The Most Infamous Earthbound Theory and why it Sucks

Yeah I've hated this theory for years, so it felt like finally getting a 40 ton weight off my shoulders making this
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Romulan64's footage of the Giygas battle:
• Final Battle Against G...

[@alstroem]

D I N G D I N G

[@ShotgunLlama]

Giygas is the embodiment of how it feels to not have an official English Mother 3 release

[@LOC-Ness]

Don't you mean After Earthbound? The series is called Earthbound as intended.

[@marzolaxo2456]

​@@LOC-NessWhat? You mean like how it would be called here in the US? Cause it won't be called anything. It's never being released here.

[@WulfilaBelmont]

​@@LOC-NessEarthBound Endings

[@BagOfMagicFood]

EarthBound 3

[@ariabritton9669]

I always thought that he was the embodiment of how it feels to chew 5gum...

[@HughAverageHomoMan]

I always thought the weird chamber containing the Devil's Machine looked more like a brain

[@MamaLouiji]

I never really knew what to make of it myself, in fact, it's the only point from the original abortion theory that I don't really have any response to here. I could've said something to the effect of "while yes, it does have a strikingly organic appearance, that doesn't mean it's supposed to represent a womb" but that kinda felt redundant lol

[@HughAverageHomoMan]

@@MamaLouijiYea

[@Nintendogs08]

Same

[@melissawickersham9912]

@@MamaLouijiI think the machine is an artificial brain for Giygas because he has lost his own organic brain and nervous system long ago when his psychic power ripped him apart in both mind and body. He’s basically a powerful yet nearly brain dead remnant of what he once was. His defeat at the end of the game isn’t a preventative abortion of a baby Giygas. Instead, it is basically a mercy killing administered to a terminal dementia patient who has godlike powers.

[@HDQuakelive]

I like what the angry video game nerd said about giygas, that you are fighting the actual background of the enemy encounters that has been mind controlling all the enemies in the game. Giygas is sort of like a signal that gets transmitted over space and time that people and animals can tune into. When you kill giygas he turns into white noise and the signal goes out like a tv turning off.

[@HDQuakelive]

And it's called the devils machine because it's a machine designed to send a signal out into space and time.

[@user-zm4ro7yh4e]

I remember a theory that the fetus is meant to represent Giygas leaving his physical form and being reborn as a cosmic entity. But to be honest fetal imagery has been used for horror before, thinking of Splatterhouse, Redon's Cyclops, Silent Hill, Midori, Binding of Isaac, so I think like you said it wasn't meant to be taken literally

[@blockeontheleafeon]

I believe Giygas was the first to use this imagery in this kind of way. But the point still stands. We associate fetuses with horror due to how much it's used in this type of setting.

[@DataDrain02]

So... like 2001 a Space Odyssey's ending?

[@user-zm4ro7yh4e]

@@DataDrain02 ye, pretty much

[@mr.j3rs3y]

I didn’t recognize that Giygas was a distorted screaming skull for the longest time, and instead I interpreted his sprite as being a sideways view of the imposing alien leader instead. I saw the antennae ofc but up to the left of his head I thought he had insect like mandibles and generally had a very broad and menacing figure that slowly drifts down into a ghost tail. I saw it as him wearing some kind of alien suit of armor. I have no idea how I got this image of Giygas, but instead of the outright horror that the usual and obvious interpretation brings along with the agony Giygas is or was in; I saw this imposing and unfeeling alien leader who would wipe your party out without a second thought.

[@MamaLouiji]

That's actually badass!

[@thegreeniporcini7263]

this honestly highlights how vastly different perspectives are from one person to another, it took a solid 5 minutes for me to get an understanding on your description that finally had me saying "okay i can actually see where they're coming from!" while for some it's just a quick gander. it's really cool!

[@blockeontheleafeon]

It makes sense considering Geige was an alien in Earthbound Zero. So not much has really changed depending on how you look at Giygas' sprite.

[@quadpad_music]

I think what I dislike most in this theory is that it makes the Giygas fight appear to be dark only for the sake of being dark. In reality, it's darkness is there to be yuxtaposed with love. And hope. It's there to show that even though the evils and hurdles of life may often seem huge and inexplicable, they can be overcome with the help of the people that care about you. The fetus theory is part of this ''appears wholesome but is actually edgy'' interpretation of EarthBound, when the game is ultimately still wholesome, and that is why it also has to be dark from time to time. It's all about contrast.

[@rym99]

Wait, what? Thousands of years? Why did I think the cave of the past was only ten years in the past? Now it all finally makes sense!

[@foursidekm]

My guess is you mixed it up with buzz buzz being 10 years from the future

[@rym99]

@@foursidekm maybe

[@user-jl7cz2pe6d]

Did you know that if you turn Giygas upside down you can see what seems to be his original appearance (Giegue) from the first Mother game? It's especially notable in the head. With his "jaw" being Giegue's ears.

