Earthbound - Smiles And Tears | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@shadders43]

I'm 35, and this song still gets me choked up. The game is such a journey, and the feeling you have when it's finished is so bittersweet. The slogan for the first Mother game (the precursor to Earthbound, which is Mother 2 in Japan) was "No crying until the end", and this song being the final song you hear as you see photos of your entire adventure and say goodbye to your friends always brings the tears you've been holding on to. It's a masterpiece.

[@shadders43]

Also "Mother" is representative of "Mother Earth", for many reasons such as environmentalism, space aliens invading earth, characters gaining power from the earth, and also literally calling your mother to stave off homesickness on your journey.

[@undyingsoul3949]

Well, the track without context is pretty terrible. So the context has to be extremely exceptionally touching for this to be a masterpiece.

[@MilkyWayMarsBar]

Nah it isn't. New Age Retro Hippy's theme is such a bop, Winter's White is beautiful, the opening theme is a bop, and Snowman is beautiful. Smilin' Sphere is also such a banger....Dunno what you Earthbound game you've been playing.@@undyingsoul3949

[@MMSkittles-zw7zn]

I’m 16, and I completely agree! I played this game when I was little, and seeing all of the characters leave after me playing the game for 8 years (I was little when I first played and the game confused me ok?!) definitely made me sad. And hearing the Eight Melodies one last time definitely had me crying

[@MilkyWayMarsBar]

@@MMSkittles-zw7zn You're the same age as me

[@MFMegaZeroX7]

This is song is indeed the credit music. You mentioned it sounding like an 80s ballad. There are lyrical versions of it, which fit pretty well into that description (though the game was made in the mid-90s). To expand on what you heard, Earthbound is like half "fun/upbeat", 30% silly/weird, 10% sad, and only maybe 10% "dark."

[@JessesAuditorium]

Validation top 10 feeling

[@totalradlad]

And then Mother 3 is 100% sad, weird, and dark

[@stereotreme]

@@totalradlad to clarify: 100% sad. 100% weird. 100% dark.

[@totalradlad]

@@stereotreme Yep

[@undyingsoul3949]

​@@totalradladSo that one is good? Because it has to be really dark, fun gameplay-wise, confusing and well aged for me to maybe give it a shot. I'm going through Final Fantasy X for the first time currently, and that's an example of what I totally love so far (being past Seymour Natus and the cringe love scene with no Game Overs yet).

[@Brashgar]

There's a saying very closely tied to Earthbound that can summarize the entire experience with the games: No crying until the very end.

[@MMSkittles-zw7zn]

Not Mother 3 making me cry when I only was at Chapter 1 when Bronson announced Hinawa is dead and it shows a flashback 😭😭

[@Lord_Aba]

This sound is still bittersweet to me: you know the adventure ended in victory, but you are saying goodbye to the friends you made during it.

[@pitsa5491]

i like to think the 4 kids hanged out together frequently afterwards like 2 of them can literally teleport and paula and ness arent that far apart

[@MilkyWayMarsBar]

I've been playing this game since I was 8, and just finished the game yesterday, coincidentally on President's Day (I'm 16 now, so it took 8 years!). Another coincidence is that I've, since I was 8, always wanted to have Poo join my team because he looked so cool, and I got him on my team on New Year's! Seems like I accomplish things I've always wanted to accomplish with this game on an important day (finished the game on President's Day, got Poo on the team on New Year's) When I saw Jeff, Poo, and Paula leave, it was so sad imo. I've been playing this game since I was 8 and never finished it because I took too many breaks. Now I finished the game, and hearing this as it shows all the pictures I took at all the different places I've been to was so heartwarming and heartbreaking because I've played this game for 8 years, and to grasp the concept that I'm finally finished with it is so bittersweet imo. Earthbound tracks, characters, and plot are so unique, beautiful, and funny in on its own.... So glad I grew up playing this game, and loved this game so much that I got the Player's Guide when I was 8..... Goodbye Earthbound.

[@Revanchism]

I figured the best way to destroy expectations was to give you a song very different from the other two. Glad I succeeded.

[@AStandsForFrench]

This is definitely an incredibly iconic theme, but also is one of the tracks that is made so much better with real instruments. the song represents innocence, youth, adventure, the passage of time, joy, loss, and closure. it's imo very good on its own, but definitely one of the contextually best tracks. you run into some random dude throughout the game who takes photos of you in every place you visit, and then those scroll by as the credits roll. it's a shockingly strong effect. after the horrifying, sometimes traumatizing for some people, final boss, to have this play after your victory lap where you say goodbye to everyone and then head back home, just...such a powerful effect. that "sad" part you kept mentioning is probably representative of the troubles they went through, and then the eventual goodbyes they had to make.

