Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings land onto Switch today
The cult classic SNES RPG and its oft-forgotten predecessor join the Switch NES and SNES Online service.
With the announcement of a new Nintendo Direct yesterday, every single Nintendo fandom was abuzz with excitement. The Mother / Earthbound fan community was no exception, with many hoping for some news of a Switch port of the classic Super Nintendo game, or perhaps even a new game entirely.
While that latter idea didn’t come to pass, there was some good news for Earthbound fans: Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings are coming to Nintendo Switch Online later today.
Sadly, there was no mention of Mother 3… but we can still hope!
See the trailer for Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings on Switch below, courtesy of IGN on YouTube:
Playing Earthbound on your Nintendo Switch
The quirky and beloved RPG Earthbound, also known as Mother 2 in Japan, remains a dear treasure to many who grew up with it in the 90s. Ness’s inclusion in the Super Smash Bros. series and the fervent fan community has kept it alive even 16 years after the release of the latest game in the franchise, Mother 3. And while not nearly as cherished as its sequel, Earthbound Beginnings (Mother in Japan) began a lot of series traditions that Earthbound would improve upon.
Leading up to the Direct, a few signs pointed towards an Earthbound-related announcement. First was the fact that Nintendo’s NES and Super NES online servers were going down for maintenance following the Direct — an indication that Nintendo planned to add games to the services.
Then there was a cryptic retweet of the Direct announcement by Earthbound‘s creator Shigesato Itoi. Many interpreted Itoi’s strange message about snow falling as a bizarre confirmation of incoming Earthbound news.
While it’s not the fabled Mother 4 that many were hoping for, it’s a sign that Nintendo still cares about its crazy little cult classic. And now that it’s on Nintendo’s best-selling home console, Earthbound is set to be exposed to a whole new audience. That’s a win in our books.
Earthbound is available today on the Nintendo Switch Online’s Super NES library, while Earthbound Beginnings joins the NES lineup. Both games are available now, provided you have the latest SNES / NES Online update.
Are you excited to jump back into Earthbound? Or will you be playing it for the very first time? Let us know!
