This game is my favorite rhythm game of all time, despite its unfair gameplay, despite its strange presentation, despite its unforgiving timing windows, it's still the game I keep on my personal pedestal for rhythm games. Its soundtrack which is composed of obscure electronic music, and the visuals paired are abstract geometry, this game really leaned on a thought that this would be the future, and that's really what builds the charm I have for this game. It's outdated and outdone by several other games, but I will still play this game over and over. The soundtrack is full of some of the best music that I think I would have never come by if it weren't for this game. The gameplay is very challenging and even sometimes just outright unfair, but that's why I come back to it. That challenge always is worth it for the reward of being called the greatest FreQ in the universe. I love this game too much.

Man... this game is great. Love the pure 2000s soundtrack this game throws at you, and it fits so well with the gameplay. It always feels like such a trip going from Blink-182 to P.O.D. to Freezepop to Komputer Kontroller. It's a strong variety between music as well as difficulty, because it does get a little difficult. Robot Rockers to me is probably the most difficult track in the whole series for me. This game is a lot of fun and feels like a trip, really my only complaint is that I hate the lane switching specifically in this game, but everything is else is so great.

One of my favorite rhythm games ever. Its gameplay is extremely refined as it's such a great evolution of the gameplay of Amplitude (PS2) & Frequency. Even though the gameplay is a lot more forgiving than both of those previous titles, it makes up by introducing Super mode, which makes competing for scores a lot less chance based. The soundtrack although is not as great as its predecessors, it did grow on me. The original soundtrack for the campaign has some of my favorite songs, even though I was not a big fan of it at first. The bonus songs have some returning artists like Symbion Project, as well as a lot of indie game soundtracks placing here, as well as just indie artists in general. I still love to return to this game every few months, because it's very easy to get back into, and is always such a fun time to play. It may be the weakest entry, but it's still such a great game.

I think everyone bashes this game all the time, especially when comparing it to the later installments. I feel like if you want to enjoy this game, forget about Earthbound or Mother 3. I enjoyed it a lot, when taking it as just an NES RPG. Once you put yourself in that perspective, it becomes so much more impressive and enjoyable. For an NES game, the setting, dialog, and humor is so unique.
The gameplay is not enjoyable, that's something I think everyone has said. Especially early on, the grinding is unbearable, but it's easy to pass it. Even later on, the battles feel very boring, and the objective really becomes to get through the battle as quick as possible. Which is possible with some of the PSI, like 4th-D slip is a lifesaver, and PK Beam Gamma is such a cheap way to beat enemies. Still, people hate the combat way more than they should, it's still fun even though it feels so stripped back. One thing I can give credit to Earthbound Beginnings is that it's very open, there is no order to most of the story events, so even in my playthrough, I missed plenty of stuff that was possible.
My favorite part of this game is the setting, it's very strange to just go through regular day America. All the NPCs and enemies are just styled in a very funny absurd way. Fighting explosive trees and talking to the forgotten man in Magicant are still some of the most strange and fun moments in the entire Mother trilogy. Even though the dialog is a little dry, it still has so much charm.
The story and message fits so much in line with the other Mother games, but that does not make it the same as Earthbound. This game is very much a different experience than Earthbound. Even though Ninten looks like Ness, and Ana looks like Paula, and Lloyd looks like Jeff. Earthbound Beginnings may seem like a barebones Earthbound, but it is very different in story. Also saying the music in this game lives up to the standards of Earthbound, and Mother 3.
Overall, I could only recommend this game, if you loved Earthbound and Mother 3 to the point where you're willing to go through the slog to find the same charm that Itoi brought to this series.