[@JNPR_STYX]

Personally I feel like Giygas is definitely meant to be erotic/sexual to some degree, since, at least in my opinion, the development of or encounters with feelings like that are frequently connected with the loss of innocence. The talking of feeling good at the same time as things aren’t right, it hurts, that all definitely reminds me of a feeling of “violation” generally too, but that’s in a way that’s not really that sexual. I also feel like it’s at least meant to feel “body-ish”, what with all the intestine-ish tubes, the breathing in the soundtrack. It’s definitely some of my own personal experiences that make me say this, but personally, I associate the feeling of being trapped in a disgusting body with my own personal loss of innocence as I grew up. Overall I could be mistaking things though because I know that Japanese culture treats sexual things in a fundamentally different way to “western” culture. Still Giygas is a really fascinating thing and honestly I wish I could capture some of the same feelings in my own work someday

[@MamaLouiji]

I love your insight! I do agree that there is a tinge of eroticism throughout the battle, but I couldn't really decide if it was meaning towards representing Itoi's experience with the Dismembered Beauty in a literal way (as in it being meant to represent what he thought he witnessed exactly) or in the more vague sense I explained in the video (more like a representation of his loss of innocence rather than what he witnessed itself). Personally, the organic appearance of the Devil's Machine is what stumped me the most, I couldn't really pin what it was supposed to represent if anything at all, so your perspective paints it in a new light I had hardly considered before!

[@maddiehunter1336]

i was going to leave a comment saying something but these are my thoughts exactly. the flavor text is extremely evocative of sexual assault. i think the reason for that may not necessarily have to do with anything present in earthbound, rather than it being symbolic like you + louiji said of the feeling of having your innocence shattered and the reason why the rape imagery was used was because child itoi thought that he was witnessing a rape so he used the feelings of that experience to symbolize the party's experience of encountering evil beyond what they can comprehend. edit: actually, considering the themes of childhood in earthbound, it does fit quite a bit thematically. ness is stated by an npc to be 13, so just on the cusp of puberty, and when sexual feelings begin to develop that's when childhood has more or less "ended" and being confronted with sexual topics and sexual feelings is a terrifying and even traumatic experience for a lot of people during that period of their life.

[@polocatfan]

yeah it's really odd the uploader just dismissed all of this when it's pretty fucking obvious.

[@jam560]

as someone who has had sexual assault happen to women around me the whole fight honestly makes me think about how it must have been for them and basically have a mild panic attack it do be representative of the human struggle to be good and happy in a world filled with pain and evil

[@foursidekm]

Gonna be extremely nitpicky here but isn't the expression "one bad apple ruins the bunch"? If an apple is bad, it releases ethylene, which causes the other apples to over ripen

[@MamaLouiji]

Yeah I realized that when I was about 3/4ths of the way finished editing and just kinda sat there staring at my PC when I realized it lol. I got sick while working on this one so I ended up not rerecording that line just because my voice was going around the time, too.

[@CR1MSONACE]

One bad apple spoils the entire barrel.

[@bunsmasterbunny]

I think Giygas having a baby image in the sprite also is meant to symbolize his desire to return back to when he was a baby because of his remaining love for Maria.

[@zkitty11]

Great video! I also think Giygas representing the loss of innocence makes a lot more sense for the reasons you mentioned and also how (iirc) the party is warned that once they go into the past as robots they might not be able to get their original bodies back, just like how once you lose your innocence you can't get it back. Also on a more personal note, I remember thinking the Giygas fight was so fascinating and creepy back when I first found out about it when I was like, 12 or 13. But then by the time I got to play Earthbound on virtual console as an adult I realized I wasn't scared of it anymore because I'D lost my innocence and I was like "oh... huh"

[@werewook]

The only reason there is a baby silhouette is because Giygas is defeated via lullaby in the first game. The series namesake, MOTHER, is partly in reference to Maria's nursing of the infant Giygas.

[@seank.cunningham3841]

Tbh, the idea that a fetus was even meant to be there in the first place has been dismissed by the creators as a graphical illusion, based on the way the faces are mapped out.

[@polocatfan]

@@seank.cunningham3841 they had to say this because nintendo would have gotten mad otherwise. it's obviously intentional.

[@robokill387]

It's blatantly intentional. It's warped in such a way that it CLEARLY looks like a fetus and it's not even ambiguous. They even went out of their way to put in a clear mouth and nose.

[@-ferno4333]

​@@robokill387 its a fucking repeating texture, it's clearly not intentional.

[@TheSkyGuy77]

I think Giygas is supposed to represent pure incomprehensible unnegotiable evil. Which can only be defeated by pure good (in this case, that would be praying to the all-good entities)

[@CR1MSONACE]

Respectfully, I don't think everyone playing Earthbound is pure good. At least one of us is Chaotic Neutral.

[@TheSkyGuy77]

@@CR1MSONACE i didn't say anything about the player

[@puppetwraith17]

Lisa reference included, video liked! (Also the rest of the video is good too)

[@arlesluna5001]

The first time that I encountered with Giygas, I thought it was the face of a man screaming in pain. So after watching this video, I think maybe, MAYBE it's a representation of the struggles of becoming an adult.

[@DoodsUnited]

Finally someone agrees with me about Petscop, dood.

[@swan-cloud]

maybe i heard the theory differently but i remember the theory saying you weren't killing giygas before he was born but rather, before it was reborn as evil itself, you're basically killing it before it takes an unstoppable form.

[@-ferno4333]

the problem with that is that giygas is literally at his ultimate form when you fight him, it's stated right there

[@DelRio1991]

Don't you take away my abortion RPG away from me.

[@anomymous1286]

I always saw it as a similar (though probably not intentional) ending to Steven King’s IT. That book is told through two concurrent narratives, one of childhood experience (seen through the lens of incomprehensible darkness, but also the light of innocence), and the other through adulthood (a “heart of darkness” style journey that rediscovers that childhood, and the trauma within). “IT” ends with a sort of co-union between both, which is the experience of the end of childhood, both as a child and as an adult. To me, Earthbound’s ending is simultaneously Itoi, and all adults, confronting childhood’s end, while at the same time, the children (in the narrative and playing it) experiencing it. It’s something we all must do, it’s sad and scary, but it’s also a part of life.

