Earthbound Session #11: “The Cave of the Past” to “The End”
[PLOT]
The version of the cave that the Phase Distorter appears in is very different from the one it left. It perches on a cliff surrounded on all sides by a featureless green-gray void. The chosen four disembark. They have left their human bodies behind; each looks exactly like the last. Ness only has any defining feature- his red hat sits atop his metal head. Just north of the PD’s resting place is the same strange tentacle-shaped formation they saw in (the present-time version of) the Cave of the Past, confirming this place as the same location. The Phase Distorter serves as their umbilical, repairing their bodies and allowing connection to the present. Ness’ father is the only one who can be contacted through time, but he can barely recognize his son’s synthesized voice on the line.
Ness and his friends’ clanking footsteps echo off the distant walls of the vast cave. They are assaulted by waves of brutally powerful enemies, with the narrow path providing no means of escape. Each one resembles the most dangerous aliens and mechanoids they’d fought earlier in their journey, only much stronger. The kids slay each in turn, preparing themselves for the coming final confrontation. They have given everything to this fight, including their humanity. Nothing will stop them in their mission. Twice the path terminates, with a floating metal orb silently teleporting them to a new section of cave. The last portion is just as nondescript as the rest. The enemies swarm thickly here. A cleft in a sheer rock wall is ahead. The four enter.
What they find within is nothing short of horrifying. The path here isn’t rock, but a living mass of tissue. Each step they take is over a floor made up of pulsing biomechanical entrails. There are no enemies here, just the slow, rhythmic sound of breathing. At the end they find a pyramidal mass supporting what looks like a sphere- Or an eye. It’s a pale, sickly flesh color. Every tube seems to terminate at this point. As they near it, the entire structure begins to shake. The pupil of the “eye” changes, pigments arranging into a mirror image of Ness’ face.
Pokey appears. Pokey the coward. The bully. The snot-nosed kid, hiding behind Ness from dogs and crows back in Onett. He materializes above the fleshy mound, in the bubble cockpit of some sort of spider-shaped mechanoid pod.
“Ness! Are you surprised? It’s me, Pokey. I assist only the strong and able! That’s Pokey. You guys look pathetic! The Apple of Enlightenment has already made a prediction.
…But I won’t let what the Apple of Enlightenment predicted take place. You guys will be beaten by Giygas. Giygas will be stronger, a more powerful entity than any other! Why?
‘Cause of me. I was led by Giygas, and now I’m here. The Apple of Enlightenment couldn’t predict this. Master Giygas. No, Giygas is no longer the wielder of Evil. He has become the embodiment of Evil itself… which he cannot control on his own. He is the Evil power.”
With this, Pokey attacks. This is it: this is the culmination of every struggle that the four of them have won to arrive here. Pokey’s spider mech is heavily armed and armored, and its metal claws rend and tear at Ness and his friends’ metal bodies. Giygas stands(?) behind him, doing nothing. Each psychic attack they unleash that isn’t focused on Pokey, though, is immediately amplified and reflected to smash right back into the party. Giygas himself takes no damage whatsoever. Pokey is another story. His chariot is violently rocked by each attack, until he stops the battle and says this:
“I understand you guys are already claiming to be heroes. Well, it is a gazillion years too early for you to oppose Giygas! You must feel pretty stupid to keep fighting without even knowing what Giygas looks like! If you were to ever see Giygas, you’d be so petrified with fear, you’d never be able to run away! …That’s how scary it is! So, do you want me to turn off the “Devil’s Machine”? Well, prepare to be amazed!”
[END PLOT]
[COMMENTARY]
The music here is employed to excellent effect. It starts as a retro homage: square waves in minor keys and rippling melodies, backed by white noise snare hits. It’s downright cheesy, and gives a false sense of security- until it ramps up into moaning guitars and queasy time-signature shifts.
For maximum creep factor, listen to this version of the music- made by extensive sampling and demonic manipulation of a Japanese McDonald’s commercial:
[END COMMENTARY]
[PLOT]
They hear the flipping of a switch, and the mechanism containing Giygas is shut off.
Pokey continues:
“So, isn’t this terrifying? I’m terrified, too. Giygas cannot think rationally anymore, and he isn’t even aware of what he is doing now. His own mind was destroyed by his incredible power. What an all-mighty idiot! Yep, that’s what he is! Heh heh heh heh… and you… you will be… just another meal to him!”
Pokey then escapes, leaving them to face Giygas.
The environment seems to melt away. Giygas doesn’t seem to have a body; his form fills their field of vision. A hazy, twisted red face wavers back and forth. The four begin their attack, but what are they attacking? They blaze against the crimson void, until Pokey reappears:
“Heh heh heh heh. You must really be at the end of your rope. In this bizarre dimension, you four are the only force fighting for justice… And here you stand, waiting to be burned up with all the rest of the garbage of this universe… Haaaaah! That’s so sad. I can’t help but shed a tear.
