earthbound is a very colorful and special seed for our imagination to run wild. it is the most inspiring game ive ever seen, inspiring in my meaning as in it inspires others. this game has a fuzzy gooey aura to it at times. i love it. first time i heard sea of eden i knew this track was gonna break me later and sure as shit it did. something about this damn game strikes a very personal and particular chord with everyone idk how but damn its amazingly strange. i used to watch the minds eye (vhs computer graphics showcase) and it had some things in there like the pre historic earth and micro organism things so as a very small bean i had the belief that we came from cells and creatures long ago. hearing sea of eden and the level that comes with it felt like a dimensional relation with the outer worlds of space, an emotional connection something that had always been with me

Shigesato Itoi's masterpiece Earthbound is a unique role-playing game developed by Nintendo in 1994. It's a kind of J-RPG and a limited but open world game. It debuted in Japan as Mother 2, but debuted in the West as Earthbound. instead of starting from the game, start directly from this game. If you want to go into detail, you can look at the first game, but even if you play this game without playing the first game, you will not feel missing. The game has also inspired games such as Undertale. The SNES version of the game was released first, since you may have trouble finding the tape of the game today. You can play the game by purchasing SNES Games Included. Sorry, it's not better than other ports, it just differs in access methods.

The game has a sweet story in general. I say generally because towards the end of the game, the story shifts from being sweet to fear. The story of the game starts with a meteor falling next to Ness's house. He explains the existence of a force trying to take over the Earth. According to this, he has to defeat the creature with strong psychic metaphysical abilities named Giygas. This creature has such strong psychic powers that it can make all living and non-living beings on Earth aggressive. They team up with him and set out to defeat it.

The game is designed with inspiration from Stephen King's novels, American culture sitcoms, The Beatles music. Thanks to the inspirations coming from these independent sources, the game has a unique and eclectic style. I think the main reason why the game is a masterpiece is by presenting Tez and AntiTez to the player at the same time. The game is creating an unprecedented revolution in the world. The game shows this in a variety of ways. For example, in your dialogues with NPCs, sometimes it breaks the 3rd wall and ceases to be a game. It does this by learning game mechanics from NPCs. In this way, the satire and comedy element always stays alive. But the most important element is definitely with the atmosphere. While it is a lively sweet-looking game at the beginning, the atmosphere changes completely towards the end of the game and the game becomes more reactionary and scary. In this way, you can feel two completely separate experiences. one of its achievements is its humorous and emotional narration. The game explores many emotional memories through its extraordinary story and characters, while also making players laugh with hilarious dialogues and in-game jokes. This balance makes EarthBound more than just a J-RPG game. There is a deeper story and psychological side in such a sweet-looking game. The end of the game leaves an open end, and if you played the first game, you will have a better command of the general picture, but the end of the game is left open with small details, so the main idea of the game changes according to each player. Assuming that he is observant, a successful storytelling and style has been used.

The game draws you in as soon as it starts. By asking the name of your friend and your favorite food and adding it to the game, the game interacts with the player. Another feature of the game that distinguishes it from other J-RPGs is that it takes place in a modern world. There are places of entertainment. It's like a short demo of the world that has changed or changed in 1994. Of course, not only that, there are extremely diverse regions. There are various places from the desert to the underground, from the underground to the swamp. These environments with NPCs and dialogues reflect the vitality of the game world, but also in the game. It offers a variety of side missions and puzzles, albeit a little. In general, the design of the open world is great. It is a surprise to find gift boxes in various parts of the map and see what will come out. It is even a surprise that there is a gift box. I think the only missing part of the game is the combat system because I think the enemy's health or PP We can't see its value. Instead of enemy attacks or an animation showing your attack, various effects are used. However, with the extremely diverse and wonderfully designed enemy types, this is not that noticeable. There are really unimaginable enemy types. Sometimes the ant can be a hippie or even a nameplate. The well-thought-out combat mechanic, on the other hand, your health does not end directly, but by decreasing. In this way, the game gives you time to replenish your health. Another well-thought-out mechanic is the stealth mechanic, I think. If you catch it from behind, you have a chance to make a surprise attack, the same for the enemy.Of course, it is well thought that it will have an effect on you with the PP used by the enemies. You may be exposed to various effects such as Diamonezed or Poisoned by the enemy. Of course, the same thing applies to you. It's also very well thought that you can use various weapons with IQ. Thanks to these, both variety, difficulty, and tactics and strategy have been added to the gameplay. In general, it has ceased to be an overly easy game by adding difficulty, and it has caught a really tasty and appropriate challenge. As you get stronger, the enemies escape from you. It is well thought out, so you don't have to fight the same battles over and over. Filling PP with Butterfly comes across in a wonderfully random and surprising way, so you don't have to turn and fill PP. Although they try to solve it with a teleport system that I find ridiculous, it's useless. The music and art design of the game is really fascinating. The music of the game reflects many different moods and atmospheres. While the music of a region can reflect the mood and character of that region, the music of a war increases the excitement and tension. Likewise, the music of emotional moments helps the players to establish an emotional connection and draws the player in even more. The overall design of the game is based on absurdity. It does this perfectly, too. For a moment, you find yourself hunting zombies with Zombie paper or fighting a cult called happiness. or you can find it while crossing the lake by riding a dinosaur.