[@TheOmegaGamer]

I had a friend who believed Giygas was not only a fetus but also Ness' yet-to-be little brother who you have to abort from your own mother's vagingo to save the future, how do you come to those conclusions

[@MamaLouiji]

Man what the hell did I just read lmfao

[@rosesapling72]

by being based.

[@llewelynshingler2173]

This is Theorising. This is Theorising on Drugs. Any Questions?

[@marzolaxo2456]

People like their disturbing ideas to be the right thing; fandoms fixate on Shock Factor and feed off shock value a lot. Unfortunately, everything needs to be super disturbing.

[@Tat011]

Thing is, fandoms don't really see themes, they're too busy with "lore" and shock factor ideas.

[@marzolaxo2456]

Unfortunately, always the 'Shock Factor' ideas, at first I was so on-board with them, but Christ they are so oversaturated it just isn't inspiring anymore.

[@antiichristie]

This channel is criminally underrated by the algorithm. What other genius is KZbin hiding??

[@MamaLouiji]

I appreciate your kindness, thank you so much!

[@locke103]

Far too many

[@Chapowzer]

Uhhh MY channel!!!

[@batdogduke]

Great video! I really like your interpretation of the Giygas fight.

[@MamaLouiji]

Thanks! I don't think my theory is super unique by any means, but I feel I brought a unique perspective to the table and was able to bring up some points I've not seen online!

[@polygawn]

4:48 as they might be giants fan I feel your pain

[@Random_Dude999]

i have no clue how you only have 1k subs, this is some great content. Keep up the good work man!

[@vengeflyking2722]

To me, it’s just his old body stretched out, and him screaming with a beeg face. And the Devil’s Machine is like Metroid’s Mother Brain, except it’s a vessel for Giygas rather than an unique AI. Giygas knows Ness because this is the cliche chosen one tale. Of course he knows the person destined to destroy him, and since he’s unstable he’s panicking.

[@YourLocalTheorist]

Excellent video! I've always felt similarly regarding this theory since it really just feels like people online attempting to make a "shocking" and "edgy" theory to explain the true, dark, meaning behind Giygas. But I always found it to feel like a stretch to me, but people have kind of treated it as fact at this point. I'm also glad to see someone else shares my belief on the battle being about the loss of innocence, I wasn't sure if I was alone in believing that or not. Great work!

[@marek1shtar538]

Giygas is like Azathoth, the Blind Idiot God

[@videorelaxant2780]

Recently Ive come around on the fetus visuals. I dont believe in the abortion theory but hear me out. I think the fetus visual makes sense in a broader more artistic sense. In a way it is shock value to make Giygas more uncanny. However when you consider that the mother games especially Earthbound are about growing up and maturing. Therefore the villians would have to be antithetical in some degree to this concept.

[@pokemaniacdavid]

Dude… excellent video man!!new sub for sure. Also I’ve seen a lot of guys come and go on yt and I gotta say you check all the boxes to become successful as a KZbinr. Just keep videos coming like this and letting your personality shine and you’ll have 100000 subs in a year or two

[@GuineaPigDan]

I remember seeing a theory on Earthbound Central that if you flip Giygas upside down, he will vaguely resemble a distorted version of his corporeal appearance in Earthbound Zero. Dunno if that’s intentional or just pareidolia, but it’s better and less disturbing than the fetus theory lol.

[@iantaran2843]

I always thought he was like an Inkblot test 😅

[@Jarack25]

Something to note is that the Giygas sprite upside down looks like Giygas' cat like form in Beginnings. I interpret this as you fighting Giygas' corrupted innocence and letting him move on, finally being with his mother like he was when he was a child, now as the stronger adult he grew into.

[@TJOEL20]

Your videos are so well put together 👌🏻 Awesome to see this one racking up some views!

[@darkychao]

entirely unique, aside from the fight against the same boss from the first game which plays out fairly similarly. also, pray isn't entirely useless it has a effect every time it's used. several cause status effects to everyone on both sides, several of them restore a portion of every party member's HP or all the HP of one, and one of them performs PK Rockin β on the enemy.

[@bliponthe]

This whole topic reminds me of that one theory in Yume Nikki talking about Matdosuki’s past life and it was really bad. What is up with people making these characters unnecessarily go through traumatic events?

[@tobexomega]

To be honest, the Yume Nikki theory makes more sence.

[@thisisnotaustin1]

doesn't modotsuki kill herself at the end of that game? it's not unreasonable to think she had a bad past if she's going to be committing suicide

[@telesticHarlequin]

using yume nikki for this point is kinda silly when madotsuki kills herself at the end, her dreams are full of horror imagery, and she literally refuses to leave her home. she certainly didnt have a good time during or prior to the events of the game, lol.

[@Palutinhac]

@@telesticHarlequin You do know that dreams having horrific imagery is not an indication by itself of trauma, right? Yume Nikki is a bad comparison not because the theory make sense, but because it has almost nothing to back the theories to reach a solid conclusion. Earthbound has story and dialogue and lore and that's why it's easier to disprove the abortion theory than disprove whatever theory people has for Yume Nikki.

[@kirbyofthestarsfan]

>There's nothing to back up those claims Way to crap on anything Kikiyama ever wanted to say or explore with this game, y'all are so repellent towards dark theories that a game whose entire fandom revolves around finding meaning in these abstract worlds paralleling past experiences.. is apparently completely meaningless to you Like, why is it such a bad conclusion that this shut-in, who refuses to go to the outside world, may perhaps *have* lived a bad life? I don't know how you guys would function at drawing any kinds of conclusions in real life when this is apparently such an absurd thing to theorize on Like, you guys just gonna ignore the horror or sexual imagery found in the game? Live in your wonderland then

[@SmokeTheHorsehog]

I was hoping you would be talking about that "The Truth About Giygas" Creepypasta. But of course, it's the fetus theory that's been perpetuated so many times. Well, I'll just have to see what's up with this video.

