Ness is a Perfect Silent Protagonist
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 чер 2024
- How and what EarthBound teaches us about becoming a better person through gameplay.
Music:
Going Alone - Mother 3
Home Sweet Home / Pollyanna - EarthBound
Smiles and Tears - EarthBound
Snowman - EarthBound
Magicant - Mother (composed by Hirokazu Tanaka)
The Jolly Flying Man - EarthBound
Game Over Theme - EarthBound
The Power - EarthBound
The Heroes Return Part 2 - EarthBound
Ghost Town - Ye
Special Thanks to Alph, MonkeyPaula, Justice, Micheal, and Melo from Running Shine
Twitter: / primateness
Discord Server: / discord
Second Channel: / @primateninten
Backup Channel: / @monkeynessshorts - Ігри
Lumine Hall is one of the greatest moments in gaming to me. Seeing Ness go from dead silent to having his thoughts literally escape his head, contrasting everything else before that point in the game is amazing. He's just a kid who doesn't wanna grow up at his heart. I love that.
dude how do you manage to look this deep into earthbound
i can't imagine going this deep into any game, hot damn.
Mad props, great explanation. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Phenomenally said, I’m surprised I hadn’t noticed that the Flying Man’s theme is a leitmotif of the Game Over tune until you pointed it out. Making all of this even more fascinating, I think, is how the relationship between Ness and the player develops as he comes into his own. As you mentioned, we’re led to think of him as a blank slate for us to imprint our experiences on, but with the slow accumulation of memories in each Sanctuary Location, which the player has no knowledge of, he begins to drift away from his role, and so do we. We control Jeff and Poo on their own personal quests to join the party, and we’re asked to input our real name as well, further distinguishing us from Ness. Ness and the player’s divergence away from one another spikes in Lumine Hall and builds in Magicant, but I don’t think it reaches its climax until the final battle, where the party prays for your help, having never met you before. It’s one of the game’s longest cons, this gradually escalating exploration of the concepts and roles of the player and avatar, but aside from being an interesting touch, I think it works really well in encouraging the player to put themselves in Ness’ shoes and build an attachment to his world, so that we can more readily see parts of ourselves in him when he asserts his own characterization. The game begins with the suggestion that you can escape into the role of this character, and ends wanting you to recognize and accept that that can’t happen, and while that might be a little sad, isn’t it kind of beautiful to be who you are?
Rambling aside, this is an excellent video. Always glad to see more nuanced discussion about the role and potential of the “silent protagonist” in videogames, and your analysis of Magicant gave me even more to think about in a work I thought I knew from front to back (the concept of the Kraken distorting the waters of Ness’ mind, for one thing). Thanks for putting it together!
When I defeated Ness' Nightmare for the first time and saw Ness become pure, I can't explain how I felt, the scene is just perfect in so many ways, especially the music. I find it insane how much music is able to bring atmosphere, especially considering it's literally just vibrations. Great video. Will you more on the other protagonists? Another thing I like that is shown for growth is Ninten, as that game for me feels like it's representing a kids growth into adulthood, especially the scene with Ninten an Ana dancing. Again great video
Thank you so much, not against doing more character/protagonist-centric videos! If I have something to say, I’ll totally make them!
Exactly, felt the same
Honestly I find the most consistent battle strat against Ness'Nightmare to be turning on Auto-Battle. Its kinda neat; the best way to beat the Nightmare is letting Ness fight on his own.
Neat!
Itoi: U are Ness, Ness is not a CPU, fight it urself dummy
@@iwatatiff The player isn't Ness. They legit ask for the player's name multiple times separate from the party's names.
@@tvb5509 Ur comment conflicts with the message of the game tho
@@iwatatiff Fair, we do experience the same journey.
