Sometimes the fastest way forward is to start again from nothing.
Five years into development, EarthBound was dying. The code had become so tangled that fixing it looked impossible. Satoru Iwata, then president of HAL Laboratory, looked at what the team had built and gave them a choice: 'If we use what you've got now, it'll take two years to fix. If we start from scratch, we can get this done in six months.' They chose to throw away five years of work and restart. Iwata kept his word — six months later, the game was finished. It shipped in August 1994. That decision — to let go of all that time, all that effort, and begin again — is hard to make. But sometimes the weight you're carrying is the thing stopping you from running.
— inspired by Satoru Iwata
About this game
MOTHER 2 (released in North America as EarthBound) is a 1994 role-playing game for the Super Famicom, created by writer Shigesato Itoi and rescued from near-cancellation by programmer Satoru Iwata. After five years of troubled development, Iwata made the decision to rebuild the entire codebase from scratch in six months — a gamble that paid off. The game follows a young boy named Ness who must travel across a modern-day setting to stop an alien invasion. Its quirky humor, contemporary setting, and unconventional battle system made it a cult classic.
The Story Behind
MOTHER 2 (released in North America as EarthBound) was developed over five years by Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory, with writer/director Shigesato Itoi and programmer Satoru Iwata. The project nearly collapsed under the weight of inexperienced staff and tangled code, until Iwata made the decision to rebuild the entire codebase from scratch in the final six months. It was released in Japan in August 1994 and localized for North America in June 1995.
Tricks & Tales
When Satoru Iwata joined the struggling MOTHER 2 project, he famously told the team: 'If we use what you've got now, it'll take two years to fix. If we start from scratch, we can get this done in six months.' The team chose to restart, and Iwata delivered — the game shipped six months later. Composers Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka incorporated an unusually diverse range of styles into the soundtrack, including salsa, reggae, and dub.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Super Famicom and SNES region differences operate on two separate levels. First, there is a physical incompatibility: a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge and a North American SNES cartridge have different shell shapes. NTSC-J (Super Famicom) carts are narrower and will not seat in a North American SNES slot without the slot's internal tabs removed or bypassed; conversely, the wider NTSC-U carts cannot even be inserted into a Super Famicom. Second, even where cartridges physically fit — PAL carts share a shell shape closer to Super Famicom and will insert — a lockout chip on the motherboard (F411 for NTSC, F413 for PAL) will prevent the game from booting on a mismatched console. Running a Super Famicom cartridge on a Super Famicom purchased in Japan is of course straightforward; playing it on a foreign console requires either a mod or an adapter that addresses both the physical and the chip-level lock.
Maintenance Tips
The 72-pin cartridge connector is the most common maintenance point. Clean the gold-plated pins on cartridges with a cotton swab and 90%+ isopropyl alcohol; never use abrasive erasers on cartridge contacts. The connector slot on the console itself can be cleaned by inserting and removing a cartridge several times, or with a dedicated pin cleaner. For video output, S-Video provides significantly cleaner image quality than composite and uses the same multi-out port -- a passive adapter cable is all that is required. On early SHVC board revisions, a capacitor near the power LED can leak; inspect the board if the console shows instability. Use the original AC adapter or a verified equivalent: the SFC runs on 10V DC and is not compatible with Famicom or NES power supplies.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese MOTHER 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū (EarthBound) copies regularly.
Will a MOTHER 2 cartridge still save my game?
MOTHER 2 cartridges use a CR2032 coin battery to keep saved games in memory. These batteries were designed to last at least five years — but every copy is now over thirty years old. If a cartridge forgets your progress when the power goes off, it usually isn't broken — the battery is simply tired. Replacing it will restore save functionality, though the old saved game will be lost when the old battery is removed.
Will a Japanese Super Famicom MOTHER 2 cartridge work on a North American SNES?
No. Japanese Super Famicom cartridges are physically shaped differently from North American SNES cartridges — the tabs inside a North American console prevent Japanese cartridges from being inserted. The region lock is both physical (cartridge shape) and electronic (lockout chip). To play a Japanese MOTHER 2 cartridge, you need a Japanese Super Famicom console.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy MOTHER 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū (EarthBound)
A short checklist for buying a used Super Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge; its shell is shaped differently from the North American SNES and will not fit without modification.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where MOTHER 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū (EarthBound) sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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