[@Overlordette]

Your scriptwriting skills are fun and entertaining! Reminds me of the older days of KZbin!

[@Overlordette]

im being serious. the 4:40 edit with the guy slamming the keyboard actually looked like it was in sync. well done.

[@MamaLouiji]

Thank you so much! That's kinda the vibe I'm aiming for with my videos, so I'm glad that I'm seemingly nailing it!!

[@ARDIZsq]

I've never really liked the fetus theory, but I never really thought about what else Giygas could represent until now. I honestly really like the idea that the baby imagery WAS intentional simply as a pure representation of innocence. It's such a simple idea, yet an effective one. And going just a bit further, defeating Giygas would mean destroying that symbol of innocence, showing that Ness and the party have finally grown up through their travels and encounters. Seeing this imagery twist and contort, the dialogue talking about pain yet also good feelings, to me, it feels like that transitionary period of puberty. You're changing, you're experiencing all sorts of new feelings and emotions, and while at times it might feel good to be growing up, it also hurts knowing that those innocent days of your life are coming to an end.

[@Bdb83]

Random blotches of ink but it's clearly a defined silhouette of a bat.

[@HughAverageHomoMan]

the last time I used Pray in EB it caused a complete Murder-Sewerslide scenario.

[@riverrun7061]

The reason that Gygas Is described as incomprehensible and a number of other things is because a lot of the description and staging of the fight is borrowed from the confrontation with It in the Stephen King book which it's very clear was read for inspiration. I'm sure he's also using some of his experience from the movie and it's a very famous story, but it's obvious that he used Stephen King and some other things as his guide for how to make a story set in the west feel.

[@mr.j3rs3y]

18:51I’m so glad that can be a theme though. It’s the theme of one of my games ideas, but a part of me said “Isn’t that kinda just what happens in a plot?”

[@JaxonElzinga]

Turn the image of Giygas' third phase upside down. It looks like Giegue.

[@marcelitox8146]

i think his favorite pokemon it´s ampharon, i think

[@ultracummer]

its alpharos

[@fezsquall9]

amphibian*

[@aerth6946]

Nice watch through the late-nights

[@tobexomega]

HE'S BACK! AND DISSCUSING MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME!!!

[@MamaLouiji]

I promised I'd be making more Mother stuff, so here I am finally getting to it!

[@jellyboi8032]

If you flip the background upside down, when it resembles a fetus, it looks a LOT like Giygas from mother 1, which I think is what they might have been going for, but I don't know, I'm not Itoi.

[@brazilian_oak]

5:13 OH MY GOD I legit thought I was the only one who was actually miffed at the "it was supposed to mean nothing" reveal by the author I remember the subreddit slobbering all over the tweets and saying it was a fitting ending, and I was there in the corner moping and thinking "so all the underlying themes and heavy stuff were for nothing, what a damn shame"

[@MamaLouiji]

100%. As someone who followed Petscop from the very beginning and would show it to friends and family I kinda felt embarrassed by it. I have a pretty unique history with Petscop and didn't have access to very many (if any) social media outside of KZbin for YEEEEAAAAAARS, and just got lucky with the KZbin algorithm. I had the first entry recommended to me shortly after a sermon at this church I used to frequent and watched it when I got home and was so interested in it. Lost Media, cancelled games, and stuff cut from games have fascinated me as long as I could remember, so seeing this new channel with a weird video with the promise of more down the line, of a reportedly "lost game" had my mind swirling with ideas and excitement. I remember showing the series to friends and my family, my sister and I sat down and binged Petscop 1-8 when 8 first dropped as a matter of fact! So seeing this series that I loved a lot and speculated on a ton with my loved ones end with a wet fart of a conclusion made it feel like I had wasted years of energy on the series. All the time I spent telling everyone that these pieces of a genius narrative will eventually spell the answers out for us, only to be met with the conclusion we got made me weary of future ARGs and the like. Like a puzzle that's missing pieces, although you can roughly discern what the big picture is, you can't help but feel let down to be finished only to find out some pieces have been lost

[@TelPhi_]

Was it actually intended to be "supposed to mean nothing"?? By that tweet, at least, it really seems that he had an original meaning in mind when creating it, and he just didn't want to make it obvious. ​@@MamaLouiji >Like a puzzle that's missing pieces I always used this as a comparison to Petscop, it fits really well. Yes, that's the whole point. >you can't help but feel let down to be finished only to find out some pieces have been lost It doesn't make the series any worse in my opinion, I think this just means that ambiguous narratives simply aren't for you. I think that the solution would have been for Tony to have made it clear since the beginning that the series was never going to make crucial puzzle pieces explicit. There are definitely ways to do it without breaking the immersion

[@milk1fan552]

Praying for this to make it to 1M views 🙏

[@MamaLouiji]

That'd be insane, a dream come true!