Watching your channel is like my Lumine Hall, man. Earthbound saved my life at one point, and Ive had these very visceral and reflective thoughts about that i thought would sound crazy to say out loud. But here i am, hearing so many of them echoed by another person, occasionally with their own slight twists of interpretations or extra insight from cultures, localizations, or what have you. Its been truly refreshing reminding myself in this manner, and to set out in the world with everything fresh on my mind to ponder and practice once more. Thank you.
Ps. Id also like to add, though its already sort of implied, that Ness can confront his demons only after various preminitions and reminders from the Sanctuary Locations, and that only through defeating this inner Nightmare, Ness gains the strength to do anything, including conquering literal evil itself. And if that isnt saying something enough, Ness doubles up both as a set of personality traits, but also as the player, ANYBODY. The journey would be damn seemingly impossible for anybody, but ANYONE can accomplish ANYTHING through this coming to terms and being whole with oneself. We all must learn to live and thrive in the world despite Giygas's (evil's) influences. Much like Porky or any of th other run ins with the statue, people are prone to its influences of greed and superficial grandeur. But not Ness. He is in the same situation as everyone else, but he doesnt have to succumb to it. He can employ himself to become better, fight past it, and even help others see the way again through his example.
Maybe some of that is still iterative, but there's a brief spiel of some of my takeaways 😅
Wow, you took a game that I've loved for years and explained metaphorical and emotional depth that I didn't even know It had. I guess that's a good thing with video games, (The Mother Series Specifically.) There's always more to discover about their history. This video has ensured that I will be here for some time to open My mind to concepts about my favorite games. Thank you.
I loved when he realized his full power
I think that your sanctuary locations and melodies the sound stone collects is him remembering his lullaby as a baby
I think the your sanctuary boss and their refusal to fight unless ness is in the party, shows that each boss is fragment of negative elements of Ness that he must overcome, just like his nightmare
He was literally so strong, his power had to be divided before he could fully grasp it
He was always strong enough to best Giygas (given Ness and his stats carry the rest of the party in the last area of the game, the cave of the past, he's past his past) but as you said he had to defeat his own evils. His quest wasnt to become strong enough to defeat Giygas, his quest was to realize his true power, but to do that, he had to 1st purify his heart, and clear his mind of doubts.
You less go on an adventure with Ness, because it's more like his spiritual pilgrimage.
Hearing this makes me cry again. I remember when I finally took him down as well it didn’t feel like a regular rpg boss it felt just as you said fighting an evil/yourself in order to become better stronger. I still feel like I’m trying to do that every day and feels like I’m losing but seeing this just gives me more determination to find out who I truly am. Thank you so much for this video it help me slightly more then I ever knew I needed.❤️🙏💯🥺
Thank you so much for your kind words and I wish you luck. 🐵❤️
@@MonkeyNess you’re welcome 😇
@@MonkeyNess definitely earn a sub from me I ran across this by accident really glad I did
There were some very helpful informations in your video. When digging deep into Ness‘ character you can get some very good life lessons out of him.
Out of all the iconic video game characters I’ve seen so far , Ness has had the best morals I’ve ever seen from a video game character and believe it or not he has also changed a little portion of my life.
Itoi‘s writing is fascinating
Itoi is a genius.
If this was ever a movie... It would be like 4 hours long, and would undoubtedly get an Oscar.
Ness's Nightmare is also the Mani Mani Statue. His exposure to the statue corrupted him, but he didn't become evil from it due to Ness' pure heart.
I love your videos! This one's amazing, as always :)
Ness is such an underappriciated character, since you don't get to know more about him without getting through the game. No one really talks about this because of that fact, and it allows for new players to experience Earthbound as something new when they play it for the first time, which other games have trouble doing.
6:58 This is a line that normally wouldn't be funny but the rest of the video is treated like a serious look on Ness's personality so this made me chuckle
Aside from Smash 64, it was the Magicant bonus scene from Chuggaaconroy’s LP that got me into Earthbound. It resonated with me to deep level and I went back and watched the LP all the way through afterwards to figure out how the game got there. It’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Even with hardly any context behind it, I was able to identify it as a something of self-actualization on a deeper level.
