EarthBound Released on Wii U Virtual Console Today!

LoL haven’t touched my WiiU in a while, Waiting for it to update~

WOO

It’s also out in Europe, untranslated, despite the fact I saw the french trailer, and french website, which, by the way, has the Player’s Guide as well:
http://cdn02.nintendo-europe.com/media/downloads/games_8/wiiuvc_earthbound_2/WiiUVC_EarthBound_PlayersGuide_EN.pdf

They made quite some stuff for EarthBound.

They actually made a really nice site dedicated to the game. http://earthbound.nintendo.com/

HOLY DAKOTA

Waiting anxiously for it to release at 6 p.m. here in Germany. Can’t come soon enough.

I don’t have a WiiU either, but the guide is indeed available in digital format, even optimized for the WiiU gamepad.

Twas on this morning we heard angels sing songs of joy and wonder as they brought down a gift from the heavens from God herself. The Metatron said “Spread this gift to all you know for your time has come” and as the angels left we gathered around and we gazed upon the gift. We had our fastest men spread the word “It has arrived!” and we gave praise to our God.

Then we sat on our ass, handed over ten bucks to Nintendo, and played Earthbound.

I DON’T HAVE A WII U

WHY DON’T I HAVE A WII U

http://earthbound.nintendo.com/playersguide/#/75

Hey, they didn’t change the name of Dali’s Clock in the Player’s Guide.

All I need to do now is buy a Wii U, pay 10 bucks, and stay inside for about a week playing through this game. Hopefully I’ll remember what the sun looks like 😀

Wow, the strategy guide inclusion was unexpected… Judging from the version on the site, the attention to leaving all the original details intact is amazing, still has the old ESRB K-A rating and phone number.

I have never needed a new console so much.

My brother had just bought a Wii, I hope it was a Wii U. It would be great to play this on the TV screen.

In Europe it has been rated +12 (according to the trailer). I LOLed since it was rated for Everyone back in 1995 (in Europe that would be +3). XD

Now I need a WiiU. Oh, I hope I had money… :'(

???, are you implying they changed the name of that enemy in-game, then? Or are you just pointing that out because you were worried they had changed some of the enemy names and now you’re cautiously optimistic nothing was changed? Sorry, weird question but I don’t have a WiiU yet so I was curious.

By the way, despite having a PEGI 12+ and an ESRB T rating, it is rated 6 by the USK here in Germany. I always like those rating differences, it’s interesting regarding the different cultures.

THIS IS THE DAY
THIS IS THE DAY
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE STARMEN MADE

Now’s a good time to watch the prices on buyearthbound.com; it’s a safe bet the game’s average cost will drop noticeably over the next month or so.

Let’s freakin’ crash their eShop servers from the sheer force of downloads!

Wow, can’t believe they went the extra mile and even included the original Player’s Guide, this is amazing! Nice work, NOA!

I’m at work at the moment, can anyone tell me if it’s available on the Wii? It is it Wii U only?

Well, wasn’t expecting it to come out this early. It’ll be interesting to see the changes.

(For the record, I won’t be buying this because I don’t have a Wii U and I have no reason to buy one.)

I wonder how well the re-release will sell?

Tony, it’s not for Wii. Only WiiU.

WOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!JWEASHrIESIJRHADSHHK SO EXCITED!# KDJFALSJDFKL hdlajfsdf

why can’t I be home right now? :'(

It’s… beautiful (sniff)

I don’t really care if they change anything in this version or not. But I am very curious as to whether they did. If they changed the name in-game, they probably would have doctored the player’s guide to change the name in there too.

Good Job, Nintendo….now…IF YOU DON’T MIND…would you PLEASE make more games LIKE THIS.

I’m impressed that they made the strategy guide available for free as well; this is a heck of a deal compared to what they could’ve charged. Can’t wait to get it!

Holy crap, Ninja-release! Awesome idea with the Player’s guide, too.

Let’s hope the series’s massive international popularity translates to sales. If it does, it is very likely to make more money than the Japanese VC release. That would raise the chances of the other games being rereleased.

I agree, the inclusion of the player’s guide makes it worth charging $10 instead of $8 or whatever they charge for other SNES games.

