#earthbound64

The day has finally arrived!

EarthBound, USA, the documentary chronicling the saga of the EarthBound series in America and the lives it changed, is OUT TODAY! It's a milestone for video game documentaries.

Evolution of Design: Lucas

“Q: The main character [a boy] looks different from the last pictures. According to this document, you are still auditioning in regard to the main character?

A: Yes. The last one blew his audition. ” - Shigesato Itoi (Weekly Famitsu: June 1997)

A glimpse into the evolution of Lucas, the main character of MOTHER 3. Taking his name from the character of the same name from “The Notebook” trilogy, Lucas went through multiple different design changes during the game’s 12 year development cycle. 

The first row features the earliest design of Lucas, drawn by N64 Lead Character Artist Benimaru “Ashura” Itoh. In this sheet, while the style & look of the character had already been decided upon, they were still deciding on what clothes he would be wearing. Option A would eventually be chosen, and would be the design seen at the game’s reveal at Shoshinkai 1996 in November.

The second row features the redesigned & finalized design of Lucas made during the N64 era, also by Benimaru “Ashura” Itoh . Itoh mentions that the design was changed to something more straightforward due to the first design looking too similar to himself, which the developers did not like. His design could possibly be based on a young Leonardo DiCaprio or Macaulay Culkin, as multiple characters were designed to share likenesses with real life actors. This design & model would stick until the end of development, with only his textures being changed.

The third row features the designs made for the Gameboy Advance version of the game. Once development restarted in 2002, Brownie Brown artist Shinichi Kameoka made brand new designs for all the characters, with the intention of surprising fans & subverting their expectations. In 2003, a prototype was made, and while screenshots have been released, none of the characters there are listed as “Lucas”, which is why I have left it out. What’s notable about the prototype is Itoi’s response to the visuals, simply stating, “I knew it, this isn’t it.”

In his third year of high school, Bakugou’s parents give him the clear to start his medical transition. Kirishima tries to be as supportive as possible.

“I know this’ll sound horrible regardless of how I say it, so just listen – you’re always putting in that extra effort. Obviously you don’t have to – no one should expect you to –, but you do anyway. To prove yourself. To feel comfortable with yourself. I think I have to work hard to prove my manliness, too, but it can’t compare to what you put yourself through. You’ve made me realize how much I take for granted. So that’s something I admire - on top of everything else you do and are.”

For @juuzoujuuzou!

Sorry I couldn’t push Kaminari into it, the deadline kinda sneaked up on me. Hope you still enjoy it and have a splendidly gay day! ★

From Sketch to Game: Caves (Nintendo.com)

“An eerie subterranean scene with glowing roots providing illumination. An early look at the caves in a more distant view. ” - Nintendo.com (Mother 3: From Sketch to Game)

A glimpse into the creative process of N64 MOTHER 3. On the left, we see an early design of Lucas wandering around a dimly-lit cave, knife in hand, using a root to light the path forward. This piece is attributed to Benimaru “Ashura” Itoh, lead character artist & environment artist for the Nintendo 64 version of MOTHER 3.

Hard Rain (Spaceworld 1999 Trailer)

A powerful scene in the game. During the search for the family, Flint & the villagers of Tazmily run into a dead end in the form of fallen tree & a cliff. As Flint proceeds to leave, Boney notices something on top of the cliff, and lets out a howl. The song playing in this part of the game is “Hard Rain”, which uses the Pigmask leitmotif subtly in the background, and is most likely named after not only the fact its raining, but also because of the contrast between a similarly named song, “Gentle Rain”.