In short, Earthbound is pure entertainment, based on absurdity, with elements of satirical comedy in places, presenting music and art design in harmony, offering a long gameplay time that captures what it offers to different places at once.

Like what do you say about this that a white Youtuber didn't say in 2012.

It is an odyssey of transitioning from child to adult. It is a vibe machine. The combat sucks. The combat rules. The encounter rates are too high. The police brutality scene still sends shivers up my spine from context alone. The character name music nails how odd and bizarre your journey will be. You can dump all your money into a house just for the reveal that it is literally missing two walls. Poo feels his limbs and eyes torn out of his body to experience a spiritual deprivation of senses so he becomes a little stronger. Ness' dad is a near non-existent figure in his life, only calling him to have emotionally distant conversations and petty cash deposits while he presumably is fucking bitches and generally getting buck nasty in Reno.

There are hundreds of momentary scenes in the game that will have you delighted, intrigued, confused, and mortified. Those moments are what Earthbound is to me. The life of these kids trying to make it in this fucked up world.

Like, it's Earthbound. It's hype around the player experience is real. It's glazing is overglazed but it's worth biting in even if. You got people everywhere whose hearts and souls have been sucked out of their body from being cynical on Twitter for too long saying "this game is overrated" "an annoying Youtuber I don't like LOVES this game it must be trash" THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW THIS SHIT IS GOOD. How long can something be this relevant to conversation. How long can the experience be this shitted on by contrarians -- if it wasn't worth checking out? Objectively bad things die very quickly in the consciousness of the masses for one reason or another. There are reasons people talk about this game nearly 30 years later.

Don't buy into the hate or overglazing. This is a great, flawed video game with issues that are far surpassed by what you'll get out of it. Which is having the game make you feel every human emotion in sometimes very clever ways. It's only when you do a bunch of stuff and then get a moment to look back is when you'll realize: it's all about the journey itself.

btw There are modded versions of the game that lower the encounter rate and increase xp so you're not grinding like crazy to just make it past a bullshit miniboss.

Ok desu ka?
-Shigesato Itoi

Earthbound is a pleasantly quirky game of fuzzy moments.
A journey that spins from the witty, surreal to dark as you explore a high scope world of different cities and dungeons.

Playing similarily on basis as an old school Dragon Quest game, Earthbound walks the park with its own twist of rules and refinements.
Item management and party members roles are very centric and adds a lot of good flavour to the entire battle system, with a vast and ridiculously creative set of enemy designs.

Complementary to the journey goes a direct narrative style which adds much feels of involvement and impact on many segments, while the soundtrack and sound design does a remarkable job in painting up the surreal and ambient nature of the moments.

Awesome game for the awesome people.

Completion Criteria: Credits Hit

The old meme "Earthound fan playing the game for the first time" really hits because the aesthetic of the game have still hold up very well. But mechanically this feels like its aged quite poorly mainly just due to the anti-quality of life.

