User:Czar/drafts/Ness

Ness is a fictional character from the 1994 video game EarthBound and an ensemble cast member in the Super Smash Bros. series.

EarthBound
Ness is the protagonist of EarthBound, the second game in the three-part Mother series. Upon lackluster sales in North America, EarthBound became the last and only game of the series to receive an English-language release, and, subsequently, became a cult classic. The game presents a humorous parody of American culture and role-playing video game genre.

Super Smash Bros.
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 four games: the original Super Smash Bros. and its sequels Melee, Brawl, and 3DS/Wii U. Ness was among the biggest surprise inclusions in the original 1999 Super Smash Bros., which gave Mother series fans "hope for the future". His spot in the game was actually intended for Mother 3 protagonist Lucas, but the developers later fit Ness into the character design when Mother 3 was delayed. In the original game, some characters had move sets imported from their own games, while move sets for characters like Ness had to be invented. Ness was a hidden character and had odd controls, but IGN wrote that he was "one of the most powerful characters" when players perfected his psychic power move set. In Europe, which did not see an EarthBound release, Ness was better known for his role in the fighting game than for his original role in the role-playing game.

He returned in the 2001 Melee with EarthBound Mr. Saturn, which could be thrown at enemies and otherwise pushes items off the battlefield. Melee also had an unlockable Fourside level based on the EarthBound location. Mother 3 Lucas joined Ness in Brawl, along with items, characters, settings, and villains from Mother 3. Thomas East of the Official Nintendo Magazine blog suggested that Ness should be removed from future versions of the fighting game due to his lack of popularity.

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