The Japanese name for EarthBound, Itoi's timeless UFO blending absurd humor and melancholy. A modern tale, unequaled.
Your verdict
Category
RPG1 player12+
Description
Satirical RPG in which Ness and friends face an alien threat in a burlesque America, Japanese version. Published by Nintendo, released in Japan in 1994. Turn-based combat with a real-time rolling HP counter, contemporary world, Shigesato Itoi's absurdist humor and experimental music. Japanese version of EarthBound, an absolute masterpiece.
Mother 2 - Gyiyg no Gyakushuu review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
Retro charm and an offbeat universe: postcard-America settings, zany enemies and a warm palette compose a unique world. The deliberate simplicity of the sprites hides a constant inventiveness and humour. This endearing signature, naive and clever, is the whole salt of the cult series.
Unclassifiable and brilliant, the music blends repurposed samples, psychedelic pop and childlike melodies with total freedom. From delirious battle themes to the most moving moments, each track surprises and touches. This sonic singularity, inseparable from the game's offbeat humour, makes it a unique cult object.
Four ordinary children set out to face a cosmic evil at the heart of a strange, colourful suburban America. Beneath the absurd humour and the tenderness surfaces an insidious dread, up to a finale of shattering strangeness. This unique writing, funny and deeply moving, made the game a beloved cult object.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Roaming an offbeat America, earning experience and then facing some oddball foe weaves an adventure whose singular tone grabs you instantly. Every town brings a gag, an item or an unexpected boss, and the urge to see what's next never lets up. Battles sometimes drag, but this humor and tenderness make it an RPG you can hardly put down.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Roaming a burlesque America alongside Ness leads from a small town to ever more outlandish regions, each hiding shops, zany foes and secrets to uncover. The HP system that drains in real time makes you sweat every fight, and Shigesato Itoi's humor makes you want to see it all to the end. As the Japanese version of a cult RPG, this generous journey keeps an undimmed aura through its richness and unique tone.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
The Japanese Super Famicom version of Nintendo's Mother 2 (EarthBound) from 1994, Japan-exclusive on original cartridge. The Japanese cart features the original cover by Shigesato Itoi and his team, and preserves a more modest packaging than the huge American box. Intact boxed CIB with cardboard sleeve and illustrated Nintendo manual is one of the most coveted Japanese SFC grails, and the cote climbs hard, sustained by Itoi's untouchable status.
When the game breaks the 4th wall
Behind the tender humor and strangeness of this Japanese RPG hides a rare gesture: the game quietly remembers who you really are, until it turns toward you at the moment everything teeters. The line between the characters and the person holding the controller dissolves for a single breath, in an emotion no spoiler could replace.
Is Mother 2 - Gyiyg no Gyakushuu still worth playing in 2026?
Mother 2 - Gyiyg no Gyakushuu, known as EarthBound in the West, remains one of the most singular RPGs ever crafted. The contemporary backdrop, the writing that blends the absurd with melancholy and a combat system using a rolling HP counter to anticipate slow deaths build a one of a kind experience. Humor and emotion alternate without ever feeling forced. Three decades on, the title still inspires the indie scene. An absolute recommendation.
