The Photo Man (TotW)
I have a firm belief that the Photo Man is under the influence of the Mani-Mani statue, and perhaps a servant of Giygas himself.
Of course, he does look like your everyday businessman. He's got a cool beard, a nice suit, and a camera for documenting things. But I think that behind those plump cheeks and yellow-greenish beard lies a truly evil man, one who is out to serve Giygas himself, and one out to assist Giygas in any way possible, trying to stop Ness and co. from saving the world.
When Giygas had started attacking Earth, we all know that he had influence over the minds of people through his own power and the Mani-Mani statue (hippies, party men, Carpainter, Monotoli, etc). I think that Giygas had found out about the photo man, who was once a skilled photographer, and captured and manipulated him, using his tremendous photo-taking skills to document where and what Ness was doing at what times.
This is where he was given the ability to fly. Giygas must've granted him with those powers so he could get around to places with ease. But Giygas can probably fly, right? Why can't he pose as a friendly photographer and snap shots of his arch-rivals? Because Giygas is an alien. Duh. He needed a regular-looking man to cover that for him.
This leads into another factor: The photo man is very charming. I'm sure that when we all played Earthbound for the first time, we had gotten a smile or a chuckle when the photo man had flown from the sky and took a picture of a kid outside his house. He's a lovable person, but still influenced by Giygas, who sent him out across the skies, looking for these kids so he knew what they were up to.
And finally, the last thing that I think helps this theory; he takes pictures at key moments in the journey, letting Giygas know the important bits. For example, when the adventure started, he got a shot of Ness in Onett. When Paula was saved, he took one outside the cabin in Happy Happy. When Jeff was on his way to save Ness and Paula, the photo man documented that too. When they were about to get into Belch's base, the photo man took a picture so he could get that info.
There's still one hole in this theory that you might be questioning: "So why can you still get photos after you beat Giygas?". Because, like everyone else, the poor old man came to his senses and realized what terrible he had done, and continued pursuing what he wanted to to: Photography. He woke up from the evil that was taken over him and tried to finish what he had started, continuing to take great pictures of Ness and Paula in a run-down house.
I have a firm belief that the Photo Man is under the influence of the Mani-Mani statue, and perhaps a servant of Giygas himself.
Of course, he does look like your everyday businessman. He's got a cool beard, a nice suit, and a camera for documenting things. But I think that behind those plump cheeks and yellow-greenish beard lies a truly evil man, one who is out to serve Giygas himself, and one out to assist Giygas in any way possible, trying to stop Ness and co. from saving the world.
When Giygas had started attacking Earth, we all know that he had influence over the minds of people through his own power and the Mani-Mani statue (hippies, party men, Carpainter, Monotoli, etc). I think that Giygas had found out about the photo man, who was once a skilled photographer, and captured and manipulated him, using his tremendous photo-taking skills to document where and what Ness was doing at what times.
This is where he was given the ability to fly. Giygas must've granted him with those powers so he could get around to places with ease. But Giygas can probably fly, right? Why can't he pose as a friendly photographer and snap shots of his arch-rivals? Because Giygas is an alien. Duh. He needed a regular-looking man to cover that for him.
This leads into another factor: The photo man is very charming. I'm sure that when we all played Earthbound for the first time, we had gotten a smile or a chuckle when the photo man had flown from the sky and took a picture of a kid outside his house. He's a lovable person, but still influenced by Giygas, who sent him out across the skies, looking for these kids so he knew what they were up to.
And finally, the last thing that I think helps this theory; he takes pictures at key moments in the journey, letting Giygas know the important bits. For example, when the adventure started, he got a shot of Ness in Onett. When Paula was saved, he took one outside the cabin in Happy Happy. When Jeff was on his way to save Ness and Paula, the photo man documented that too. When they were about to get into Belch's base, the photo man took a picture so he could get that info.
There's still one hole in this theory that you might be questioning: "So why can you still get photos after you beat Giygas?". Because, like everyone else, the poor old man came to his senses and realized what terrible he had done, and continued pursuing what he wanted to to: Photography. He woke up from the evil that was taken over him and tried to finish what he had started, continuing to take great pictures of Ness and Paula in a run-down house.
