EarthBound ZERO Walkthrough
By: EBounding
An Introduction
The game begins very innocently. You play the role of a young elementary school boy. You live a pretty normal life with your two sisters, your mom, your dog, and your workaholic father. You are sitting in your room one day, when something goes dreadfully wrong. The house begins to shake. Inanimate objects begin to come to life. They are floating across the room. A poltergeist. You manage to defeat these objects, and the phenomenon stops…for the moment. Inside a doll you defeated, you hear a strange tune and remember it. When dad calls, he tells you a strange family secret. He informs you that YOU (Ness) have the ability called PSI. This was passed down to him by his Great Grandfather, George, who mysteriously disappeared with his wife in the early 1900’s. When George returned, he began the study of PSI. His wife never returned…
You now begin your adventure with Ness and his friends, as they are Earth Bound, to find out what is happening to their world.
Controls and Menus
This section explains the menus when you’re NOT in battle.
TALK- Self explanatory.
CHECK- Use to get items, examine them, and sometime FIGHT with them.
GOODS- The items in your inventory (equipped items not shown).
USE- Use items
EAT- Use when you want to use a food item
GIVE- Exchange items with other members in your party
DROP- Get rid of items
LOOK- Get info on items
STATE- This command shows the PSI skills you have, the weapons you have equipped, your offense, defense, wisdom, speed, ETC., and how many melodies you have gained.
PSI- The PSI you can use. Includes Telepathy, healing and life-up powers.
SETUP- This configures the controls on the "game pad". I would keep everything the same. But what you can change is the FIGHT MESSAGE speed. This controls the speed of words during battle. I usually put it at 5.
If you push the "Select" key when you are in the overworld, a MAP will come up of all the cities and important landmarks. VERY useful.
Battle Menus and Commands
FIGHT- Attack enemy with equipped weapon.
AUTO- The computer fights for you. It uses only physical attacks, and uses Life-Up and healing powers when needed. I wouldn’t suggest this though. Only use it if you keep getting in monotonous battles and you KNOW what the enemies will do. You can cancel the AUTO by pushing the "B" button. (CTRL on NESticle)
GOODS- Character’s inventory of available items.
PSI- Use your available PSI skills on an enemy, or an ally.
RUN- Run away from the battle. Doesn’t always work.
Walkthrough
Character Profile: "Ness"
About Ness: Ness lives in the small town of Podunk with his two sisters, mom, and his dog. It’s unknown if his father EVER comes home. He has inherited the strange power known as PSI, which was passed down by his Great Grandfather George. Ness’s quest is to find out about this ancestry, and how he can put use his powers to stop these strange phenomena.
Strengths: Like in the SNES EarthBound, Ness is the leader, and is basically the strongest overall (except for Jack, who’s physical strength is incredible.) From what I have played from this game, he learns up to 21 PSI skills (see the PSI and Item guide). His choice of weapon is a bat, of course.
Weaknesses: Ness really doesn’t have any weaknesses, with the exception of his asthma. If you encounter "vehicle" enemies, they spew exhausts. Ness becomes defenseless. So if you are alone, and don’t have an asthma spray, you are dead. I guess that IS worse than being homesick.
Ness’s House
-Walk out of your room. You will encounter the LAMP.
-Go into the two other rooms until you find the DOLL. Defeat the Doll. Once the Doll is defeated, CHECK it, and you will learn a tune.
-Go downstairs, and talk to Mom. The phone will ring. It’s dad. After his dialog, go outside and TALK to your dog. Do what he says and CHECK him out. You will find a BASEMENT KEY.
-Go back inside, and open the door. You’ll find three presents: A plastic bat (equip this by using the USE command in the GOODS menu), a bread roll, and your Great Grandfather’s Diary. Hold on to the diary. But you can give the key to your sister once you have everything. Beware of the rats in the basement though.
-(You can go back to your house whenever you want, and your mom will make your favorite food, and your HP/PP will be restored. You can also save your game.)
Podunk Suburbs
-Before actually entering the town of Podunk, build your levels. Do this by fighting the enemies outside. If you get low on HP, then go back in your house, and your mom will recover you. Do this till you gain level 4, or until you learn PSI Lifeup a.
-Talk to the nervous woman by the river to learn about what has happened to her daughter Pippi.
