User:Cukie Gherkin/Ness

Ness (ネス) is a fictional character in the Mother role-playing video games published by Nintendo, created by Japanese video game designer Shigesato Itoi. His first appearance was in the 1994 Super NES game EarthBound (known as Mother 2 in Japan), the second entry from the series, in which he serves as the game's main protagonist and playable character. He also appears as a playable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games where he is voiced by Makiko Ohmoto.

Ness is depicted as a thirteen-year-old boy residing in the fictional town of Onett in Eagleland who has psychic abilities referred to as PSI. In EarthBound, Ness teams up with several other characters to battle Giygas, the main antagonist of the game and a recurring character in the series.

Conception and creation
Ness is the protagonist of EarthBound, the second game in the three-part Mother series. He was created by Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the Mother series, who intended the game to have real characters whom players would recognize in the people around them. Ness's name is a reference to "NES", the abbreviation for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

EarthBound
Ness appears in EarthBound as the main playable protagonist, living in the town Onett in Eagleland. Ness possesses extremely powerful PSI abilities latent from birth that develop as the game progresses. Ness primarily utilizes baseball bats as offensive weapons against enemies. At the beginning of the game's story, a meteorite crash-lands near Ness's house. Upon inspecting the crash site Ness meets a time-traveling alien called Buzz-Buzz, who states that Ness is the "chosen one" that can defeat the entity named Giygas, who in the near future destroys the universe. In order to prepare for the battle against Giygas, Buzz-Buzz instructs Ness to travel to eight sanctuaries in different areas of Eagleland, where he can absorb their psychic energies in order to unite his power with that of the Earth. During his journey, Ness teams up with Paula and Poo, who also possess PSI, and Jeff, a boy-genius. Ness's next-door neighbor Pokey Minch (named "Porky Minch" in Mother 3), however, allies with Giygas and antagonizes Ness throughout the game.

After Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo visit all eight sanctuaries, Ness falls unconscious and enters Magicant, a realm within his mind. There, Ness vanquishes a personification of his evil thoughts. Ness's mind then clears, causing his psychic powers to unite with each of the eight sanctuaries and greatly expand. Ness, now fueled with unlimited power, awakens, after which the four characters learn that to battle Giygas they must time travel to the past. The four-time travel to the past using a time machine built by Jeff's father Doctor Andonuts, where they confront Giygas and Pokey. Giygas is defeated but Pokey flees. The four characters return to the present, and the game ends with Ness returning home.

Mother 3
Ness appears in Mother 3 in a movie playing in the New Pork City movie theater. The movie shows shots of many moments in EarthBound, such as meeting Master Belch, meeting Dungeon Man and approaching the meteorite in Onett to get Zexonyte. In the same movie theater, players can buy a fake bat that looks like the one Ness uses in Super Smash Bros. series. Also purchasable is a red hat that looks like Ness's.

Super Smash Bros. series
Ness appears as a playable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series. Though EarthBound sold poorly in the United States, Ness became popular through his addition to the Super Smash Bros. fighting game series roster, where he appeared in all five games: the original Super Smash Bros. and its sequels Melee, Brawl, 3DS/Wii U, and Ultimate.

Ness was considered a "surprise addition" in the original Super Smash Bros., being a hidden character with an unusual control scheme. Besides attacking with a baseball bat and a yo-yo, Ness' strengths revolve around his psychic abilities. One ability allows Ness to hit himself and propel himself forward or upward, resulting in both recovery and offense. He was originally going to be replaced by Lucas, the main protagonist of EarthBounds sequel Mother 3, in Melee, but Ness was used after all when Mother 3s Nintendo 64 release was ultimately cancelled. In Brawl, both Ness and Lucas became playable, and various items, characters, and settings from Mother 3 were included. In this game, Ness gained a "Final Smash" move based on Poo's "PK Starstorm".

Reception
Ness has received generally positive reception, considered one of the best Nintendo characters by Destructoid writer James Herd. ITMedia writer Mayumi Asai discussed how Ness' relationship with Porky, specifically how Ness views Porky in his own mind. Namely, she discussed how Ness' manifestation of Porky appeared as someone who was jealous of Ness and wanted to be friends with him. She analyzed this as Ness looking down on Porky, suggesting that Ness was ignoring Porky's feelings, and discussed how Magicant was used to show how Ness was more than just "good." He has been a popular character in the Super Smash Bros. series.