Back in 1989, it released in Japan to huge sales, prompting localization work to begin on the title for North American audiences under the name Earth Bound. The Mother/ EarthBound series has a complicated history with audiences outside of Japan.

So I’m sticking with those NES and SNES titles, and there is one game that was added to the service not too long ago that I’m eyeing as my next conquest: EarthBound Beginnings.

Thankfully, I have zero interest in revisiting anything from the Nintendo 64, and I already own every Genesis title worth owning with one of the 1,000 Genesis compilations Sega has released over the past two decades. Since then, the library of available titles and consoles has expanded, with the Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 finding their way to the subscription service, albeit at a more expensive tier than what you pay to play NES and SNES titles. A few years ago, I got my first good look at how I could enjoy playing these decades-old games when I went through and completed Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the very first time. It may not be the Virtual Console setup I loved on my Wii and 3DS, but I have to say I’ve really been digging the Nintendo Switch Online retro game package as of late.

Download earthbound the beginning