Why You Can't Run in EarthBound 

monkeyness trying not to make a simple video into an existential message challenge (impossible)

Let’s not forget that Mother 1 didn’t have a run button. It was added in EarthBound Beginnings, and even then it wouldn’t see an actual release until mother 1 + 2 included the changes made for Beginnings. Also the fact that the run buttons doubles everything’s speed on the overworld, seeming more like a debug feature than an actual run button.

I am a extremely impatient person but honestly I think the lack of a run is fine. The thought hadn't cross my mind during my playthrough. I think Earthbound is paced pretty good, nothing made me want to stop playing. I usually don't vibe with retro games or classical RPG's but I did enjoy EB quite a bit.

there is just not enough time in the world for a run button to not be included these days. stop being ridiculous.

I honestly think it adds to the idea that these are kids they aren't super heroes or athletics and the slow walking kinda makes you take things easier your not always in a hurry.

A run button would be useful because im impatient. But seriously, i never really saw Earthbound not having a run button as a big issue as others did. Walking speed is good enough.

y cant metroid crawl

2:47-3:10 That's cheating, because you're not factoring in the time it takes to walk from Fourside, across the bridge, in through the tunnel, and then back that way when you need to, especially since you not only have to backtrack through the monkey cave, but you will have to leave it several times if it's your first playthrough and you aren't using a guide, since there are a plethora of dead ends. The issue isn't so much that the game is too slow without the run button, but the game gives you means of moving quickly, just to not use them. Skip sandwiches are not only too short in their use, but stacking them is completely unviable for a wide majority of the game because your inventory space is so tight. And the game lets you use a bicycle in Twoson, but only when Ness is completely alone, meaning it's useless for 99.95% of the game, and really only there for aesthetic, at best.

Rick Rubin in his book, "The Creative Act" spotlights a really cool insight about art. In paraphrasing, he says that sometimes the imperfect version of the art resonates more than the version with all its problems fixed. And in the end, the imperfect version is the best version. I was reminded of that quote from this video and I really appreciate it. The lesson of us accepting and changing our views on imperfections in our favorite games is really wonderful to consider and practice in our lives. Finding ways to feel more connected because of the imperfection can lead us to appreciate the games we love even more. I wish I cared as much about games when I made videos on them. I've been binging your videos a lot recently and rewatching the ones I've already seen because I really enjoy listening to you talk about what you love without any of the inauthentic filler and fake excitement that 99% of the creators today do. I love it man, excellently done!!!

As someone who speedruns EarthBound and actively tries to avoid enemies, I'm glad there isn't a run button. That would take the challenge away. At that point, you might as well make a patch that turns spawns off entirely and makes Jeff's regular attack hit for 2000 HP so you never need bottle rockets.

Honestly i think it makes it better, really lets you soak up the area!

Slightly off-topic, but I wanted to mention a neat thing Deltarune Chapter 1 does that's sorta a reference to this and some of the sentiments from the comments here. There's a run button in that game, doesn't really need it but it's there. Anyway, my first time through I wanted to take it slow and comfy, vibe to the song Field of Hopes and Dreams, have a good time. Then I'm suddenly stopped by my party member Ralsei who reminds me that there is a run button and is curious why I'm not using it. He does eventually conclude that I'm enjoying my time and accepts that as the reason. I liked that the game noticed, felt like a very Toby-like thing for it to have.

0:34 Mother actually doesn't have a run button, it has a speed the entire game up button. This feature was first added in the unreleased US version of Mother (eventually released as Earthbound Beginnings) and later Mother 1 + 2. Unfortunately you could not run in the original Famicom release of Mother.

Well... there is a part were a run button IS nice, the monkey cave. I hate to be that person... but is a maze, Plus you may say, "Just buy the right items dummy!" yea... how can a new player know? a new play is constantly running back and forth getting the right items and going back. plus it might be me, but all the rooms look the same! so you may go down the wrong door without realizing And when you realize, YOU NEED TO WALK ALL THE WAY BACK! This is where a run button is really nice!