[@prismavoid3764]

I always thought the fetus theory was bizarre, basically relying on either massive misinterpretations of watching a Let's Play online, or the author barely remembering what actually happens in the story. Seriously, it bugs me how often I see people completely ignore everything that directly states "Giygas went back to the past and then dissolved into the red mist dimension monster thing when he got too powerful and lost his mind" to try and make this some kind of bizarre controversial story about killing babies. As for what the baby in the background represents: I always took it to mean Giygas himself, but in a more metaphorical sense than a literal one. He appears as an infant because his mind, his rationality, is completely gone; he doesn't mean you any harm, but he's too far gone to see what he's even doing. In a way, he has the mind of an infant now, just purely reacting to what's happening around him with no ability to actually understand _why_ it's happening. I always thought it was meant to make you pity Giygas and lament the state he ended up in, especially with how the Japanese version has Porky's dialog be way more harsh and insulting towards him. Once the ultimate conqueror of worlds and the master of all evil, now just a mindless animal, used as a weapon by some random kid. Sure, he did it to himself, but does that make it any less of a terrible fate? Then Porky's own fate in Mother 3 follows up on this by having his actions lead him to a fate worse than death, proving he failed to learn from his "master's" mistakes.

[@melissawickersham9912]

I fully agree with your theory! When the being that was Geigue fully mentally and physically collapsed into the irrational mindless mess of psi power now known as Giygas, whatever is left of his mind regressed into an infantile or fetal state. His psychological conflict combined with his powerful PSI completely reduced his mind into what would be the equivalent of a little less than that of a barely conscious newborn. That’s what the “ultrasound silhouette of a fetus” seen in Giygas’s CGI could signify. The reduction of a once powerful brain into a nearly unformed and nearly mentally incapacitated state.

[@VampireA1056]

Why do things always have to be ruined

[@nintendofan707]

If you turn the baby upside down you get a entirely different perspective of whats going on. You'll see Giegue.

[@haunted_artist]

Really liked this breakdown of the theories! I havent had the chance to play Earthbound yet, but after hearing you explain both I definitely think your theory aligns more with the games themes. (First time I think I've really heard the themes talked about! Unless I forgot, but regardless, never in relation to the "abortion theory".)

[@SBaby]

My favorite theory (and by far the most plausible one) is that Giygas is Porky, waaaaaaaaaaaay into the future (remember, Giygas traveled to the past). If you play Mother 3, you'll notice that Porky is heavily aged and stuck inside a machine, basically unable to move and only able to speak. Now, remember the scene from Earthbound where Poo trains, and the voice removes your arms, legs, ears and eyes. The last thing the voice takes away is your mind. The theory goes that this was the series foreshadowing who Giygas really is. Porky had lost everything but his voice by the time you get to him in Mother 3, so the only two things he has left to lose are his voice and then his mind. And the implication is that this happened because he's been time traveling. So after Lucas destorys the world in Mother 3, Porky is the only one alive (remember, any attack with a form can't kill him inside the ASC), and after a few more trips through time to gather more forces, eventually ends up in the Cave of the Past, where he finally loses his mind from the excessive time travel. The imagery we see in the final fight is Porky's body completely warped beyond anything that the human mind can recognize. Basically, Porky evolved in a sense, which is why he looks like the infamous fetus image. It's not a literal fetus, but the equivalent of something you'd see in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's his physical body evolving, but leaving his broken mind behind. And in the ASC, he is still immune to any attacks with form to them. Contrary to popular belief, the Devil's Machine is NOT the ASC. If it was the ASC, then 1990s Porky wouldn't have been able to turn it off. What he turned off was the machine that had been built around the ASC. It served as both a limiter and a way of conveying some degree of Porky's thoughts to his minions, so they could get some kind of instruction on what to do. But because Porky's mind has been shattered, the instructions were also broken and inconsistent, hence why various places were under a totally uncoordinated attack. Had his mind been intact, they would've just launched a full scale attack on Onett right in the beginning of the game, Ness would've died and that would've been that. But it took most of the game for them to attack Onett, because 1990s Porky was only in control of the forces toward the end of the game. This is why praying is the only thing that works on him. Praying is the only formless attack your characters have in Earthbound, and as we know the ASC protects him from all FORMS of attack.

[@bread2374]

This theory is unbelievably backwards. Porky explicitly states in Mother 3 that his crippled paralysis is a result of the insane amounts of time travel his body has undergone. If Porky was Giygas this would be a paradox because Giygas didn’t come from the future, remember we go BACK in time to the cave to fight Giygas. Also Porky is immortal, he cannot be killed under ANY circumstances, which is why locking him up in the Absolutely Safe Capsule is the only solution used to “defeat” him.

[@SBaby]

@@bread2374 The theory goes that Giygas was sent back in time at some point. Also as far as Porky goes, he is immune to any FORM of attack. In other words, the attack has to have a form. Praying has no form. You can't be invulnerable to something you don't know anything about. And it isn't a paradox, because this erases the future where Lucas wipes out everything. There's a variation on the theory that Mother 3 actually takes place in the distant past. But again, this isn't possible because humanity wouldn't exist after the events of that game.

[@BlueMarioGangsta]

6:01 thank you for using work harder

[@t.e.652]

I think the baby imagery in Gyigas is meant to repersent that all of humanity has some kind or at least potential of being evil. The whole "growing up" thing makes sense, but personally, I believe that "everyone has as equal potential to be evil, as they have potential to be good" is a better theme for EarthBound

[@gelato101]

6:42 Even in the original game, before Giygas became what he is in Earthbound, his attacks were incomprehensible, so I doubt that’s why

[@-ferno4333]

I like to think that the face that reflects on the Devil's Machine is not Ness', but rather Ninten's. Giygas is remembering his defeat at the hands of Ninten and company and is trying to not repeat his mistakes once more.

