Earthbound 64
After months and months of silence, new information about Nintendo's premier roleplaying adventure is beginning to trickle out. The big news first: Earthbound 64 (or Mother 3, as it is called in Japan) will be a 256 megabit (32MB) cartridge game, just like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. 
Incidentally, EarthBound was thought to be one of the most important launch titles for Nintendo's oft-delayed add-on, the 64DD. The decision to bring the game out on cartridge can only be seen as an indication for more delays, or ultimately the complete cancellation of the 64DD -- at least in the United States. Although Nintendo confirmed the game's move to cart to the Japanese press, the EarthBound team is also working on an add-on disk that will give gamers the chance to revisit the lands of the cart RPG again and live through different quests and adventures. 
EarthBound 64 (Mother 3) takes off somewhere after EarthBound left off. Because there are multiple chapters in the game, the programmers have decided not to go with one set main character. In fact, there are more than 10 playable characters in all and each one will be used for different chapters (quite similar to Square's Live-A-Live, a Super Famicom RPG that sadly never made it out in the west). However, you won't have to completely say good-bye to a character once you move to a new chapter: One main character in one chapter may be a tag-along character in another. 
So, what's so special about EarthBound 64? Well, originally, Nintendo was promising that the game would set a new standard in RPGs through the use of the 64DD's special capabilities. The game is said to deliver a unique playing experience for every separate individual who purchases the game. For example, a player could theoretically plant some seeds, growing a tree in a certain area of the game, which would in-turn help him to climb a high cliff. Another player might choose to simply go another route around the cliff. The ambitious plan said that there wouldn't be a set path, in other words, and multiple possibilities are at the disposal of the player. Another example provided by art director Mr. Benimaru Itoh, showed how certain actions determine the routine of the game; Say a player mistakenly drops some of his food on the ground as he makes his way through the forest. The left-over food could draw a hungry monster to the area and battle could ensue. 
Another highly touted feature was the use of the 64DD's internal clock, where you might leave the game as your player is resting at nightfall and when you return in the morning it will be morning in the game as well. Now that the game is confirmed for a cart (plus add-on) release -- the question arises what will happen to all these proposed features. Will the game not make use of extensive saving and customization to deliver a more unique quest? Nintendo could theoretically aim to include larger S-RAM chips in the cartridge that would allow for much data to be saved, but since the game's cartridge already runs at a huge 256 megabits, the cost would probably be prohibitive. The more likely explanation is that Nintendo will simply scale down their ambitious project and deliver a more "traditional" RPG, while leaving many of the customization options for the optional disk version, which would be released at the same time. 
Using 3D texture-mapped polygons, characters progress through a vividly lush rendered world of beautiful, dark forests and off the wall technology. Developers promise that the game will take somewhere around 40-60 hours to beat for the experienced RPG playing community, and much longer for some. Though not much is known about the new storyline of the game yet, we do know that the game will span over 10 years through multiple worlds consisting of fantasy, medieval and science fiction. 
Gamers will be able to visit Tatsumairi Village and chat with hundreds of characters, enter houses and stores and search for items. Scenes from the game so far show a western setting with a Clint Eastwood lookalike character, a dark forest infested with gigantic dragon creatures, and lots of scenes involving EarthBound's music band. The plot looks as off-beat as in the original EarthBound and involves plenty of mayhem caused by the evil Pig army, who try to enslave mankind with the help of their primitive machinery. 
Although Nintendo of America is still keeping quiet about its release plans, the move to cartridge is ultimately a good sign that the game will come out here. We're only worried that Nintendo is sacrificing much of its original design and innovative concept when squeezing the game into a cart. According to Nintendo, Mother 3 is right on schedule and should come out around the same time as the 64DD -- and the mysterious Mother 3 add-on disk. Whenever that may be... 
Look for more on EarthBound 64 later this year.
Email: kingpanther@angelfire.com
