The Pursuit of Happy-Ness

[@djricecooker]

Young ness’ sprite was depicted wearing all blue as well. Potentially showing that he was once more susceptible to evil. His pajamas are also blue and white striped.

[@MonkeyNess]

Have a lot to say about these things, and will get to them (eventually)!

[@djricecooker]

Ok

[@low-keydrama1260]

Oh dang you’re right. Paula: Pink Red and White Jeff: Green Black and White Brown Poo: White and Black Ness: Yellow Red Blue (some white for clay model wearing socks)

[@MonkeyNess]

@MikkoMore all choices made in art mean something whether intended or not!

[@HBMmaster]

usually this style of beat by beat plot summary doesn't work very well for media analysis because they use the summary itself as a substitute for analysis, but this series avoids that by. actually analyzing things as it goes, adding commentary and not just literally describing what's in the game. plus the fact that it's multiple videos and not just one really long video? love to see it

[@MonkeyNess]

Thank you so much! This means the world.

[@clicktuck]

Jan Misali moment

[@LakituAl]

I remember way back then, someone had released a font meant to replicate the EB dialog font, named "Orange Kid". It was neat, but as time went on users were noticing it wasn't quite up to snuff. And sure enough, eventually a more accurate replacement came to be. What did they call it? "Apple Kid". It's so perfect you would think they planned this.

[@JezElectro13]

Coincidence? I think not

[@maximyllion]

i used the apple kid font a few times and i still find this funny

[@JezElectro13]

19:09 something else about this moment: the very concept of healing costing becoming part of Happy-happism shows that sometimes, you have to defy your own believes to make your life easier. sometimes I feel this very personally. Show More

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

33:57 “Just for a moment, you thought you saw your old red horns.”

[@busterwolf8901]

Delta traveling

[@clicktuck]

Delta traveling

[@MapleMoriko]

I'm the third strongest comment, NONE SHALL STOP ME!

[@linkydoki]

my reaction to this information: 🐴

[@pktiger7]

🙏

[@KennithLamarNoid]

No stop calling me a “he haw donkey whore”

[@inazumarai7690]

the runaway five's debt:

[@KennithLamarNoid]

Excuse me? Bug. Moo

[@redshell9205]

Kinda like how the transition from the funky upbeat Runaway Five music and then instantly to the creepy unsettling Threed music. Just feels all so sudden.

[@Sneavile]

Personally I'd argue that being given the yes/no choice to join the happy-happy cult also serves a much simpler purpose-- choosing to do the right thing means nothing if there was never a chance to do otherwise. Of course almost every player is going to say "No" to this question, but being able to deliberately choose "No" rather than "Yes" gives the player a greater sense of control, and makes them feel as if they're actively defying the questioner instead of the game just forcing them into the correct choice. Of course, I would've preferred if there were greater stakes to the question, instead of the battle starting either way. Something akin to certain yes/no questions in the Paper Mario series, where consistently and deliberately making the "wrong" choice will actually incur a game-over.

[@bloo_ya]

The best example of this is SPM

[@thegreasygrub5009]

Just got into earthbound and was looking for discussion online before finding this. I’m really impressed by your ability to put certain things into words as well as point attention to things that are usually overlooked.

[@MonkeyNess]

Hope you’ll stick around!

[@bit0494]

Monkey Ness uploads are always a pleasant surprise

[@macaronicowgirl]

38:03 I always interpreted the party having to walk around Poochy Food's desk as a way of showing that its a "under the table deal". Considering you're a child having to pay some adult's debt, it feels pretty sketchy.

[@MonkeyNess]

Really like that interpretation!

[@LC-iw3ll]

I really appreciate the effort you put into this vid! It's really nice to experience this amazing game again in a slick well-paced vid.