[@snosibsnob3930]

I’d love to hear you cover mother 3, it’s relations to earthbound, etc. it’s such a departure from the prior two games that I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say

[@MamaLouiji]

Absolutely! Mother 3 is a pretty vast departure from the first 2 in terms of story and environment, but I feel like it explores a lot of similar ideas presented in the first two games that many people overlook, primarily Earthbound. I appreciate the suggestion and will definitely be making that a video in the future!

[@SoftTehCustomer]

6:00 LISA MUSIC??

[@mythical_coffee]

people debating over the fetus theory is just a 'battle against a weird opponent"

[@lillithplays6514]

9:16 clever visual gag ngl.

[@andrewmeadows8936]

Thanks!

[@MamaLouiji]

Dad what the hell lmfao

[@StarvinsRoom]

This video moist it needs a wave check

[@MamaLouiji]

Thanks... I think?

[@jaysherman2615]

My theory is kind of out there, but I gave it a shot. There indeed is a fetus, but the fetus is Ness himself. Giygas was to be defeated by Ness, so there were two choices. Die or go back into the past to kill Ness. However there was a third option. Giygas could to attach himself to Ness in the womb and grow within Ness. By possessing Ness, Giygas has not only made it so Ness cannot defeat him but also gains the powers of Ness since the two now cannot be separated. This final battle is the crucial moment where Giygas is attaching himself to Ness and the team are doing everything they can to keep Giygas from finishing the attachment.

[@andrewmeadows8936]

Respectful

[@Tavg123]

Mother 1 isn't a prequel.

[@JunTekuTheEngima]

Its funny I just finished my 2nd playthrough of Earthbound yesterday, and when thinking about the ending of the game I literally said its about the loosing of ones innocences. The late John locke had once stated that humankind at birth is like that of a blanked canvas and its through our life experiences that this canvas becomes tainted. I believe the fight between giygas is actually a internal conflict.I believe the reason we see the reflection of ness in the devil machine is because ness is the only member of the team to absorb the sounds of the earth and and enter Magicant- a space that was created by the very person that raised giygas. This explains why giygas mirrors ness psi Attacks and not the others. I think that giygas represents an internal battle between the innocence of ness and the life experiences he faces through the game. Its only after porky turns of the machine that we see giygas how ness interprets him- As a deeply conflicted individual cursed with power but suffers internally due to his life experiences- Similar to how ness feels when he entered Magicant. I believe just like how ness had to fight his nightmares in magicant- After hearing Ninten and his crew sing the melody in earthbound beginnings, Giygas entered magicant and lost to his own nightmares. This in turn let his nightmares take over, making giygas a slave to his own nightmares- actively trying to regain control- flipping back and forth between being hurt and being happy. Its only after Ness and his crew pray for help, that Giygas was able to eradicate his own nightmares which resulted in his death.

[@halfdecentstrange]

giygas is actually two bears high-fiving

[@DataDrain02]

Also, pardon the double comment. Since this one doesn't fit with the previous comment. But, what does Giygas say in the Japanese version? I'm curious, since the game was rather... localized. Though, to be fair. I don't really see why they'd localize the dialog to still be horrifying to kid players. So, I'm assuming this might be one of the few parts accurately translated.

[@siinistar7953]

Honestly I gotta say man, you really look like a mix of Jay Leno and Chris Farley, you gotta get into like doing like a talk show or something, you'd be great for it This isn't like an insult or anything I just think you look like them

[@MamaLouiji]

Ha! I see it!

[@redchan_ebooks]

You're pretty funny, subbed 👍

[@MamaLouiji]

I appreciate it!!

[@NimhLabs]

... so... what you are saying then... is... THAT THE ABORTED FETUS IS SANS UNDERTALE! Yes... it all makes sense, Sans Undertale was secretly the aborted fetus this whole time. That is why he looks like Ness... >.>'

[@carlosgvargas4569]

Ness is...

[@FzeroVaporeon]

i also have ampharos plush

[@Jinbustu]

2:29 Me at this moment: the peck is the abortion theory?! I’ve heard of the fetus theory but not the abortion theory 💀

[@waluigiisthebest2802]

You’re wrong The most Infamous Earthbound theory is Sans is Ness

[@Trashpile12-vi3ci]

anohter reason why, is maybe the baby was an mistake. if you turn around the grid giygas its his original form, since his mind has been destroyed, his ratonality i gone and he isnt actually concious hes an twisted shell of what he is.

[@bitterman213]

WORK HARDER MENTIONED!

[@Karbonic]

@ 5:16 Pressedyes isn't saying that there is no concrete meaning to Petscop. "I don't particularly want everyone to understand exactly what was in my head" implies that there was an idea in his head that he was working from. However, when you outright explain to the audience what the meaning of your story or art is, all discussion stops. The meaning that someone took from the work is now overwritten, written down, and the work is forgotten about. Art is far more meaningful when it *can* be interpreted differently by different people. Pressedyes isn't saying that there is no meaning to Petscop, rather he is saying that him explaining it would ruin the work, making it less meaningful for everyone involved. You should look up David Lynch "The Film is the Thing", where he speaks about this very topic. The video game, or the film, is the language which speaks to the audience. To simplify it back into easily digestible words is to take something away from the audience.

[@the9thinning1]

swag

[@ariabritton9669]

didn't itoi decon that theory too?

[@xtrwombat4876]

I burst out laughing as soon as i heard giygas abortion theory😂 i have never heard of this before

[@kiyamegir]

Poggers. 🐸

[@rface0]

The abortion theory is nonsense, but the devil's machine is clearly a womb. Think about the name of the series, Mother, and the themes of the game. Giygas did not want to accept fate (grow up) and then retreated to the safest place that represents the earliest parts of development by returning to an artificial womb and is then reborn for the finale. Being born is itself a traumatic moment and represents the loss of innocence that Giygas' new form goes through.

