Location from EarthBound by Shigesato Itoi / Nintendo
The final dungeon — a primordial cavern at the end of time where the party fights as robots, reality dissolves into static, and the only weapon left is prayer.
The Cave of the Past exists in two states. In the present, it's a small cavern in the Lost Underworld where the Star Master teaches Poo Starstorm Omega. In the past, reached via the Phase Distorter after the party's souls are transferred into robot bodies, it becomes the most nightmarish location in the game. Final Starmen, Ghost of Starmen, and Bionic Krakens patrol the gray void. There is no way back. At the end is the Devil's Machine, where Giygas waits with Pokey in his spider mech. When Pokey deactivates the Machine, reality collapses into pure horror. The only way forward is Paula's prayer. Nine prayers. Nine people who remember the party's kindness. The last prayer reaches the player. The Cave of the Past is where EarthBound stops being a game about kids saving the world and becomes a game about the world saving the kids back.
In the present: a small, lush cavern with plant life. In the past (after Phase Distorter time travel): a gray, foggy, alien landscape of twisted rock. The party walks with metallic footsteps in their robot bodies. The final corridor leads to a crack in reality that opens into the Devil's Machine chamber — pulsing, fleshy tubes converging on Giygas.
Also known as: The Place, The Cliff that Time Forgot