Let’s not forget that Mother 1 didn’t have a run button. It was added in EarthBound Beginnings, and even then it wouldn’t see an actual release until mother 1 + 2 included the changes made for Beginnings. Also the fact that the run buttons doubles everything’s speed on the overworld, seeming more like a debug feature than an actual run button.
@@MonkeyNess I think the point is that the original Japanese release of Mother 1 didn't have the run feature at all, which is to say, no, it wasn't designed with the ability to run in mind, it just Was Slow... The run button was indeed added as a debug feature for the unreleased US version, and kept in cuz it just made the game better, and IIRC in the GBA version it doesn't increase the speed of everything else like it does in the NES original
@Michirin9801 I spent large portions of my time in that game wandering along long, empty stretches of land that often lead to nowhere in particular. I dont know how a person could tolerate that game without a run button.
@@guythatdosethingssometimes2651in my first play through I legitimately didn’t find out about the run button till the first entrance into magicant haha
I honestly think it adds to the idea that these are kids they aren't super heroes or athletics and the slow walking kinda makes you take things easier your not always in a hurry.
Yeah...! It's like in the very first Silent Hill. How Harry Mason didn't aim for crap but was just running around to save his daughter. In EarthBound, our cast of kids is just exploring their environs, carefully and playfully, to figure out what is going on. But regardless of whatever pace they play they still end up saving the world! Everything in its own time, I say!
Dawg the protagonist has to literally kill an evil God to save humanity with psychic powers, if that's not some superhero shid then I don't know what it is
Rick Rubin in his book, "The Creative Act" spotlights a really cool insight about art. In paraphrasing, he says that sometimes the imperfect version of the art resonates more than the version with all its problems fixed. And in the end, the imperfect version is the best version. I was reminded of that quote from this video and I really appreciate it. The lesson of us accepting and changing our views on imperfections in our favorite games is really wonderful to consider and practice in our lives. Finding ways to feel more connected because of the imperfection can lead us to appreciate the games we love even more. I wish I cared as much about games when I made videos on them. I've been binging your videos a lot recently and rewatching the ones I've already seen because I really enjoy listening to you talk about what you love without any of the inauthentic filler and fake excitement that 99% of the creators today do. I love it man, excellently done!!!
what are you talking about? what kind of people are you watching on youtube that lead you to believe everyone is being a big faker about the things they're talking about?
As someone who speedruns EarthBound and actively tries to avoid enemies, I'm glad there isn't a run button. That would take the challenge away. At that point, you might as well make a patch that turns spawns off entirely and makes Jeff's regular attack hit for 2000 HP so you never need bottle rockets.
A run button would be useful because im impatient. But seriously, i never really saw Earthbound not having a run button as a big issue as others did. Walking speed is good enough.
Kinda funny how I've completed this game three times and never even thought of yearning for a 'run button'. Walking whimsically around and taking your sweet time talking to people and examining things are such a significant part of this game.
0:34 Mother actually doesn't have a run button, it has a speed the entire game up button. This feature was first added in the unreleased US version of Mother (eventually released as Earthbound Beginnings) and later Mother 1 + 2. Unfortunately you could not run in the original Famicom release of Mother.
I never wanted a run button in EarthBound because I thought the game functioned very well without it, but hearing your more in-depth take on it with your empowering and motivational speech is so moving! Lovely content as always!
"You don't give something extremely helpful to players at the every end, or else you'll rob them from it's usefulness." *Casually throws shade at PK Starstorm Omega*
Slightly off-topic, but I wanted to mention a neat thing Deltarune Chapter 1 does that's sorta a reference to this and some of the sentiments from the comments here. There's a run button in that game, doesn't really need it but it's there. Anyway, my first time through I wanted to take it slow and comfy, vibe to the song Field of Hopes and Dreams, have a good time. Then I'm suddenly stopped by my party member Ralsei who reminds me that there is a run button and is curious why I'm not using it. He does eventually conclude that I'm enjoying my time and accepts that as the reason. I liked that the game noticed, felt like a very Toby-like thing for it to have.
I love channels like this that have extremely niche topics One time on a replay, I replayed Earthbound with some slight improvement patch that added a run button and maybe some other small things Besides making the skip sandwich literally useless, I barely remember what it did Anyway, trying to remember back to it, don't even think there was a difference in how many battles I got into It was MAYBE like 10 battles through the whole game I specifically remember avoiding those robots in the Fourside Tower and that was cool but otherwise not much. This pissed me off when I was in the Pyramid and I couldn't avoid the annoying battles there. My point is that the run button is like a placebo. It makes you think it's better but it's not. I think that pacing is underrated in games. Film, TV, Books, critics of these all mention pacing at one point or another. In games like Earthbound, the pacing is deliberately slow. It's captures the feeling of a road trip better than any Road 96 or Final Fantasy 15 could (still like those games btw). It's like a peanuts comic. It feels very deliberate in having the walking speed of a slow Sunday afternoon. I feel like every RPG wants to be as fast as possible, adding numerous quality of life improvements to avoid anything that would slow down pacing. Quicker battles, optional battles, less grinding, as little backtracking as humanly possible, adjustable difficulty etc. I love these accessibility options, they definitely make the player experience better for most But I will admit that one of Earthbound's charms, and one that I think that alot of Indie Games that got inspired by it try to replicate is that it's a very deep experiential game. It's more like a Murakami novel that I read than like other RPGs I've played. It doesn't have any action setpieces, it doesn't have any particularly dramatic scenes. It's just about wandering and exploring with a vague general goal. Aside from the game design, adding a run button would ruin this vibe I get from the game. Mother 3 HAS those dramatic moments that you would want to rush to. EB Zero is a game with less dialogue altogether, so you'd want to run to finish the game or at least get into more battles. Earthbound is 100% about chilling. Besides like, Va-11 Hall-a, it's the most chill game I've ever played. Even more than Minecraft or like indie games that are designed to be chill. It's absolutely a game that doesn't demand your attention. Let's say an Earthbound remake changed the game design of the game to facilitate a run button, just because they see it as a QOL improvement. I think it would be missing the point of Earthbound. Honestly, I could make a video about Earthbound's pacing from this comment. But basically, it would change the fundamental appeal of the game, yeah.
