Last Update: 2/21/07

Earthbound

Nintendo Power said,
A meteorite crashes near the peaceful town of Onett, and a young boy's life is changed forever in Nintendo's role playing game, Earthbound. Earthbound is different, though, than the average sword-wielding RPG. In what other game can you defeat enemies with a frying pan, call a pizza-delivery man, or ask your dad for money? Need to get some cash? Just jog on down to the local ATM and withdraw some money for that great Yo-yo you saw at the drugstore. Similar to other RPG's like Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, Earthbound uses a party-based fighting format, and you pick up new members as you explore both your world and others. Earthbound is irreverent, a little silly, and a must have for RPG fans.

Additional Game Features:
  • Gameplay employs many traditional elements such as buying equipment, recharging energy, interrogating NPC's, but while taking the player away from the traditional dungeons to a more contemporary era, full of wit and humor aimed at modern life and pop icons.
  • Gearing up in modern towns means that you'll more likely find baseball bats, yo-yo's and frying pans than swords! A wide variety of weapons are available in the course of the game.
  • Form parties to explore and battle.
  • Battles aren't random, as most enemies are visible.
  • Persistent onscreen analogue HP and PP meters assign losses gradually in real time, enabling the player added opportunity to heal or complete a battle.
  • Graphically simplistic, but rich in humor and imagination.

Developer: Ape, Inc. and HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
Producer: Shigesato Itoi
Written By: Shigesato Itoi
Game Designer: Akihiko Miura
Art Director: Kouichi Ooyama
U.S. Conversion Director: Kouichi Ooyama

Released in Japan August 27, 1994 for SNES as "Mother 2: Revenge of Gigyas!", and subsequently as a GBA port in June 20, 2003, also only in Japan. EarthBound was introduced to the U.S. on June 1, 1995 as a stand-alone game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In Japan, however, its title refers to the fact that it's a sequel to the NES/Famicom rpg "Mother".

It's worth stating that this game has cultivated such fan devotion that there are numerous sites and communities rife with information and trivia regarding Earthbound, so that one can only scratch the surface of available information here!
Platform(s):    
Publisher: Nintendo
Charles Jackson
Charles Jackson
+3 1169687693
Permalink
Overall Rating: exceptional

Bottom Line: Play it!
Earthbound is easily one of the most wonderful games ever created! The game takes all the old RPG elements - leveling up, turn-based battles, equipment and magical abilities - and turns them into a unique adventure all its own:
[ul]
  • Battles are initiated by running into enemies on the screen. If hitting an enemy head-to-head, the battle begins normally. However, as explained (words are quotes a bit incorrectly as this game is over 10 years old!), "If you catch an enemy from behind, the screen... err, the world turns green and you get to strike first. Look out though, if the enemy catches you from behind, the screen... I mean the world goes red, and they get the first strike!"
  • Enemies aren't giant bats or knights or mages (at least not all of them...); common enemies are hippies, gangs, weird objects and crazed dogs. What do you fight them with? Baseball bats! Where does your money come from? An ATM that your dad sends money to when you kill enemies!
  • At the beginning of the game, you get to name your characters (not much new there), but you also name your favorite food. Why? It's one of your Psi powers - like magic, but cooler!
    • Even the intro to this game is classic spoilers!- a meteorite lands in town, and once the cops leave, you find a tiny pseudo-bee from the future that tells you starmen are coming to conquer! On your way back home from the meteorite, the bee manages to help you defeat this horrid, super-powered Starman, but the bee is easily defeated by a swat from your mother...

    Just like a great humor movie (think Airplane!), each play through unveils something new - for example, the first few towns are all named after numbers: ONEtt, TWOson, THREEd... Major secrets are also hidden, such as the super-powerful item the Hydras hide later in the game, which is reminiscent of the original Final Fantasy, with the one in over 65,000 chance of finding it, and even then only after fighting an ultra-hard enemy that's near impossible to find.

    Come on, just play the game! It's an amazing adventure that any RPG or humor lover can't avoid playing.
    Learning Curve: Takes a second
    Gameplay: Graphics: Replay Value: Fun Factor:

    Was this review helpful?
    View other reviews for this game