Earthbound

I love earthbound (archaic stoned snes game) to the point that ive wriiten many a thing, own the original cartridge and guide, so its about time i put something up. here is an ancient article putting up some of the mysteries. if you dont get it, go play the game. Say: FUZZY PICKLES!!! - A

Mysteries of Earthbound

Giygas is one of the most mysterious and least-mentioned characters in all of EarthBound, but he also plays one of the biggest roles. Pokey, the devil's advocate, takes the spotlight and does most of the dirty work. So what do we know about Giygas for fact? Here are a few things:
· Giygas is called the 'universal cosmic destroyer'. From this we can assume that he's taken over / destroyed other planets besides Earth.
· Giygas has been around and has waged war on the Earth before. We know this because of the text inscribed on the heiroglyphs: "To fight against the invaders, we built this pyramid fortress. However, our efforts were futile, and we lost. Nonetheless, our pyramid was protected by the gods of Scaraba. The invaders will be reborn every millennium and will attack again. Even now, the invaders hide beyond time and space and build their evil stronghold. A place out of time is beyond the Dark, and is even further beyond the Lost Underworld." Thanks to kenny17547@aol.com for reminding me of this quote.
· He can change forms, and can manipulate things (like human beings and animals) to act like he wants them to. He's got a fleet of other monsters, minions, and robots (like the Starmen) at his disposal.
· He can't be physically beaten. By this I mean that you couldn't beat him with a bat and kill him, unless you had a LOT of time on your hands and even more food :) As EarthBound shows us, Giygas could only be beaten by the power of Paula's and many other people's prayers.
So this is all we know for sure about Giygas. Here are a few things that are generally assumed about Giygas, but we can't really prove:
Giygas is somehow controlling Pokey. There are lots of sub-ideas to this:
-Giygas is simply controlling Pokey's mind. This may or may not be true. One could say that Giygas couldn't be controlling Pokey because, once Giygas was destroyed, Pokey remained evil. To argue that, we could say that Giygas's evil influence over Pokey was so great that Pokey went beyond the point of no return. So he couldn't simply revert back to his normal self after Giygas was destroyed.
-Giygas isn't controlling Pokey's mind, he has totally replaced Pokey's former self with an evil consciousness. I suppose this is possible, but I like the first theory better.
-Giygas has totally switched places with Pokey. This is an excellent theory, but I can't remember who presented it to me. Anyways, here's the idea: At some point in the game, Giygas transferred himself to Pokey's body, and transferred Pokey's consciousness to the form that Ness battles at the end of the game. This may sound strange and rather unfounded, but if you remember during the final battle, Giygas repeatedly calls Ness's name and does other strange things that you wouldn't associate with a planet-destroying alien. This shows that Pokey may have been trying to alert Ness to the fact that Giygas was actually in Pokey's body. The thing that makes this theory so good is that, if he was really in Pokey's body, Giygas escaped to another universe, making a sequel very possible :)
· Giygas is the same alien that appeared in EarthBound Zero / Mother. Here's an opinion from EBounding about the possibility that 'Giegue' and 'Giygas' are the same alien, with a poorly translated name:
· The main connection is in Mother 1. Giygas kidnapped Ness's great grandparents, George and Maria. When they were kidnapped, Maria began to love a certain alien (Giygas), but he hated her song for some reason...meanwhile, George stole "vital information" from the aliens. This was the study of PSI. I guess George fled somehow, but either his wife didn't make it, or she wanted to stay with Giygas. Well, I guess once the aliens realized that the information about PSI was stolen from them, and was being used by George, they got angry. Therefore, they probably sent Maria to Magicant (it represents her love, that Ness is able to access). However, George continued his study on PSI so his descendants would know it, because he knew that Giygas would be after the descendants. He also built a robot named EVE to protect his descendent. When the aliens arrive back at Earth 80 years later, they begin to wreak havoc by altering the minds of people, and abducting and killing parents. Finally, Ness and his friends cause Giygas to retreat. But he comes back for revenge in 199X. That's mainly why he didn't play that big of a role in EarthBound, because he already did a lot of destruction last time. And Giygas' (and his nation's) attempt last time was to just destroy Ness, and use the abducted people as hostages. But in EarthBound, I think he was more power crazed for the entire world.