Okay first off: amazing video as always! For me I've never really considered a run button making the game "better", it's more of a tactile game-feel sort of thing. Part of the reason I like running in RPGs is just because it gives me another little thing to do while exploring the overworld. In Mother 3 I'd literally activate the run just to run in circles around random NPCs and whatnot. That little extra sense of interactivity can just make game worlds more fun to mess around in - but I really don't think Earthbound suffers in any way not having it.
One thing I’ve noticed. Last time I played Mother 3, running away from a lot of battles led to be being woefully under-leveled and made the game more difficult as a result. So in reality, not being able to run from every battle it actually kind of a good thing.
When I played EB for the first time, my pokemon reflexes kicked in and I wanted to get faster as soon as possible. Eventually I realized it wasn't that bad. In fact, the slower pace of walking really does help appreciate the looks of all the places throughout the game. I never thought I would say this in the future, but not being able to run is actually quite nice.
It's important to me to bring something new to the table when discussing topics like this that seem to be pretty closed off for many. I just like to offer a point of view that challenges people, even if it doesn't blow the other pov out of the water. :)
I really think skipping enemies is also bad because even if the battles mechanics are not that entresting the enemies are enteresting and have good design and have weird mechanics like the clock that stop time or the coffee that when you defeated give you a cup of coffee that is the beauty of mothers battle.
Well... there is a part were a run button IS nice, the monkey cave. I hate to be that person... but is a maze, Plus you may say, "Just buy the right items dummy!" yea... how can a new player know? a new play is constantly running back and forth getting the right items and going back. plus it might be me, but all the rooms look the same! so you may go down the wrong door without realizing And when you realize, YOU NEED TO WALK ALL THE WAY BACK! This is where a run button is really nice!
The Monkey Caves consists of rooms that may look the same, but are also insanely short to navigate, as the majority of them are either short hallways or rooms with only two monkeys in them. I disagree a run button would even significantly change the time it'd take for a new player to get through them if, like you said, it's a confusing maze. Yes, a new player wouldn't necessarily know to bring those two items to start the caves, but common sense should tell one that if these two items are needed to progress, they're most likely nearby in the same area. The real answer to fixing the Monkey Caves imo is adding a map.
@@MonkeyNesswalking isn't even what takes up most of the time going through the maze. It's the long ass loading times that you need to sit through since you're changing rooms every few seconds
Still playing through Earthbound but this was an awesome video. I really do agree that the run button definitely isnt needed, I really like taking my time in all the games I play and just enjoying the journey. Thanks for still doing what you do MonkeyNess, youre inspiring and amazing❤
It's funny that since the beginning of the project I've had no intention at all of putting a running functionality in Earthbound Dimensions, aside from how it originally worked with the Skip Sandwich. Never really thought it was necessary in the original game, and in a 3D remake I think it would be even less necessary, as you are supposed to have more things to see and appreciate.
I have to agree with the "running would mess up the leveling curve". The first time I played EB, I ended up trying to avoid fights, and got frustrated really quickly because I was underleveled. On my second try, I went after enemies and stopped tying to avoid them. As a result, my level was where it was probably supposed to be, and I had a lot more fun.
the quality of your videos has shot WAY up since the 1/128 run. glad to finally have a good consistent content creator focused on mother (and similar things)
I am a extremely impatient person but honestly I think the lack of a run is fine. The thought hadn't cross my mind during my playthrough. I think Earthbound is paced pretty good, nothing made me want to stop playing. I usually don't vibe with retro games or classical RPG's but I did enjoy EB quite a bit.
"remember the 1st time you played EB" yeah I had never played an RPG before, I was scared of battles so I was always drastically underleveled, couldn't get through Winters AT ALL and put the game away for six months
mother 3 is an easier game than earthbound? that's the first time i've heard that, normally it's the opposite but yeah i once downloaded a run button patch for earthbound and immediately realized that the game just didn't need one
I find Mother 3 much easier due to how forgiving it is; constant hot springs, pillows, save points, and fully-healing the party when tthe player gets a game over.
i think the problem comes from they giving you the bike by the time you get it its after beating the first main area of the game, it reminds me of how in some pokemon games they give you the option to run once you beat the tutorial section, a kind of reward getting to know how the game works the problem is that the bike has no use once you get Paula (or a plush bear lmao), you get to be faster for a really short amount of time and it feels kinda frustrating to get something like that removed, bet that if the bike wasn't an item people wouldn't ask for a run button on that note, if i where to add a run button i would make it so doing it would make the character get an ''out of breath'' status that stops you in your tracks in the overworld, makes you walk slow and leaves you open to enemy damage when battling, maybe becoming less of an issue the stronger one gets so it becomes less of an issue and more of a tool maybe making it so running makes a thumping noise that alerts and attracts enemies
Idc, i am a busy man, i would prefer to go fest than sluw, its much more convenient and nice to have a run button than to waaaalk for like hours in a singular map
On the other hand, I feel like if EB originally had a run button but walking was like 70% of the current speed and running was the current speed, where this was the version that had always existed, everyone would be fine with the speed when you run? People think it's slow because there isn't an easy way to go faster, not because there's some objective measure of "fast enough" in games
Man, I really disagree with Mother 3 being an easier game than EarthBound. I think EarthBound is the easiest game of the trilogy, with 3 in the middle, and 1 being the hardest.
Surprised to be seeing this comment multiple times on this video. I've always found Mother 3 to be the easiest due to how forgiving it is, with the dozens of hot springs and save points throughout as well as completely healing the party if the player gets a game over.
@@MonkeyNess These elements do make losing less annoying, yeah. But I feel like EarthBound asks less of the player for the actual battles. If you're fighting most enemies you run into, you'll usually be around the right level to just breeze through most bosses - and Jeff's rockets make them utterly trivial. I think Mother 3's battles have a lot more genuine strategy that go into winning them. I always felt like I had to *try* a lot more in Mother 3. But of course, difficulty is subjective.