Podunk Town
-Now that you are now in Podunk, check out the stores. Don’t buy the Slingshot though. If you have enough, get the Wooden Bat. If you don’t, build levels until you have enough.
-On the last floor of the store, there is a pet shop. Talk to the guy at the counter. He’ll ask you if you want a canary chick. Say YES. Then he’ll say it’s $80. Say NO. He will then give you the chick for free. This chick is your key to the second melody that you need to learn.
-After you have checked out the stores, and gotten the Wooden Bat, go to the mayor’s office. He will tell you that you need to find Pippi. If you talk around, you will realize that she strayed off into the cemetery. Now you must find Pippi. Head south to the Cemetery.
Podunk Cemetery
-Once you are in the cemetery, head slightly south-west of the church you see. Do this until you find a hole near some brown and tall gravestone things.
-When you go down the hole, you’ll see a room with caskets. One of them has Pippi in it. It is the one on the far bottom left. Congratulations, you saved Pippi! When she talks to you, be sure to be very modest and kind to her. If you are, she will give you the Franklin Badge (you need this). If you were a jerk, go back to her house later, and try again. She may eventually give it to you anyway.
Character Profile: Pippi
Because Pippi isn’t with you for very long, it’s hard to see if she has real strengths and weaknesses. But if you are severely low on levels, use her to help you fight. She gains levels quickly and gets very strong quickly. Do this BEFORE you return her to the Mayor.
-Return to Podunk, and to the Mayor’s office. Talk to the guy at the counter, Abbot, and he will give you the Zoo Key, to the Podunk Zoo. If you accidentally lose the key, you can go back to him to get another one.
-Now, you must go to the Zoo and find out what the problem is. You can go straight to the Zoo, or build your levels, since some of the enemies are hard. Before you go, you MUST have the Franklin Badge.
Podunk Zoo
-Once you get to the zoo, you’ll see a monkey near the entrance. USE the key. The monkey will steal it. Don’t go back to Podunk to get another key! You can just go inside since the lock is broken.
-You have to go to the Zoo office. There is a sound that is driving the animals crazy. It is EAST of the entrance.
-When you arrive in the office, here is what is in the following rooms:
-On the 3rd floor is the Starman Jr. You’ll hear a screeching sound. You’ll see a blue and pink capsule. CHECK it, and you’ll engage in battle. He uses PK Flash r. If you don’t have the Franklin Badge, it will kill you instantly. But if you DO have it, it will reflect back to him, and it MAY kill him. His other attacks are powerful, so use life-up and normal attacks when you can.
-Now that the animals are back to normal, go see the SINGING MONKEY. He will sing a melody. Once that is completed, you can leave the zoo and go to the CANARY VILLAGE.
Canary Village
-To go to the Canary Village from the Zoo, just follow the road WEST of the Zoo. Take the right paths, and you’ll find a place that is filled with chicken creatures.
-As you get further into the village, you should notice a SILVER clock shaped stone. Behind it is the canary’s mother. Now, go BEHIND the silver stone, and go UP to the mother. USE the canary you got at the store, when you are near the mother. She will then sing another melody. You may be thinking, "What ARE these melodies for anyway?". Patience, patience, you'll soon find out in Magicant.
-To go to Magicant, go EAST of the canary village and the zoo. You should see the sign that said how far the Zoo was. Go EAST of the sign, until you see two police officers.
-Talk to them, and they’ll tell you of something mysterious they found in a cave. Now go to the cave. It’s EAST again.
-Once you are in the cave, go up to the pink swirly object. Now, use TELEPATHY. Ness will then read an excerpt from the GGF’s diary. This password will take you to a world known as Magicant.
Magicant
-Magicant can be thought of as the Saturn Valley of EarthBound Zero. The reason is because it has ultimate defense items in the stores, and supplies free medical and hotel services. You can basically do anything in Magicant (except sell items).
-First, save your game here. You talk to a guy in one of the houses. He’s known as the Mimicker.
-Talk to the man in one of the houses who asks for your ATM card. Let him have it. Talk to him again and he’ll give you something called the BIG BAG. This item contains many Magic Herbs that restore 30 HP. It might even last the whole game.
-If you go in the stores, chances are good that you won’t have enough money to buy the most expensive equipment. The best thing to do is build levels until you have enough cash to buy the best stuff.