I relate more to Ness’s internal conflicts more than other characters in the Mother series. You don’t need to be sad or outwardly struggling to have problems with others or yourself. Sometimes even the smallest acknowledgement can mean the world to someone. It can especially be frustrating when you thought you’ve gone through the worst of it only to get a similar outcome again and again and you question yourself and it doesn’t seem like you’ll ever get anywhere. Heck, I relate more to Mario, but I can admit that it may be me looking either too deep, or possibly finding something more to the character most don’t consider.
I was sort of hoping Mother 3 would’ve had something much like it, but it’s more so grown over the course of the game rather than a pivotal moment that turns the tides. There’s some thing’s I’d consider similar, but it’s hard for me to see Lucas caring too much about the gravity of the truth of reality than solving issues at the moment - like, “that’s good to know, but there’s more important things to do at hand.” It’s a better story, but man, I think it was Ness’s self-actualization that told me that I’m awesome the way I am and changed me to be more outgoing and be myself. Lucas became more confident, but his self-doubt is more done differently.
Actually, if you wanted to add more to this topic, I think it may be more telling that things like Ness being homesick and his family giving him words of encouragement add to the idea. Ness’s family may subconsciously know that he’s shown weakness to some form of self-loathing. Meanwhile, the party you amass does show some admiration to Ness and look up to him in some way. Maybe that puts stress on him as he has an image to uphold. You do see him struggle, it’s just that he hardly removes the mask to tell you. Why should he when he’s uncomfortable about it? He’s got guts, but it can be more than that for someone to open up about themselves.
I guess if anyone else is having these issues, I’d say what you’re doing is enough. If you think you can do better, then go for it, but you’re fine as you are and if you keep working on those problems, I’m sure you’ll be able to eventually resolve them. Just letting you know it can take a long time and that’s okay. The pursuit of the best you requires you to make mistakes. Just do your best to learn from them as you can. I wouldn’t ask much more than that of someone. Thank you.
This scene hits harder when you know it's coming while still being your first time, it gives a sense of respect for Ness as a character
your videos are so in depth, i come to learn about a game but end up learning about much more. all your videos are so well done
Thank you so much!
Let me make this clear. My first experience with EarthBound wasn't through PLAYING it. It was through Chuggaaconroy's 2018 playthrough as that is where I experienced the game in it's entirity for the first time. With that being said, when I made it to the episode where Ness' nightmare is finally defeated and Ness begins to have that massive stat boost, something inside me changed. It's a feeling I am still yet to understand, frankily I don't think I had ever seen anything quite like that moment before or least never FELT it. The moment Ness defeated all of the inner fears that were holding him back from becoming the hero he needed to be, it awoke something inside of me and it truly made me appreciate video games as an art form. After I finished watching Emile's playthrough, I got myself an emulator and actually beat the game myself and lemme tell ya, I have lost count of how many times I have completed this amazing game, I dare say it's my favorite game of all time. My life changed after late 2018, the events after that year led to me meeting so many new friends that I will remember until the day I die. I met my BEST friend, someone who I consider a sibling and someone I would die for no questions asked. And I think all these life changing experiences can be traced back to when I first got into EarthBound which is why I will always treasure this game as well as the Mother Series as whole for as long as I live.
I stand by that Chugga’s 2018 LP is the best way to experience EarthBound outside playing it yourself.
@@MonkeyNess I Agree
The “with all of that out of the way” around 2:39 was a nice subtle touch. Immediately made me subscribe
This video has arguably gone deeper into the psyche of Ness and the player than any other video I've seen. Great work once again!
I've personally interpreted aspects of Ness's character and Magicant quite differently thank you, but I think that adds to how powerful his character and Magicant really can be, depending on how the player looks at it. I loved hearing your thoughts about him and Magicant! It's nice to see I'm not the only one who loves analyzing the hell out of this game and the dudes in it.