I love channels like this that have extremely niche topics One time on a replay, I replayed Earthbound with some slight improvement patch that added a run button and maybe some other small things Besides making the skip sandwich literally useless, I barely remember what it did Anyway, trying to remember back to it, don't even think there was a difference in how many battles I got into It was MAYBE like 10 battles through the whole game I specifically remember avoiding those robots in the Fourside Tower and that was cool but otherwise not much. This pissed me off when I was in the Pyramid and I couldn't avoid the annoying battles there. My point is that the run button is like a placebo. It makes you think it's better but it's not. I think that pacing is underrated in games. Film, TV, Books, critics of these all mention pacing at one point or another. In games like Earthbound, the pacing is deliberately slow. It's captures the feeling of a road trip better than any Road 96 or Final Fantasy 15 could (still like those games btw). It's like a peanuts comic. It feels very deliberate in having the walking speed of a slow Sunday afternoon. I feel like every RPG wants to be as fast as possible, adding numerous quality of life improvements to avoid anything that would slow down pacing. Quicker battles, optional battles, less grinding, as little backtracking as humanly possible, adjustable difficulty etc. I love these accessibility options, they definitely make the player experience better for most But I will admit that one of Earthbound's charms, and one that I think that alot of Indie Games that got inspired by it try to replicate is that it's a very deep experiential game. It's more like a Murakami novel that I read than like other RPGs I've played. It doesn't have any action setpieces, it doesn't have any particularly dramatic scenes. It's just about wandering and exploring with a vague general goal. Aside from the game design, adding a run button would ruin this vibe I get from the game. Mother 3 HAS those dramatic moments that you would want to rush to. EB Zero is a game with less dialogue altogether, so you'd want to run to finish the game or at least get into more battles. Earthbound is 100% about chilling. Besides like, Va-11 Hall-a, it's the most chill game I've ever played. Even more than Minecraft or like indie games that are designed to be chill. It's absolutely a game that doesn't demand your attention. Let's say an Earthbound remake changed the game design of the game to facilitate a run button, just because they see it as a QOL improvement. I think it would be missing the point of Earthbound. Honestly, I could make a video about Earthbound's pacing from this comment. But basically, it would change the fundamental appeal of the game, yeah.

Kinda funny how I've completed this game three times and never even thought of yearning for a 'run button'. Walking whimsically around and taking your sweet time talking to people and examining things are such a significant part of this game.

I never wanted a run button in EarthBound because I thought the game functioned very well without it, but hearing your more in-depth take on it with your empowering and motivational speech is so moving! Lovely content as always!

Okay first off: amazing video as always! For me I've never really considered a run button making the game "better", it's more of a tactile game-feel sort of thing. Part of the reason I like running in RPGs is just because it gives me another little thing to do while exploring the overworld. In Mother 3 I'd literally activate the run just to run in circles around random NPCs and whatnot. That little extra sense of interactivity can just make game worlds more fun to mess around in - but I really don't think Earthbound suffers in any way not having it.

"You don't give something extremely helpful to players at the every end, or else you'll rob them from it's usefulness." *Casually throws shade at PK Starstorm Omega*

mother 3 is an easier game than earthbound? that's the first time i've heard that, normally it's the opposite but yeah i once downloaded a run button patch for earthbound and immediately realized that the game just didn't need one

Just increase the speed in your emulator

wanting a run is a game reviewer mindset ngl

MonkeyNess coming in with the hot takes, but with valid points.

Fill one characters inventory up with Skip Sandwich Dx. Ez

Man, I really disagree with Mother 3 being an easier game than EarthBound. I think EarthBound is the easiest game of the trilogy, with 3 in the middle, and 1 being the hardest.

When I played EB for the first time, my pokemon reflexes kicked in and I wanted to get faster as soon as possible. Eventually I realized it wasn't that bad. In fact, the slower pace of walking really does help appreciate the looks of all the places throughout the game. I never thought I would say this in the future, but not being able to run is actually quite nice.

