EarthBound Beginnings

This page details pre-release information and/or media for EarthBound Beginnings.

To do: There's a loooootta prerelease screenshots from various points of development, some of which really show how much the game changed before release. A few notable examples include Ana sprites being used as placeholders for Magicant NPCs and a completely different starting point for Ninten. This'd be a good place to start.

March 2, 1989 Press Conference#

Watch on YouTubeThis video showcases an unfinished version of the game with numerous differences from the final.

Graphical Differences#

• The copyright information is in a larger 8×8 font and is displayed differently. There also appears to be a misplaced tile in the lower-right corner.
• Text breakers are arrows instead of bullet points.
• The doll containing the first melody has a different, somewhat bulkier looking sprite.
• The sign in front of Ninten's house looks different.
• The plane in Yucca Desert has blue stripes instead of red.

Map Differences#

Ninten's House#

• The door is on the wrong side of Ninten's room.
  • His bed is positioned higher and there is a window next to it.
  • The lamp is missing and his chair is pink instead of white.
• The path from Ninten's house to Podunk is different, leading west instead of east.
• The yard is a bit bigger and has more trees.

Snowman#

• There are train tracks running through the town.
• The overall layout of the town is different, appearing to be more open and having several roads.

Magicant#

• The sky is a darker blue instead of cyan.
  • A person can be seen standing in the sky.
• The layout is very different with more boundaries.
• One of the shops has a dark blue door, and has a regular building right next to it.

Yucca Desert#

• The land where the pilot is situated at is shaped a bit differently, and more cacti are south of it.

Zoo#

• The outside fence is lined by trees instead of flowers.
• There are more trees behind the fence.

Battle Differences#

• The battle interface always shows three rows for party members, even if they are not in the party.
• When three enemies appear, they do not spawn left to right. The centermost enemy spawns first instead.
• Blue Starman enemies are referred to as "Starman 2" instead.

Famimaga May, 1989#

Watch on YouTubeThe build shown in this video appears to be very similar, if not the same as the March 2, 1989 Press Conference version.

• Debugging was enabled, as Ninten starts out with maxed-out stats and $5,000.

Graphical Differences#

• The telephone in Ninten's house is smaller.
• When walking down the stairs in the Spookane Manor, the party faces south.
• The blue-haired heavy NPC looks different, having a thicker mustache, thinner back, and longer arms.
• The Podunk mayor's assistant looks completely different, having a slimmer look.
• Oh-Mook enemies are yellow instead of orange.

Map Differences#

Ninten's House#

• There is a window to the left of the basement door.

Mt. Itoi#

• The motorboat is located on the west side of the dock, rather than the north side. Its palette is also different, looking more white.
• The ground is green instead of yellow.

Yucca Desert#

• After taking off in the plane, a tall sign can be seen.

South Cemetery#

• The layout appears to be different, as the gravestones are south of the brick wall.

Battle Differences#

• There are enemies shown in the footage that do not appear together in the final game, showing a Big Woodoh with a Mad Truck and PseudoZombie in the South Cemetery.