Now, since Earthbound 64 has been in development pretty much since the launch of the Nintendo 64, it would suggest that we SHOULD have a pretty good view of what its plot will be, but... we don't.

There are a few things that suggest Earthbound 64 takes place somewhere in Eagleland: the Mr. Saturn and Dr. Andonuts, but certain pictures I have seen tell me otherwise.

For example: one screenshot in Nintendo Power volume 96 as well as on the Earthbound 64 page (http:www.nintendo.com/n64/earthbound64/index.html) shows a giant army of oversized pigs. In no place of Eagleland have I seen gigantic pigs as enemies. Nevermind gigantic pigs, I have never seen ANY pigs in Eagleland.

Another screenshot in the aforementioned Nintendo Power has a winter scene with what seems to be a toucan or a parrot or some related bird flying with a little frost on its beak. What's the problem with that, you ask? It's the location. Most members of the parrot family are found naturally only in the tropical zones south of the equator.

On the EB64 page, it shows a picture of what seems to be a post-Jenny Craig Pokey caught between what apparently are: a gigantic gila monster-like enemy and about three gigantic hermit crab-like creatures. The problem with that: gila monsters live in the desert. Hermit crabs tend to live near beaches.

Well, as far as I can guess, the plot is that Pokey escaped to another world and is planning to call another member of Giygas's world to destroy that one, then return to the Eagleland world and destroy it. But, either Ness and friends, or some other people find out about it and try to defeat him. I prefer the latter for the people who try to defeat Pokey, because perhaps Dr. Andonuts just happened to travel to that planet, or another possible answer: because Shigesato Itoi left the project, maybe Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto scrapped it and started over.

But of course, this is just a guess, and we likely won't know until they give a definite -and I use the term VERY loosely- release date for the game.