Totally agree. Not sure if I’m just stupid or something but most of mother 3’s bosses kinda kicked my ass while I never got a game over once in earthbound
A run button would be great for convenience and fluidity of gameplay, even for its time, this was archaic, most rpgs would have it by default. A run button would also make the enemy pattern on the overworld better, they are so much faster than you that it doesn't even matter that you can see them and they're not random battles, since you'll be forced to engage with them anyway.
I do think earthbound needs a run button, but it’s not a big problem. I feel like if you could implement it in a way that still kept the enemy encounters and made sense lord-wise whilst not making skip sandwiches the bicycle useless, it would improve some of the more monotonous moments of the game.
DougDoug Snacks thinks this video was not made for people who have never played earthbound and don’t like being in a department store for 2 hours fighting presents
the only times i ever thought while playing earthbound that i wanted a run button was only on "the underworld" for the most part,a run button or not really didn't affect my enjoyment of the game
As for the swamp, I just used PK Teleport Alpha and deliberately ran into something to stop it, it made the experience a lot less painful even though it wasted PP. I also missed talking to Montague on my first run through Dusty Dunes :/
I think my solve would to be making it so you would have to beat the game completely in one save file, so if you started another you would be able to run to make the game a bit quicker
@@MonkeyNess Yea, it would be a bit frustrating to beat the entire game only to beat it slightly faster (if) upon a repeat playthrough which might not even happen
Interesting topic, you see this in a lot of games and I'm guilty of it. I was that dumb kid spamming roll in Ocarina of Time even though it barely made Link go faster, if at all. I think it's mostly about perceived control. Even if the run button (or whatever input makes you go faster) barely increases your speed, people use it constantly, you know you would be slower if you weren't so every extra pixel per second in speed feels like you're seizing an opportunity. But, as you cover in the video, games don't always need that kind of mechanic and it's probably a good idea to exclude it when it's not needed since it interferes with other parts of the design.
Hey, isn't the Homely Yado Inn used around 6:30 the restoration done by Irikachana, not the original? Might be good to put that in the description. Video: ua-cam.com/video/4p9lojc75Hw/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared Great video as always by the way. :)
It’s just tedious to have your walking speed slow and your main fast travel be something you have to wait through a cutscene for, it’s fine early game but it gets draining if you’ve been doing it for like 30 hours
A running button may not be necessary, but like…. Isnt it just better in general? Like when you replay the game it’s just a nice feature to quicken things up
@@MonkeyNess earthbound is a game where they want you to talk to everyone to figure things out and learn more about the world. Ofc running isn’t a necessary feature, but having the ability to run would greatly help in getting rid of the meandering you have to do in the game. The meandering is part of the experience, but idk my thumb hurts after using the snes mini controller for so long lmao
0:52 I don't know if I'd say that, from personal experience I definitely had more trouble with the combat in Mother 3 than EarthBound. I think EarthBound has more game over situations as a result of design problems that weren't in Mother 3, they're challenging in different ways, but its hard to make a statement about which one is objectively more difficult.
As someone who recently replayed EarthBound via MaternalBound Omega which does add a run button, I kinda have to disagree with your reasoning for not adding one. For one, as you said, the map and enemy placement means you can't really outmaneuver enemies most of the time, so making the game "easier" or something feels moot. Secondly, as you said you get Teleport pretty early so it's either intentionally Teleport bonk to move through towns faster or just have a run button, and at least in said patch it doesn't even work in Deep Darkness (because neither does the Skip Sandwich) so it's not invalidated as a gimmick. And lastly, I'm just a fan of consistency. Mother 1 has it ("but it was a debug feature--" it was added properly to Mother 1+2 which has numerous other changes and bug fixes, okay? It's IN Mother 1), Mother 3 has it, I still don't see much reason in Mother 2 not having it. It's a simple convenience that isn't game breaking and again, as you say yourself, changes very little besides having that convenience.
I disagree to disagree. Exalted Uriel hasn't provided any reasons in favor for the inclusion, and hasn't correctly addressed the reasons for not added one that were made in the video. 1) The argument that it would it easier to outmaneuver enemies was specifically being applied to large areas where you can actually outmaneuver enemies like Dusty Dunes Desert, as shown in the clip while the argument was being made. Right next to this, the video also discussed how so many areas in the game are narrow and encounters are essentially unavoidable. Your point one has been made from the perspective of someone who hasn't even watched the video and only read the title. 2) You are simply incorrect in that you get teleport early. That occurs roughly 50-60% through the game. Teleport bonking through towns is only marginally faster than simply walking normally after you factor in all of the menuing - furthermore this is actually a good thing, it creates a risk/reward for advanced players. If you teleport bonk incorrectly you'll complete the teleport and end up even FARTHER away from the destination you wanted to get to, the majority of players aren't going to go through all the trouble and such a big risk just to save a little time, but it's the perfect kind of thing that speedrunners, min/maxers, and challenge runners love to take advantage of. 3) You don't get to argue for consistency when you're wrong. Ignoring that they are different games designed with different sizes and different movement mechanics and different content density (which is dumb already to ignore all these differences but it's important that you understand just how wrong you are), at the time of Earthbound's release 100% of the Mother series had no run button - it IS being consistent to have no run option! Tweaks made for different platform ports or re-released in 'best hits' collections are not legitimate aspects that get factored in.
Ironically I watched this video on x2 speed, at least youtube has a "run" button. But yeah, Earthbound does not need it, the default walking speed is perfect as is.
