Adaptations have always been an interesting subject to discuss in popular culture, wondering how stories would be changed or even enhanced when put in a different medium. I cannot imagine the sense of awe Tolkien fans felt when Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy came out; putting an image to his detailed prose, showing the idyllic landscapes of the shire and adding new sequences like Gandalf’s “You shall not pass!” However, one type of adaptation that use to make any fan groan is the video game adaptation. With a stream of bad video game movies, it left a strong dent in the potential of video game adaptations. The pervading thought for a long time was that video games could not be adapted because some of them lacked in narrative content (not quality, but how much was going on in the story) and an inability to transfer the satisfaction of gameplay into another medium.
While I use to hold these two opinions, over time I have begun to realize how narrow-minded this view was. With the release of the Netflix Castlevania series, I have become more open to video game adaptations. In retrospect, one series that had consistently good adaptations was the Sonic the Hedgehog series, such as the memorable Sonic OVA. Castlevania expanded on the existing lore to make an action story based on the interactions of the characters from the game. The Sonic OVA used the characters from the series and put them into a new environment that allowed them to create a story that was not bound by pre-existing continuity. Both of these showed that with the right creative team any adaptation would be good.
With that said, one semi-obscure video game ripe with adaptation potential is Shigesato Itoi’s cult classic role-playing game (rpg), Earthbound. The game is about Ness, a young boy who finds a crashed meteor and awakens psychic powers. He is tasked by a fallen alien named Buzz Buzz to find eight special locations to defeat the evil alien Giygas. Along the way, he encounters various characters who join him on his quest or become enemies. The game was memorable for taking place in a suburban setting (unlike the various fantasy settings in other rpgs) with rpg tropes put through a modern twist, along with a unique sense of humor. With all of these unique elements to consider here are a few ways certain elements of Earthbound can be adapted into a television or movie.
1. Expanding on Character Personalities and Interactions: Earthbound is a jrpg (a Japanese role-playing game), which is known for the long stories and in-depth characterization. However, while Earthbound does have a long story, it is a typical one about a group of kids trying to save the world. The characters (while entertaining ) can be one-note, with Ness being the typical silent video game protagonist with only various hints of Ness’ thoughts sprinkled throughout the game. While some would say this lack of content makes it hard to draw on, I say the lack of information makes it easier to leave your own creative imprint.
For example, I would envision Ness having a stoic personality as an attempt to come off mature and keeps his emotions to himself even though he is still a child. This is inspired by the scenes where Ness has a drink while the narrator talks to the player and in Lumine Hall where Ness’ thoughts are projected on the wall. However, this hides Ness’ insecurities of going out to save the world and battling enemies. This is a direct translation of the Homesick status effect which happens when Ness does not call his mom after a while. The childishness comes from Ness’ equipable weapons: bats, yo-yos, and slingshots. The next character to focus on is Paula, one of the first party members Ness recruits after saving her from a cult. She could be a more innocent and idealistic character inspired by her having a teddy bear in her inventory and her special pray mechanic which causes a random effect to occur.
Character interactions should also be focused on and expanded due to the lack of material. Paula can have a strong friendship with Ness since she was the first one in the group. The other party members of, Jeff and Poo, could complicate the dynamic in interesting ways. Jeff would contrast with the other members as the pragmatic one because of his scientific upbringing, reinforced by his reliance on gadgets since he has no psychic abilities. This would contrast with Paula’s optimistic personality and could lead to some interesting interactions. Furthermore, Jeff’s distant relationship with his father could inform his interactions with Ness and Paula who both have strong connections with their parents. This is mostly derived from interactions with Jeff’s father and how his dad is more focused on his work than with raising him. In a way, the group could act as a new family for Jeff to bond with and grow attached to. This could enforce the theme of strong positive relationships (the series is called MOTHER in Japan after all).
The final party member to consider is Poo, the prince of Dalaam, who while the least developed of the four-party members, still has the potential for more characterization. He is the most single-minded of the group because of his extreme loyalty to Ness and the mission to stop Giygas. In his introduction, he is shown to have training as a prince and spiritual training. He could act as a pseudo-father figure to the group, giving sage advice when they are having problems. This could also lead to conflicts with the others who may not understand Poo due to his upbringing in a different country (Ness and Paula were raised in the equivalent of America, Jeff in the equivalent of England, and Poo in the equivalent of India). One idea comes from a section in the game when you have to grind a number of enemies to find a weapon for Poo (since the drop rate is very low and it is the only one he can use). One idea could be people doubting Poo’s focus drive to find the weapon, particularly Jeff, as a way to mirror the tedium when they find the weapon. An argument may occur which could make the eventual discovery of the weapon all the more impactful and strengthen the groups’ bond. These are a few ways personality traits can be interpreted from small story moments, information available to the player, and game mechanics which could build an interesting story.