[@KajiCarson]

So Happy Happy seeing this from you. I've replayed EarthBound twice and I never noticed the obvious religious symbolism of fighting snakes before entering their Village. And I likewise recall thinking of Paula's capture and encaging as preparation for a human sacrifice - fits with the Wicker Man vibes. It might even be a reference to the famous sci-fi short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin, where the happiness of a utopian society rests on the torture of a single child hidden away in a dungeon below the city.

[@quadpad_music]

I always thought the snakes were there to ensure you learned about the one-shot-win mechanic, specially given there's a mole right next to them that explains it directly.

[@KajiCarson]

Could be both!@@quadpad_music

[@andermachines2645]

The Runaway Five are able to drive through the ghost tunnel because they're basically the Blues Brothers, so they have Dan Aykroyd with them to talk to ghosts

[@Dangerzone334ArchiveOfficial]

Well Dan Aykroyd himself is a ghost enthusiast himself after all

[@gamerepic-s5n]

about the guy you pay 50 bucks in the happy happy vilage, i was plyain on an emulator that allows you to change the speed of the cpu thus make the game not lag at all, however for VERY specfic rooms especially once that warrant a transition like hotel the game would have graphical corruptions and then crash. So here i was having beaten the boss and trying to find a rest point where the guy now just asks you if you wanna stay the night. Only to then say "just kidding" and then have the game crash

[@eckitronix]

I'm honestly really glad you did all this, but I'm ESPECIALLY glad you pointed out that the Runaway Five has six members. I knew, but I felt like I was the only one who realized this.

[@maximyllion]

the whole connection between the enemies having blue skin and the blue happy happyist cult was NEVER something i put together and it feels like my third eye opened for a bit

[@wildrosetarot222]

Thank you for making EB content! It's been one of my special fixations lately and you make great videos 😊

[@MonkeyNess]

So glad you enjoy it! :)

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

33:24 I found it funny when I was just fiddling with status moves on repeat playthroughs that surprisingly paralysis worked… and also learned what paralysis does as I NEVER used it often in previous playthroughs. If there’s one thing I’ll go ham on this game for it’s the real discouraging of using PP on to inflict status aliments. The game can railroad you down a “if bashing doesn’t work, level more” mindset which can hurt the pace of the game in certain areas and DEFINITELY harmed my first playthrough a lot.

[@Ol_Scamp]

Small note, ever town Porky was during his fall, the Mani Mani Statue was present.

[@spragthemotherseriesfan5813]

Monkeyness is dropping banger videos this year

[@possiblyadog]

I think it's also worth noting the influence of Aum Shinrikyo, a prominent cult in Japan during the early 90s. They too were obsessed about their leader and their ideology, and Aum also turned out to be violent with the infamous Sarin attacks!

[@MonkeyNess]

This video series is focused on the lens of analyzing the game through an American in the '90s' eyes, but yes, correct.

[@chairpenguin2370]

14:55 the mole on the outside of the cave tells the player about the easy fight mechanic where enemies die without a real fight. Mechanically I believe the placement of the snakes was to show of this mechanic whereas thematically I believe your explanation makes sense.

[@theMoporter]

Blue is associated with divinity - power - while yellow is associated with warning and danger more than anything else. Ness is even striped like a bee. Combine that with beating up animals and people with a baseball bat and he seems a little unhinged. Even after saving people, it's often with a caveat - take down a gang, and the police tries to beat him up for it. Save Paula, and she says she could have busted herself out anyway. And, getting ahead of the video, save Threed from zombies, and some of the residents say they liked it better the old way. I believe this juxtaposition is meant as a joke - he's the hero, but he doesn't really look or act much like a hero - which makes the subtle moments of reflection in Magicant much more powerful. We are able to empathise with Ness because it shows he has a level of self-awareness. Speaking of Magicant - you know which other allies are prominently yellow? The Flying Men.

[@MeleeGamer]

I think that Mushroomization is really cruel because not only does it reverse your controls, it turns them 90 degrees, which is IMPOSSIBLE to get used to.