Run features in RPGs just wasn't as much a thing back then. I don't think it ever occurred to developers to consider it. It's definitely less useful in 'random encounter' RPGs like Final Fantasy, could even make it worse in a way on the user's end, as it would make it seem like there's actually more encounters, assuming encounters are still done on a 'roll the chance each tile' fashion. Mother 1's 'run' debug had similar issues, it made traveling itself faster but the whole thing was still kinda annoying. Anyway, then we have Mother 2, where I think it'd make some degree of sense, because of the encounter system where you see enemies ahead of time. One potential benefit of that system, being able to avoid enemies, is often mitigated because they just move faster than you. Having an ability to run would make avoidance more of a factor and would make the whole system, much like with Mother 3 even though the 'charge-up' made it a bit tricky to do. I don't think it was needed by any means, but it would've been a relevant enough use case if it was there, I think.
While I am happy Mother 3 has a run button (due to all the aforementioned backtracking, especially when it came to the Mouse Family side quest), I didn’t mind all too much that EarthBound doesn’t have one. It gave me more time to take in the atmosphere and really get invested in the world. It also helped that all the music was awesome (and well, Dungeon Man’s was all right…) so I got a chance to listen to it more! Even in Mother 3, I don’t feel like I’ve completely explored an area until I’ve talked to all the people in it.
I agree with the balancing point, yet, as you said, NPCs are scattered widely, first time i played Earthbound, i do missed a lot of flavor dialogues, making my first experience with the game actually less complete than many others, specially nowadays, where fastforward is a thing. Not having a running button is not a problem, yet having it is for sure helpful, not because of avoiding enemies, but to make those tiny little things that might not be important, yet surely make a slight smile on you worth your time.
1997 : Gamers : "Why is there no running button in EarthBound?" - 2005 : Gamers "Why can'T you swim in GTA3 ? .... 2017 : Game Journalists :"Why is there no easy button?" Staples :"Hold our beer ! ... we've been selling those for a decade"!"
In all the mother games the characters walk too slow and when I played this game I liked how everyone was walking faster than usual and they walk like a troop.
I think a run button would have been nice because then you can actually get behind enemies and get the advantage attacks, also just because i think running is convenient, it didn't bother me a whole lot though. Also I'm surprised the desert account most of the criticism even though it has one of the best songs.
I would like to say why I want a run in Earthbound is mostly because it's fun to run in games and would be nice to have the option to run by things/fight IF I was confident I could avoid them to maybe have save some items/PP/HP for the fights I do want them for instead of wasting it in a fight that could have gone very bad especially if the boss is known for being difficult on a good run yes this does sort of count as being impatient but I would also say adding a running mechanic similar to Mother 3/Earthbound 2 could add to a minor risk-reward with some caveats as this is more for enemies with erratic patterns and are slightly faster than the party but while I still want it for an extra gameplay element to strategize at the end of the day you put it best through out the whole video and there are mods/fangames I can easily get on my own time.
I also think that fighting was just mostly pretty enjoyable for at least Japanese gamers. Like the games were pretty much the fights, which is why it was such a huge genre. But obviously gamers change as the medium evolves, so now many games don’t have as high encounter rates
No Okay, but seriously, I don't really mind the lack of a run button. I would like it to exist for the desert, but you don't get heatstroke that much unless you're actively trying to get everything in the area. Even then, you can just spam Healing alpha and then rest in the tent so there isn't much of a loss for when you lose PP from it either. Addressing the monkey caves, whenever I forget an item, I'm never mad because it means I get to hear the OST more, lol
I think if they add EB style run where it just speeds up everything including enemy movement it'd be fine. I just increased the clock speed when playing EB the first time around on an emulator to speed up the backtracking and of course it was a good double edge sword to not abuse it so I could try to avoid enemies.
Let’s not forget that Mother 1 didn’t have a run button. It was added in EarthBound Beginnings, and even then it wouldn’t see an actual release until mother 1 + 2 included the changes made for Beginnings. Also the fact that the run buttons doubles everything’s speed on the overworld, seeming more like a debug feature than an actual run button.
Yeah, was a debug feature they decided to keep in.
@@MonkeyNess I think the point is that the original Japanese release of Mother 1 didn't have the run feature at all, which is to say, no, it wasn't designed with the ability to run in mind, it just Was Slow... The run button was indeed added as a debug feature for the unreleased US version, and kept in cuz it just made the game better, and IIRC in the GBA version it doesn't increase the speed of everything else like it does in the NES original
@Michirin9801 I spent large portions of my time in that game wandering along long, empty stretches of land that often lead to nowhere in particular.
I dont know how a person could tolerate that game without a run button.
@@guythatdosethingssometimes2651in my first play through I legitimately didn’t find out about the run button till the first entrance into magicant haha
I honestly think it adds to the idea that these are kids they aren't super heroes or athletics and the slow walking kinda makes you take things easier your not always in a hurry.
Yeah...! It's like in the very first Silent Hill. How Harry Mason didn't aim for crap but was just running around to save his daughter. In EarthBound, our cast of kids is just exploring their environs, carefully and playfully, to figure out what is going on. But regardless of whatever pace they play they still end up saving the world! Everything in its own time, I say!
Wtf you literally kill Krakens and Dinosaurs with baseball bats
@@grabballz4857also, psi is technically a superpower
that's a stretch
Dawg the protagonist has to literally kill an evil God to save humanity with psychic powers, if that's not some superhero shid then I don't know what it is
Rick Rubin in his book, "The Creative Act" spotlights a really cool insight about art.
In paraphrasing, he says that sometimes the imperfect version of the art resonates more than the version with all its problems fixed. And in the end, the imperfect version is the best version.
I was reminded of that quote from this video and I really appreciate it. The lesson of us accepting and changing our views on imperfections in our favorite games is really wonderful to consider and practice in our lives. Finding ways to feel more connected because of the imperfection can lead us to appreciate the games we love even more.
I wish I cared as much about games when I made videos on them. I've been binging your videos a lot recently and rewatching the ones I've already seen because I really enjoy listening to you talk about what you love without any of the inauthentic filler and fake excitement that 99% of the creators today do. I love it man, excellently done!!!
what are you talking about? what kind of people are you watching on youtube that lead you to believe everyone is being a big faker about the things they're talking about?
As someone who speedruns EarthBound and actively tries to avoid enemies, I'm glad there isn't a run button. That would take the challenge away. At that point, you might as well make a patch that turns spawns off entirely and makes Jeff's regular attack hit for 2000 HP so you never need bottle rockets.