There is also the 'Apple of Enlightenment', which predicts the outcome of the final battle before it happens. We don't know what this apple thing is, since its only mentioned a few times in the game (thanks to BriCkrOad for sending me a few more and getting the actual texts):
-The Starman Deluxe
"You’re much stronger *whirrr* than our intelligence indicated…We were not *beep* prepared for that eventuality…The prophecy from the *click* Apple of Enlightenment may be true…but you must not *whirrr* underestimate us."
-At Magicant
"Giygas’ goal is to destroy you. Listen carefully! Everything in the universe could be destroyed at the hands of Giygas. But he and his followers are also in trouble. The Apple of Enlightenment has foretold that Giygas’ attempt will fail. It is because of the existence of a boy named Ness.""…That’s me!""Listen. Free your mind and KNOW what you must do! Your destiny has already been decided.""You…I…where should we go?" "You know deep within the reaches of your mind…""S…Sat…Saturn…Saturn Valley…""Yes…Go to the valley where the Mr. Saturn live…You’ll get something new there. Soon, Magicant will be no more. We must be quick!" "Ness really heard his own voice. Go to Saturn Valley! Go to Saturn Valley now!"
-The Final Battle
Pokey says that "...the Apple of Enlightenment has already made a prediction…But I won’t let what the Apple of Enlightenment predicted take place..." and "The Apple of Enlightenment couldn't predict this."
Apparently, this 'Apple of Enlightenment' has predicted that Ness and his friends win the battle. Of course they do, so the Apple of Enlightenment can't simply be another name for Giygas, because Giygas wouldn't predict his own destruction. Is it possible we'll see the return of the Apple of Enlightenment along with the return of Pokey in the upcoming EarthBound? Possibly the return of Giygas, assuming the theory of Giygas switching places with Pokey is true?
Here are some opinions that have been mailed in.
Dr. Andonuts - kaplan3@snip.net
My friend Steve and I think that Giygas cast shyness over the tenda because Giygas didn't want them to tell Ness and co. about him or the AOE, because they may have found out secret information on him and the AOE. Giygas sent the Starman Deluxe to capture innocent civilians and the Apple Kid because he had the shyness book, and for some weird apparent reason, Giygas didn't want the Tendas to speak or let Ness and co. to the lost underworld. We don't think Giygas would let them make the sound stone dissapear and make Ness more powerful, powerful enough to beat Giygas and bring peace to the world for now...
Kevin - Alert32@aol.com
The AoE (Apple of Enlightment) is not a thing nor a legend passed down from generation to generation. The AoE is an Idea. The AoE has much to do with Mother 1. It was Passed from the first game to the second. If in fact Giegue is Giygas the AoE was started with the creation of Giegue. When Giegue was born to it's alien parents, it was not the cosmic destroyer... Or it didn't know it was. AoE (the idea) was created and predicted to George warning him. Thus George became the Apple of Enlightment. We all understand why "Enlightment" is used. Enlightment is a term meaning higher than the state of mind. A sentance we might use enlightment is would be: God is enlightened. Now you get the idea. Why apple is used I will try to decribe. Even though I am not so sure myself. An apple is a common fruit. The color it is most known for is red, and it's seeds are in the center. Because the apple is a common fruit this means the AoE is a common thing. The AoE exists every Millenium, when ever Giygas appears. One millenium is a short time in legends that have been passed down in different countrys. Red, the color of an apple is a primary color. This means the AoE is needed for all things to work. And keep Giygas from winning. Last, because the apple's seeds are in the center. This means that only the people who are ancestors of George, Giegue, or people who are helping the chosen ones can hear the "idea" (AoE) or write it for that matter. Now back to the theory. George recieved this "idea" and wrote it in his journal. This is why only people who have PSI or who are helping the people with PSI can read or hear it. When Maria drove Giegue to put her in Magicant he bacme the Cosmic destroyer. This is when the sound stone was created. This is why only the chosen ones can hear the song of Maria and enter Magicant. When Maria heared her song and left Magicant her song was again spread across the earth and Magicant was closed into the Sound Stone. When Giegue was destoryed by the chosen ones (three boys and one girl) he was forced to insanity. This is when he became obsessed with power. The AoE predicts that every millenium Ancestors of the chosen ones will defeat Giygas. I think in some way Giygas was a term used in Scarabia (in the game) which means "Total Destroyer". If Pokey switched places with Giygas I am not sure. I believe that Giygas can never be destroyed unless Maria's song is played to him again. This is why Buzz Buzz said the sound stone is the only thing that can destroy Giygas, because it contains Maria's song. But because the chosen one, the one who had the Sound Stone, was a decendant of Maria he was transported to Magicant a place made only of the dreams of him and his ancesstors. Thus the AoE is ever watching for when Maria's song will destroy Giegus. And why the Idea will never die.
