EarthBound

A turn-based JRPG and sequel to the then-Japan-only Earthbound Beginnings (1989) in which Ness, a young boy living in a land based on the USA, leaves home to go on an adventure through strange locations, get…

93 27 August 1994

Adventure Role-playing (RPG) Turn-based strategy (TBS) Action Drama Fantasy Science fiction

EarthBound is an adventure developed by Ape, released 27 August 1994 on New Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Game Boy Advance and Super Famicom. The main story takes about 25 hrs to finish.

Verified 15 Oct 2026 Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What EarthBound is

EarthBound is an adventure game developed by Ape and released in 1994. It was published by Nintendo. It is available on New Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Game Boy Advance, Super Famicom and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The premise, in the publisher's words

The story begins when Ness is awakened by a meteor that has plummeted to the earth near his home, whereupon he proceeds to investigate the crash site. When Ness arrives at the crash site, he finds a police roadblock and Pokey Minch, his friend and neighbor, who tells him to go home. Later, Ness is woken up again by Pokey knocking at his door, demanding help to find his brother Picky. They find him asleep behind a tree near the meteor and wake him. Then the three encounter an insect from the meteor named Buzz Buzz, who informs Ness that he is from the future, where the "universal cosmic destroyer" Giygas dominates the planet. Buzz Buzz senses great potential in Ness and instructs him to…

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are action, drama, fantasy and science fiction. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component.

Where it sits in the Earthbound series

EarthBound is the second of 15 entries we hold in the Earthbound series. It arrived 5 years after Mother. The next entry was Super Smash Bros. in 1999. Its critic score of 93 is 2 points above the series average of 91. The highest-rated entry is Super Smash Bros. Melee at 100.

See all 15 Earthbound games in release order →

How it was received

EarthBound holds a critic score of 93 out of 100. That places it above 98% of the 7,525 rated adventure games in our database, which average 72. Games released in 1994 averaged 72, so it scored 21 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 91, across 575 votes.

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 25 hrs.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for EarthBound yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

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