We want a run button for the same reason we walk backwards in Ocarina of Time

I really think skipping enemies is also bad because even if the battles mechanics are not that entresting the enemies are enteresting and have good design and have weird mechanics like the clock that stop time or the coffee that when you defeated give you a cup of coffee that is the beauty of mothers battle.

Why do you need run when you can eat skip sandwiches instead?

What if they're all already running but they just can't walk at all?

I have to agree with the "running would mess up the leveling curve". The first time I played EB, I ended up trying to avoid fights, and got frustrated really quickly because I was underleveled. On my second try, I went after enemies and stopped tying to avoid them. As a result, my level was where it was probably supposed to be, and I had a lot more fun.

Still playing through Earthbound but this was an awesome video. I really do agree that the run button definitely isnt needed, I really like taking my time in all the games I play and just enjoying the journey. Thanks for still doing what you do MonkeyNess, youre inspiring and amazing❤

Idc, i am a busy man, i would prefer to go fest than sluw, its much more convenient and nice to have a run button than to waaaalk for like hours in a singular map

One thing I’ve noticed. Last time I played Mother 3, running away from a lot of battles led to be being woefully under-leveled and made the game more difficult as a result. So in reality, not being able to run from every battle it actually kind of a good thing.

It's funny that since the beginning of the project I've had no intention at all of putting a running functionality in Earthbound Dimensions, aside from how it originally worked with the Skip Sandwich. Never really thought it was necessary in the original game, and in a 3D remake I think it would be even less necessary, as you are supposed to have more things to see and appreciate.

Hey, isn't the Homely Yado Inn used around 6:30 the restoration done by Irikachana, not the original? Might be good to put that in the description. Video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4p9lojc75Hw.htmlfeature=shared Great video as always by the way. :)

Never thought the movement speed was too bad in EB

This was beautiful. It honestly really hit home and made me think about myself and how I approach things. Thanks, man.

i think the problem comes from they giving you the bike by the time you get it its after beating the first main area of the game, it reminds me of how in some pokemon games they give you the option to run once you beat the tutorial section, a kind of reward getting to know how the game works the problem is that the bike has no use once you get Paula (or a plush bear lmao), you get to be faster for a really short amount of time and it feels kinda frustrating to get something like that removed, bet that if the bike wasn't an item people wouldn't ask for a run button on that note, if i where to add a run button i would make it so doing it would make the character get an ''out of breath'' status that stops you in your tracks in the overworld, makes you walk slow and leaves you open to enemy damage when battling, maybe becoming less of an issue the stronger one gets so it becomes less of an issue and more of a tool maybe making it so running makes a thumping noise that alerts and attracts enemies

I was always confused when playing Earthbound since it had no run button. I mean, I’m not complaining or anything but found it weird.

"remember the 1st time you played EB" yeah I had never played an RPG before, I was scared of battles so I was always drastically underleveled, couldn't get through Winters AT ALL and put the game away for six months

As someone who recently replayed EarthBound via MaternalBound Omega which does add a run button, I kinda have to disagree with your reasoning for not adding one. For one, as you said, the map and enemy placement means you can't really outmaneuver enemies most of the time, so making the game "easier" or something feels moot. Secondly, as you said you get Teleport pretty early so it's either intentionally Teleport bonk to move through towns faster or just have a run button, and at least in said patch it doesn't even work in Deep Darkness (because neither does the Skip Sandwich) so it's not invalidated as a gimmick. And lastly, I'm just a fan of consistency. Mother 1 has it ("but it was a debug feature--" it was added properly to Mother 1+2 which has numerous other changes and bug fixes, okay? It's IN Mother 1), Mother 3 has it, I still don't see much reason in Mother 2 not having it. It's a simple convenience that isn't game breaking and again, as you say yourself, changes very little besides having that convenience.