[@MMSkittles-zw7zn]

I played this game when I was little, and finished it at 16. This track got me crying hard because of all the nostalgic pictures that shows in the end credits while it plays Smiles and Tears, which is basically the Eight Melodies

[@Scudmaster11]

4:27 its the sound stone melodies

[@ravingrabbits32]

Earthbound isn't really as dark as you seem to think it is. The game is mostly lighthearted goofiness with only a few bits of 'darkness' sprinkled here and there (mainly at the end of the game.) Thematically most of the game is very inspired by 90's American culture, but also like you took a bit of acid as well. Earthbound is a wonderful experience that I hope everyone gets to try one day.

[@rileymcgowan22]

This is probably one of my favorite if not my number one favorite credits song in games. I think I have such a soft spot for it because I remember I heard this song for the first time pretty close to when Nintendo’s legendary late Satoru Iwata passed. I remember this song was spread around like wildfire when that happened in 2015 and it was basically a farewell to him, especially considering his work on Earthbound as well. Now hearing this, and every time I play through Earthbound I know this song is coming and it makes me cry. Power of VGM, man EDIT: This song has come into my life once again as my dad recently passed unexpectedly in December. He was the person who got me into video games, when I was 4 or 5, and Earthbound was just one of many, many, MANY games we played together. A cover of this song by Game & Sound came out the day he died and I listened to it and loved it, without even knowing that he was already gone. Eerie how things work like that. Anyway Smiles and Tears I feel is the perfect song for reminiscing and thinking about loved ones. You have Smiles, and you have Tears. Love this song so dearly

[@siverwrites]

Get trolled by sweetness, Jesse :D I first played the game just a couple years ago with a friend who had played it before and it was a really nice experience sharing it with her. Hearing this again makes me think of it playing together 💖 I think closure is an excellent way to describe this song.

[@treagoplays]

Ness and Lucas from brawl, while both having psychic powers, big heads and setting out on an adventure across the planet to assault wildlife, are not related :P Ness has a younger sister and Lucas has a twin brother. The twin is actually the 2nd color pallete in game

[@Kuponobu]

06:20 I love when Jesse gets spooked here.

[@requiem165]

I love this song so fucking much

[@chroipahtz]

To compare it to something you've recently experienced, I think Earthbound is kind of similar to the Yakuza games in tone and purpose. They tell an epic story that bounds between realistic and surreal, dramatic and goofy, but always sincere and heartfelt. It may have seemed from the other songs that the game was dark and abrasive all the time, but it's definitely not.

[@JessesAuditorium]

Mr. Libido

[@chroipahtz]

@@JessesAuditorium Always heartfelt.

[@kaisersigma1]

This son hits you so hard after finishing such an adventure!

[@Swishyhead]

This is more of a general note, but I really like how confident and open you seemed in this video! You spoke more during the song instead of leaving it all inside your head (which I appreciate as someone who tends toward the audio-only experience with your videos), and your post-song analysis was really lively. Great work!

[@seekittycat]

I love how scared you are to listening to this 😂😂. The composer is very into the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and classic rock.

[@elijahdarden1275]

The I miss you gets me in the feels every time🥲

[@erikm9224]

Catching up on vids I’ve missed and I gotta say, I hope someone eventually requests some tracks from Mother 3, as it also has both songs similar to what you experienced before but also songs similar to this one in its emotions.

[@scouse_roar]

I tell you what this series has a spectacular soundtrack and holds up gameplay and graphics wise to this day.

[@miky1774]

god i just really fucking love this game man

[@jonwind3383]

Finally beat the original and this one. Half way done with mother 3 atm. These games are hidden gems for a reason.

[@SirSlush_]

It's funny you mention it but the bass is a very prominent instrument in this entire soundtrack. Quite often it will be the main instrument in a song.

[@WatashiMachineFullCycle]

This is still one of my favourite tracks of all time, I can't listen to Iwata saying "I miss you" without choking up

[@edamame1443]

I thought it's itoi?

[@SonicPlayer2004]

Now do a ANOTHER peaceful song called “Because I Love You” It’s used after you defeat the final boss and all of the 4 main characters make their ways home.

[@UlalaFL0W]

"I MISS YOU." I recommend you listen to the Demo track too. It screams Beatles for inspiration. Shigesato Itoi, Keiichi Suzuki, and Hirokazu Tanaka all enjoyed The Beatles and took heavy inspiration from their sound for a lot of the tracks for Earthbound.

[@Arksimon2k]

One thing I don't really like about OG Earthbound music is the instrument set it uses. But when I hear covers of them I'm like "Aw yeah this one, this is awesome."

