EarthBound Released on the Wii U Virtual Console July 20, 2013

Nintendo jumped the gun a bit early.  I wasn’t expecting to make this announcement until the end of the year, but Nintendo has re-released its most fan-requested title for download, the SNES cult-classic, EarthBound.

EarthBound, also known as Mother 2 in Japan, is the second game in the three-part Mother series, and has been considered by many to be one of the best Role-Playing Games of all time, and one of the best games of the Super Nintendo.  Sadly, unlike many of the other Super Nintendo favorites, EarthBound has not been re-released in any format in the West since its original debut.  Nintendo had originally planned to release the first game in the Mother series (coincidently, it would have also been named EarthBound), but cancelled the game’s release after it had already been fully translated.  Sadly, the timing on it just wasn’t right, as that would make a very expensive to manufacture NES game come out just around the time of the Super Nintendo’s release.  Nintendo also refused to release a western version of Mother 3 (which would have been EarthBound’s direct sequel) to the Game Boy Advance, despite the numerous requests from fans.  Once again, the timing on it wasn’t right, as by the time Mother 3 would hit shelves in the West, the Nintendo DS would have gotten close to release.

If you’re interested in hearing all about EarthBound’s history, check out Roo’s 16-Bit Gem history of the series from Clan of the Gray Wolf.  It’s a great watch which has a ton of history about the entire Mother series, and is very well researched!

You can download EarthBound through the Wii U’s Virtual Console right now for $9.99 US.  This is not currently available to download on the Wii or through the Wii Shop Channel.  Now bring on Mother 3, Nintendo!

Oh and a quick reminder, the NES version of Donkey Kong is only 30 cents US on the Wii U’s Virtual Console right now!