A run button would be useful because im impatient.
But seriously, i never really saw Earthbound not having a run button as a big issue as others did. Walking speed is good enough.
hi ortherner
Kinda funny how I've completed this game three times and never even thought of yearning for a 'run button'. Walking whimsically around and taking your sweet time talking to people and examining things are such a significant part of this game.
0:34 Mother actually doesn't have a run button, it has a speed the entire game up button. This feature was first added in the unreleased US version of Mother (eventually released as Earthbound Beginnings) and later Mother 1 + 2. Unfortunately you could not run in the original Famicom release of Mother.
I refer to “Mother” as the colloquial EBB version that is most prominent nowadays, as there are now less versions without it than there are with it.
That’s fair not even I’ve played the original Famicom release
I never wanted a run button in EarthBound because I thought the game functioned very well without it, but hearing your more in-depth take on it with your empowering and motivational speech is so moving! Lovely content as always!
"You don't give something extremely helpful to players at the every end, or else you'll rob them from it's usefulness."
*Casually throws shade at PK Starstorm Omega*
Honestly i think it makes it better, really lets you soak up the area!
Holy shit duster real
@@BananaFaceDude56 yup
@@Wimicry fr
y cant metroid crawl
real
Slightly off-topic, but I wanted to mention a neat thing Deltarune Chapter 1 does that's sorta a reference to this and some of the sentiments from the comments here. There's a run button in that game, doesn't really need it but it's there. Anyway, my first time through I wanted to take it slow and comfy, vibe to the song Field of Hopes and Dreams, have a good time. Then I'm suddenly stopped by my party member Ralsei who reminds me that there is a run button and is curious why I'm not using it. He does eventually conclude that I'm enjoying my time and accepts that as the reason. I liked that the game noticed, felt like a very Toby-like thing for it to have.
I love channels like this that have extremely niche topics
One time on a replay, I replayed Earthbound with some slight improvement patch that added a run button and maybe some other small things
Besides making the skip sandwich literally useless, I barely remember what it did
Anyway, trying to remember back to it, don't even think there was a difference in how many battles I got into
It was MAYBE like 10 battles through the whole game
I specifically remember avoiding those robots in the Fourside Tower and that was cool but otherwise not much.
This pissed me off when I was in the Pyramid and I couldn't avoid the annoying battles there.
My point is that the run button is like a placebo.
It makes you think it's better but it's not.
I think that pacing is underrated in games.
Film, TV, Books, critics of these all mention pacing at one point or another.
In games like Earthbound, the pacing is deliberately slow.
It's captures the feeling of a road trip better than any Road 96 or Final Fantasy 15 could (still like those games btw).
It's like a peanuts comic.
It feels very deliberate in having the walking speed of a slow Sunday afternoon.
I feel like every RPG wants to be as fast as possible, adding numerous quality of life improvements to avoid anything that would slow down pacing.
Quicker battles, optional battles, less grinding, as little backtracking as humanly possible, adjustable difficulty etc.
I love these accessibility options, they definitely make the player experience better for most
But I will admit that one of Earthbound's charms, and one that I think
that alot of Indie Games that got inspired by it try to replicate is that it's a very deep experiential game.
It's more like a Murakami novel that I read than like other RPGs I've played.
It doesn't have any action setpieces, it doesn't have any particularly dramatic scenes.
It's just about wandering and exploring with a vague general goal.
Aside from the game design, adding a run button would ruin this vibe I get from the game.
Mother 3 HAS those dramatic moments that you would want to rush to.
EB Zero is a game with less dialogue altogether, so you'd want to run to finish the game or at least get into more battles.
Earthbound is 100% about chilling.
Besides like, Va-11 Hall-a, it's the most chill game I've ever played.
Even more than Minecraft or like indie games that are designed to be chill.
It's absolutely a game that doesn't demand your attention.
Let's say an Earthbound remake changed the game design of the game to facilitate a run button, just because they see it as a QOL improvement.
I think it would be missing the point of Earthbound.
Honestly, I could make a video about Earthbound's pacing from this comment.
But basically, it would change the fundamental appeal of the game, yeah.
This was beautiful. It honestly really hit home and made me think about myself and how I approach things. Thanks, man.
We want a run button for the same reason we walk backwards in Ocarina of Time
okay but in oot it's more important because of the day night cycle (until you get suns song)
Okay first off: amazing video as always!
For me I've never really considered a run button making the game "better", it's more of a tactile game-feel sort of thing. Part of the reason I like running in RPGs is just because it gives me another little thing to do while exploring the overworld. In Mother 3 I'd literally activate the run just to run in circles around random NPCs and whatnot. That little extra sense of interactivity can just make game worlds more fun to mess around in - but I really don't think Earthbound suffers in any way not having it.
Glad you liked the video! Also very valid point, movement options like that for the sake of fun is definitely reason enough.
One thing I’ve noticed. Last time I played Mother 3, running away from a lot of battles led to be being woefully under-leveled and made the game more difficult as a result. So in reality, not being able to run from every battle it actually kind of a good thing.
When I played EB for the first time, my pokemon reflexes kicked in and I wanted to get faster as soon as possible. Eventually I realized it wasn't that bad. In fact, the slower pace of walking really does help appreciate the looks of all the places throughout the game. I never thought I would say this in the future, but not being able to run is actually quite nice.
MonkeyNess coming in with the hot takes, but with valid points.
It's important to me to bring something new to the table when discussing topics like this that seem to be pretty closed off for many. I just like to offer a point of view that challenges people, even if it doesn't blow the other pov out of the water. :)
I really think skipping enemies is also bad because even if the battles mechanics are not that entresting the enemies are enteresting and have good design and have weird mechanics like the clock that stop time or the coffee that when you defeated give you a cup of coffee that is the beauty of mothers battle.
Well... there is a part were a run button IS nice,
the monkey cave.
