495 Words About: The Clue Salesman in Earthbound
There’s a man in the town of Twoson in the videogame Earthbound who is selling clues.
By the time Ness arrives in the city of Twoson it’s become clear that something is happening to the world and none of it is good. Players have fought sentient ants, gang members, walking plants, and even adults who are possessed by a malevolent energy. All of this chaos however is presented in a charming, cartoon aesthetic punctuated by dialog from various non-playable characters(npcs) that ranges from casually silly to shockingly absurd. I point this out because there is a narrative tone to Earthbound (also known as Mother 2 in Japan) that makes it an endless source of comedic novelty.
To wit, on the far east side of Twoson there is a house wherein a single man wearing a burgundy suit has a wooden stand stolen straight out of a Peanuts comic and is selling clues.
To clarify, the wooden stand is inside his house.
The business model doesn’t make much sense to me, but then again I’ve never been that great at “The Capitalism.”
Ness can buy one of these clues for $50, and will be told that a man named Mr. Everdred in the park can tell him where to go, and how to find Paula, a local girl who made headlines for her psychic abilities who’s been kidnapped.
Twoson is a large town, larger than Ness’s hometown of Onett, and I took my time exploring its houses, stores, public parks, and restaurants. This is how I encountered the Clue Salesman, and I’ll be completely forthright and admit I didn’t pay for a clue. I wanted to find the next step in the journey on my own. I fought Mr. Everdred without knowing I needed to and started heading east to find Paula. When I paid the Clue Salesman a visit after I got stuck in the game he observed I’d already found out who to talk to and he couldn’t(or wouldn’t) sell me any more clues.
Rather than just being a gag for its own sake, the Clue Salesman reflects the design philosophy that went into the making of Earthbound. Every character in Earthbound, with the exception of Ness, behaves erratically or manifests some kind of ridiculous behavior. Part of that is due to the influence of Giygas, the malevolent entity that Ness fights at the end of the game, but another aspect is just…life.
Earthbound is a game about a child being forced to enter the world of adults, and each character Ness meets seems ridiculous or crazy. This is a narrative structure design because adults actually are crazy.
Getting older sucks because the body begins to wear down, responsibilities increase, and I’m continuously forced to navigate a world populated by other people who, for the most part, are apathetic to my existence.
This man sells Clues in his own house.
It’s surreal, and absurd.
But, whatever, you gotta make that money man.
Joshua “Jammer” Smith
1.9.2025
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