Lets start with good. Aesthetically, I think still holds up as a retro game. It's easy to understand why people still copy it's style to this day. It's vibrant and clear. In terms of music, a lot of it is extremely unique and recognizable, just good stuff. In terms of the setting. I think this is something that may be a bit underrated honestly. The games atmostphere only works so well because it's not entirely modern, its pseudo-modern but alien enough to add aliens. The rolldown is great in concept and even though there are issues with it, it's way better then some alternatives like ATB. Instakill, and advantage/disadvantage systems are also good game systems so I can't complain about that

Ok, postive is done. So what are the issues? The game wastes a lot of time for the sake of form. Inventory management is always tedious and never really gets better. and is made worse by the multiple steps that need to be made to store and withdraw items. Whilst some key items disappear after use, some don't and this leads to more annoyances. You can't even save without money so you have to go to the atm to do even that. I can understand why you might think these things are minor especially in this day you can rewind and use save states but purely from an authentic point of view it's not good. In terms of combat, it feels pretty basic. as a lot of older JRPGs tend to. Use basic attack until the boss and then spam your best stuff until you win. I think by the end the rolldown health also feels against the grain. As if you have a KO incoming you will just attempt to mash through everything. If you get hit first, and you can't mash through it in time it makes you contemplate your luck. A simple fix for that would be being able to interrupt turns to immediately swap to defense.

I think dungeons are probably my biggest let down for the game. I think only three maybe stand out as enjoyable but most feel quite tedious or just bad. Monkey Cave stands out as a great example of what I'm talking about here. Personal preference but when you have bad dungeon designs, visible enemies also feel worse. They feel more frustrating when they get in the way of progress or if you think you get a backhit and it doesn't register, even worse when you lose advantage. Personally, I found some areas to feel like moonlogic, or just not fully fleshed out.

Also, if you have a map function, don't lock it behind an item especially when it comes down to such a limited inventory

Realistically. A lot of problems could easily be fixed by a remaster that fixed inventory and phone calls. It's the old "X will break your immersion in this game about aliens?"
Give them a more modern phone that can save and call escargo express. Give a card that can pay for things on the fly. Seperate Key Items from main inventory. Not necessary but let me sort the inventory, and swap items with others to avoid the rigmarole of dropping something just so I can swap in such a way to pass equipment or Jeff items.

I think there seems to be an overrating of the themes of the game also. It's very easy to suggest that this is a representation of puberty or manhood or enlightenment but I think I could fit that narrative into other games as accurately

I knew I wasn't gonna love this game because I had played it before and didn't enjoy it then. I think the game definitely picks up later on but unfortunately the most enjoyable areas may be early with the exception of some of the dungeons. Luckily this gives me another urge to jump back into Mother 3 which I do think precedes it's reputation and I can finally close the missing hole it my JRPG reputoire

This game is a masterpiece, Itoi has outdone himself.

Earthbound is reminds me of why I think games are art. This game for me, is more of a beautiful art piece than a game to me. The only reason I haven't given this game a perfect score is because...there's kind of no reason for me to go back to it, but I can easily see myself changing the score.

The gameplay is kind of barebones and has really strange design choices like the key items being able to take up your inventory space, I am fine with inventory management in games, it can force the player to actually use the items and not hoard them but counting key items? Yeah, no. Also, The goldmine in Dusty Dunes Desert was very tedious and felt like it dragged on forever, However earthbound does have some stuff that makes it feel more ahead of its time compared to the other RPGs around this time, for example, ditching random encounters in the favour of overworld enemies, this is a strength for earthbound as you can avoid them...is what I would have said if the enemies didn't have the same or even faster movement speed than Ness. Sometimes the location you're in is way too cramped and can't dodge the enemies and when you also take into consideration the escape system that 90% of the time doesn't work...Even if the execution was quite flawed, I'm really, REALLY glad they tried to do something different. The battle system is...Alright, it doesn't really have that much depth. The rolling health system is cool but I rarely ever felt like it affected the gameplay that much for me. Some of the enemies can also be really annoying like the enemies that explode when you win...thanks for punishing me for winning I guess?

What kept me coming back to Earthbound was just seeing what it wanted to throw at me. Earthbound feels like a meth trip at times and I absolutely love it and the ost? It's absolutely perfect, in my opinion. I don't think there is any SNES game that has a better ost than Earthbound. The bestiary in this game is so...weird too and I can't help but smile seeing the dumb shit you can fight like paintings, road signs, cars, clocks...I haven't seen anything like it before. The development history of this game and everything else surrounding it is so fascinating to me. I love this game and everything about it. The NPCs are actually worth talking to, they have genuinely funny dialogue that I haven't seen any other RPG inspired by Earthbound pull off even closely as well as it does. Just walking around the towns in the game and listening to the chill osts was one of the best feelings in all of gaming for me, I am a huge fan of the urban aesthetic this game has, even if it does kind of ditch it later in the game.