I hate to be that person... but is a maze,
Plus you may say, "Just buy the right items dummy!"
yea... how can a new player know?
a new play is constantly running back and forth getting the right items
and going back.
plus it might be me,
but all the rooms look the same!
so you may go down the wrong door without realizing
And when you realize,
YOU NEED TO WALK ALL THE WAY BACK!
This is where a run button is really nice!
The Monkey Caves consists of rooms that may look the same, but are also insanely short to navigate, as the majority of them are either short hallways or rooms with only two monkeys in them. I disagree a run button would even significantly change the time it'd take for a new player to get through them if, like you said, it's a confusing maze.
Yes, a new player wouldn't necessarily know to bring those two items to start the caves, but common sense should tell one that if these two items are needed to progress, they're most likely nearby in the same area. The real answer to fixing the Monkey Caves imo is adding a map.
Fair@@MonkeyNess
@@MonkeyNesswalking isn't even what takes up most of the time going through the maze. It's the long ass loading times that you need to sit through since you're changing rooms every few seconds
wanting a run is a game reviewer mindset ngl
Sounds like something George would say in Flights of Fantasy aka GITCY
Still playing through Earthbound but this was an awesome video. I really do agree that the run button definitely isnt needed, I really like taking my time in all the games I play and just enjoying the journey. Thanks for still doing what you do MonkeyNess, youre inspiring and amazing❤
Thank you so much for watching :)
Did you ever finish it?
@@Brixster Not quite yet, my file got deleted but im def replaying haha
It's funny that since the beginning of the project I've had no intention at all of putting a running functionality in Earthbound Dimensions, aside from how it originally worked with the Skip Sandwich.
Never really thought it was necessary in the original game, and in a 3D remake I think it would be even less necessary, as you are supposed to have more things to see and appreciate.
I have to agree with the "running would mess up the leveling curve". The first time I played EB, I ended up trying to avoid fights, and got frustrated really quickly because I was underleveled. On my second try, I went after enemies and stopped tying to avoid them. As a result, my level was where it was probably supposed to be, and I had a lot more fun.
the quality of your videos has shot WAY up since the 1/128 run. glad to finally have a good consistent content creator focused on mother (and similar things)
Fill one characters inventory up with Skip Sandwich Dx. Ez
Why would you need that? There is a free bicycle.
What if they're all already running but they just can't walk at all?
Never thought the movement speed was too bad in EB
Worst case scenario I can always spill some coffee on my real super Nintendo entertainment system
The walking always made me pick up on the Peanuts homage more
Everyone Needs A Run Button.
ESPECIALLY Fallout 3.
I am a extremely impatient person but honestly I think the lack of a run is fine. The thought hadn't cross my mind during my playthrough.
I think Earthbound is paced pretty good, nothing made me want to stop playing. I usually don't vibe with retro games or classical RPG's but I did enjoy EB quite a bit.
"remember the 1st time you played EB" yeah I had never played an RPG before, I was scared of battles so I was always drastically underleveled, couldn't get through Winters AT ALL and put the game away for six months
mother 3 is an easier game than earthbound? that's the first time i've heard that, normally it's the opposite
but yeah i once downloaded a run button patch for earthbound and immediately realized that the game just didn't need one
I find Mother 3 much easier due to how forgiving it is; constant hot springs, pillows, save points, and fully-healing the party when tthe player gets a game over.
@@MonkeyNess yeah true, if you get KO'd in earthbound it takes like 20 minutes to get back on your feet
I'd say yes and no: easy to "diggest" the gameplay, but mastering at some point, specially in battles, it doesn't that much easy.
i think the problem comes from they giving you the bike
by the time you get it its after beating the first main area of the game, it reminds me of how in some pokemon games they give you the option to run once you beat the tutorial section, a kind of reward getting to know how the game works
the problem is that the bike has no use once you get Paula (or a plush bear lmao), you get to be faster for a really short amount of time and it feels kinda frustrating to get something like that removed, bet that if the bike wasn't an item people wouldn't ask for a run button
on that note, if i where to add a run button i would make it so doing it would make the character get an ''out of breath'' status that stops you in your tracks in the overworld, makes you walk slow and leaves you open to enemy damage when battling, maybe becoming less of an issue the stronger one gets so it becomes less of an issue and more of a tool
maybe making it so running makes a thumping noise that alerts and attracts enemies
Idc, i am a busy man, i would prefer to go fest than sluw, its much more convenient and nice to have a run button than to waaaalk for like hours in a singular map
On the other hand, I feel like if EB originally had a run button but walking was like 70% of the current speed and running was the current speed, where this was the version that had always existed, everyone would be fine with the speed when you run? People think it's slow because there isn't an easy way to go faster, not because there's some objective measure of "fast enough" in games
aww man, the stryder7x reference made me sad
stryder really got his life destroyed by false allegations and eating disorders. poor guy
@@sweetypuss yeah.. i loved his videos and personality, i hope he returns one day, or at least gets into a happy spot for himself
Man, I really disagree with Mother 3 being an easier game than EarthBound. I think EarthBound is the easiest game of the trilogy, with 3 in the middle, and 1 being the hardest.
Surprised to be seeing this comment multiple times on this video. I've always found Mother 3 to be the easiest due to how forgiving it is, with the dozens of hot springs and save points throughout as well as completely healing the party if the player gets a game over.
@@MonkeyNess These elements do make losing less annoying, yeah. But I feel like EarthBound asks less of the player for the actual battles.
If you're fighting most enemies you run into, you'll usually be around the right level to just breeze through most bosses - and Jeff's rockets make them utterly trivial.
I think Mother 3's battles have a lot more genuine strategy that go into winning them. I always felt like I had to *try* a lot more in Mother 3. But of course, difficulty is subjective.
I agree, in my first playthrough of Earthbound, all I did was basically bash everyone and use rocket launcher on the diamond dog. I didn't even grind.
Totally agree. Not sure if I’m just stupid or something but most of mother 3’s bosses kinda kicked my ass while I never got a game over once in earthbound
It's just a convinience
Why do you need run when you can eat skip sandwiches instead?