-To withdraw cash, go to the fountain west of the Castle, and use TELEPATHY when you go up to it. An old man will show up. He’s basically an ATM machine. Use this for your money needs in Magicant.
-The FLYING MEN are located NORTH of the castle. There’s five of them, and they assist you in battle.
-To enter the Queen Mary’s castle, talk to the middle guard. To solve his riddle, use Telepathy. You will then gain entrance to the castle.
-Besides the ruler of Magicant (Queen Mary), there are many useful items in the castle. When you encounter a room with 6 boxes, you can only open ONE. Here’s what’s in each of the boxes (this would be a good place to use the SAVE STATE feature):
1st on the top: Fight Capsule
2nd on the top: PSI Stone
3rd on the top: Boomerang
1st on the bottom: Berry Tofu
2nd on the bottom: Ruler
3rd on the bottom: Rope
The item of choice is the Boomerang, since it’s one of the most powerful weapons in the entire game. The PSI Stone is another good choice, and perhaps the Fight Capsule. The other items are less desirable, and it would be best to leave them there.
-Once you’ve searched the castle, find Queen Mary’s throne room and talk to her. She will tell you about a song she always used to sing, and how she forgot it. Now you must find the eight melodies that she lost all around the world. When you get them all, go back to Magicant, and SING them to her. At this point, you should have 3. Only 5 more to go.
-Once you've left, you have the choice of building your levels, or going to the EAST of Magicant till you see a bunch of holes. The one you can go into is near the top. Once you go in, you’ll be in a dungeon type hole and see TWO holes. Here’s the order that you go into to leave the dungeon:
1st: Right Hole
2nd: Left
3rd: Left
4th: Right
-Now that you are on the upper level, you’ll find the Dragon. You can't wake him up….yet. Go to the right of the dragon into that hole. When you do, you’ll encounter an enemy called FISH. Once you defeat him, you’ll find a gift box. Inside the box is the Onyx Hook. With this item, you can go back to Magicant whenever you wish (I usually do it when I’m in a real bind, or when I get a new character).
-There’s one gift box that contains the SWORD. If you had too many items and couldn’t carry it, don’t worry about it. It’s the fourth characters second best weapon. If you DID get it, give it to your sister, or the Mysterious Goods Keeper in Magicant, if you don’t want to hold onto it.
-When you reach the end of the dungeon, you’ll encounter a man. Keep talking to him until he asks "Will you please ignore me?" say YES. Then he will disappear, and you will return to the real world. Leave the cave, and you’ll be in the Merrysville area.
Merrysville
-Go north, then go south to Sweet’s Factory. This factory isn’t hard at all. The enemies are just rats. There are also some useful capsules you can use too. Your main objective is to find the garbage can. It is located near (or on) the last floor. Inside the garbage can are unlimited bottle rockets. You only need one or two. You need some bottle rockets in order to get the second character "Jeff".
Twinkle Elementary School
-North of Sweet’s is Twinkle Elementary. This is where Jeff is (recognize the music?). There’s some items in the many rooms of the school. But beware of the girl on the top floor that gives you a cold if you talk to her. Try going up the stairs on the last floor.
-If it’s locked, go downstairs, and go in one of the rooms to the right of the entrance door. You will then find the janitor. He is the one that opens the door on the roof. When he talks to you, answer him in this order:
-He’ll think you’re kind, and then he’ll take you upstairs and will open the door. On the roof, is Jeff. He’s hiding in the garbage can. TALK to the garbage can. Coax Jeff to join you. When he sees that you have bottle rockets, he’ll think you’re the greatest. He’ll light them in a room downstairs, and it will blow up. At this point, leave. You can do one of two things now: You can use the Onyx Hook to go to Magicant (to build Jeff’s levels and to get him equipped), or you can go right to Duncan’s factory.
Character Profile: "Jeff"
About Jeff: It’s unknown where his home is (Merrysville most likely). He is taunted and teased at his elementary school. Kids call him a weakling, wimp, nerd, and the like. Buy Jeff isn't a nerd...he's a nerd with firepower!
Weaknesses: I put weaknesses first because he is referred to as "the weakling" throughout the game. His main weakness is that he can’t use PSI, and he also has weak offense (but higher than "Paula").
