Town map

Town map
Appears in	EarthBound
Type	Key Item
EarthBound
Description	A handy town map. It can be used in Onett, as well as other towns. You can view the map quickly, simply by pressing the X button.
Found	Onett Library

"Here's a map. Onett isn't the only thing on the map. All the info is there, except for the info that isn't there. Pressing the X Button allows you to view the map at any time. How convenient! You know, the X Button... located near the top. Ha ha ha."

— Onett Library Librarian

The Town map is an optional key item in EarthBound. It can be obtained from the librarian in the Onett Library, and is used by either pressing the X button or selecting it in the inventory.

While it is called the Town map, it actually has information on six distinct locations: Onett, Twoson, Threed, Fourside, Summers (including Toto), and Scaraba. If it is used elsewhere, a message appears saying "This town is not shown on the map" (if the player presses the X button in a town that isn't visible on the Town map, the map will simply not be pulled up). Each town is shown with flashing indicators showing points of interest, such as the location of Hotels and Hospitals.

The librarian who gives the party the map states that kids are only allowed to borrow maps at the town library, and also notes that "a man without a map isn't popular with the girls." if the map is refused. She will constantly repeat the response if saying no to her, forcing Ness to receive the map if he talks to her. She also says that he should come back in the year 2001 to return it. However, as the console has no internal clock, returning the map is impossible; this means if the player doesn't want it in the inventory, they have to deposit it into the Escargo Express.

Maps

Onett

Twoson

Threed

Fourside

Summers and Toto

Scaraba

Trivia

• During the process of rereleasing EarthBound on the Wii U Virtual Console, series creator Shigesato Itoi considered changing the return year of the map from 2001 to sometime more believable. Itoi also considered it when EarthBound was being emulated for the New 3DS and Super Nintendo Classic.
• In MOTHER 2, the librarian who lends Ness the Town map tells him to "press the blue button" to open the map. However, the original SNES controller in North America has no blue buttons, so in order to avoid confusion, the localizers simply renamed it to "the X button".