You know, my heart is beating incredibly fast, …I must be experiencing absolute terror! Do you want to scream for help here in the dark?! Ha ha ha ha ha! Why not call your mommy, Ness! Say, “Mommy, daddy! I’m so frightened I think I’m gonna wet my pants!” I know you have telepathy, or something, so just try and call for help, you pathetically weak heroes of so-called justice! No one will help you now! Ha ha ha haah… Don’t worry, your pitiful suffering will be over soon.”
And then the fight is back on. Giygas attacks more frequently, more viciously now. He lashes out, somehow warping the very reality around them in a way beyond comprehension: “You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas’ attack!” His “face” seems to go in and out of sync. Giygas speaks during the fight; repeating Ness’ name and babbling. “It’s not right… not right… not right…” “I feel… g… o… o… d…” “It hurts, Ness…” Sometimes he just repeats Ness’ name over and over. The kids sling everything they have at Giygas, but every attack is just swallowed up in the swirling crimson void. Each reality-shredding attack leaves them weaker and weaker. With nothing left to give, Paula begins to pray.
[END PLOT]
[COMMENTARY]
The fight with Giygas is consistently mentioned in lists of “most disturbing boss fights in gaming history”. This notoriety can be attributed to a number of factors:
– Giygas’ initial appearance. Technically, all the bio-mechanical tubes and such filling the last cave aren’t Giygas, but the Giger-esque “Devil’s Machine” that keep Giygas’ evil power from going out of control. All the same, it capitalizes on the “body horror” instinct that triggers a deep-seated revulsion in the player.
– Fear of the unknown. Throughout the game, Giygas has been mentioned but never shown. Now that the player has reached the end of their journey, there is no satisfaction to be derived from facing their antagonist. Giygas is formless, beyond human comprehension. “You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas’ attack!”
– Giygas’ speech during the fight. This probably does the most to reinforce that Giygas isn’t in control of his actions, or really anything. Something about it gets under the player’s skin. It’s for good reason; the vast majority of the text in the game was written by Shigesato Itoi himself, and Giygas’ lines were based on a childhood memory of wandering into a movie theater and seeing what he thought was a woman being raped on the screen. Here’s a translation of an interview about the sequence with Itoi-san. The scene is from a Japanese movie titled “The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty”, and it’s not actually a rape. Being a child, he may have misunderstood what was happening. Either way, it’s excellent storytelling and very unsettling.
[END COMMENTARY
[PLOT]
“…Please give us strength, if it is possible… Please…” “… Somebody… help us…”
The battle fades, and we see the Mr. Saturn village. The Phase Distorter appears, and Apple Kid and Dr. Andonuts step out.
“(All of the Mr. Saturns felt a new, startling feeling they had never experienced before, and they all started praying for the safety of Ness and his friends.)”
“Giygas’ defenses became unstable.”
Suddenly, we are back in the battle. The sound of thunder is heard, and Giygas has become a rippling, howling wall of faces.
“It hurts, Ness…”
“Paul begins to pray from the bottom of her heart! “Please give us strength! Anyone who can hear our plea… Help us…”
Seemingly hearing her cry, we see the Runaway Five on the strip in Summers. “(Suddenly, one of the Runaway Five felt something stop him, and he prayed fervently for the safety of Ness and his friends.)”
Back in the fight, Giygas takes a minuscule amount of damage. Ness and his friends continue to fight with all they have, and Paula once again prays:
“Please give us strength! Speed this prayer to all the people of the earth.”
This time we see Twoson: Paula’s mother and father, along with the kids from the preschool all pray for them. “(Paula’s father thought he somehow heard his daughter’s voice, and prayed sincerely for the safety of Paula and her friends.)”
Giygas takes more damage than last time, but still it’s nothing. Paula prays again.
Back at the boys’ school in winters, the students are gathered. “(Suddenly, Tony felt anxious about Jeff, and he prayed strongly for the safety of Jeff and his friends.)”
Giygas takes some more damage, and continues to babble. “…friends….” “It hurts, it hurts…” Paula continues to pray.
“(A young woman in Dalaam woke from a dream in which Prince Poo died, and she began to pray for the well-being of Poo and his friends.)”
More damage. Paula prays. In Onett:
“(Suddenly, Frank recalled Ness’ shining young face, and began to pray diligently for the safety of Ness and his friends.)”
The damage this time is more substantial, but it’s just not enough. Giygas is a muttering, howling mess; “I’m h… a… p… p… y…” “…I’m so sad… …..Ness.” Waves of incomprehensible violent energy rip through the party. Paula prays.