I do think earthbound needs a run button, but it’s not a big problem. I feel like if you could implement it in a way that still kept the enemy encounters and made sense lord-wise whilst not making skip sandwiches the bicycle useless, it would improve some of the more monotonous moments of the game.

The solution Was in Earthbound beginning, SPEED UP THE TIME OF THE GAME?

I have two words: skip sandwich

Not gonna lie, I kind of liked not having a run button and having to use psi teleport to move fast, it added more strategy to movement.

Interesting topic, you see this in a lot of games and I'm guilty of it. I was that dumb kid spamming roll in Ocarina of Time even though it barely made Link go faster, if at all. I think it's mostly about perceived control. Even if the run button (or whatever input makes you go faster) barely increases your speed, people use it constantly, you know you would be slower if you weren't so every extra pixel per second in speed feels like you're seizing an opportunity. But, as you cover in the video, games don't always need that kind of mechanic and it's probably a good idea to exclude it when it's not needed since it interferes with other parts of the design.

Everyone Needs A Run Button. ESPECIALLY Fallout 3.

A run button would be great for convenience and fluidity of gameplay, even for its time, this was archaic, most rpgs would have it by default. A run button would also make the enemy pattern on the overworld better, they are so much faster than you that it doesn't even matter that you can see them and they're not random battles, since you'll be forced to engage with them anyway.

Why would you need that? There is a free bicycle.

Worst case scenario I can always spill some coffee on my real super Nintendo entertainment system

the quality of your videos has shot WAY up since the 1/128 run. glad to finally have a good consistent content creator focused on mother (and similar things)

A running button may not be necessary, but like…. Isnt it just better in general? Like when you replay the game it’s just a nice feature to quicken things up

The walking always made me pick up on the Peanuts homage more

aww man, the stryder7x reference made me sad

Run features in RPGs just wasn't as much a thing back then. I don't think it ever occurred to developers to consider it. It's definitely less useful in 'random encounter' RPGs like Final Fantasy, could even make it worse in a way on the user's end, as it would make it seem like there's actually more encounters, assuming encounters are still done on a 'roll the chance each tile' fashion. Mother 1's 'run' debug had similar issues, it made traveling itself faster but the whole thing was still kinda annoying. Anyway, then we have Mother 2, where I think it'd make some degree of sense, because of the encounter system where you see enemies ahead of time. One potential benefit of that system, being able to avoid enemies, is often mitigated because they just move faster than you. Having an ability to run would make avoidance more of a factor and would make the whole system, much like with Mother 3 even though the 'charge-up' made it a bit tricky to do. I don't think it was needed by any means, but it would've been a relevant enough use case if it was there, I think.

Just make the run button new game+ :3

You fail to consider that moving fast feels good and allows you to actually play the game more

Ok but I still want a run button

Love the strider7x reference

People are impatient; that's it.

Why earthbound should have a run button: 1 I'm an impatient fuck

Why can’t Sans jump?

answer: you can. eat skip sandwich. mm tasty run fast

It's just a convinience

No Okay, but seriously, I don't really mind the lack of a run button. I would like it to exist for the desert, but you don't get heatstroke that much unless you're actively trying to get everything in the area. Even then, you can just spam Healing alpha and then rest in the tent so there isn't much of a loss for when you lose PP from it either. Addressing the monkey caves, whenever I forget an item, I'm never mad because it means I get to hear the OST more, lol

You can also ride the bus to get to the Monkey Cave faster if so desired. It's probably the only time where the bus is useful along the intended path.

Ironically I watched this video on x2 speed, at least youtube has a "run" button. But yeah, Earthbound does not need it, the default walking speed is perfect as is.

I would like to say why I want a run in Earthbound is mostly because it's fun to run in games and would be nice to have the option to run by things/fight IF I was confident I could avoid them to maybe have save some items/PP/HP for the fights I do want them for instead of wasting it in a fight that could have gone very bad especially if the boss is known for being difficult on a good run yes this does sort of count as being impatient but I would also say adding a running mechanic similar to Mother 3/Earthbound 2 could add to a minor risk-reward with some caveats as this is more for enemies with erratic patterns and are slightly faster than the party but while I still want it for an extra gameplay element to strategize at the end of the day you put it best through out the whole video and there are mods/fangames I can easily get on my own time.

