Threed

Threed is the third major town visited in EarthBound, after Onett and Twoson. The town was once seen as the "Fun capital of the world" thanks to the famous Threed Circus, however the recent invasion of ghosts and zombies have struck terror into the town. Ness's goal is to restore the fortunes of the town. They arrive by taking the Runaway Five's tour bus and are dropped off near the drug store. Threed's name is derived from the number three as it is the third main town visited in the game.

In the Japanese version, the town is called Threek. The reason the name was changed for the Western version is unknown, though it is often speculated to have been changed to avoid players from misinterpreting it as "Three K", thus as a reference to the Ku Klux Klan, similar to the change to the sprite of the Insane Cultist. The town has a population of 1,500 people, 2 dogs, an average temperature of 62°F and annual rainfall of 56 inches. There is also a zombie population of 2,000, 12 pumpkin patches, and 0 lions, tigers, and bears.

Overview

The sign for Threek in the Japanese version (left) was changed to Threed in the American version (right).

Threed is seperated from Twoson by the Two Three Tunnel. The town is always at night when first visited. Additionally, ghosts in the tunnels will prevent players from leaving town until all the supernatural invaders are gone. Businesses are found in the center of the town such as the Threed Drug Emporium^[1], Bob's Best Bakery^[2], a pizzeria, a hospital, the Threed Sunset Hotel and a circus. Behind the Drug Store is the Arms Dealer who will sell weapons to Jeff. Two cemeteries are located with one in the west, and another to the north, the Photo-Man will also appear in the north graveyard near the northmost gravestone. In the northeast most house of town is the Hint Shop. The west exit from town will lead to Dusty Dunes Desert. Within the west graveyard is the Underground Road which serves as a secret passageway to the Grapefruit Falls.

Geography

Threed is the second smallest settlement in Eagleland after Happy Happy Village. The city is entirely surrounded by forests on every side. Threed is also the wettest city in Eagleland with an annual rainfall of 56 inches, in comparison to Onett's average of 10 inches and Fourside's 36 inches. The town, due to being near Dusty Dunes Desert, is also normally known for constantly having sunny weather prior to the game's events, where dark clouds surround the sky until the zombie invasion is cleared.

History

At first, Ness and Paula are unable to access the town due to the ghosts in the Two Three Tunnel. They finally get there after Ness pays the Runaway Five's debt to Poochyfud. When Ness and Paula arrive in Threed, they find the town infested with zombies, ghosts and possessed objects. When they go to the graveyard to investigate it, they find two zombies blocking a path. When returning to the town they see a strange woman near the hotel. When they try to talk to her she runs inside. The two then follow her into a room full of zombies and ghosts who knock them unconscious. Ness and Paula then awake inside a dark room, with the only exit locked. Paula then uses telepathy to contact Jeff, a boy in Winters, to come to help them.

When Jeff crashes the Sky Runner into the ground and falls into the room Ness and Paula are in, he uses the Bad key machine to unlock the door so they can escape. The three of them then head to the southern portion of Threed, where they engage a battle with the Boogey Tent, and receive the Jar of Fly Honey. Soon after, Ness gets a call from Apple Kid, saying that he has come up with a new invention, Zombie paper, that should help them. Apple Kid sends the Zombie paper to Ness through a Mach Pizza delivery man. Ness then spreads the paper inside the circus tent to attract and trap the zombies. After spending the night in the now uninfested hotel, they find the town's zombies stuck to the floor of the circus tent. The path to Grapefruit Falls is then accessible for Ness, Paula, and Jeff, as the zombies blocking the way have fallen victim to the Zombie paper.

With the defeat of Master Belch, the villian responsible for the invasion, Threed is restored back to its former state. The citizens congratulate the heros and, with the tunnels now free of ghosts, are now able to travel to Dusty Dunes Desert and Foursede. The three of them return to Threed in a later segment of the game, where they repair the Sky Runner in order to return to Winters.

Shops

Threed Drug Emporium

Threed Drugstore
Item		Price	Effect
	Cold remedy	$22	Heals cold
	Vial of serum	$58	Heals poison
	Refreshing herb	$80	Heals most status aliments
	Toothbrush	$3	May solidify an enemy
	Calorie stick	$18	Restores about 60 HP
	Minor league bat	$399	Can be equipped by Ness
	Thick fry pan	$198	Can be equipped by Paula
	Hard hat	$298	Can be equipped
	Insecticide spray	$19	Damages insect enemies
	Copper bracelet	$349	Can be equipped

Bob's Best Bakery

Threed Bakery
Item		Price	Effect
	Cookie	$7	Restores about 6 HP
	Bread roll	$12	Restores about 30 HP
	Croissant	$18	Restores about 60 HP
	Skip sandwich	$38	Restores about 6 HP; walking speed is greatly boosted for about ten seconds
	Lucky sandwich	$128	Restores a varying amount of HP
	Can of fruit juice	$4	Restores about 6 HP
	Cup of coffee	$6	Restores about 12 HP

Threed Arms Dealer

Threed Arms Dealer ​
Item		Price	Effect
	Toy air gun	$215	Equipped by Jeff
	Bomb	$128	Deals damage when thrown
	Bottle Rocket	$29	Deals 90-150 damage when used by Jeff
	Rust promoter	$89	Damages metallic enemies

Threed Sunset Hotel

The hotel in Threed is $60 per person.

Hospital

Reviving an unconscious party member is $120. The healer at the hospital charges $90 for softening diamondization, $80 for healing paralysis, and $70 for exorcising ghosts. A checkup for other status effects by the doctor is $40.

Items

Item		Location
	Jar of fly honey	In the trash after defeating the Boogey Tent
	Insecticide spray	In the trash can in the west graveyard
	Insignificant item	In the hospital, hidden in the drawer in the first room on the second floor
	Skip sandwich	In the south eastmost trash can
	Teddy bear	In the trash can outside of the Hint Shop
	Zombie paper	Given by the Mach Pizza delivery man after defeating the Boogey Tent

Enemies

Sprite	Enemy name	Notes
	Coil Snake	4/128 chance of dropping a Cookie
	Handsome Tom	8/128 chance of dropping a Tin of Cocoa
	No Good Fly	Only in tunnel to Grapefruit Falls; 4/128 chance of dropping a Boiled egg
	Putrid Moldyman	4/128 chance of dropping a croissant
	Smelly Ghost	8/128 chance of dropping a Broken iron
	Smilin' Sam	4/128 chance of dropping a Refressing herb
	Trick or Trick Kid	4/128 chance of dropping a Bomb
	Urban Zombie	4/128 chance of dropping a Hamburger
	Zombie Dog	4/128 chance of dropping a Bottle rocket
	Zombie Possessor	2/128 chance of dropping a Secret herb
	Boogey Tent	Boss; appears once Jeff joins party
	Mini Barf	Boss in tunnel to Grapefruit Falls

Gallery

• 

  Threed during the zombie infestation in EarthBound

Trivia

• Two non-playable characters were intended to appear in Threed, but due to a programming oversight do not spawn normally in game:
  • One is an investigator who informs that the Mani-Mani Statue was stolen from Mr. Carpainter in Happy Happy Village, and was taken to Fourside.
  • The other would have stood by the road opposite a trash can containing a Skip Sandwich, and his dialogue would be "I wanted to catch one of the Ghosts in the tunnel and keep it as a pet." He still appears during the bus ride but cannot be interacted with.

References