Thank you, Shigesato Itoi, for making this masterpiece of a game, I'm very excited to play Mother 3.

I cannot believe that this game has not aged even a little bit. What a perfect experience from start to finish. This game even got me to enjoy turn-based combat, which is normally my least favorite thing in gaming. The writing in this game is better than basically every other video game ever made. In most rpgs, I try to avoid talking to NPCs as much as possible because they often have nothing to say and add nothing to the experience. However, in Earthbound, every character has the opportunity to have a witty line just waiting for you to find, if not having a helpful tip to guide you in the right direction. Also, the final boss is probably the best final boss I have ever encountered in a video game. This game is just perfection from front to back.

In this world being yourself is hard, it’s super hard. There are problems all around us which we usually can’t do anything about. These problems are what scare people away, these problems are what oppress the happiest and simplest of people, these problems are what I hate the most. Everywhere we go, everywhere we turn, those problems are always there. Whether it’s the clothes you’re wearing, the colour of your skin, or your sexual orientation, someone unfortunately has a problem with it. People find it hard to escape these problems and either blame themselves or hide themselves away to prevent it. It’s a sick world we live in and it changes every second. I am someone that has always been the butt of jokes, someone who has no self esteem, and someone who beats themself over silly things. For a long time I found it hard to cope with things and people wouldn’t make that better. Last year I found a game that helped me cope, and that game was called earthbound. I had wanted to play it for a while after I’d finished undertale and had toyed with the idea of borrowing my friends snes emulator. When I heard it was coming to nso I was ecstatic. Finally I could play the game everyone was talking about and I couldn’t wait. The day after it was released, I turned on my switch, grabbed my controller, and started playing. A year and a half later I finally beat it. The game took me a while to beat because I would go onto other games and then return to it. But, I would usually return to the game when I was feeling down. I slowly but surely continued until finally I beat the game. At first I was speechless. It had taken me a while to beat giygas and the excitement hadn’t really hit me. But that excitement never did come, instead, as soon as I had finished the epilogue, I broke down crying.

I’ve played many games before where I’ve been left impacted by the game. Kingdom hearts 2, final fantasy IX, undertale. But there was something different about earthbound that stuck out. Something that even now I can’t really explain.

Maybe it was the fact I got to talk to all the characters I hadn’t seen since a year?

Maybe it was how I had finally got around to finishing it properly?

Or maybe, it was because of everything that had happened in between.

So much has happened in around a year that it’s kind of hard to comprehend. I’ve lost and made friends, I’ve defended people as much as possible, and I’ve been caught up in enough drama. And yet…despite everything…the game was still there for me.

Earthbound is a sign, a sign that we as people can change if we really put our minds to it. I know for a fact there have been other people that have played this game and have done something right. Toby fox, omocat, Austin Jorgensen. These are only a few people of millions of others. I’m not saying earthbound is for everyone, because it’s not. But if we could all just take a minute to appreciate what it’s trying to say, then the world might just be better for it.

Thank you Mr. Itoi, thank you so much

Masterpiece

I played Earthbound physically for the first time ever, getting the opportunity from a very nice friend. Mother is a game/series that genuinely changed the way I saw video games as a media when I was younger, so I always found it very special and kept it close to my heart. I have not played any game in the series for a little while now, as I've focused more on trying new stuff, and trying to branch out of an aimless rut I got myself in.

I was prepared after now playing a mountain of other great RPGs and amazing games to perhaps not see EarthBound as special as I once did. I'm going to tell you right now that playing it as an adult, years since last completing it, and comparing the game's messages involving fear that comes in personal growth, finding joy in heartbreak, and coming to terms with permanent consequences, and how it connects to the experience of growing older only goes to show how timeless and special a game like EarthBound will always be.