Too short of an effect lol
A run button would be great for convenience and fluidity of gameplay, even for its time, this was archaic, most rpgs would have it by default.
A run button would also make the enemy pattern on the overworld better, they are so much faster than you that it doesn't even matter that you can see them and they're not random battles, since you'll be forced to engage with them anyway.
I do think earthbound needs a run button, but it’s not a big problem. I feel like if you could implement it in a way that still kept the enemy encounters and made sense lord-wise whilst not making skip sandwiches the bicycle useless, it would improve some of the more monotonous moments of the game.
I was always confused when playing Earthbound since it had no run button. I mean, I’m not complaining or anything but found it weird.
Protip: There is busses From Twoson all the way to Fourside. You don't need to walk to all the places, it's like 2-8 bucks tops to take the bus.
Not gonna lie, I kind of liked not having a run button and having to use psi teleport to move fast, it added more strategy to movement.
You can also ride the bus to get to the Monkey Cave faster if so desired. It's probably the only time where the bus is useful along the intended path.
DougDoug Snacks thinks this video was not made for people who have never played earthbound and don’t like being in a department store for 2 hours fighting presents
You fail to consider that moving fast feels good and allows you to actually play the game more
Feels good, yeah. “Allows you to play the game more”? How?
Game Journalist take
answer: you can. eat skip sandwich. mm tasty run fast
This video's about a proper run button, not a 10-second auto run :P
Great explanation my guy!
I have two words: skip sandwich
Just increase the speed in your emulator
People are impatient; that's it.
As once guy commented on an earthbound cave of the past music "You need low moments, to apreciate the high" or something like that.
why do your videos make me calm
not sure! glad they do tho :)
Why earthbound should have a run button:
1 I'm an impatient fuck
2. You don’t understand how lists work 😛
@@MonkeyNess 3 I wasn’t trying to convince anybody
@@odin9628 4 Iwasjustjokingimsorrypleasedontbemeantome
@@MonkeyNess 5 Ohthankgod
i didnt even notice that earthbound doesnt have a run button so i highly doubt the lack of a run button is a problem
Ok but I still want a run button
Love the strider7x reference
Because you didn’t eat your SKIP SANDWICH
Jesus Christ bro by the end of this video I had to pause it and out loud ask myself “what the fuck am I listening to” lmao
the only times i ever thought while playing earthbound that i wanted a run button was only on "the underworld" for the most part,a run button or not really didn't affect my enjoyment of the game
beautifully said
The solution Was in Earthbound beginning, SPEED UP THE TIME OF THE GAME?
As for the swamp, I just used PK Teleport Alpha and deliberately ran into something to stop it, it made the experience a lot less painful even though it wasted PP.
I also missed talking to Montague on my first run through Dusty Dunes :/
I think my solve would to be making it so you would have to beat the game completely in one save file, so if you started another you would be able to run to make the game a bit quicker
I see where you're coming from, but for many I think this change would be seen as coming in too late to justify including.
@@MonkeyNess Yea, it would be a bit frustrating to beat the entire game only to beat it slightly faster (if) upon a repeat playthrough which might not even happen
Finally, the big question.
Interesting topic, you see this in a lot of games and I'm guilty of it. I was that dumb kid spamming roll in Ocarina of Time even though it barely made Link go faster, if at all. I think it's mostly about perceived control. Even if the run button (or whatever input makes you go faster) barely increases your speed, people use it constantly, you know you would be slower if you weren't so every extra pixel per second in speed feels like you're seizing an opportunity. But, as you cover in the video, games don't always need that kind of mechanic and it's probably a good idea to exclude it when it's not needed since it interferes with other parts of the design.
Hey, isn't the Homely Yado Inn used around 6:30 the restoration done by Irikachana, not the original? Might be good to put that in the description. Video: ua-cam.com/video/4p9lojc75Hw/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Great video as always by the way. :)
Seems so! Fixed the description. Thanks for pointing it out to me.
I like things too be perfect
>uses incorrect form of “to”
I guess you can say: Life is roablocks.
It’s just tedious to have your walking speed slow and your main fast travel be something you have to wait through a cutscene for, it’s fine early game but it gets draining if you’ve been doing it for like 30 hours
A running button may not be necessary, but like…. Isnt it just better in general? Like when you replay the game it’s just a nice feature to quicken things up
What’s the rush though, you know?
@@MonkeyNess earthbound is a game where they want you to talk to everyone to figure things out and learn more about the world. Ofc running isn’t a necessary feature, but having the ability to run would greatly help in getting rid of the meandering you have to do in the game. The meandering is part of the experience, but idk my thumb hurts after using the snes mini controller for so long lmao
@@catdatwat9743 What meandering though? It all has a purpose.
Ngl this is my favorite video about earthbound
1:11 What’s playing here, and what rendition?
All music used is listed in the description! :)
0:52 I don't know if I'd say that, from personal experience I definitely had more trouble with the combat in Mother 3 than EarthBound. I think EarthBound has more game over situations as a result of design problems that weren't in Mother 3, they're challenging in different ways, but its hard to make a statement about which one is objectively more difficult.
As someone who recently replayed EarthBound via MaternalBound Omega which does add a run button, I kinda have to disagree with your reasoning for not adding one.
For one, as you said, the map and enemy placement means you can't really outmaneuver enemies most of the time, so making the game "easier" or something feels moot. Secondly, as you said you get Teleport pretty early so it's either intentionally Teleport bonk to move through towns faster or just have a run button, and at least in said patch it doesn't even work in Deep Darkness (because neither does the Skip Sandwich) so it's not invalidated as a gimmick. And lastly, I'm just a fan of consistency. Mother 1 has it ("but it was a debug feature--" it was added properly to Mother 1+2 which has numerous other changes and bug fixes, okay? It's IN Mother 1), Mother 3 has it, I still don't see much reason in Mother 2 not having it. It's a simple convenience that isn't game breaking and again, as you say yourself, changes very little besides having that convenience.
We'll just have to agree to disagree.
