EarthBound Beginnings

Bugs

In the final area of the game, Mt. Itoi, there are enemies there that can kill your characters in one hit. This is due to the final areas of the game not being bug-tested and balanced, as confirmed by Shigesato Itoi, the game's main programmer.

International Release

This game was originally scheduled for release in America on the NES under the name, Earthbound. It was completely translated and ready for release, but due to the Super Nintendo's impending release and the tepid reception of similar RPG's by North American audiences, the localization never made it to shelves. Years later, the English prototype was discovered and dumped onto the internet under the title Earthbound Zero to prevent confusion with its Super Nintendo successor. In addition to being translated to English, the prototype revealed that a multitude of changes were made to accommodate North American audiences. The changes include censorship of some of the enemies, better visual cues, reworked maps, the ability to run, and an extended ending sequence.

Nintendo showed little interest in releasing the title until it was suddenly released onto the Wii U via its Virtual Console service as Earthbound Beginnings. The localized release is identical to the unreleased prototype, including its title screen, which still carries its original title, Earthbound, without the appended Beginnings.

The credits shown on this site are, in fact, the credits from the English version - the English Script Writer, Translators, and Special Thanks credits were added before Shigeru Miyamoto's credit.

Information also contributed by Cody Alcina