[@Beansman-gp3ws]

turn your controller sideways (:

[@maximyllion]

every time i deal with it i'm just glad they never get totally randomized

[@erikaisadiah]

I've been playing Earthbound since it came out, literally learned how to read with it, have replayed it so many times I have even the side characters' dialog all but memorized...and I JUST got the Punk-Sure joke. I love this game ❤

[@Wilbur_Soot_Stan]

whats the punk-sure joke mean? im a die hard fan of this game but i never got the joke lol

[@grinkobaba9226]

@@Wilbur_Soot_Stanpuncture !

[@Wilbur_Soot_Stan]

@@grinkobaba9226 ohhh, tysm, makes it at lot funnier now!

[@TBG497]

Hey... Stubby Legs!

[@calyps0rion]

I didn't know there was an active Earthbound channel! Nice.

[@MonkeyNess]

Welcome!

[@calyps0rion]

@@MonkeyNess Thank you! :>

[@nlatimer]

30 years, and I’ve never gotten the Punk Sure joke until someone else said it out loud

[@BananaJr0_o]

Man earthbound is literally a CULT classic!

[@PabbyPabbles]

If we're going to go deep in interpretations and stuff, maybe during Carpainter's speech the player is mashing A to get to the fight, and maybe the player accidentally selects Yes to his question, something something cults take advantage of less mindful people who go through life on autopilot

[@tasty_cactus]

I like how you don't use the default names, it makes it more genuine

[@ThatBluDude]

21:53 "Blue equals evil" :')

[@Simon_Dunkaccino]

you poor soul

[@CarouselofStars]

8:21 The for-sale sign can be used for an infinite-money feature here. You can buy an egg, wait for it to mature into a full-grown chicken, and sell it for a hefty profit. You can then buy MORE eggs and repeat the process infinitely.

[@tommylupkey4046]

If you complete the Runaway Five portion BEFORE going to the Sanctuary cave, when you get to the cave all of the enemies minus the boss are gone. It'll also glitch your game requiring you to reset it. .... there's your fun fact of the day

[@theMoporter]

Do you have any proof of that? Like a video or something? That's definitely an unusual bug.

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

17:33 I think both the original intent and this can work, as you can show her dialogue showing less fear when calling Jeff showing a small development of courage through your journey to the second sanctuary and back to Twoson.

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

37:56 It always was a thing I noticed but never realized it was a joke.

[@professoryeetus8955]

same, i was just like "uh.... why are there six of them? is one of them a guest performer? is it some weird inconsistency?"

[@JezElectro13]

20:41 ah yes, "No problem here".

[@deep_fried_cringe7962]

Your videos make me appreciate Earthbound even more than I originally did!

[@tweer64]

Carpainter looks a lot like the healer that you find in the hotel. That feels deliberate.

[@axeldeeker5644]

I love this series of yours!

[@road_chad3669]

probably the best analysis of the happy happy village thing bravo

[@professoryeetus8955]

* drives into threed * you're blue now, that's the attack

[@quadpad_music]

36:54 Ahhh yes, my favorite Nintendo property: The Blues Brothers.

[@Ness_from_Earthbound]

this is my favorite video on youtube no joke

[@JezElectro13]

Let's go, next episode!

[@theMoporter]

Happy Happy are painting everything blue, a colour associated with sadness. Blue is also seen as a calm and serene colour, but they are, in practice, anything except calm and serene. They're either huge hypocrites, or in total cognitive dissonance.

[@nonplayablecharacter.]

How do i give two subs to a youtuber?

[@MonkeyNess]

Got two accounts? :P ❤️

[@nonplayablecharacter.]

@@MonkeyNess got four, and now they are subed to you 😊

[@wahwah12wahwah12]

Thanks man, because of your video i watched the blue brothers for the first time

[@josephconover5270]

It could be implied the money was given by the people that kidnapped Paula as Everdread may have been the owner of the cabin and, giving the money was to relieve his concence of what he did.