Guys… they used Mother 3 music in that trailer.

I’m not one to hop on conspiracy theories, but they know how rabid we are. You don’t think…

Well, either way, that’s a weird choice.

Wasn’t expecting this to be such an extincting Thursday! 😀

Happy to finally see EB get a release! And you have to admit, NoA put some effort into that video and online Player’s Guide. Very awesome.

Got it! … Dang I hate it that my lunch break is almost over! >_<

@Chris Where? I’m pretty sure every song in there is from EB.

On a different note, the player’s guide PDF has relatively low scan quality. It’s lower than the fan-scanned version that’s downloadable on EBCentral. I was hoping they would have somehow salvaged the original digital copy that was used to print the guide in the first place, but I don’t know if that would have been possible. Or whether they had that technology back then in the first place.

OMG! It’s finally here! I just saw the video and I’m turning on my WiiU. Lol it brings tears to my eyes we’ve waited soooooo long and didn’t know if we should have hope. Oh joy!

Chris: I don’t hear Mother 3 music anywhere in there…

Ahhh, yup. Today I buy a Wii U. Been waitin for this but was expecting it around the holidays to be honest.
Sneaky sneaky Nintendo.

Yes! I am sooooo happy to finally see this day come!

Anyways though, I just downloaded this now (which, I’m posting this message from my Wii U), and right off the bat, I see 1 change:

They seem have changed the little sound effect that plays when you select an option or name a character (the sound that was Itoi’s voice altered to sound like garble). The new sound is higher pitched, and sounds like it is faster played compared to the original sound.

Now, I might be wrong, but I remember the original having a deeper sound, and this new sound sounds completely different. Can anyone else confirm this?

YES YES YES YES!! 😀 😀 Today is a fantastic day! I can’t believe it finally happened! *throws confetti at everybody*

(on another note, take a look at the rating on the site! http://earthbound.nintendo.com/
Rated T?? For Fantasy Violence, mild blood, suggestive themes, and crude humor… good grief, I guess the ESRB went back on their other rating? I don’t understand??)

So I guess I have to ask… if anyone is playing this right away, can you tell if any of the text got changed? Just curious ;)…

Yeah the rating is a bit surprising… but I guess it makes sense in a way due to all the little things. Still, I don’t understand how all that got added up to be a “T”. Who knows what Mother 3 will get?

Anyway, I’m just overwhelmed with joy. I can’t wait to buy it!

@ Xenobound64

It sounds the same to me.

Hey kind of unrelated, but since now I’m gonna buy this thing. Can you watch either HULU or Netflix or some other such TV streaming program on the Wii U?

Xenobound64, sound differences like that are usually something about their emulator, not a deliberate change.

AAaaAAhaaAAAHHH!!!!
it’s here!
it happened!

It’s… it’s beautiful.
Should have sent a poet.

Thank you Itoi-San.

@misterdigi

If you’re saying you’re going to buy a Wii U, then yes, it has the ability to use Netflix, Hulu and the Amazon streaming service.

What a pleasant surprise! I wasn’t expecting this until the end of the year, and I definitely wasn’t expecting the guide. Today is a good day!

OMFG!!! I’m so happy!!! I can’t believe after all of these years, Nintendo actually listened!?!?!

I’m curious to know if there are any differences between the re-release or not!

I’m bursting with excitement! I’m elated, I have ascended to a new height of existence! I can’t be dreaming, I can’t! Have fun!

I wish I had a Wii U. 🙁

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZKxsnCiXHk

Here’s a video of the first 30 minutes. Pokey’s still Pokey.

Wow they really put a lot of heart into that promo!

Man, THIS is what I wake up to? Bought it immediately. I’m just so happy right now.

Good news: EarthBound’s here!
What could make this day better?
MOTHER 3, perhaps?

I was a little curious to see if the guide was just a scan of the original, or if they had updated it.
Sure enough, it is exactly the original, as evidenced by the same original error being present in the scan:

http://earthbound.nintendo.com/playersguide/#/114

The Kraken is still listed as being the enemy that drops the elusive “Gutsy Bat”. Looks like brand-new gamers will truly get to experience the original, complete with completionists’ frustration over trying to get this item!

downloads and updates took forever! that’s a good sign! rejoice! my body is ready!