ANTEBwizDx - ANTEBwizDX@aol.com
The part of Pokey becoming Giygas was an excellent theory, one which I came up with a long time ago. Listen: When Giygas gained ALL that power, he destroyed his physical self, he became the embodiment of evil. Now, notice: Everyone EXCEPT pokey turns back to normal when Giygas was destroyed, now since Giygas is no longer a Physical being, its possible that Pokey was Posessed by Giygas during or after the battle. Remember how Buzz Buzz Said Giygas was terrorizing the future? Well, when Pokey mails you that letter at the end of the game, its from the future as stated in the Players Guide. What if Ness and crew didn't CHANGE the future, they just helped it along? As in, when Giygas was Terrorizing the world, he was in Pokey's body? It makes sense if you think about it, giygas couln't take over the world as the embodiment of evil, he needed a Physical body (Pokey), and now that he has one, he went to the future and as Buzz Buzz said, he's ripping the place up. Remember: EarthBound 64 is supposed to take place 10 years after Mother 2, The EXACT time Giygas was taking over as said by Buzz Buzz. I think that it's possibly the most logical and possible theory.
That pretty much starts an entirely new theory, but one thats like many of the others. No one can be sure which of these varied 'Giygas is Pokey' theories is true, but we know that its one of them, and we'll find out when EB64 is released.
PLOQAZXSWM@aol.com
I think Giygas used the AoE in the future to foresee that someone from the past was going to try to stop him. So with his army stationed all around the world, he fled to a cave in the past where he hoped the four couldn't find him. I think the AoE is a device of some sort that can predict an outcome. And, as for the Pokey-swicheroo-with-Giygas theory, I can prove otherwise. At the end of the game, Pokey calls Ness spanky, if u can remember, so does Master Belch. So I think it is a sort of influence, rather than switching minds.
Thats very possible. The new evidence from the Heiroglpyhs supports that, since we see that Giygas has built a stronghold in the Cave of the Past.
Rodimus401@aol.com
Actually, the Apple of Enlightenment could be considered to be somewhere like the End of Time in Chrono Trigger, and Buzz-Buzz is merely the corporeal form of it, or a messenger or something like that. It could be a "thing", for lack of a better word, that has experienced everything, and knows what will happen. Of course, there's a lot of possibilities..
I tend to think of the AoE as something more tangible. I find myself thinking of a shiny metal or crystal apple that floats and does other weird things that only an enlightened apple would do :)
Birder007@aol.com
In EBz Giygas knew the main hero, and said that his great grandfather George stole secrets from Giygas. I believe that was PSI, and that George was the Apple of Enlightenment. He got that name because he passed the secret of PSI down to his descendants.
This is a possibility. It would explain the 'Enlightenment' part, since George would understand more of the aliens once he knew PSI. The 'Apple' part still remains a mystery, though. Maybe George was an ancestor of the Apple Kid, making Ness a distant relative of the Apple Kid? ;)
You said that the Apple of Enlightenment sounded familar? Well, I looked up Apple in the dictionary and I found some words that sound sort of like the apple: Apple of Sodom: Described by ancient writers as a fruit that looks good to the eye, but turns out to be nothing but smoke and ashes when plucked.Apple of Discord: Greek legend. A golden apple inscribed "For the fairest" thrown by the goddess of discord in a meeting of the gods. Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera forthwith claimed it, and in return for Aphrodite's promise to him that he might have Helen, the fairest of women, Paris awarded it to Aphrodite. This dispute and the decision of Paris led to th Trojan war. (This sounds rather odd. Oh well, that's Greek mytholgy for you.) Hope this helps.
Well, its hard telling if the EB storyline creators were using Greek mythology. It is an extremely popular source of names for games, servers, companies, etc... You'll find Greek mythology everywhere you look. As Tomato points out, there's even Greek mythology in EarthBound, in the use of symbols for the different levels of PSI attacks (Alpha, Beta, Sigma, Omega).