Strengths: Because he is intelligent with mechanics and explosives, he can fix most of the stuff he comes across. He also detonates devices that are key areas in the game. His knowledge of bottle rockets, bombs, and flame-throwers (yes, FLAME-THROWERS) can make him VERY powerful, which basically replaces PSI. He is the third strongest in Offense and Defense, and has the third highest HP. His weapon(s) of choice are explosives and guns.
- You have to go to Duncan’s to clear the rocks that are blocking the railway in Merrysville. Duncan’s produces powerful rockets that can blow up the rocks.
Duncan’s Factory
-It is located Far North of Merrysville (see my detailed Map). You should find an ID to the factory, on the way there. If you have too much stuff, get rid of something. When you arrive, you’ll encounter a guard dog that you have to fight. Don’t worry, it’s not hard.
-Once inside, you can take the following path to the rocket. Apologies if this isn’t correct.
-This MAY be incorrect, and this doesn’t give you a path to the giftboxes in the factory.
-You’ll end up in a room with a blue rocket. CHECK it, and then Jeff will launch it at the rocks. Hooray! The PARADISE Line is back on-line!
Union Station
-Now you can go to Reindeer and Spookane, or you can go to Snowman, to get the third character Paula. I suggest going to Snowman. But FIRST stop off at Reindeer and talk to the old lady at the station. She will give you Paula’s hat. You need this hat in order for her to join your party.
Snowman
-Once you are in Snowman, I suggest using 4th-D slip and RUN from the enemies. They are very strong and they’ll probably kill you fast. Use the SAVE STATE feature in this area if you can.
-Don’t talk to anyone in Snowman. A couple people have colds, and that’s the LAST thing you want. Go to the Chateau. This is where Paula lives.
-When you arrive, go up to Paula and USE the hat. She will then describe her situation, and join you.
Character Profile: "Paula"
About Paula: Paula is known throughout the town of Snowman for her amazing powers and abilities. She lives with her Mom and Dad in the Snowman Chateau. However, something has gone wrong. Her mother mysteriously disappeared. After having a dream about Ness, she joins him and Jeff as they search for her Mom.
Strengths: Her main point of strength is her amazing use of PSI. She learns over 34 PSI Spells! Her PSI strength is even superior to Ness. Unlike Ness, her PP is MUCH higher the her HP. This helps since most of her offense should consist of PSI. Her weapon of choice is the Frying Pan.
Weaknesses: Her weaknesses are obvious. She has the LOWEST HP out of the whole group. Therefore, she gets killed often. This is a shame since she learns many healing spells quickly. But using Defense up and Shield should help her stay alive in battles. Her offense is also very weak. It’s actually very pointless, even with her most powerful weapon.
- Once you get Paula, take her to MAGICANT as soon as possible. Don’t even go outside. There is no way she can survive the attacks the animals give.
- When you arrive in Magicant, talk to the "swimming cat" that swims on the ground. It’s to the WEST beyond the cone pillars.
- When you talk to the cat with Paula in your party, the cat will give her the Ribbon. This will raise her FIGHT stats.
- Get some experience and armor for Paula while you are in Magicant. When you leave (and if you have enough money) go to Merrysville and equip everyone with the Boomerang.
Spookane
-Now go to Union Station, and take the train to Spookane. When you arrive in Spookane, animals will attack you, even in the city.
-The Spookane hotel may be a cheap stay, but after you had your night’s stay, you have to fight the Starman. Beware of that.
-Now, go to East Spookane until you see people. Talk to everyone. There is one person that will give you a KEY to this Haunted House. The Haunted house contains the fourth Melody.
- The haunted house is a big maze. Here are the directions to get the melody without getting lost. However, there ARE some items that may be useful.
Once a voice says, "GO BACK…" that means you are there. The melody is in a room with a piano. CHECK the piano, and then leave. There is nothing more you can do in Spookane.
Desert
-North EAST of Union Station is the Desert. In this desert, you will find the fifth melody. It is the singing cactus. If you go East more, you will find the old pilot. He’ll let you use his tank if you have enough ticket stubs from his airplane ride. So if you want to get the tank, you must have 12 spaces open for ticket stubs.
-I suggest doing the cheapest flight. It will show you where the cactus with the face is too. When you do that 4 times, you’ll be able to get the TANK. With the tank, you can go to the Monkey Cave, which is loaded with PSI Stones. It is guarded by a huge robot. So you need the tank.
