The "Broken Family" in Earth Bound

         Earthbound explores various topics within the course of the game, allowing the player to gain some introspection into the life of Ness. One glaring topic is that of the "Broken Family", which isn't directly addressed or talked about, but is prevalent within the game. Through clear symbolism, the game informs the player on how Ness feels about his situation by placing particular in-game importance on his missing dad.

      In the game Ness depends on his father for two functions: the ability to save and financial support. Throughout the game, monsters do not drop money forcing Ness to either come by money through treasure chests (I only found one the entire game) or through Ness' father's deposits. The deposits always come after some critical portion of the game was completed giving the illusion of a time dependent check, much like child support. Furthermore, the necessity of  calling Ness' father to save the game makes it so that there is more than just a financial need the father is filling up. 

      When these mechanics are contextualized within the reality of a divorced family, specific messages can be found. The fact that Ness needs more than just  financial aid from his father gives an idea of how crucial it is for a father and a son to remain in contact. This saving role could have easily been regulated to the mother, whose number you are also given. In fact, the mother provides mainly the nurture that is typically ascribed to the mother role. As one goes through the game, if Ness does not talk to his mother for an extended peroid of time he will develop "home sickness" where he refuses to fight until hearing his mother's voice (this was particularly annoying for me because I was in a dungeon with relatively low health when Ness decided to miss home). The father will regularly call, urging Ness to call his mother and take a break. The break was clearly an attempt to regulate young gamers' time spent on the console, but the suggestion to call Ness' mother served as both a warning of homesickness and dialogue the game was making on how a divorced couple can still be nurturing parents. 

     At the end of the game, if Ness calls his father he will be told something along the lines of "you don't need me anymore, it's your birthday next week, maybe I'll be there." This is the ending of the game and it is clearly rewarding Ness with the unhindered attention he always wanted from his father. When games incorporate a divorced family, they either make them dysfunctional or comical. At first, Earthbound seems to be taking the latter route, but then it is made clear that the game is neither completely comical nor a grim serious outlook on the subject. In fact the game serves to create a character and a family a child from a divorced family can relate to. 

     Video games do more than just entertain. They can inform people on the human condition. Earthbound does this concerning the life of a child with divorced parents. It heralds the child, not as a product of a dysfunctional unit, but as any other child who remains loyal and hardworking.