[@Brackets_Guy]

[@dcmcmother3531]

28:05 It's also a example of Ness being a silent protag since in the japenese verison of earthbound Pokey/porky reacts to Ness's silence. And Ness was basically the only person he considered his friend

[@lunggingyat5302]

The random hallway with coil snakes actually is for teaching players about killing weak enemies immediately on the world map

[@Vincent-lj2ww]

Somehow on my first playthrough, I completely skipped the Liliputt steps sanctuary and it was the last one I got, somehow it never occurred to me that I missed a sanctuary until I got the eighth one.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

35min : did you know that the creature from the vegetable soup reference is from another fun movie like the blues brothers. It’s from the france movie “la soupe aux choux” aka “the cabbage soup” with Louis de Funes

[@zsombi-rv9pg]

this video was super great!

[@keenankersh7944]

I just watched a 40 minute video about one area in Earthbound... 👍

[@MonkeyNess]

HEY. Technically 3! :D

[@keenankersh7944]

@@MonkeyNess Still, your stuff is way underrated.

[@IloveRobot64]

Happyness Happypaula Happyjeff Happypoo

[@inazumarai7690]

i didn't think much of the name peaceful rest valley until i ran into a territorial oak

[@DeezNuts-uk9bd]

ka BOOOOOOOOM

[@dansmith1661]

Canonically, the egg seller in Burglin is called Eggman.

[@levthelion71810]

A while ago, I was creating some sprites for Earthbound, and I noticed how it felt somewhat strange how much blue was on Ness' sprite. It's funny how it was brought up in this video.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

The big mole is why you level up and buy the TREX bat alonr with Jeff BEFORE going to save them in Threed

[@thisispkmadness]

38:36 *slowly raises hand*

[@atwistedb]

Monkey Ness sweep!!!

[@randomrants83]

Well, it wasn't two hours. But I still enjoyed it

[@TheOooMat]

Don't forget the serpent told eve that if she ate the fruit she would die. The serpent told her the truth, but she still took it.

[@MonkeyNess]

He actually said the opposite: Genesis 3, 4-5 (ESV): 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

[@JezElectro13]

Question: does Lier X. Agerate has new Dialogue after Happy-Happy Village plot?

[@MonkeyNess]

He does! He mentions Gerardo Montague, the gold miner!

[@JezElectro13]

@@MonkeyNess and Gerardo will be important later, am I correct?

[@MonkeyNess]

@@JezElectro13 Yes!

[@JezElectro13]

@@MonkeyNess Okay. Thanks for the info. Can't wait for the next episode.

[@Bruhčina]

even after all this time, there are still things I don't know about this game. Thanks, Hint Person!

[@josephconover5270]

There is also a group caled Aleph that could refrence more to Happy-Happyism.

[@djskylerhall]

Is it me, or is the traveling keyboardist with the Runaway 5 actually Paul Shafer, associated with Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers, and Dave Letterman?

[@thefrubblewarrior4678]

30:15 I missed the second sanctuary cause of this and didn’t realize I missed it until I got all of the other melodies.

[@AluminumFusion22]

I don't think Everdred is directly connected to Paula's kidnapping. It's entirely possible that he led Pokey and the masked boy to kidnap and hand her over to the cult. When talking to the boy in the white mask in Happy-Happy Village, he explicitly mentions that he and Pokey kidnapped her to use as a sacrifice. Regardless, love your videos! I've never seen someone engage with EarthBound and the MOTHER trilogy as a whole in a such a unique, personalized way!

[@GamepadStudios]

The first thing I did when I got the money from Everdred was to go around town showing the NPCs the money and seeing their reactions lmao

[@Wilbur_Soot_Stan]

omg thats genious lol

[@AlejandroChannel]

Happy Happy Town is quite an interesting town to me... It's like, not as quite as interesting like Onett, or Twoson, or any of the main towns, but it has a unique feel to it. It feels like a suburbian independent town or a sub-town to Twoson.

[@Wattson-ston]

Haha I see what you did there Happiness happy-Ness like Ness is happy lol.

