Created in 1995, Earthbound was a huge seller for the Super Nintendo. It was directed toward the audiences of kids, but for those in the older bracket of age, it was arguably one of the most disturbing yet brilliant games of its time. The Ideology within Earthbound is simply this: The world is corrupt. The game portrays this actually quite blatantly. You see, the main antagonist, Giygas, has settled upon Earth and hopes to destroy it. His presence is quite apparent, though no one is able to notice it except Ness, the main protagonist. To be perfectly honest, a player, usually that of a young age, could play Earthbound and think it was just an average RPG with a weird story. Why? Well, throughout the game you will go to many different locations across the planet. And with location, there will always be people wherever you are. For younger players, they will simply only talk to people who will help them progress through the story on to the next task (This information is usually found in the game guide or online). For older players who appreciate the challenge of figuring things out on their own, talking to everyone was simply a part of the game. This is where you discover Giygas’ influence at a more psychological level.
Giygas is evil, but not only that, he’s vast mentally and physically. He is omnipresent on the Earth and his influence touches all. This is shown throughout the game as you talk to different people. The “true” nature of the person comes out, but they think it’s just normal behavior. This is further emphasized by the fact that Ness does not speak. This forces the player to focus on the person’s words and not be distracted by their (Ness’) personal thoughts on the matter. Examples of such disturbing occurrences are when people tell Ness to simply steal something if you don’t have it, violence is ok because it’s fun, disturbing philosophical false-truths about the world from average people, or even the temptation from a prostitute. It’s a deep and vast game that leaves an imprint on your heart. It really makes you think, especially at the end when you challenge Giygas. I say this because the game’s ideology isn’t just that the world is corrupt.
In the Final battle between Giygas and Ness, you quickly find out that physical attacks aren’t working anymore as you progress through the battle. At the verge of death you realize the one thing that will kill Giygas: prayer. You have to pray to defeat Giygas. And when the final blow is struck after all the people you’ve met throughout the game join in prayer, Giygas utters his final and only coherent words: “It hurts…” Earthbound’s final ideology is this: The world and its inhabitants are corrupt, but no matter how evil and how corrupt someone can be, goodness and love will prevail.
2 Peter 3: 10-13.
“10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
There are some people within Earthbound Ness impacts with his actions, so they become good and act right later on. There were also some who were genuine and pure of heart. These people all survived Giygas’ reign. These are the people who were ready for Ness’ victory or essentially “The Day of the Lord.” These people are the people we should strive to be like. We should learn from our mistakes and do right in the sight of the Lord. I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually played the game, but I watched my brother play it from start to finish when I was in middle school. I apologize for the lengthiness of this post, but I feel there is so much one could gather from playing this game. Well alrighty, that’s my analysis.
Kame San123 Community Member 
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