Incredible video, i never really think about this but what you said really made me see the game in another point of view.
YOOO you used the cogdis logo when you said cognitive dissonance !!!! Best fangame literally ever its so good i love it
Yet to play it myself, but wanted to make the visual for "cognitive dissonance" as related to the series as possible. :)
What a beautiful message and video. What you said at the end of this video, with clips of "It's A Wonderful Life" resonated deep within me. "Becoming a better person is hard work and oftentimes goes unappreciated." I've changed in so many positive ways in the past 5 years, but even if people don't see it, it doesn't mean I don't see it.
Exactly. Keep working to be the best version of yourself, for yourself.
I never had realized that the flying man had so much depth to them. Great video!
Aww he's so happy when riding a bike!
I can't believe The Shape of Water (2017) is in EarthBound
you make such good videos!
Thank you, Sara!
Your video essays are incredible. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Damn what a beautiful video.
after i got the magicant bonus for the first time im pretty sure i said "WHAT THE FUCK" out loud
This video means a lot to me. Ness is my favorite fictional character of all time. I love him a lot yet people generally (at least in fandom) never treat him as a character, more as a plot device or shipping device. Magicant is a beautiful representation of Ness and even Earthbound as a whole
Thank you so much for watching! Really glad oyu enjoyed it!
As someone who analyse Ness since a while and has him as my comfort characters and favorite fictional character too (alongside with The Doctor and Olimar) I feel you
Something I really like about magicant that doesn't really fit into this video is the symbolism of the enemies. I'm not gonna explain all of them but on Seal and co's upload of the song "deeper into Ness' subconscious" there's a comment and a reply to that comment that explains it really well
Decided to not go over this since the video was already getting long, and I also didn’t want to talk about everything there is to talk about Magicant in one video, since I’m considering doing a full series on EarthBound, where I will analyze every aspect of the entire work. :)
This video is great! I love this sort of introspective analysis for video games. Honestly deserves more views.
you make the best earthbound documentaries ever
This made me cry in the best way.
you brought so many awesome observations aboutmy favorite part in the game.
Instantly subbed after the video ended. I think we’re gonna get along great
i like this old game theory-ish editing
i could never beat ness’ nightmare. It still haunts me, Help
Make sure you have an elemental pendant equipped to nullify PSI Flash, and use a mix of PSI Rockin' and PSI Lifeup (2nd or 3rd level) to keep your health up to endure the battle, letting your HP roll up so you have more time to get attacks in between healing turns.
I agree, Ness is such a great silent protagonist
Beautiful
Thank you, really poured my heart and soul into this.
2:44 Technically he also smiles when his picture is being taken, but it's considered polite to smile when having your picture taken, so he could very easily just be faking.
putting Ghost Town as the credits music... you know exactly how to make me cry
Okay first, wonderful Video Essay. I feel like I understand Ness better than I ever did in my many playthroughs of EarthBound.
I loved the bit about Ness' Nightmare fighting like a playable character. I'm my 1st playthrough, it was apparently a better level grinder than I was, cause only one of us knew Rockin Omega when we fought. Just hearing what it sounded like had kid me stupefied and endlessly curious as to what I just got carpet bombed by.
Great vid!!!
The point that made me come from "The Mother Series is really good" (i already finish Mother 1 at this time, i was doing the series chronologically ) to "The Mother games will be in my hall of fame" was the lumine hall, i was trully charmed by this moment and what it expresses
Great video
0:00 I've used the Road Block in some of my MOTHER videos for spoiler warnings too, like this one! ua-cam.com/video/ZGIOCqPXZBk/v-deo.html
yt notified me of this late
The Janitor from Willys wonderland is also a good example of this
Amazing video I love more deep analysis videos
Solid video, very well put together!
If I may nitpick one thing, at 5:05 you talk about Japanese children and Itoi's perspective on them. I'm curious where you got this information from. As someone who spent many years of my youth in Japan, I wouldn't say children are made to "grow up faster" in Japan more so than anywhere else in the world.