-Once you've gone into the cave and left, head to Youngtown. Just go down the river til you reach the station.
Youngtown
-In Youngtown, all the children’s parent’s have disappeared. They were "taken away by a big ship in the sky".
-Now find the Garrison’s house. Inside you’ll find a baby. Communicate with him using Telepathy. He will then teach Ness and Paula the power of teleportation. With this power, you can teleport from ANYWHERE, as long as you have enough room to run. You can move when you teleport by using the arrow keys.
-Also in Youngtown, there is a store. You can buy Jeff’s best weapon, the Air Gun (I believe this is his best weapon…). You’ll need to be as strong as possible in order to defeat the enemies.
Swamp
- After running around for a while in the swamp, you’ll see a garbage can. You register YOUR name here. Inside the house is Pippi. She’ll let you rest, then you can continue on to Ellay.
Ellay
-Once you arrive in Ellay, you will meet Blah Blah Members (AKA, B.B. Gang. I bet it was originally some kind of BAD word.) If you fight them they just stay there. Here’s a VERY good tip: If you fight the B.B. Gang Member near the Police Department, and the Dept. Store, you have a chance of winning the FLMTHROWER from him. This weapon basically allows you to use PSI Fire r on ALL enemies. However, only Jeff can use it, and it eventually breaks down. But you can win MANY of them. This is a good way to build levels in the process too.
- Buy a ticket for the LIVE SHOW at the Dept. Store. Then, go to the Live Show. You may encounter the pilot who let you borrow the tank. You’ll have to pay for the damage for the tank. Now you can enter.
-Talk to the man near the stage. He’ll ask you to SING on stage. You’ll do your thing, then the B.B. Boss will come in. Uh oh. You’ll have to fight him. Only Ness though.
-After a couple of hits, the battle will end. The B.B. Boss ("Jack) will ask to join your party. Say yes. However, Jeff will leave for a bit. But Jack is a VERY strong character.
Character Profile: "Jack"
About Jack: Jack has had a very hard life. His parents were KILLED by mountain creatures, and now he is on his own. Once a sensible child, he soon turned "bad" and started a gang in Ellay as his only means for support. But he really is kind at heart. When he joins you, his mission is to seek vengeance for his parents by going to Mt. Itoi, so he can destroy the creatures.
Strengths: His obvious strength is that he is just plain strong. He has the highest HP, Offense, and Defense out of EVERYONE in the group. He also gains level’s quickly which is also helpful.
Weaknesses: He doesn’t really have any. His only weakness is that he cannot use PSI or any special items. But his incredible strength DEFINITELY makes up for it.
- Once you have Jack in your party, go to Magicant to equip him with everything. Remember that SWORD in the Dungeon? Well, he can equip that. If you haven’t fought the Dragon yet (and your level is at least 25 for Ness), you might be able to fight him and defeat him, thus gaining the 6th melody. When you are finished, TELEPORT back to Ellay.
-Now follow the road EAST of Ellay to Mt. Itoi. There is a house on the way there. This house will provide you with rest, and free Life-Up Cream. Get A LOT.
Mt. Itoi Caves
-This is probably the hardest part in the game. Not only are the enemies hard, but it is a VERY difficult maze. Sorry, I wasn’t able to give very good instructions on this maze. However, once you (or if you) find the PSI Stone in a GIFT BOX, you’ll want to save your state. At that point you are almost out of the cave. The following items (that I know of) are in the cave
- A PSI STONE
- The HANKS BAT
- A Fry Pan (I forgot the real name to it. It’s the most powerful weapon for Paula)
- Katana Blade (Jack’s best weapon.)
I think that’s it. But there could be more.
Mt. Itoi
-As you leave the cave and go around in the mountain, you will eventually find another Healer’s House. He will cure you of EVERYTHING for free. Save your game using the phone here too.
-Now for the cool part. Go into the next room. Paula and Ness will start dancing. And they’ll do a dialog. When Jack comes in, you’ll stop dancing and start to leave. But then you will encounter a HUGE robot. This will defeat you. You cannot stop it. However, Jeff comes to the rescue in a tank. But he was not able to save everyone.