Giampi - agumob@andinet.com
The theories about the Apple of Enlightenment can vary. Who knows if this 'Apple' is really something tangible? For all we know, it could stand for whatever is written in past records. Remember that it was prophetized that Ness and co. would defeat Giygas. So maybe the Apple of Enlightenment is just another way of saying 'written legends' (a colloquial slang of some sort--aliens have culture too, you know). And as for the time travel, it is a definite possibility that Giygas came and trashed the Earth in the future, forcing Buzz Buzz to travel back in time to warn Ness. For all we know, the prophecy doesn't obey the rules of linear time (the prophecy could be "Giygas thrashes Earth and someone from the past will defeat him") and space.
Now you're getting into the deep stuff. I did a paper on the space-time continuum a few months ago, but if I started talking about that, I'd never stop :) Anyways, to sum it up, time travel is HORRIBLY complex, and since it hasn't been figured out yet, we won't worry about it. But your ideas about the future destruction almost have to be true, because Ness wouldn't be around to save it if it happened before his time (count on me to state the obvious :)
Aziz - kokochuc@lemoorenet.com
When Buzz Buzz joins you for a short period of time, he mentions that he is 10 years from the future. and then as soon as you battle Star man Jr he says that Giygas sent him from ten years in the future. While at the end of the game, you go ten years into the past instead of the future to battle giygas. That seems mysterious, dosent it?
My only guess to this one is that you're traveling back in time because Giygas needs to be destroyed before he destroys the earth. If you were to go forward in time, Giygas would have already done the damage. So in order to keep him from even starting the destruction, you must destroy him in the past. The Japanese version of Mother 2 may tell us otherwise, though. Keep your eyes on Tomato's Mother 2 to EarthBound and Back Again to find out anything that may have been changed by NOA during translation.
Starman Sr. - starmansr@hotmail.com
I don't think the "Apple Of Enlightenment" is any special term made up by Shigesato to add to the drama of the game or something like that, because I am pretty sure that I have either heard of or heard this term or phrase mentioned sometime in my life. What I mean is, the "Apple Of Enlightenment" could be a legend or something, because in the beginning of the game, Buzz Buzz said " In ancient times, writings tell of three boys and a girl, who defeat Giygas" this means that this wasn't the first time that Giygas tried to invade Earth, meaning that Giygas tried to invade Earth hundreds of years ago (and several times, I might add) and each time, three boys and a girl or "The Chosen Ones" have defeated Giygas. This means that over generations, Giygas has tried to invade Earth, only to be defeated by the "chosen ones". Because this has happened so many times, there is an automatic assumption that each time Giygas tries to invade earth, he can and will fail in his attempt or as it's worded in the game, the "Apple of Enlightenment's prediction". Also, before the final battle, when Pokey mentions the "Apple of Enlightenment" he says it has made a prediction, which is the fact that Giygas will be defeated by three boys and a girl, aka, Ness and Co. He also says that he will not let that take place, because it is Giygas' destruction and it is inevitable. But how does Pokey know this? There are two ways: Giygas told Pokey about this, or Giygas and Pokey really have switched places. If you don't understand this theory, or have had trouble understanding it, I am sorry because it is very hard to word.
The AoE seems like a familiar term to me too, for some reason. I really can't pinpoint it. I don't know about the defeat of Giygas every time he has invaded though. I always thought that this was the initial attack of Giygas, otherwise people wouldn't have been so surprised by it (as far as one can say that the people in EarthBound were 'surprised' by all the weirdness around them).
BriCkrOad - alecsinger@ignmail.com
Here are some of my opinions about the apple -- (1) It was used in the future, since the Starmen seem to be from the future (remember that first fight with the Starman Jr.?, Buzz Buzz said he came from 10 years in the future). However, it could have been the past, seeing as how Buzz Buzz knew the story of the 'Nightmare Rock' (Sound Stone) and how it would be 'shattered' (disappear after Magicant was no more) and said that it was an 'ancient' story. One thing I think is pretty clear though, the AOE was not used in the present.
I agree. I doubt the AoE was used in the present, but here's an argument. The fact that the Starmen are from the future is true, but it doesn't mean that the AoE was used in the future. The AoE could have been used a long time ago, and the Starmen would still know about it. Another possibility is that it was used 10 years in the past, when you travel to the cave of the past. If you think about it on a timeline, ten years in the past is the first time the AoE is talked about. Pokey talks about it in the Final Battle. But, then again, its also possible that Pokey and Giygas retreated to the Cave of the Past from the future, already knowing the prediction of the AoE. Thats a really tough subject :)