Step1: Complete

Step2: get Mother 1 and 3 out overseas.
Status: Currently being executed

I can’t watch the video right now so I don’t know if that answered my question, but is it offered for a limited time only? I don’t own a Wii U now, but I’m planning on getting one by the end of the year. It’ll probably be later rather than sooner though, so I want to know if I’ll have the chance to get Earthbound for the Virtual Console. I’m lucky in that my dad got me and my brothers a copy of Earthbound (with the strategy guide!) back in the day, so I don’t need the VCR version, but I’d love to show my support for the game!

Also: first time commenting, but I love the site and I’ve been coming here for a while, thanks for all the great posts!

@ Lane

No it isn’t for a limited time.

I downloaded it and played till my GamePad nearly died. I then rated it a five on the eShop.

Can anyone confirm if the graphics for the PSI animations were filtered like the Japanese version? Almost looks like the original in the promo video, but it’s hard to tell…

Here is what I came by with my playthrough. There are sound changes. Most tracks have been given a heavier bass line and a few things are higher pitched. I understand giving EB a better bass line but the higher pitched sounds?

Thats great. I just saw the trailer on the 3DS eshop, had no idea it was already out.

@BlueToad It might be the emulation that responsible for minor sound changes like that.

So sad that I don’t have a Wii U…. wish I could get for the 3DS as well…. maybe…. just maybe Mother 3 will be one day……

Guys, I am so happy!

But when I went to buy it, it was rated T for Teen.

Huh? Did not stop me from buying it, but it made me go, ” Wait, I am buying Earthbound, correct?”

As soon as I saw this headline, I squealed with joy.

sorry guys. i got confused when hearing the Porky/Giygas battle themes. I guess it has been too long.

first day one purchase i’ve ever made. it was so worth it.

ITS HAPPENING

On a related note, the game got a T/Pegi 12+ rating? Erm, something is wrong there…

“Can four not-so-average kids save the world from aliens and certain destruction? Adventure… Excitement… Trout Yogurt!”

I cried. That was so brilliant. Imagine if they originally used that as an advertisement rather than “This game stinks!”. I imagine the game would have been MUCH more popular back then.

Which reminds me. I really want to replay good ‘ol EarthBound now.

Guess I’ll do it right now. See ya later trout yogurt folks!

It came out? EPIC! I was so not expecting this though… T_T I was hoping for a release date ahead of time so that I could start saving for a Wii U… oh well I’ll still get it eventually.

*sobs* Why must I be cursed to not have a Wii U?

I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. Unfortunately, my eShop funds are short by a dollar, so I’ll need to buy an eShop card later.

Haha, wow. I *just* finished a playthrough on my Super NES for the first time in a couple of years. As soon as I finish, the WiiU version for the masses, so now everyone can play.

Sadly, I won’t be buying this as I don’t have a WiiU (if it was on Wii, I’d pick it up) and already own the original cartridge, but I do hope this sells well.

Hey Mato, how long do you think it’ll be before the eBay prices for actual copies start going down? Especially with the player’s guide being included, the price of that will likely go down as well.

Also, any chance of another live stream playing through it and looking for potential differences? :p

I’m one of those poor, deprived people who never got to see the Player’s guide. But no more! I look forward to the day when I’ll finally get a Wii U. In the meantime, I guess I’ll be geeking out over the player’s guide.

Fans prayed from the bottom of their hearts. Their prayers touched the heart of Satoru Iwata.

Iwata prayed for the fans having never met them.

Iwata continued to pray.

Giygas is defeated. EarthBound comes out on Virtual Console.

The war against Nintendo is over.

Why does the ESRB rating list Blood? I don’t remember blood in this game. I know there was some in the first game, which got edited out for the US prototype, but i don’t remember anything in this game. Or am i forgetting something?

Of course, it comes out and I conveniently have no money.
It was 30 yen in Japan, that’s like 30p, why couldn’t that make it that cheap?

Screw the rating boards! I could easily buy EarthBound or Ocarina of Time of a 7-year old kid.

