Ness' original game was EarthBound, for the Super Nintendo. It revolved around Ness, who had the task of defeating Giygas, the universal cosmic destroyer. On the way, he was allied with Paula, Jeff, and Poo (all of which are trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee), and they together had the task of fighting their way to the eight Your Sanctuary locations, to record melodies in the Sound Stone. Only after that did the four know where to go to face Giygas. The game also featured the Mr. Saturns, which were pivotal to the plot of the game.

Screenshot by threeball

Earthbound was the first RPG to take place in modern times. That has since expanded to many other games; so if you're looking for someone or something to blame for Pokemon, blame Earthbound. The game itself had some very strange enemies, such as the New Age Retro Hippy (pictured left), the Mystical Records, and Musicas. Enemies also got quite serious though, as you have seen evidenced in Starmen.

Screenshot by threeball

Sadly, Earthbound was not released in Europe. Outside of imports or other ways, Europe never saw the game. It was strange, as Earthbound was one of those games where the company thinks it's the greatest game ever made. Earthbound was one of the rare cases where this was right. The game was amazingly hyped, and still passed expectations. All the characters were nicely developed, even the final boss, who you only met just before the battle, had a clear personality.

Screenshot by threeball

Now, in Super Smash Bros. Melee., Ness has changed little in appearance. However, his moveset was rather odd, his special attacks consisting of two attacks he never learned and two he did, and the arenas, Onett and Fourside, were rather inaccurate. It is sad, however, that there isn't much promise of him being in another game.