When news dropped three months ago that EarthBound -- the incredibly good Super Nintendo RPG -- would not be coming to the Virtual Console, fans of the cult classic flipped out (me included!). Rumors of the games exclusion -- from the ridiculous (Nintendo hates its fans!) to the likely (copyright issues!) -- immediately starting making their way around the Internet.
Games Radar posted a fascinating story that may get to the bottom of exactly why EarthBound is having some issues being re-released on the Wii’s retro game download service. The feature compares videogame music to the real-life songs that inspired them, with a huge section dedicated to the music of EarthBound. Even better, there are clickable samples of each track embedded in the article to make quick comparisons a snap!
Once you listen to it you will easily understand while Nintendo may be having some legal trouble with the music in the game. While it doesn’t change the fact that one of my favorite games of all time is not coming to the Virtual Console, hearing it all puts everything into a much more realistic perspective. Maybe Nintendo doesn’t hate me after all!
What do you think? Even though everyone knew the EarthBound soundtrack was inspired by a lot of real-life music, does hearing the song comparisons still surprise you?
[Image via deviantART]
Chad Concelmo is Destructoid's features editor. He loves hanging out with awesome people. That's why Destructoid makes him so happy, since it is full of THE MOST AWESOME PEOPLE OF ALL TIME! Also, dolphins.
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Chad enjoys punching old ladies in the face, Super Metroid, Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES (best system ever!), Final Fantasy VI, Day of the Tentacle, Shadow of the Colossus, Mother 3, Beyond Good & Evil, Contra III, Valkyria Chronicles, Punch-Out!!, Half-Life 2, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
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Contest:
5:20 PM on 05.14.2009 | 
If you do, you'll replace Batman as my hero
Let's move to Iowa. :)
If they put another excuse after that, I am car-bombing the offices at Redmond.
I think what makes the whole Mother series drama so disappointing is that people who love the game want OTHER people to experience it too. If you're in love with the series, chances are you own the SNES game, the Japanese GBA releases, etc. It's just sad to think of all the people who are missing out on an easy way to access these masterpieces.
@chadconcelmo - i'd give one of my balls...
I hear more blatant ripoffs on infomercials all the time.
And, from the sound of things when this came up, apparently NoA would happily alter the soundtrack except NCL and/or Itoi say "no."
You guys should totally come to Iowa. I'll buy the drinks.
I have my sources. ;)
Also, I am stalking you. <3
Also, love the image! (and it's comedic counterpart)
Which says nothing about a remake outside of the VC... say, on the Wii or the DS... /pray
Ah well, at least I still have my GIANT EB box staring me in the face. EB is probably the main reason my SNES has remained hooked up to a TV for the last 15 years.
I'd say it's surpassed that, easily. It's had more Smash Brothers appearances/levels than a lot of other major Nintendo franchises.
(Thanks Colette for inspiring the "not-" prefix everything not-illegal)
Dude, it is known for having one of the most insane, reliable and succesful fan bases ever.
Now that I've heard, I don't buy it.
I was trying to hear the comparisons, but I really don't hear it too much to notice it as a big deal.
Nintendo is telling me that they can't afford to get the rights to use the song while Harmonix and Activision can do it almost weekly? Nintendo has made a killing over the Wii and DS, and they could sell this game on the VC well as well. Honestly.. %*#& Reggie, him and Nintendo of America has made me feel ashamed for living on this continent when it comes to playing games on Nintendo. I'd rather live in Europe and get the games later then not get them at all. As a Nintendo fanboy I have recently been a firm believer that Nintendo of America could really care less on what the core gamers think and this is just feeding the flame. Screw you Nintendo of America if you want a good legal battle try and get Banjo Kazooie or Golden Eye.. oh wait you won't even try because you don't even care to deal with a smaller problem like this. NoA will not get any sympathy from me.
(Although a couple are bloody obvious), I cant hear the 'Monty Python one' at all.
I hate layers.
Anyway, if I did play the game, I'd want the same experience everyone else had, so replacing a few tracks wouldn't cut it for me. I'm sure most fans feel the same way. Still, it's easy enough to get the game for free if you're not allowed to pay Nintendo money for it. I finally got my Wii hacked, and though I never pirate games and plan to use it only for homebrew and to allow the play of import games, I did make one small exception for the time being: getting the Earthbound channel installed on my Wii's menu, VC-style, to play sometime in the future.
Anytime you want my money, Nintendo, I'll be happy to replace it with an officially-purchased copy in the modern format of your choice.
Or better yet, knowing how rabid the fan base is, why not modify it to include different music? I admit that's not the ideal solution (some of the music is so memorable, it's one of my favorite parts of the game), but it's better than no Earthbound.