2. Ways to Use Status Effects and RPG Leveling: Now I will go into more detail about turning mechanics into narrative elements. As a turn-based RPG, Earthbound has its share of status effects, but unlike the others they derive from mundane actions such as crying, getting a cold, or feeling nauseous. These are normal ailments to children and adults alike which are relatable to an audience. These can occur at any time, but would still reflect the vulnerability of these kids against the outside world. It will also make the more outlandish status effects in the game come across as more extreme (like mushroomized which causes you to lose control of the character and diamond which is like the hp dropping to zero but can be cured). The extreme status effects could cause comedy to the characters, along with portraying the strangeness of the enemies. Each character could have a different reaction to the status effects like Ness is more put off by getting a cold, but Poo pushes through it. If Paula is diamondized she could telepathically panic, whereas Jeff would panic internally made worse by how he cannot communicate with anybody. All of these statuses could be used at specific places in the story to make certain scenes more intense.
Using the leveling mechanics is the easiest to translate. Have the characters learn certain moves in times of desperation against strong enemies or a direct result of character growth and teamwork. The special abilities of the characters could also interact with the characters in interesting ways. Paula’s pray mechanic reflects her optimistic personality, but not realizing what would happen and lead to problems when it causes problems. Poo’s mimic power would be a way to make for interesting fight scenes (as demonstrated by WatanoLemonT). Watano has a number of animations that illustrate how the various Mother games can be interpreted through animation.
3. Adding Reactions to Other Characters and Enemies: This entry may seem rather obvious, but it is always worth remembering that while characters may not react to the various NPCs around in-game, the party can all have unique reactions to reinforce their character traits. For example, there is a random man who appears throughout the game to take the picture of the party members (he is not connected to any of the good and evil factions, he is just a character that appears). Ness is the only one to react positively to his appearance, whereas everyone is in the party keeps their neutral expression. Their reaction could be positive at first but slowly gets a bit unsettled as this character show up in multiple places. Also when they get creeped could vary between members (Jeff is the first one creeped out, followed by Paula, Ness, and Poo).
This is just one person throughout the whole game, multiple unique reactions could be done for the Mr.Saturns and Tendas, alien-like creatures who have their own society. The portrayal of the Mr.Saturns could be interesting because they are the only group in the game to have a special font when they are speaking (inspired by Itoi’s daughter’s handwriting) which could be interpreted as a vastly different dialect.
Enemy reactions can vary from fear (usually Ness and Paula) to determination (Poo, eventually Ness and Paula), but Jeff would have a particular fascination with the enemies, particularly the robots and aliens (inspired by his spy command).
4. Converting the Game Maps into Tangible Environments: The maps should keep their general shape and visual identity but should be allowed to change. In rpgs, areas in games have to be limited because there is only so much space that is created for the player to interact in. One way game designers get around this is with implied space; sonic levels uses the background to portray how the level is only in one part of this bigger area (see chemical plant zone, chaos angel, studiopolis, etc). Places like Fourside and Dalaam may have much more space than their in-game counterparts. The sense of scale can cause reactions based on the character’s background. Ness and Paula are from the suburbs, Jeff has been sheltered at a boarding school, and Poo has spent the majority of the time in his country. Everybody but Poo could have a sense of whimsy when they get to Poo’s home and Poo could be confused in a tourist town Summers. In general, the characters will be weirded out by the various strange dungeons like Lost Underworld and Moonside. Finer details of the area’s visual designs can be added, like a gigantic prehistoric forest in Lost Underworld and more surreal visuals for Moonside. The areas could also make use of experimental cinematography to portray the strange alien nature that the players felt when in the game world.
5. Portraying Porky and Giygas: I am dedicating a specific section to the two main antagonists because they cannot be brushed over in the enemies section of the previous section because these two are the main villains. Porky is Ness’ neighbor who discovers Buzz Buzz with Ness and his little brother, Picky. After the discovery, it is implied he is abused by his family and leaves, eventually becoming affiliated with Giygas. Throughout the game, he becomes a minor, recurring antagonist until the end when he becomes the penultimate boss. Much like the main party, Porky as a character is great for expansion. Certain places of interest to expand on include: Porky’s home life to show signs of being an abuse victim and possibly showing he got involved with Giygas. One of Porky’s defining aspects is his jealousy towards Ness. Perhaps Ness going on his adventure could cause Porky to become an enemy. One idea I had was Porky witnessing Ness see the Mani-Mani Statue (an item Giygas uses to hypnotize people and spread his influence) and steal it. This could explain how he meets Mr.Carpainter and slowly started up happy-happyism. Granted, this is one possible interpretation, another idea could be Porky wandering on his own and coming across Mr.Carpainter, endearing himself to him by being a suck-up. The interactions with Ness could be expanded upon to flashback to interactions from his childhood. Porky is a character who builds himself up by tearing others down and using them for his own benefit. He stands in direct contrast to the positive relationships between Ness and his family.