At his house, Ness’ mother walks downstairs to the darkened living room. “(Suddenly, Ness’ mother felt terribly uneasy, and she began to pray for the safety of her son and his friends.)”
Giygas suffers more damage, and this time it’s quite a hit. The blow seems to throw the embodiment of Evil off balance. If Giygas was out of control before, it’s completely lost the reigns now. The space around the four is a howling wall of Giygas’ twisted face, over and over. It warps and ripples, flashing and screeching like an overloaded television signal on an analog TV. Paula is becoming desperate:
“I can’t think of anyone else… …Someone, anyone… Please help us.”
“(Paula’s call was absorbed by the darkness.)”
She desperately prays, calling out for anyone to help them in their time of need.
And someone does answer. Someone who’s never met them, but feels their pain and responds. The name isn’t clear, but their energy seems to be turning the tide of battle. Giygas takes more and more damage. The person keeps praying. Each time, the name of their unknown benefactor is a little clearer, until finally the complete name can be seen.
It’s the player of the game. The holder of the controller. You.
[END PLOT]
[COMMENTARY]
In the original play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up by J. M. Barrie, there is a point where Tinker Bell is poisoned. The audience is asked to clap if they believe in fairies in order to revive her. Apparently, the first night that the play was performed was extremely nervewracking for Mr. Barrie, as he expected the audience to ignore the actors’ pleas to clap, and him to be laughed out of the theater. As fate would have it, the audience applauded, Tinker Bell was brought back to life, and Peter Pan went on to become a beloved children’s story.
Earthbound doesn’t really give the player the choice to clap or keep quiet. Whatever name you put in during the two times it asks you is the one used during the last battle. Let’s face it, though- this could go one of two ways for a player. If you’re like me, you get all verklempt and teary-eyed. If you’re someone not quite as easily emotionally manipulated, you might think it’s ridiculous and overly sappy. No matter how many times I’ve played the game, though, I’ve always put in my given name. Even though I admit it would be funny for Paula to call out and have her prayers answered by “Zoosmell Pooplord”.
[END COMMENTARY]
[PLOT]
This final pulse of pure love and belief deals the deathblow to Giygas. The howling, screeching void that is his existence freezes in place.Every twisted face flashes rapidly from yellow to white to a sickening red. He has lost his last trace of control, and with the power of those united in prayer against him, he is losing coherence. Pokey shows up one last time, but it’s not to gloat as he expected.
“Ness! Now, I… well… It’s going to seem like I’m running away. But perhaps I’ll just sneak away to another era to think about my next plan. It’s a good bet that we will see each other again… All right! I’ll be seeing you! So now which one of us do you think is the cool guy?!”
And with that, he teleports away. Giygas continues to fall apart. He looks like he’s fighting to stay together, but the battle is lost. The embodiment of evil violently loses integrity in spurts and starts, then fully, like a dead channel. Eventually all that is left is static, and then- nothing.
Battered and rent by the battle, the robotic avatars of the four lie inert. Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo have given their all- given absolutely everything in the fight against Giygas. Now their metal bodies will rust away in the cave where Evil lived- forever.
Or so it seems.
One by one, the souls of each warrior rise and leave their mechanoid body behind.
In the present day Saturn village, their human bodies rest. As each soul enters their respective house, they get up and look around. Last of all is Ness. Reunited from across time and space, they face each other. Poo speaks:
“Our travels together end here. I must return to Dalaam, and use this experience for the good of my country. Ness, Paula, Jeff… Let me demonstrate a strange power before I go. I realized this power as a child. PSI Farewell! Now!”
“I’ll see you again someday!” As he teleports out, several presents fall from the sky.
Jeff embraces his two best friends, and then speaks: “Paula, Ness… It was great to hang out with you guys. It really was. I’m glad that I had the chance to use some of the theories that I have been studying so hard. It’s remarkable. …… If… Just maybe… Well, if you two get hitched someday, maybe I’ll be the one that fixes your broken electronic appliances. ….. I’m going to stay here for a while and see if I can learn more from Dr. Andonuts. I mean, from my dad. …So it looks like this is good bye for now, my friends.”
The presents that Poo summoned each has a letter inside. There’s one each for Ness, Paula and Jeff. Ness’ is from his mother, Paula’s is from the kids at the preschool, and Jeff’s is from Tony. They all say that they are missed, and that the writers can’t wait to see the addressees. At this point, Ness and Paula are free to go and do whatever they want. They are alive and victorious. Their families and homes beckon them.
Listen to this as you read.
But first- A victory lap! Somehow just about everyone they’ve met over the course of their adventure knows that they saved the world, and they’ve got something to say about it. Some of the more interesting changes to come about in the newly-peaceful world:
– There are no enemies. Ness and Paula can wander anywhere without being harassed.