Story wise, EarthBound in my opinion is the weakest from the other two Mother games, but that's like having to compare Shawshank Redemption to the Godfather, both are masterpieces. It's no argument that Mother 3 has the most emotional story out of them, but I myself would argue that Mother 1's story is fairly close in being just as so, of course just hindered by Famicom technology... While I do still think EarthBound's story of Ness discovering parts of himself is done extremely well, it lacks as deep of a connection between our villain and our protag that Mother 3 (Lucas + Masked Man) and Mother 1 (Ninten's relation to Giegue through Maria) had. The parts that made Giygas more emotional to me in EarthBound were parts that referenced the final battle in Mother 1, and having to see yet again this creature that's been hurt so continuously it feels no choice but to hurt back (all while quoting some of the same dialogue it questioned back in the first game). But of course that's not to say EarthBound lacks emotion. The part where the game breaks the fourth wall and directly involves you, the player, in helping the Chosen Four will always pull at my heartstrings in a way that is uniquely EarthBound.

Gameplay wise, I was most happy to see the game was even nicer to me than I remembered, but all in all came together to make something so charmingly-addicting:
- Telephones for saving were plentiful.
- Bosses were properly difficult; not too easy, not too hard. Never had to fight one more than 3 times.
- Good leveling-up with no need for grinding.
- Unique party-member mechanics and strengths (Ness - physical weapon, Paula - Psychic Powers, Jeff - tool repair, Poo - transformation and strongest psychic move in game)
- Unique rolling health system
- Beautiful and memorable music

Additionally, I love how much of the gameplay incorporates EarthBound's quirky-usefulness. While some things could be done quicker with just a simple menu button, such as saving or storing items, the addition of things like calling your dad on the phone to save, or having a legit delivery man come to take your items is exactly what makes the Mother series what it is; finding every nook and cranny in gameplay mechanics and finding a silly way to carry it out. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, for another example, let's you save by just pressing the F5 button. It's sequel, Metal Gear Solid, on the other hand, now has an entire gimmick of needing to call and have some back and forth with a cute teammate in order to save. It takes significantly longer to do than just pressing a button to open up the save menu, but is indisputably more memorable and loved.

The only downside to the game I actually started to get annoyed by was how they took away the ability to save your game when your dad calls you to give his classic Wii "you've been playing for a long time now..." message. Even in the original Mother 1, your dad would call you to save your game and then offer the ability to do so. EarthBound just has your dad call you and then recommend you to go to a hotel to save, the nerve!
I know a lot of people mention how EarthBound is the only Mother game to not allow you to run, but actually Mother 3 is the only one to have that from the start! Mother 1 originally didn't have the run ability until they added it to the cancelled English translation, and later the GBA rerelease in 2003. I actually prefer not running in the games anyways, similar to why one of the developers for Animal Crossing said the intention is for people to take the game (Animal Crossing) slow hence why you're always punished when running (flowers get destroyed, bumping villagers, chasing away bugs/fish). EarthBound is a game best experienced when taking your time, walking around town, exploring, or even walking the girl you like home. Sure, you could argue that that doesn't explain taking away the ability when near enemies, and for that I present to you the most life changing information you will ever learn.

EarthBound is a perfect game and strongly helps secure Mother for the reputation it has. I could continue going on even more inane details about what makes this game so special for so many people, but I'm sure you've all heard enough at this point. Thanks for reading this far if you did, and before you go...

Say Fuzzy Pickles!

Earthbound is one of if not the most charming games I've played. Every little piece of writing, the ost, and most of all every enemy design are fantastic. That last one in particular, is possibly the games biggest strength compared to other games. I think this is probably my favorite enemy design in any game ever, almost every one of them has a standout name, appearance or both. Pogo Punk, Ramblin' Evil Mushroom, mad duck, Noose Man, and Starman just to name a few. Its one of Earthbound's best qualities, and I'm a little saddened that I hadn't heard about it going in, although perhaps the surprise factor helped my enjoyment.

The soundtrack is solid, albeit not really my thing, but the quality is apparent to me, despite that. The world and characters are mostly just decent, but there are a few standouts to be sure. The story is fine, not bad but it shouldn't be the reason for someone to try out the game considering the quality of its other facets. There are absolutely some great beats, especially in the late game, but it doesn't reinvent the horse in anyway.

The game has one thing it does struggle in, however, and unfortunately that is one of its most important aspects: the gameplay. Maybe its just me not really liking turn based combat that much, but I started to get tired of it by the last quarter, maybe even earlier. This is made even more unfortunate considering there are parts of it that are quite good, such as the backgrounds for all encounters looking dazzling, and the rolling hp bar is something I'd love to see make its way to other games in the genre. But when you get right down to it, or at least not fun enough to last the games whole length. This could have been helped were traversing the areas less tedious, but unfortunately that isn't the case, as quite a few areas are frequently a pain to get through.