Now we have Giygas, the main villain of the game and one of the most memorable parts of it. He sends his minions after Ness and causes all of the weird events within the game. His boss battle is well known for its disturbing nature, inspired by trauma that Ito experienced as a kid (he even got scared writing Giygas’s dialogue). One of Giygas’ defining aspects is the ambiguity of his visual design and his attacks. The usual design of earthbound enemies is the sprite of an enemy and a psychedelic background (a video relaxant if to rephrase it). What makes Giygas stand out is that he is the background, both player and Ness alike are unable to comprehend Giygas’s physical form. Porky states that the party is in a “strange dimension” while fighting Giygas, but no specific description of his design. Most Earthbound animators interpret giygas as a spectral skull head based on his boss battle, but that is not the only way to interpret his appearance. One way to look at him is that his skull-like appearance is actually his original appearance from the first Mother game upside down. With this knowledge, Giygas could be shown as a mass of his upside-down alien faces and various other flesh appendages. As he is injured Giygas will morph into a morphing mass of flesh with fetuses in them (in reference to the infant shape in the second phase). The best part is this is just one interpretation, Giygas can be anything a director wants them to be (he is the embodiment of all evil as Porky said). Giygas is an eldritch abomination in the truest sense, an unknowable beast of evil whos appearance nobody can comprehend.
However, Giygas was not always like this. Back during the original Mother Giygas was raised by Ninten’s grandparents (Ninten is the main character of Mother). His grandmother, Maria was a mother figure to Giygas, whereas his grandfather, George, studied their psychic powers without the alien’s consent and fled back to earth. Giygas had to cut his familial ties and invade Earth. The only way to beat him was to sing Maria’s lullay, to make him feel guilty and retreat. While not necessary to the story of Earthbound, this information could factor into the story and Ness’ relationship with Giygas. Ness has to record sounds from the “Your Sanctuary Locations” in order to stop Giygas. This could parallel the lullaby from the first game and possibly have a flashback to the first mother game or Giygas’ backstory. Adding Giygas’ backstory would add additional weight to the fight. George could be portrayed as an absent parental figure and his betrayal hurting Giygas emotionally. This parallels Porky’s journey for seeking more power, both aligning them as hurt individuals who seek power because of their own troubled upbringing. Ninten and his group drove him away by guilt whereas Ness would have to deal with the monster George created. On top of that, Giygas could talk about how his encounter with Ninten. Finally, Paulas’ prayer that calls on everybody who they met to defeat Giygas could also be seen as Giygas being overwhelmed by positive emotions and being unable to handle it.
6. The Last Piece Ness’ Dad: The final mechanic I want to touch upon for this is saving. The way that you save in this game is by calling Ness’ Dad. This ties into the positive parental motif that is associated with Ness. Another thing that Ness’ dad does is call the party when he believes that the player has been playing Earthbound for too long and suggests them to take a break. While on the surface this is a way to remind the player to not be too absorbed by the game, in context it shows how Ness’ dad cares about his son to the point where he still worries about him going on this journey. This could easily be integrated as Ness’ dad calling every so often, maybe at inopportune times for comedic effect or when things are at their lowest to give the group some hope. Also, Ness’ dad should remain faceless for the majority of the game because that is how he was in the game.
Ness’ dad can also be used for one more thing. At the end of the game, Ness walks Paula home and goes back to his family. It is a nice family reunion that goes straight to the credits. However, there is an after-credits scene that shows Ness waking up much like at the beginning of the game and finds a note from Porky saying he will return. While this scene does foreshadow Porky’s eventual appearance in Mother 3, I always found this undercuts the happy ending of the story. With that said I actually found a way to make the scene better in my opinion. It would start out the same until Ness gets the note and after reading it rips it up since he is tired after a long journey and cannot deal with that right now. Right, when he is about to go to be he hears a knock at the door. Ness angrily readies a PSI Rockin’ blast and yanks open the door, only to slowly be shocked. At the door is Ness’ dad, finally home. Ness’ sister comes down wondering about the commotion and she is happy to see her dad as well. Ness tells her to get mom and Ness tearfully hugs his dad. Ness’ dad tells him to go to bed since he needs his sleep. I believe this would make for a better ending because it still shows Porky is still out there but ends on a more positive note. Also, the dad should resemble the game’s creator Shiegesato Itoi because he partially made the games as a way to cope with being absent from his daughter.
I have listed many ideas and examples here, but the possibilities are endless. To restate a point I said earlier, any creative team worth their salt can make a good adaptation and the future of video game adaptions looks bright.