Just my take, maybe you have some reliable source you got that from, but it just seems strange to me.
9:21 some quality MonkeyNess lore
Fun fact: at the beginning of the game, if you try leaving the house while the phone is ringing, Ness will actually talk.
Actually it's Porky who does this! :)
@@MonkeyNess Really? I always thought it was Ness talking.
Yeah! Oh wai-
pog
Man your audio mixing got better, I'm on max volume and I can barely understand what you're saying.
Yeah, after this video is when I started more seriously using test audiences to check these kinds of things, and my friend Melo gave me some pointers for how he mixes his audio shortly after.
👍
Thank you Ness from EarthBound.
He deserves more than a THX he saw Giygas in first person. Giygas definitely looked realistic since it was Ness seeing it in first person. He deserves 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 dollars.
Medication is needed.
Maybe there are a lot of things I could say, but I'm not the best at articulating my thoughts. So I'll just say Thank You.
You say Ness is a Perfect Silent Protagonist... And I agree!
However, if there is someone also worthy of that title, it would be Lea from CrossCode.
(It's a damn shame nobody talks about CrossCode because it's amazing but hey, I figured it was a good moment to share it since we are talking about Silent Protagonists.)
I was at level 80 WAAAYyyy before the nighter battle.
I
great video, needed more monkey tho
That’s fair
I've never noticed that about the flying man song and I've beat earthbound like 6 times
Glad you could learn something new!
Silent Protagonist piss me off in general, but ness and samus are my favorites
Yeah I think Samus can also be held in the same regard. Starting from Metroid 2 you can see that she is characterized as this deeply empathetic and person who is conflicted with her relationship to the federation while still being silent for the most part. Some games break this though...some worse than others...
could you do a video on the earthbound novelization?
Working on this!
im honestly suprised you didn't mention that the sea of eden is probably a reference to the garden of eden
Great video. Never even made a connection between the octopus statues and the tentacle at the end of the red tunnel even though I knew Giygas was trying to take Ness over as well.
Magicant has so many good videos on it and is one of the best areas in every Mother Game. Another video that talks about Magicant well is here IMO:
ua-cam.com/video/snUBGOnjk70/v-deo.html
Shame that everything great about Magicant's ending can be ruined by some poor soul having over leveled to 99.
totally not biased ;p
I said “a” perfect silent protagonist, not “the” :P
Is it just me, or is this video way too quiet?
Nice vid but personally ill give the best silent protagonist award to Gordon Freeman
true shit
Umm actually, ness talks 🤓
He says fuzzy pickles
He speaks in Magicant
wait, how is ness a silent protagonist? ever since the first time you meet him, he does that whoopie cushion prank and befrends you and makes many jokes. am i missing some lore?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
He says "OK" and "PK" how is he silent?
We’re talking about him actually expressing his thoughts verbally, and him actually saying “PK” and “Okay” were additions done by Sakurai for Smash, and don’t originate from Mother itself.
I think silent protagonists are overused
in video games or media in general?
@@alphatheories2843 Mostly video games
@@MagnificentMaimonides9797 I agree in the first few decades of gaming (early zelda, mario) when hardware limitations kept storytelling to a minimum, but there are a lot fewer silent protagonists in modern gaming (Master chief, Link). To me it depends on the era and expectations.
They definitely can be, glad we have a lot more departure from this now.
lol Ness is one of the most boring uninterested characters in a game ever, I'm giving a lot of room by even calling him a character
Can't please everyone!
More than any COD character really ??
pog
pog
pog
pog
pog
It's you, YOU CRITICIZED MACARONI DURING THE STREAM LAST WEEK!
I WILL FIND YOU
AND I WILL.. make you appreciate Macaroni more by making you a nice bowl.
@@theonlystarman this is going to cause some serious drama
@@theonlystarman macaroni