[@melissawickersham9912]

All the while when Giygas retreated to that “safe place” that you speak of, his own psychic powers were tearing his mind and body apart due to his severe mental conflicts that began even before the first game. His love for the humans that not only raised him as a kid but also betrayed and stole from his species combined with his loyalty to his own species and the imperative to exact revenge on the human race that betrayed his kind... created an unsolvable dilemma that acted as a logic bomb to his own brain. That logic bomb, combined with his defeat in the first game and the unwise use of time travel in the past in order to grow his powers, sealed his fate and ultimately transformed him into a formless and nearly mindless mess of pure psychic power. That’s not a rebirth in any sense of the word. It’s literally a form of mental and psychological death that is far worse and more painful than any death that we know about in real life. At the climax of Earthbound, Giygas’s physical brain is long gone by every sense of the word and it’s only the devil machine that’s keeping his chaotic non corporeal state in any form of stability. Defeating Giygas in that state would basically be a form of euthanasia for a nearly comatose dying person who is suffering immense pain.

[@melissawickersham9912]

The devil’s machine is not an artificial womb, but it is a life support machine of a sort. It provides mental stability and the capacity for rational thought for a mind that’s tearing itself apart. It’s a life support system for a degenerating creature that’s on its last mental legs, not a life support system for a growing one.

[@justice8718]

@@melissawickersham9912 It’s pretty messed up that his mama returned as a ghost just to pass on the song that causes Giygas to go insane.

[@patrickholt8782]

I would like to go so far as to say that a lot of fan theories are bad.

[@linguisticspaceship]

I think it can be compelling if you view it not as an abortion taking place in the past, but in the "present." As in, Giygas is about to be "reborn" and it must be stopped. And after the battle, all the protagonists exit the "cave" (wink) and are born again. Something along those lines. A metaphor about growing up using the aesthetics of being born.

[@twentysixbit]

I still think its pronounced "gee gus" because thats closer to the old name "Giegue"

[@akramirez]

People took that literally???

[@BIayne]

3:26 ... what? There are people who have even heard of Earthbound who have heard of this Giygas abortion theory? 🤔

[@bazookaman1353]

This video debunked the literal fetus theory, but the metaphorical version of the theory is still on the table. We have to consider that fetus final bosses are somewhat common and only a fraction of them are supposed to be true references to 'bortions, the fetus is used for a different metaphor and the act only happens because that's just the word for it.

[@HTONYS]

HII MAMA LUIGI

[@MamaLouiji]

HELLO HTONY!!

[@Mother2IsTheBestGame]

Giygas is chaos in fetal form, so Giygas is the Demiurge.

[@Shottos]

Im a bit late to the party but to say somethint about the fetus imagery. Imo its the same as people saying majoras mask has female reproductive parts. Its purely a coincidence of how the sprie was msde. From a technical standpoint Giygas is a warped spritr thing . Throughout the battle that sprite mutliplies in a grid format, warpa and shrinks. What im trying to say is that you can give me any image and eith enough warping and photo effects i can make it "resemble" anything. We humans try to find paterns to any and all places we can, so it doesnt seem weird to me that we saw that baby in giygas and decided to go with it because it fit thr abortion theory. I agree with what you said about what he is supposed yo represent and to build on top of that id like to add that thats why he looks the way he does. Even as a still imsge sprite the creators made it so you couldn't understand what you were looking at. Thats ehat makes it unsettling. Not being able to understand what you are looking at. Thsta why you can add thr warp, twist and thrn filters to make it even more confusing. Correct me if im wrong but, earthbound doesnt have any jump scares at that point in the game. Usually when you are seeing something unsettling you expect a jumps scare or a big release of some short. This lets the brain go back to functioning as normal. If that release is missing though thr unsettling feeling doesnt go away thus making the next scene even more impactful. Its a technique that is used by film and game makers. That's why in my opinion everything just keeps getting more and more unsettling. To make the player be aware to keep em on edge waiting for the big release. Making them hyper focused on everything so they pay better attention to your creation Edit: from a bit of research i did i think thr creator of the mother searies confirmed that the fetus imagery was jsut made by coincidence because of the way earthbound created its enemy backgrounds

[@zacharykenniston748]

He’s not literally a fetus he manifested as one because he’s alone and wants his mom. He was ripped away from his only protector - like an aborted fetus

[@TelPhi_]

2:14 that's a COMPARISON, not a theory. If people have an actual theory about it, show a screenshot that actually showcases someone EXPLICITLY making a serious theory about it 4:36 lol this is so childish and unnecessary 4:50 "see? I depicted YOU as the soyjack, and me as the chad, therefore I'm more correcter and based" this is so embarassing 💀 5:17 this is NOT the same as it being "purposeless" like your mature chad meme pointed out earlier. He explicitly states in that tweet that there was SOMETHING in his head while he created the story, it's just that he didn't want to make it obvious in the story (unless I'm misinterpreting it?). You can get conclusions from Petscop based on the series' themes just like you did with your own Gyigas theory. And hey, isn't this EXACTLY what Earthbound's creator was doing with Gyigas, too? Having a specific meaning in mind but only IMPLYING what it is while telling the story? 5:25 do you really thing it's a valid way to present a story? In the meme where you portrayed yourself as the based alpha gigachad, the chad says that art "without a purpose" (being ambiguous IS a purpose) is "worthless" Good video, aside from these really, really odd things that I pointed out I see you're a BIG Kirby's Adventure fan too, by the way. Neat