@JamesBond007: Most stores do not worry about selling games to younger than their ESRB rating unless the game is rated M.

@Covarr: That’s good, but in my country (Poland) is even better – even a kid should be able to buy a game rated 18+.

@The Great Morgil

The Kraken and Bionic Kraken have blood on their tusks and mouth.

Mondo Mole as well
Dripping orange from claws and teeth
May be seen as blood.

Man, I wish this was on the Wii also. I’m holding off buying a Wii U until Smash Bros. 4 comes out. Why does Nintendo gotta cockblock me like this!? >_>

Mondo Mole may be considered bloody as well… maybe.

Oh man, I don’t think I’ve commented on any EB related sites since like 2011, but wow. I don’t even have a Wii U and I already have the SNES cart, but this almost makes me want to buy a Wii U.

Are there any changes in this version of Earthbound? If so, what are they?

As far as I am aware, nothing has really changed apart from some animations that have been toned down to prevent seizures.

This is currently confirmed only in the Japanese version. They are unchanged on the trailer. Someone needs to check the English version itself.

Kids, grownups, and even young women.

Everybody say, “Fuzzy pickles!”

I was hoping EarthBound would be available for purchase through the original Virtual Console in addition to the Wii U Virtual Console since I don’t have a Wii U system and have no interest in getting one (unless my original Wii system malfunctions).

The ERSB site doesn’t go into detail on the rating. Ah well.

I wasn’t prepared for this! haha I was so sure they were gonna release it around Winter, late Fall at least. I was planning to purchase a Wii U around August but I might get it a bit sooner. I loved the trailer and the entire original guide being online. Little things like that made my day.

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD! its here finally!

I’m so excited for all who can finally enjoy this gem! I am currently almost done with my first playthrough of this awesome game. (I just made it to the Lost Underworld.) I bought a cartridge on Ebay for $126, and it was worth every penny. I’m telling you, $10 is way more than a fair price. This game is huge!

It’s too bad the guide sucks so much. I tried it on my iphone but it’s not really useable on that platform. I tried it on my gamepad and the pages load very slowly and I think it may be skipping pages although I dunno for sure. Pages just come up for a sec before loading a different page and I’m only pretty sure some skipping’s going on. Also, it doesn’t seem like the guide can be accessed from within the game’s VC menu, so most people won’t even know it exists :/ At least it’s there rather than notttt. Would rather just use a pdf though.

I’ve read a lot of complaining today (gamefaqs, few forums, and even on the comments here) Just be happy it’s out. This is a day so many people have been waiting for, but yet people still gotta find something to b**** about. The guide is a very nice little extra, just be grateful it’s there. With the prices. $10 is a good price. Then debating about whether or not the game will go down, don’t worry about something you can’t control. To the people complaining, do you really want to look back at today and remember how you complained?

It’s probably rated T because of Giygas, abortion is more of a controversial issue today then it was in ’95, Giygas could be considered a statement on the evils of abortion, and the idea of fighting “the great and evil super demon fetus” might not go well with mom and dad and give little Jimmy a lot of nightmares that night.

Are you out of your mind? Giygas isn’t a fetus and there are 0 references of abortion in the game

Can anyone tell me how the users have currently rated the game on the eShop? I don’t have a Wii U (yet) so I don’t know. Also, does it say how many people have downloaded it so far? If so, how many have?

@Curmudgeon: Your new to the community aren’t you…

That’d be a good reason for a rating drop if anywhere in the game it stated “fetus” or “abortion,” but as it is, that’s just a theory more than anything and people take it way too far sometimes and I hope this conversation doesn’t derail into discussion on it because it goes nowhere.
—-
As for the Virtual Console rating bump, my opinion is that there are a few lines with mild sexual undertones, (Suggestive Themes) ergo almost anything with Venus, or how the NPC near the hotel reacts to the zombie chick in Threed, which sexual themes generally call for a Teen rating. And heck, Ocarina of Time got considered for a T-rating for Ganondorf’s blood spit-up until they made it green, so the blood reason makes sense too for the few enemies that have it. (Mondo Mole springs to mind.)