-Jack is now unconscious and cannot be revived. But look where you are now. You’re at the BOTTOM of Mt. Itoi! AHHH! Don’t worry, if you saved your game at the healer’s house on the mountain, all you have to do is kill yourself, and you’ll end up back there. The healer will then revive your party, and everything will be happy again. Do this if you don’t want to go back to the mountain.
-Once you return to the mountains, I suggest building levels around the healer’s house, so you can heal yourself if you get hurt. Once you are finished, continue going North.
-You will eventually find a dock with a motor boat in it. Jeff will fix the motor and you’ll start going. Go into the portal. (Don’t ask HOW there’s a lake on top of a mountain like that).
-You will then go underwater into an aquarium type place. There’s no enemies in there, so take your time. You will eventually find a Huge red Robot. Her name is EVE.
Character Profile: The Robot EVE
About EVE: EVE is probably an acronym for something, but I can’t think of what it is. Anyway, this robot was created by Ness’s Great Grand Father, George. It seems that George knew that his descendant would be in some turmoil, so he created EVE to protect him on his quest. EVE is VERY powerful, and can kill monsters on Mt. Itoi in one blow. She’s great to use to build levels with, and a great body guard. However, something happens to her…
-Once you get EVE you will return to the surface of the mountain. Quickly search for the item called the Sea Pendant. This protects you from many PK attacks. EVE will destroy the enemies quickly. However, you cannot teleport, or go to Magicant, while she is with you.
-Although it seems EVE is all powerful, you will eventually encounter an enemy that she cannot handle. The enemy is defeated, but EVE is destroyed. Darn. But CHECK her, and she will play the 7th melody for you.
-Now continue up Mt. Itoi. It may seem impossible, but you can do it! Eventually you will reach the XX Tombstone. Do NOT go any further into that cave. When you check the Tombstone, the last melody will play. You will then learn that Maria’s love was put into the form of melodies. Once you receive the melody, go to Magicant immediately.
-Save your game and state once you arrive in Magicant. Then go visit Queen Mary. You will sing the song. At this point in the game, lots of things will start to fall into place. Queen Mary is George’s wife Maria. I supposed they raised something called Giegue. She loved him, but he hated it when she sang that song. After she explains that, Magicant will disappear, and you will end up by the XX Tombstone again. NOW you can pursue through the cave up ahead. Notice how there is a new command on your battle menu: The SING command.
The Final Battle
-If you go through the cave you will see another cave. Inside it are the trapped people (the people of Youngtown most likely). Beware, there ARE enemies in the cave. Just keep going up. Soon, you will encounter Giegue in his mothership.
-You’ll want heavy defense in this battle. Use the CHECK command and you'll see that you have to SING in order to defeat Giegue. Consult the Enemy Guide to see the steps to defeating him.
Congratulations! You've beaten Mother/EarthBound ZERO!
Be sure to watch the WHOLE ending. For one reason, is that you can see (I think) how this game leads into the original EarthBound. At the end, during the end of the credits, you’ll hear a strange sound. I think it’s the meteorite crashing. Also, remember how Giegue vowed revenge? That has to be Giygas. At the end, you also see Ness’s dad! (Well, his back anyways). After you see his picture and after you read the end of his dialog, the game is over, and nothing else happens.
For those who have no idea what just happened...
Although you may have beaten the game, you STILL may not understand a lot of things in the game. Well, that’s okay. I sort of felt the same way. I’ll summarize what happened in the game right here.
I believe that George and Maria were abducted by aliens. George and Maria took care of them (particularly Giegue). It seems that Giegue couldn’t stand song or anything like that. While they were being abducted, I think that George stole information (the ability of PSI) from this planet. I think George escaped somehow (Through PSI?). I think Giegue still loved Maria, but he couldn’t stand the song she sang. The song she sang represented her love. I guess Giegue couldn’t stand this love so it was shattered, all across the Earth, which made Maria forget it. Because of this, she was sent to Magicant, which was a nice world created out of her consciousness. Now I think that George’s quest is to get his descendent (Ness) to defeat Giegue for what he did. And he would do that through PSI. But I didn’t think George knew Giegue’s weakness. That’s when Maria comes in. Maria knows that the song is the only way to defeat him, so that is how Maria and George are connected.
I congratulate you if you read all of that. I still don’t understand WHY she loved Giegue. But it doesn’t really matter. But I hope I made SOME things more explainable.