[@MamaLouiji]

U had a few points I wanted to address so I broke it down into some points: >Donald Trump Porky It was just a funny image I thought was absurd and would fit in well, it's an outrageous example purposefully picked for comedic effect and nothing more. It's a purposefully silly comparison so I picked it for a silly purpose >Childish and unnecessary ... Aren't all jokes childish and unnecessary? >Chad V. Soyjak Image This is seemingly the most problematic aspect of the video based on the fact I've gotten several comments about it. I was up late into the night editing and made that image without much care (evident by the watermark) and just thought it was funny. It's satirical, my opinions are much more nuanced than a simple 2 sentence meme format could possibly represent, and I was kinda hoping people would see the satire since I, an over-weight redhead with no facial hair, was represented with a blonde haired, seemingly fit, dude with facial hair, but seemingly not? It's just a meme made to be purposefully dumb, don't look too much into it. >Petscop I see where you're coming from but there's a vast difference from my perspective. Itoi laid the pieces out to find out what he was intending, and even though the final battle is vague, it clearly has a purpose and a meaning for the players meant to find. This is opposite of Petscop, where the creator had a direct idea in mind, but purposefully obfuscated details so the person watching can make their own interpretation. And yeah I do think it's a valid way to tell a story, just one I don't enjoy. Ultimately it all comes down to preferences, and I happen to prefer stories with a defined meaning. >Kirby's Adventure Yeah that game is incredible, I have lots of fond memories playing it on my Wii and my brother and I arguing over the controller, good times!

[@TheZaius]

"It was the kind of final boss that hadn't really been done before." Well, it basically happened in Earthbound Beginnings. Your Pokey quote from the final battle is a bit off. It's got a little bit of the text from the literal translation of the Japanese version in it instead of being the exact script from Earthbound. Anyway, as someone who supports the Giygas fetus theory, I do not believe he is a literal fetus who is literally being aborted. I believe it's all symbolic imagery. I also don't believe the dialogue is supposed to... mirror an abortion, whatever that means. Giygas doesn't have to have been born on earth, suggesting he's some kind of earth being. He could just be an alien from space experiencing some kind of rebirth on earth during the events of Earthbound. I theorize the following: First, I'm going to make some assumptions here. Giygas decided to travel back in time not just to seek revenge, like he promised in Earthbound Beginnings, but specifically because of what he learned from the Apple of Enlightenment. Additionally, he made this decision before conquering the universe. So, it's his time travel plan that resulted in the initial timeline where Giygas conquered the universe, a timeline that Buzz-Buzz travels from. It was only because of Buzz-Buzz's intervention in 199X that the universe being conquered ultimately didn't happen. It's sorta like Terminator 2 (if you ignore Terminator 3). So anyway, Giygas traveled back in time to begin his takeover of earth but appears to coccoon himself. Maybe he's doing this to increase and stabilize his power and he had to travel back in time because the process is time-consuming. I originally thought the machine was there to house Giygas's psyche because his body was destroyed during time travel but then how does Pokey survive time travel in his spider mech? They must've used technology that protects organic matter during time travel, technology that Dr. Andonuts and the Mr. Saturns didn't have. Whatever the reason, the side effect is that, in a way, Giygas has returned to a "womb" of sorts, something Pokey also happens to do by the end of Mother 3. What Giygas is supposed to be reborn as is clearly something much more powerful and the process must've destroyed his body. Regarding the Devil's Machine, due to its organic appearance, it's not a stretch to view the orb at the center to be a symbolic cervix. Regarding the face that appears on the orb, I figure this is Giygas reflecting Ness's true face via telepathy. I'm not sure why this happens. It could be because Giygas has lost his sense of self at this point and is latching on to Ness's ego. Or it could be more nefarious, like Giygas showing who his main target is. Regarding the dialogue during battle, I think it's supposed to make viewers feel that both something horrible is happening and that something that feels good at a more base level is happening. In an interview with 1101.com, Itoi said, "In other words, there's a sense of horror when crime and eroticism come side by side, and that is Gieg's final line." (Sorry, I used google translate). This "sense of horror" is inspired by what he thought was a rape scene from the movie. He didn't use dialog from the movie but conjured up the words that would create the same feelings in players that he had as a child watching that dark scene. Regarding Giygas's final appearance, it clearly does have the image of an ultrasound floating around in it. But that's not the only imagery hidden in there. Giygas as he appears in Earthbound Beginnings is featured in there but is upside down. Yeah, that scary face in the middle of the swirl is Giygas's sprite from Earthbound Beginnings. Just rotate it 180 degrees. Going back to Itoi's interview with 1101.com, he said "Basically, Giygas is something you can't make sense of, you know? But there's also a part to him that's like a living being that deserves love." I think that's why there's the image of an ultrasound mixed in with the garbled mess that is Giygas. It's there to show the player that there's a part of Giygas that deserves love. The 1101.com interview with Shigesato Itoi is great but try to find a good transition of it. Google Translate is not the best. Anyway, the whole ABORTION idea is overblown and people are missing the point of the ultrasound imagery when they start focusing on that. Additionally, I do agree that an ongoing theme throughout Earthbound is the loss of innocence. These 4 young children have to grow up at an early age and face the evils of the world throughout the game. It's also a theme you find throughout the works of Stephen King. I bring him up because of how much Giygas reminds me of Pennywise the Clown. They're both beings from space. They both use mental powers to influence people to do bad things. They both are defeated by children. And they are both defeated for good when the protagonists travel to the past, figuratively in It and literally in Earthbound. Also, a spider is involved in both final encounters.