The gameplay may be lacking, but Earthbound is deserving of its classic status due to everything else it does. In fact, my giving it a 4.5 despite the gameplay is a testament to every other part of the game. The impact of the game speaks to this as well, its cultural relevance was well earned. I just there weren't quite as many imitators nowadays, they've tarnished Earthbound's reputation, intentionally or not.

Mr Molecule is my guy.

Since I’ve already offered my thoughts on Mother 1 and 3, I might as well do the same with Mother 2/EarthBound. If I had to sum up my thoughts on the Mother series, it would be that each game is solid with one major flaw. Mother 1 has a great atmosphere and is the quickest to complete overall, but has a lot of grinding; Mother 3 has some nice QoL improvements, a gorgeous soundtrack, and an interesting idea for a plot, but the execution didn’t do it for me personally.

EarthBound’s biggest drawback is rooted in how much it feels like an expanded remake of Mother 1. You’re once again finding eight melodies to defeat Giygas, but with more music, more towns, more setpieces, and more weirdness to accompany you. All welcome additions if it weren’t for the weaker pacing. Sure, modern JRPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles make this game look like Chrono Trigger in terms of pacing, but I’m confident in saying you could remove a third of the setpieces without losing any of the emotional impact. Mother 1 was strange right from the beginning, but EarthBound welcomes you with bright pastels and breezy music. It rarely deviates from that and the times it does are often the most memorable parts of the experience. Because those changes are so rare though, the experience sometimes feels like it’s being strange for the sake of it. Imitating Mother 1 without anything new to say.

Despite that flaw, I would be lying if I said EarthBound doesn’t deserve its status as a game that everyone interested in the medium should play before they die. The presentation, gameplay, story, and dialogue are wonderfully idiosyncratic and there are some great highlights throughout the journey. Even if you are like me and didn’t find EarthBound to be amazing, you will appreciate it.

I can really see why this game has an intense cult following. The RPG elements are so unique in both gameplay and its mechanics (Whoever thought to visualize the PSI attacks with psychedelic imagery is a godsend), the soundtrack is especially unique; having songs that sound so whimsy to songs that sound utterly unnerving.
The story is really silly and simple in the beginning but by the end it hits how intense the conflict against the villains are, especially with how affected one of the main characters' "Neighbors" becomes. (They've got a pretty great boss theme though)
Admittedly though this game does require some grinding, and some enemies are unbalanced but those moments are far between and your characters will eventually become strong enough to move forward with ease.

quirky and self-aware, with an english localization full of love and care. even with the many, many indie rpgs this game inspired, the fun twist on the older dragon quest formula really shines here.

earthbound on some level is a reboot/remake of the first game in this series, but it adds a certain level of weirdness and a sense of pure childlike wonder that nothing but itself really achieves. the incredible soundtrack, simple and fun combat, and colorful sprite work create a very memorable experience i'm glad i gave another shot

EarthBound may be the winner of the "best game with the worst first impression" award. Getting into this one took at least 4 separate attempts for me. The first 3-4 hours of the game involve you traveling as Ness, all by yourself, with no party members. And I'll be frank, the game was simply not designed for this. Enemies have just as much of a chance to crit shot you as you do them, along with dealing devastating status effects which you have no defense against other than your luck and your ability to trek back to the nearest hospital. You are likely to die, and it is likely to be completely out of your control, even with prep.

Adding to that, you also have to deal with a pitifully low amount of inventory space at first, further compounded by necessary quest items that don't feel like they should be taking up an inventory slot at all. Why does the map have to take one? Along with your ATM Card, and the Sound Stone? That's three inventory slots (maybe two, if you can live without the map) right there that are already hogged for the rest of the game by these things. Is the bike supposed to be a joke item, or an inconsidered waste of space and time? There's a lot going against EarthBound at first... I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to drop it.

Okay, but here's the thing. Push through. Genuinely, sincerely push through if you enjoy classic RPG experiences. Because as soon as you get your second party member and level them up a bit, the meta changes. Now, you've got a mage on your team, an additional set of inventory slots, and a bit more defense and protection against incoming threats. And suddenly, the game actually becomes managable and fun. Well, in bursts.