– The Talkative Mystery Rock in the Lost Underground doesn’t have much to say: “I don’t need words anymore. I’ll turn back into a simple rock.” After that, you can’t speak to him at all.
– The Stoic Club in Summers is now a Truck Stop- “The Lazy Cowpoke Stop’n Go”. There’s a rough crowd, loud music, and no minors allowed.
– Poo has gone back to being the prince of Dalaam. His people are thrilled to have him back.
– The Tessie-watching club is thrilled to have Sebastian back, and have also seen Tessie. Life is great. The Bubble Monkey seems to be coming home late a lot, which bugs his wife. But he says that Ness is well-known among the monkeys, and they think he’s great. No Tessie rides, though.
– In Fourside, the cops are penitent. The Monotoli building is now called the “Enrich Flavor” building. Geldegarde Monotoli gave the building back to its original owner, Mr. Enrich Flavor and is now working as an elevator operator. He’s happy to be alive, and to see Ness and Paula. Flavor himself is grateful to the kids: “You’ve brought the town of Fourside back to life. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”
– Carpainter from the Happy Happy Village has a new outlook on life: “Hey Ness, it’s been a long time. Since we last met, the whole town has woken up. The best happiness comes from being free… you kids made me realize that.”
– Mayor Pirkle got re-elected mayor of Onett due to Ness’ efforts. He says he saw a picture of Ness in an international newspaper, but doesn’t believe it’s him.
– Frank, the former leader of the Sharks, works at the burger shop now. “So you made it back alive. You must have many stories to tell. Let’s get together for a drink, when you have a chance so I can hear you stories. …I’m talking about drinking mineral water. I’m still under age, you know.” He also says he’s been training to become a wrestler.(Apparently this was a joke in the Japanese version, but got a bit lost in translation.)
– In Onett’s drugstore was a dog named Ruffini. It talked and gave hints, but he has something different to say now towards the end: “”Woof! Woof! I’m Ruffini the dog. Here comes the spirit of the game designer again… Ruff! (You’re finally almost to the end of the game. If you want to tell me your comments on this game, you may write to me using Nintendo’s address on the box. Send your comments attention Earthbound, Ruffini the dog. Now, get ready for the ending! It’s all that’s left… enjoy it! Bow woow wow! Well, I told you some strange info again… I’ll go back to being a normal dog now…) Woof!”
[END PLOT]
[COMMENTARY]
I have yet to see another game that lets you just hang out and enjoy the fruits of your labor after beating it. Nearly half the NPC’s in Earthbound have new things to say, including the newspapers in the hotels. That’s an intense level of detail for a section of the game that not everyone would bother with.
Something I didn’t know until recently- Ness can take Paula home to meet his mother. I always dropped her off at her house before heading home, thinking that that was the necessary sequence of events. If you go by her house in Twoson, she starts to say something, but trails off. Paula’s parents are happy to see her, and her dad gives Ness his permission to date her.
If you take her home, Paula gets a little nervous about just being out wandering around, but admits that she’s ok just with Ness a little longer. Ness’ mom is happy to finally meet “little girlfriend”.
[END COMMENTARY]
[PLOT]
Back home, Mom is glad to see Ness and wants to hear about his adventure, but also knows it’s annoying to answer a bunch of questions right after you get back. She gives him the opportunity to wrap up any business before going through the photo album that the photographer left. One last call to Dad before the credits- “Hi, it’s your dad! To get to the next level… Ha hah ha hah! I guess I don’t need to tell you this any more! Next week will be your birthday, Ness. I’m trying very hard to be home for that big day! I’ll be sure to get you a good present!
I’ve been following your adventures closely, but I want to hear about them from you, in person. You sound a lot more… mature over the phone.
…Well, I’ll see you at home, then. Bye!”
Once Ness agrees that he’s ready, the credits start to roll.
The actual credits start at 7:28. Make sure to listen for the sample of Shigesato Itoi saying “I’ll miss you.” at 16:35.
[END PLOT]
I hope you’ve enjoyed my Earthbound write-up. As I said at the beginning, this wasn’t really about trying to find deep meaning or anything other than sharing my thoughts. This is a well-trod path, but I believe for good reason. I’ve got one more EB post in the works, but it’s something more of a memoir than a straight-ahead walkthrough with footnotes. If you’re at all interested in the Mother series or Shigesato Itoi, be sure to check out Starmen.net, the most exhaustive online encyclopedia of EB-related knowledge in existence, and home to the most amazing fan community on the interwebs. Without it, I wouldn’t know half the useless trivia I do. Anyway, thanks for reading. Please comment if you feel moved to.
Automated Lagomorph 