I would pay any amount of money to see a kid in the 90’s experience Giygas for the first time
Earthbound is a game I’ve tried and failed to play for almost a decade at this point, but I finally sat my ass down and really enjoyed myself. It’s insane that this game came out when it did, because so much of its identity translates perfectly to the gaming scene of today. After playing so many games inspired by what Earthbound does, it’s really endearing to go back to the source and see why it’s such a cultural touchstone for the indie community. The world and characters are really charming, and despite the sometimes clunky and old nature of the combat, I think it holds up really well.
I was actually kind of surprised by the combat, as I always thought it was pretty basic JRPG fare. While that’s true near the start, the game quickly evolves little by little and becomes a fun combat loop. Each character has a unique role, and minor conveniences like auto battle and instant killing weaker enemies makes fights much less tedious, something JRPGs still struggle with today.
In terms of criticisms, I still don’t like how limited the inventory is, even though that becomes much less of a problem in the later game. I wish Escargot express was more accessible and less tedious to use, but it is what it is. Also, it feels easy to get lost in some parts of the game where directions are ambiguous and solutions to puzzles aren’t implemented as well as they should be, but it’s not terrible at all.
Really happy I finally saw this one through, looking forward to playing Mother 3
Earthbound is a game I’ve tried and failed to play for almost a decade at this point, but I finally sat my ass down and really enjoyed myself. It’s insane that this game came out when it did, because so much of its identity translates perfectly to the gaming scene of today. After playing so many games inspired by what Earthbound does, it’s really endearing to go back to the source and see why it’s such a cultural touchstone for the indie community. The world and characters are really charming, and despite the sometimes clunky and old nature of the combat, I think it holds up really well.
I was actually kind of surprised by the combat, as I always thought it was pretty basic JRPG fare. While that’s true near the start, the game quickly evolves little by little and becomes a fun combat loop. Each character has a unique role, and minor conveniences like auto battle and instant killing weaker enemies makes fights much less tedious, something JRPGs still struggle with today.
In terms of criticisms, I still don’t like how limited the inventory is, even though that becomes much less of a problem in the later game. I wish Escargot express was more accessible and less tedious to use, but it is what it is. Also, it feels easy to get lost in some parts of the game where directions are ambiguous and solutions to puzzles aren’t implemented as well as they should be, but it’s not terrible at all.
Really happy I finally saw this one through, looking forward to playing Mother 3