[@jialin7]

I think it’s also a movie reference to the movie “The pursuit of Happyness” Though not sure why cause the movie is about taking care of a child while being homeless

[@rianthreeden]

I love this Video series so Much please continue it lol lookin forward to Threed. You gonna cover Winters too In it Or no?

[@MonkeyNess]

Will be covering the whole game!

[@ElianSchreuder]

good tutorial, thanks.

[@PorkyMinch]

We are still waiting for the Blues Brothers analysis

[@axeldeeker5644]

Melo? Is Running Shine helping you with this? Give him my best I love his stuff

[@MaybeSabin]

Do you like the gum monkey or salsa

[@davidleon7918]

Salsa has more personality and a backstory. So I choose salsa.

[@Morgil27]

I've always liked Twoson more than Onett, cuz it reminds me so much of the small country town I grew up in.

[@artcrime2999]

Happy Happy is just the Sarin gas attack cult from japan

[@MonkeyNess]

This series observes the game through an American lens.

[@shirrenthewanderer414]

Since when did Hippie care about hygiene?

[@RobertTheFoxxo]

What's going on with the captions? They're in style of set captions, but look like they're reading the video like closed captions...

[@MonkeyNess]

They’re set captions.

[@RobertTheFoxxo]

Why are they partially wrong in some places, like Itoi being "a toy" and other random things...

[@MonkeyNess]

AI generated. Intend on fixing the slight-inaccuracies when I have the time.

[@RobertTheFoxxo]

Oh.

[@maxattack.]

3:18 Arn jumpscare

[@eminebru]

i know this is an interpretation of the english version, but i'd like to see you adress how ness didn't accep his apologize in the japanese version in another video, i think it plays into porky's character.

[@rainbowmacaroon9189]

4:30 Teddy vibes

[@drsnoes6337]

32:54 the mole is draining my peepee😫😢

[@MonkeyNess]

real

[@lazyavatar2479]

That damn mushroom

[@Morgil27]

I've never heard anyone pronounce carpenter that way before.

[@phelanij]

That's because his name actually is "Car-Painter"! Presumably he paints the cars blue. But the pun with Carpenter, evoking the other famous religious carpenter, is interesting as well.

[@glo_bin]

I'm pretty sure you use the R button as a shortcut to check and talk

[@MonkeyNess]

That's the L button!

[@glo_bin]

Whoops! Been a while since I last played

[@somedudewithabat]

I think a couple of these theorys are bs, like blue = evil and lightning is the strongest element 1 the blue on ness is purely coincidental, and 2, go to a battle, cast psi freeze, and then psi thunder (and have it hit) and get back to me on that

[@MonkeyNess]

It’s all my personal interpretation. When I refer to lighting as the “strongest element” I mean in the real world, not the game. (Not to mention a stronger form of PSI Thunder could potentially do more than Freeze when every strike lands.)

[@somedudewithabat]

@@MonkeyNess ok

[@somedudewithabat]

@@MonkeyNess maybe I'm falling in the same pit that made me dislike matpat. After all, it's just a theory. A GAME THE-

[@claus4670]

I dont think its very farfetched at all. human enemies are blue of all colors (instead of something sickly like green or something like a bright red thatd make them look angry) and this concept happens to be introduced in the area just before a cult made up of blue people

[@somedudewithabat]

@@claus4670 yeah, thats true, in my time away, ive realized that ness's blue and the enemies blue are different shades

[@linkydoki]

hi comment section

[@whybother5741]

29:25

[@jacobdiaz2216]

23:17

[@alfac6847]

kid cudi reference

[@Ness199X]

8th, nice video

[@sunny__41]

I FUCKING HATE ORANGE KID apple kid the goat

[@droppers]

pin a comment will yea?

[@MonkeyNess]

Sure, if you write a comment worth pinning :P

[@Ness199X]

I'm glad to see someone standing up to these 8 year olds that begs and begs for pinned comments

[@Idiotic_uploader]

I didn’t even know that you could heal in happy happy village