s Mr. Saturn mania in Japan!
• A ramen card game made by Itoi/APE

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound is at $89.99 this week
• EarthBound Player’s Guides at $125 this week

What’s Up With Itoi

• Itoi said that some people overseas sent him e-mails about how he’s horrible for raising his Jack Russell Terrier in an apartment in crowded Tokyo instead of a wide open area like a farm. Itoi spent his entire post that day explaining how he disagrees and how wonderful his experience raising his dog Bouillon has been. He really loves and worships that dog, so I think that e-mail must’ve made him mad.
• Every time the Olympics take place, someone from Itoi’s office is shut in a special room in the office called something like “Cafe Olympic” and they sit there and watch the Olympics all day and all night and talk about it on Itoi’s site. They even bring in sleeping bags and provisions. The Beijing games weren’t so long ago, so the “cafe” still had its sign on the door and everything.

Final Thought

I think I’m almost out of Where’s Ness stuff, which is sad. This week, I thought I’d show off some of the new banner ads for EarthBound Central that readers have been making

(these images are squished down to fit on this page, click them to enlarge)

(I made this one )

That’s not all of them; I still need to add some more and I might’ve missed a few. But so far it’s been a lot of fun working on these ads and seeing what people come up with.

If you want to make your own goofy banner ad for the site, see here!

No related posts.

Anyway, here’s what other EarthBound-related stuff has happened this past week throughout the information super-tubeway.

Community News

• MOTHER 3 For Haiti – happening later this week
• “Sorry, I’m Dead”: 30 Most Memorable Video Game Quotes
• Shigesato Itoi’s No. 1 Bass Fishing
• MOTHER 4?
• 8 Melodies
• Sound Current: ‘Fan-Fueled Retro Game Revival – Tokyo Big Sight’s Comic Market 77′

My face melted, so I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

The big EarthBound merch news this past week was the EarthBound display card that sold for $305 and the new mini Mr. Saturns that hit Japanese arcades. But here’s some other interesting stuff that showed up this week in case you missed it.

Of course, you can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• EarthBound Display Card! – here’s another one, probably won’t be as expensive
• New mini Mr. Saturn plushes for $50! – potential!
• EarthBound cartridge for $85 – $85 or less is where I personally draw the line for carts
• EarthBound + Strategy Guide
• MOTHER 2 / EarthBound comic: Ness’s Great Adventure – drawn by the game’s character designer and tells the full story of the game, someone was selling this for $165 used just the other day so this is a pretty decent price!
• MOTHER 2 cartridge for only $9.99!
• EarthBound Player’s Guide – strangely, these have been getting rarer and rarer this past month or two
• EarthBound, complete with game, guide, and box
• Shigesato Itoi’s No. 1 Bass Fishing (Super Famicom) complete, for only $5

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• Mini Mr. Saturns
• Nintendo Official MOTHER 2 Guide Book
• Set of MOTHER 1 guides

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound is at $89.99 this week on Amazon
• MOTHER 1 is available, for $25
• EarthBound Player’s Guide… for $200?! Ouch ouch

What’s Up With Itoi

• Nothing too much of interest this week. For some reason it seemed like it was “unusual headwear week” though.

Final Thought

The Where’s Ness stuff is running low, so this may be one of the last ones unless readers send some more in. This week’s looks pretty interesting, see what you can find!

No related posts.

Okay, here’s what other EarthBound-related stuff has happened this past week on the webitubes.

Community News

• EarthBound Brasil: MOTHER 3!
• PK Hackin’!

Not a whole lot this week, yikes. Still, I can’t possibly keep up with every single thing that happens in the EarthBound community, so if you’ve done something cool or if you know of something cool that belongs here, let me know!

Cool Auctions & Merchandise

Some pretty interesting EarthBound-related swag showed up this past week. Here are some of the highlights.

Remember you can also see all the EarthBound / MOTHER stuff on eBay all gathered in one handy place here!

• EarthBound cart for $79.99! – very good deal, the average price is close to the hundreds now
• Official MOTHER 2 Manga Comic Book for $25 – good price for something that’s hard to get outside of Japan. Definitely get this if you’re starting a collection!
• MOTHER 3 complete in box with instructions – good deal for a complete copy, most people try to sell just the cart for more!
• MOTHER 3 Deluxe Box – they’re rare even in Japan now, so get one while you can
• MOTHER 2 complete in box with instructions and other things for only $16!
• Giant Mr. Saturn Plush
• Super NES system (with box) + EarthBound, Chrono Trigger, Dracula X, Lufia 2, Super Mario RPG, and 42 other games!
• MINT MOTHER 3 Mr. Saturn Plushie
• Official MOTHER 1+2 Art Book w/ Mr. Saturn plushie – incredibly rare!!
• Saturnian Go Home – an incredibly rare MOTHER 2 / EarthBound doujin music CD!

And here’s some cool stuff on Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

• Set of two MOTHER 3 strategy guides and one MOTHER 1+2 guide
• MOTHER 2 + limited edition Takuya Kimura bandana – supposedly (I don’t know if this is true or not) this bandana came with people who bought the game early on. Kimura Takuya is the popular SMAP member who was in the MOTHER 2 commercials. We’ve seen another one of these bandanas in a past weekly roundup. Are these things really related to MOTHER 2? I’ll have to look into it sometime. If they are, though, they’re super duper rare and you should get this right now
• MOTHER 1+2 cart and MOTHER 3 cart – could probably get these cheaper here than on eBay…

And stuff on Amazon:

• EarthBound carts starting at $87.99 this week on Amazon – a decent drop from a few weeks ago
• MOTHER 1 is available on Amazon now!
• The official MOTHER 1+2 soundtrack CD is also available on Amazon – a bit overpriced if you ask me, though

What’s Up With Itoi

• This week Itoi talked about how his recent dieting has been working. It also looks like he’s a robot and that he recharges through a plug on his head:

Final Thought

This week we have another Where’s Ness, this one was submitted by Chasmang. I’m accepting Where’s Ness stuff from anyone, so if you make one, send it in and I’ll post it in a future weekly roundup

Okay, this time we’re in Magicant. See what you can find!

No related posts.