Add a run button, fast forward through dialogue, make combat auto-resolve, remove unnecessary towns like Onett and Fourside, remove all bosses, and for the love of God PLEASE add gacha game elements

1997 : Gamers : "Why is there no running button in EarthBound?" - 2005 : Gamers "Why can'T you swim in GTA3 ? .... 2017 : Game Journalists :"Why is there no easy button?" Staples :"Hold our beer ! ... we've been selling those for a decade"!"

why can't Metroid crawl? Without the power to powerball, you could not get back up physically with the way the suit is buit? "What are Wrong game Physics?" for 5000$ !!! #GamerJEROPARDY (Sic : SAMUS ARAN.. ouch the MEME of saying METROID is hurting me)

Yeah, Earthbound doesn't need a run button lol. Also, The reason Earthbound doesn't have a run button is because Mother 1 didn't have a run button until Mother 1+2 released. I'm not getting angry that you didn't mention it or anything, just sayin' that that's how it was.

personally never cared, I'm fine grooving down the beaten path and in the rare instance I want to get somewhere faster its usually after I get the teleport power which turns it into a non-issue, but in the rarer instance where its before that plot point I just use a skip sandwich. if you play good enough you can sacrifice one bag space without much issue. the topic of should EB have a run button is an example of how much QoL is too much QoL, because gradually taking more agency from the player can be a bad thing which is a broader issue outside this topic but one I wish would be talked about more.

I think if they add EB style run where it just speeds up everything including enemy movement it'd be fine. I just increased the clock speed when playing EB the first time around on an emulator to speed up the backtracking and of course it was a good double edge sword to not abuse it so I could try to avoid enemies.

6:37 jokes on you i could care less about Talking to people i was just picking fights with Enemies

Based take. I never needed a run button. It would make this game way too short. Its already short as it is

Great explanation my guy!

Because you didn’t eat your SKIP SANDWICH

beautifully said

I like things too be perfect

Why no run button Solution: cuz they cant fricking catch up

A run button is unnecessary, but it would be a good quality of life improvement

EarthBounds run speed is fine the way it is, and i am fine with the opinion that it makes first time playthroughs better, however I think game design accounting for replayability can be even more important at times, and i think this is one of those times. I think you are undermining replayablity a bit 6:20 especially when there are new players who are having the same issue even though they are inexperienced. You also do undermine peoples critiques a bit around 7:20 basically boiling anyone who has a problem with the run speed as people who are needlessly looking for problems and wanting to make themselves miserable which i think is really unfair. Also 8:59 dude come on a run speed patch literally exists.

Ngl this is my favorite video about earthbound

I guess you can say: Life is roablocks.

also some cool tech you can use teleport a as a weird run

yoooooo finallyy an answer

If Earthbound did have a run button you wouldn't be making a video about how it didn't need it.

0:53 *you hear some loud toilet banging noises*

because the devs don't want you to do that, duh

I think my solve would to be making it so you would have to beat the game completely in one save file, so if you started another you would be able to run to make the game a bit quicker

Nah, I disagree. If people want to run in the game, let them run. It's about choice. Maybe someone isn't in the mood to walk in the game at a certain time. Let them experience the game anyway they want.

why do your videos make me calm

Just use skip sandwich DXes

Nah not bro getting all moody at the end over a theoretical run button in the Sheldon Cooper of JRPG's from 29 years ago💀💀

Because you can’t. That’s it.

eartboutn should run thanks

0:52 I don't know if I'd say that, from personal experience I definitely had more trouble with the combat in Mother 3 than EarthBound. I think EarthBound has more game over situations as a result of design problems that weren't in Mother 3, they're challenging in different ways, but its hard to make a statement about which one is objectively more difficult.

Good point