Ness

From EarthBound Wiki

This article is about Ness' appearances in the Mother series. For his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, see Ness (Super Smash Bros. character).

Ness
ネス Nesu
Sprites
Origin	Onett
Relatives	Tracy, mother, father
Vulnerable to	Hypnosis, Paralysis
Appears in	EarthBound and Mother 1 + 2

Ness (ネス Nesu) is a character in EarthBound. He is the silent protagonist of EarthBound, and is analagous to Ninten and Lucas in their respective games.

[edit] Biography

Born in the suburbs of Onett, Ness initially seems to be a typical kid. He is very skilled at playing baseball, and uses baseball bats as his primary weapon. He has a younger sister, Tracy, a stay-at-home mother, a hard working father, and a dog, King. In his mother's words, Ness is a 'courageous, strong boy', and has a very good relationship with his entire family.

However, Ness posesses traits that are far outside the realm of average. He is apparently instinctively telepathic, and can communicate with animals, some plants, and non-humans with ease. He also displayed minor telekinetic powers as early as infancy, letting him move his baby bottle by gesturing at it. These traits are firmly in place before the events of Earthbound. During his journey, Ness develops even more dramatic PSI abilities, including PSI Rockin, a powerful kinetic attack exclusive to him.

At the beginning of EarthBound, Ness is awoken from a sound sleep by the impact of the meteorite. His mother and sister are agitated, but Ness remains calm and goes out to inspect the crash. After meeting up with Liar X. Agerate and Pokey Minch, he returns home and tries to get back to sleep. Soon thereafter, Pokey arrives and demands that Ness help him look for his little brother, who has gone missing during the calamity surrounding the impact. After a pep-talk from his mother, Ness, Pokey and King go back out to the hillside, where they find Picky (who reveals it was Pokey who actually ran away). They also encounter Buzz-Buzz, an insectoid warrior who has returned from the future to warn Ness of the threat that Giygas poses to the universe. It is from Buzz-buzz that Ness learns of the prophecy surrounding his future; that he, along with the help of two other boys and one girl, will stand against Giygas and save the universe from total annihilation.

Vested with this knowledge, Ness accompanies Pokey and Picky back to their home, but is assaulted by a Starman Jr.. The alien confirms the prophecy before attacking the group. It is defeated through Buzz-buzz's massive PSI powers and Ness' physical attacks. Upon arriving at Pokey's house, Buzz-buzz is unceremoniously killed (for his alleged resemblance to a dung-beetle). Before expiring, Buzz-buzz passes on the Sound stone to Ness, and starts him on his quest to save the world.

[edit] Trivia

• Ness' equivalent in EarthBound's prequel, Mother, is said to be Ninten. Both Ness and Ninten share similar roles in their corresponding games, in addition to having similar appearances. These similarities extend to both characters having names relating to Nintendo (Ness being an anagram of the acronym for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, and an alternate spelling of the acronym for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, NES, and Ninten the first two syllables of the company name). The most notable difference is that Ness suffers from homesickness while Ninten has asthma. One of the most curious connections between the two characters lie in Ness' Magicant, where he rediscovers his childhood. Ness makes his way towards the memories of his home, which in his mind looks similar to Ninten's.
• Ness' equivalent in EarthBound's sequel, Mother 3, is said to be Lucas. Both Ness and Lucas share similar roles in their corresponding games, which extend to both characters being silent protagonists who make use of an exclusive PSI ability (PSI Rockin and PK Love, respectively).
• Ness was originally planned to be replaced by Lucas as the character representative of the Mother series in Super Smash Bros. Melee, however Ness reprised his role due to the original cancellation of Mother 3.
• Throughout the game, Ness' favorite food is a common conversation topic, especially with Ness' mother. It also appears in the Letter from mom received following the defeat of Giygas. By default, Ness' favorite food is steak, although as with the main characters and PSI Rockin, this variable can be specifically chosen by the player before the game begins.
• Using the Don't Care naming option, possible names for Ness are "Ness", "Alec", "Roger", "Will", "Brian", "Tyler", and "Lane".
• Ness is the only Mother character to have his game released out of Japan.