EarthBound is all over the place like that, like an uneven stock market graph with a line swaying up and down, where you're likely to see the calm after the ensuing difficulty storm. You will have just as many moments where you're in total control of the game, as much as the game will have its moments with you, bringing you down to earth level with bosses that will kick your ass. Although it gets easier over time, there's always that element of a dice roll, where sometimes, you'll just want to depend on those critical hits doing the job for you, but things might not turn out the way you want them to. And if that's not your cup of tea, that's understandable. But I think of it this way. Even if I may not win this time, the luck element does mean that I'm much more likely to win it the next. In contrast to the initial few hours, the rest of the game is about not giving up.

And the theme of "not giving up" is not only examplified through its design mentality, but through its simple and pure story. You are a courageous ragtag team of kids, off on an adventure to save the world. Do not expect the plot to get any more complex than that. What really matters is the usage of RPG gameplay elements and interweaving them into the story of the game, all to tell you just two things: You're getting ever stronger, and ever further away from home.

You'll find yourself counting each landmark you discover, each city or village you stumble into, until the time comes when the game will directly ask you to look back on everything that's gotten you this far. A trip down reminiscing lane. And that's when it'll hit you that this is a story of determination, perseverance. The power of courage, and friendship, and all that shit. Which would normally be a cause to roll my eyes, but EarthBound never uses this as a way to dramatize things and make the story bigger than what it seems. It's almost like a charming children's book, where rather than going on big anime monologues about your friends being your power, it just simply asks you, the player, personally, to never give up. And by leaving it at that, there's something incredibly earnest and sincere about it.

Still, if that's really all that there is to the story, then where is the draw to push through 20 hours of that? The writing is the answer. It's already been said many times that EarthBound had a really damn solid localization for its time, and it holds up just as well today. The NPC's are fuckin' weird in this one, and you'll want to find yourself talking to every single one of them not just for the sake of hints, but just to... take in their oddities and quirks. Take a shot everytime one of them says "Oops!"

EarthBound's writing makes a whole lot of something out of practically nothing by prioritizing surrealism and personality on all counts. Normally, a writer's job would be to make himself sound like multiple differing characters, but in the case of this, every character sounds like one writer. One writer's rambling thoughts, thrown into hundreds of text boxes with reckless abandon, like I'm peering into his very mind. As a result, nothing here feels "real." This is not someone's world made reality, it is a look inside the machinations of Mr. Itoi. And that's what truly makes the game special, once you make sure to roll with that.

Also, a brief shoutout to the final boss, which for its time, was an unbelievable thing to put into your SNES game for kids to play, let alone to see that localized overseas. Sometimes, I see EarthBound as one giant buildup to that single moment. And in a way, I think it further cements its total sincerity of the game's theming. Even though the whole point is to cheer you on and show you the good side of life, it doesn't ignore the fact that there are terrifying things out there.

Summing it up: EarthBound is a simple RPG, coupled with a simple story. Never does that simplicity equal mindlessness. It is a charmingly written game where progression and evolution of your strength and experiences means everything. If you love your numbers going up, and as long as you don't set your expectations to "One of the greatest RPG's ever made", I think you'll warm up to what it's doing and appreciate how straightforward it wants to be. As mentioned, the first couple hours will be rough. Everything else beyond that, will be a pleasant treat, and an adventure to remember.

i am still not into the gameplay of turn-based rpgs, and i'm particularly critical of the way this one does it. no health bars or real explanations for whatever your actions are going to do, so it kind of feels like all the numbers showing up don't mean a whole lot to me and that i'm just bashing enemies blindly. you eventually develop a sense for what you're doing, but at first this really puzzled me and made me put off continuing the game for a long while. and while the whole game has much better QOL than i initially expected, there's still a lot of reasons to complain: you're slow, the movement through the menus can drag, saving the game's a bit of a chore, all around there's many tedious bits about this game that push me away.

it, then, says a lot that even in spite of all those setbacks i loved this experience. the world this game creates is absolutely brimming with creativity, fueled by its own absurdist logic and goofy kookiness that i find impossible not to love. the story is so fun to follow, even if at times it feels like it's being held together by duct tape. the emotional punches hit hard, and so do the horror elements filling up the later parts of the game. what a time.

also any game that makes me give stuff names is going to be subjected to losing a slight bit of emotional impact because i just had to name the main characters shit like "DUDE" and "BROOO" and that i'm attacking enemies with "PSI BALLS α"