So I think the Teen rating is given simply for the reasons it says next the big “T” in the rating – crude humor, blood, suggestive themes. (and mild violence but whatever, not really.)

It’s not always a black-and-white, single reason for changing a rating, and honestly even discounting Giygas I think it’s a justified rating.

Someone at GameFAQs claims that music track from hotel (after you rest and regain HP/PP) was removed.

The Beatles “Gold Morning” thingie? That’s still there.

good not gold lol

I dunno if anybody else noticed, but when the pages of the digital guide are loading, it displays a hovering image of the Lil’ UFO clay model from Mother 1. So, it certainly seems they they’re aware of it to the extent that NOA has current files of those images that they can pull up if need be.

guys
guys
GUYS
It’s already rated #2 for “most downloaded” on the eshop in terms of recent releases

wow. Nintendo BETTER release MOTHER 3 and MOTHER 1 worldwide.

REALLY!!!
That Could Give MOTHER 1 & MOTHER 3 A Chance!!! 😀

How many glitches are fixed? Is the tree death glitch fixed? How many new glitches?

Never thought it would be rated T, but I’m ecstatic that we finally get this game. 😀

I just used PK Rockin’ and it doesn’t look washed out like that Japanese video Mato posted a while back.

I am not kidding. I just today got a $1,100 gaming computer to work with a $150 1080p monitor. My last computer was 10 years old and could hardly run any games at all. I go on Twitter… EarthBound is released!? Best day of my life. BAR NONE. Such a drain on my money though, Dead Island and GTAIV were both on sale for five bucks today, plus the other games I was planning on getting already, and AAAHHH!!! I already bought my copy by the way, I hope everyone else does the same~!

By the way, who’s cool with dubbing today the new EarthBound Day?

I made a quick little video expressing my feelings to this news.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7mucrwRZmI&feature=youtu.be
If I get you to chuckle I’m pretty happy

@Morgil It’s only certain PSI moves – and from the trailer you can see Starstorm looking faded. It’s only one form of Rockin that does it as far as I know.

Can’t wait to see what IGN gives this game. If they review it that is. And they should.

awesome!! i really like the video they did for it, and i love that they put the guide online! i got the game as soon as i saw it was available.

FUCK WHAT AM I GOING TO BUY.
A WII U AND EARTHBOUND.

OR TAILS OF XILLIA AND PROJECT DIVA F.
….
Earthbound.
Fuck it I can wait for rhythm games.

Itoi’s voice is higher pitched and faster, but I think that was unintentional. It sounds like a fairly standard emulation glitch, where sound samples are played back at incorrect (usually faster) speeds because the sound system was imperfectly emulated. Frankly, even ports can get sound quality wrong, as in the case of Chrono Trigger DS where a large number of sound effects are way off from the original (the music is unaltered though, except for fading from one track to the next). Sadly, I think the vocal sample during the end credits may suffer from the same fate as a result.

Just to be clear, there’s no way they felt the need to alter it intentionally because that was Itoi’s own voice there, so there are no legal issues whatsoever.

By and large though, the emulation is very well done. I have yet to see any in-game changes related to the copyright concerns. That makes sense, because this is an emulated ROM, and making such alterations would have required digging around in the ROM itself. They tend to stick to messing around with the emulator if they feel the need to make changes, like the less flashy battle effects.

YAY! WOOOOOOOO! 🙂 🙂 🙂

@ Jaxonflex Bartholomew

There is only 79 ratings on this game. 78 are 5★ and 1 is 4★.

As for purchases there are just under 6,000 people in the Miiverse community, it is not an exact science but it is pretty close to the actual number. I would like to also say that this number doesn’t include the people that do not use miiverse. Only the ones that enter the Earthbound community.

I wonder if Nintendo has any plans to release through the original Virtual Console service in addition to the Wii U Virtual Console service? In case they don’t, I suggest contacting their subsidiary in Redmond, Washington (Nintendo of America) about the idea through the customer service section of their official World Wide Web site.

As the TF2 soldier might say…

“Today is a good day.”

I guess i’m buying a Wii U!

@Dominic C

The fact that TF2 is kind of meh with all the focus on HATS sort of kills the reference.