I disagree to disagree. Exalted Uriel hasn't provided any reasons in favor for the inclusion, and hasn't correctly addressed the reasons for not added one that were made in the video.
1) The argument that it would it easier to outmaneuver enemies was specifically being applied to large areas where you can actually outmaneuver enemies like Dusty Dunes Desert, as shown in the clip while the argument was being made. Right next to this, the video also discussed how so many areas in the game are narrow and encounters are essentially unavoidable. Your point one has been made from the perspective of someone who hasn't even watched the video and only read the title.
2) You are simply incorrect in that you get teleport early. That occurs roughly 50-60% through the game. Teleport bonking through towns is only marginally faster than simply walking normally after you factor in all of the menuing - furthermore this is actually a good thing, it creates a risk/reward for advanced players. If you teleport bonk incorrectly you'll complete the teleport and end up even FARTHER away from the destination you wanted to get to, the majority of players aren't going to go through all the trouble and such a big risk just to save a little time, but it's the perfect kind of thing that speedrunners, min/maxers, and challenge runners love to take advantage of.
3) You don't get to argue for consistency when you're wrong. Ignoring that they are different games designed with different sizes and different movement mechanics and different content density (which is dumb already to ignore all these differences but it's important that you understand just how wrong you are), at the time of Earthbound's release 100% of the Mother series had no run button - it IS being consistent to have no run option! Tweaks made for different platform ports or re-released in 'best hits' collections are not legitimate aspects that get factored in.
@@Milktube Okay but I like it.
Ironically I watched this video on x2 speed, at least youtube has a "run" button. But yeah, Earthbound does not need it, the default walking speed is perfect as is.
Run features in RPGs just wasn't as much a thing back then. I don't think it ever occurred to developers to consider it. It's definitely less useful in 'random encounter' RPGs like Final Fantasy, could even make it worse in a way on the user's end, as it would make it seem like there's actually more encounters, assuming encounters are still done on a 'roll the chance each tile' fashion. Mother 1's 'run' debug had similar issues, it made traveling itself faster but the whole thing was still kinda annoying.
Anyway, then we have Mother 2, where I think it'd make some degree of sense, because of the encounter system where you see enemies ahead of time. One potential benefit of that system, being able to avoid enemies, is often mitigated because they just move faster than you. Having an ability to run would make avoidance more of a factor and would make the whole system, much like with Mother 3 even though the 'charge-up' made it a bit tricky to do. I don't think it was needed by any means, but it would've been a relevant enough use case if it was there, I think.
6:37 jokes on you i could care less about Talking to people i was just picking fights with Enemies
While I am happy Mother 3 has a run button (due to all the aforementioned backtracking, especially when it came to the Mouse Family side quest), I didn’t mind all too much that EarthBound doesn’t have one. It gave me more time to take in the atmosphere and really get invested in the world. It also helped that all the music was awesome (and well, Dungeon Man’s was all right…) so I got a chance to listen to it more!
Even in Mother 3, I don’t feel like I’ve completely explored an area until I’ve talked to all the people in it.
I agree with the balancing point, yet, as you said, NPCs are scattered widely, first time i played Earthbound, i do missed a lot of flavor dialogues, making my first experience with the game actually less complete than many others, specially nowadays, where fastforward is a thing. Not having a running button is not a problem, yet having it is for sure helpful, not because of avoiding enemies, but to make those tiny little things that might not be important, yet surely make a slight smile on you worth your time.
1997 : Gamers : "Why is there no running button in EarthBound?" -
2005 : Gamers "Why can'T you swim in GTA3 ? .... 2017 : Game Journalists :"Why is there no easy button?"
Staples :"Hold our beer ! ... we've been selling those for a decade"!"
Because you can’t. That’s it.
In all the mother games the characters walk too slow and when I played this game I liked how everyone was walking faster than usual and they walk like a troop.
0:53 *you hear some loud toilet banging noises*
Nah not bro getting all moody at the end over a theoretical run button in the Sheldon Cooper of JRPG's from 29 years ago💀💀
bro really said "Sheldon Cooper of JRPGs" like that makes any sense
I think a run button would have been nice because then you can actually get behind enemies and get the advantage attacks, also just because i think running is convenient, it didn't bother me a whole lot though. Also I'm surprised the desert account most of the criticism even though it has one of the best songs.
also some cool tech
you can use teleport a as a weird run
I would like to say why I want a run in Earthbound is mostly because it's fun to run in games and would be nice to have the option to run by things/fight IF I was confident I could avoid them to maybe have save some items/PP/HP for the fights I do want them for instead of wasting it in a fight that could have gone very bad especially if the boss is known for being difficult on a good run
yes this does sort of count as being impatient but I would also say adding a running mechanic similar to Mother 3/Earthbound 2 could add to a minor risk-reward with some caveats as this is more for enemies with erratic patterns and are slightly faster than the party but while I still want it for an extra gameplay element to strategize at the end of the day you put it best through out the whole video and there are mods/fangames I can easily get on my own time.
yoooooo finallyy an answer
Based take. I never needed a run button. It would make this game way too short. Its already short as it is
I like how you could've said "Earthbound doesn't have a run button because yes." But didn't. Nice.
Good point
I also think that fighting was just mostly pretty enjoyable for at least Japanese gamers. Like the games were pretty much the fights, which is why it was such a huge genre. But obviously gamers change as the medium evolves, so now many games don’t have as high encounter rates
No
Okay, but seriously, I don't really mind the lack of a run button. I would like it to exist for the desert, but you don't get heatstroke that much unless you're actively trying to get everything in the area. Even then, you can just spam Healing alpha and then rest in the tent so there isn't much of a loss for when you lose PP from it either.
Addressing the monkey caves, whenever I forget an item, I'm never mad because it means I get to hear the OST more, lol
I think if they add EB style run where it just speeds up everything including enemy movement it'd be fine. I just increased the clock speed when playing EB the first time around on an emulator to speed up the backtracking and of course it was a good double edge sword to not abuse it so I could try to avoid enemies.
8:58 hehe "run"