[@Yosh4761]

I love the earthbound sound font. It’s fun to mess around with in a DAW. I’ve attempted to remake other songs in the sound font and it’s actually pretty diverse.

[@beegyoshi8401]

Only you

[@transfan24]

Ness is from Earthbound, aka Mother 2, while Lucas is from Mother 3 (which never officially came out in the USA, though there's a fan translation). The series does have some pretty trippy music, for sure! I'd have to recommend Mother 3's Battle Against the Masked Man- it's just designed to sound wrong, and I can't help but love it. (More music-y than Giygas, but still very off-ambient)

[@AProperNoun]

If you're looking for more Earthbound music to react to, check out Sanctuary Guardian. One of the grooviest boss themes around.

[@topazlight1586]

This is ABSOLUTELY the credits theme, and I think it's a very lovely one, personally. The MOTHER/EarthBound trilogy is... interesting. Its art style is very cute and cartoony, and it definitely does include plenty of humor and wackiness and lighthearted fun, but it's also very earnest and pulls off more serious, dark, and heartfelt moments better than one might expect. Shigesato Itoi, the writer and general creative lead for the trilogy, didn't pick taglines like "No crying 'til the ending." or "Strange, funny, and heartrending." for nothing! If you're interested in giving the games a shot, the first two (EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound) are available via the Nintendo Switch's online subscription-based NES and SNES game libraries, respectively, while MOTHER 3 is a GameBoy Advance title you'll have to emulate if you want to play in English. (There is thankfully a VERY well-made fan translation done by a professional translator who also happens to be a superfan of the series). They're all turn-based JRPGs, taking particular influence from the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series but obviously still being very much their own thing. I hope you enjoy them if you decide to try them out!

[@Gribnum]

It does sound like the backing track to a karaoke song.

[@dianahohimer1107]

The only RPG I couldn't beat. The item "bag" was ridiculously small. Crazy game

[@edamame1443]

finish it someday

[@dianahohimer1107]

@@edamame1443 I would, just need to find another Super Nintendo. Did you finish?

[@Chaiseki]

Try to use Escargo Express. It's a storage where you can store and take out items. (Storags limit is 36)

[@minoruinklaslaman2544]

In my personal opinion I feel that both Undertales and some of Earthbounds music give off similar feelings also I recommend hearing Triple dip from Splatoon 3

[@minoruinklaslaman2544]

@@NuiYabuko oh yes I think the song Triple dip sounds amazing

[@minoruinklaslaman2544]

@@NuiYabuko alright I'll see what I can think of

[@minoruinklaslaman2544]

@@NuiYabuko oh ok I aplogize and I also apologize but I won't be able to join patrion

[@Kladyos]

Undertale was heavily inspired by Earthbound and other SNES RPGs. There's even a part that parodies the famous opera scene in FF6 (Celes' Aria de Mezzo Carattere)

[@tylermorgan5230]

This one is my favorite

[@Riverbui]

The mother series is really odd in regards to to how Nintendo handles it. For some reason, the only game we got back in the SNES days was Mother 2, which was translated to EarthBound. We eventually got the first game around 8 years ago before it rereleased on the Switch. It's called EarthBound Beginnings, since the second game was translated to EarthBound. The really odd thing is the third game for the Game Boy Advance, Mother 3. Despite being popular enough to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and following Smash entries as DLC, Mother 3 has never gotten an English release, and we have no idea if it'll ever get one. Nintendo has actually acknowledged this in a presentation once, where someone in the audience asked for Mother 3, the then president of Nintendo of America responds by giving them a fire flower instead.

[@erosson27]

You're not getting the experience.... You haven't played this game and been though hell with these characters and grown to love them and then have the game end.

[@chasewood1562]

I hope ond day Jesse does rose at nightfall from raze 2

[@Chaiseki]

The game is not dark. The end is just more unnerving compared to the whole game. (Nice reaction, btw.)

[@Eggplant_Salad]

Been a while since we had a Nintendo track. Felt like a month or two of nothing but deep cuts and FF14 music.

[@totalradlad]

We had 3 Nintendo tracks in one video last week.

[@Eggplant_Salad]

@@NuiYabuko “deep cuts”

[@maryannarkham]

hello jessie, can you react to dead rising ost Fly Routine by Hostile Groove, it's one of the best soundtrack that you will ever hear, hope can be notice, thanks

[@acinggames8422]

I am begging on my knees you listen to “Calamari Inkantation 3Mix” from Splatoon 3, or “Calamari Inkantation” from Splatoon 1. PLEASE.

[@KoolAidIdiot]

I'd say the funkiest songs in this game imo are "battle against a machine", "kraken at the sea", and "Jackie's cafe". Highly recommend them if you want to hear more variety within the sound track and jam/trip out :)