Ness (EarthBound)

Ness is the protagonist of EarthBound,[lower-alpha 1][4] the second game in the three-part Mother series.[5] Upon lackluster sales in North America, EarthBound became the first game in the series at the time to receive an English-language release, and, subsequently, became a cult classic. The game presents a humorous parody of American culture and the role-playing video game genre.[6]

Ness was created by Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the EarthBound series, who intended the game to have real characters whom players would recognize in the people around them.[7] Ness's name is a reference to "NES", the abbreviation for the Nintendo Entertainment System.[8] In EarthBound, the player is able to rename all playable characters including Ness before beginning the game's story. Itoi has stated that by doing so, it allows the players themselves to decide if Ness is the same character as Ninten, the main character of Mother, the previous game in the series.[8] Ness's favorite food and favorite thing are also decided by the player, although by default, his favorite thing is "Rockin", and his favorite food is "Steak". In the Japanese release of EarthBound, players could choose other default names for Ness, one of which was John (in reference to The Beatles' John Lennon). Players could also choose Honey Pie as their favourite food and LOVE as their favourite thing (in reference to The Beatles songs "Honey Pie" and "All You Need Is Love").[9] Players could also choose the default name Mario, based on the Mario series' character of the same name.[9]

Ness was voted by fans at GameSpot as the second-favorite character in Super Smash Bros. in 1999.[25] Fans of Ness were anticipating a reveal of Ness for Super Smash Bros. Brawl; the reveal of Lucas as well as the similarities between their moves in the Super Smash Bros. series, however, caused fans to worry;[26] IGN predicted that Ness would be cut from Brawl as a result of Lucas' inclusion.[27] Thomas East from Official Nintendo Magazine ranked him eighth on his list of "Smash Bros characters who need to be dropped for Wii U and 3DS", explaining that "Ness was considered to be an obscure choice back in 1999, it is perhaps more of a surprise that he is still hanging around".[28] Russ Frushtick of UGO Networks stated that Ness was cool because "Ness' childlike appearance belies his potent psychic abilities".[29] Marissa Meli of the same website described Ness as "the best RPG star of all time".[30] He was named as the 17th best Nintendo character of all time by GameDaily.[31] A fan animator made a Super Smash Bros mini-series about Ness' story campaign.[32]

Ness was among the biggest surprise inclusions in the original 1999 Super Smash Bros.,[19] which gave Mother series fans "hope for the future",[33] and he has become better known for his appearances in the series than for original game.[34] In the original game, some characters had move sets imported from their own games, while move sets for characters like Ness had to be invented.[35] In 2001, IGN wrote that Ness was "one of the most powerful characters" when players perfected his move set.[19] In Europe, which did not see an EarthBound release, Ness was better known for his role in the fighting game than for his original role in the role-playing game.[36] Thomas East of the Official Nintendo Magazine blog suggested in 2012 that Ness should be removed from future versions of the fighting game due to his lack of popularity.[36] Ness was praised and ranked as 14th most overpowered character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate by Polygon, stating that "a schoolboy armed with a baseball bat might seem profoundly out of his depth in an over-the-top fracas like Smash Bros., but Ness also brings phenomenal psychic powers to the fight",[37] while Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek ranked Ness as 63rd of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, criticizing his abilities.[38] Cale Michael of Dot Esports notes that some players who use Ness in online matches of the game take advantage of poor internet connectivity and spam projectile moves and heavy hitting moves at the opponent.[39]

A variety of merchandise depicting Ness have been produced by Nintendo; this merchandise includes a figurine[40] and an Amiibo.[41]

• Swan, Leslie; Pelland, Scott; Munson, Terry; Lindblom, Marcus, eds. (1995). EarthBound Player's Guide. Nintendo of America, Inc.