Here’s a better reference:

Iwata: “We have both good and bad news. The good news is that EarthBound just came on the Wii U Virtual Console, and you can use the price tag for it as a weapon free of charge.”
Itoi: “The bad news is that I found the price tag attached to EarthBound on the Wii U Virtual Console and it read ‘$10’.” *fanbase proceeds to grab a stick and beat the crap out of Iwata just before they try to hit Itoi and get arrested with charges of ‘manslaughter’ while the track ‘Confused’ is playing*

They still have all the rights and everything to Mother/Earthbound Zero right? Maybe they should release that next… seems like it would be relatively simple to do.

Im getting a nervous breakdown from all the people online who say, Its to expensive! If you got enough money to get a Wii U, you probably have 10 to get Earthbound… I guess its time to see how much of a fan some people are now that they can actually spend on the game and not only play it on emulators.

Yeah, I’m really surprised too. $10 for a good game isn’t bad. $10 is like the price of a pizza or a couple burgers, stuff people will buy on a whim, enjoy for a few minutes, and then forget about. Sure, it costs like $2 more than other SNES VC games, but $2 is like the price of a soda.

…I guess I’m hungry.

Nerdgasim!!!

Same thing I say Mato, I guess nintendo is going to put this on sale latter (quite latter if you ask me). But really, Kids these days don`t know the value of a good game, the Ipad generation has ruined them.

Not to mention that this Ipad generation swap between mobile/app games every two to three minutes.

The guide appears utterly unchanged. It appears to be a direct scan. The PDF version loads just fine in iBooks on an iPad, so it makes for very handy reading while playing the game.

As I said, THE GUIDE IS UNCHANGED!

http://earthboundcentral.com/2011/11/the-gutsy-bat-is-a-lie/

This means the guide still says Krakens drop the Gutsy Bat, when in reality the Bionic Kraken drops it.

Looks like they kept the soft PSI animation changes from MOTHER 2 U when using PK Rockin gamma and Starstorm.

When I started My Wii U today I yelled “EARTHBOUND IS HERE!!!WHOOOOOOO!” Then collapsed to my floor coausing my Mother to run into the room…I was happy even though she yelled at me for scaring her.

Page 113 of the guide still has Ness’s Magicant clothes from the Japanese version!

is there a way to download the digital guide?

never mind. I some how missed it in the article : P thanks for the link to the PDF

“EB on VC in July.” The prophecy came true. http://starmen.net/ebvc/

Why is it rated Teen now, when it was rated E (or K-A as it was called back then) when it first came out? Is Earthbound now considered more graphic in content to today’s standards or something?

So glad we finally got it! I’m really enjoying it so far 😀

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!! WOOHOO!!

I kept my word. I bought a Wii U yesterday just to get this game. Thanks Nintendo!

So what’s the real reason Nintendo of America waited so long to touch EarthBound?

We have done it…we have made EarthBound in the Wii U! (and Wii) Now…charge! Go after that game and we shall play!

Looks like none of this crap actually matters/mattered.

http://earthboundcentral.com/2009/02/earthbound-legal-issues/

I don’t really care for the minor changes that I can barely see at all. I just want to play it and enjoy how games are.

Just finished the game at about 7AM, been playing almost nonstop.

Perfect time to get a Wii U too

Super Mario U Dlc super luigi U dlc in June

Earthbound July

Pikmin 3 August

Wonderul 101, Rayman Legends September

Zelda the wind waker remake, sonic lost world November

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed 4 in November

Super Mario 3D world in December

Also many games unannounced

As for earthbound being released in general. If you mother fans want mother 3 mother 1 or any slim chance of a mother 4 on 3DS or wii U. go pick up a wii U and download earthbound. It’s already the #2 seller of all time on the eshop in just 4 days. Idc if itoi said no mother 4, mother is a nintendo property, no matter what he says nintendo can make it or buy out whatever they need to make it happen if they think it’ll sell

I wish I had a wii u so I could support earthbound. sadly I don’t have 300 dollars to spend.

Anyway, does this mean I can legally download and print the guide?

We need a comparison guide, stat!