Okay, I’m gonna ditch the modern day game Reviews for a bit and start doin’ the classics. (I have a SNES and a NES! Woohoo!) As usual, these game Reviews will be on a 1-5 star scale, and SOMETIMES I might give it a 6-star rating, but that’s if it completely knocks my socks off.
Earthbound is an RPG released sometime in June, 1995. It’s rated K-A (Kids through Adults), which is technically an E rating. They do, however, say the C-word a couple of times throught the game, but very rarely. If you didn’t know, it stars Ness, who most of you will know from Super Smash Bros. Anyway, on with the Review!
Story: ****
The story is funny, stupid, and serious all at the same time if you ask me. It begins one night in the small town of Onett. A young boy named Ness is sleeping when he hears a crash. A meteor has crashed on the mountains above his house! Ness goes up to investigate, ignoring his fat bully neighbor and the stupid poliece. When he gets there, a small buzzing noise is heard and a bee comes out of the meteor! It’s the alien Buzz Buzz who comes from 10 years in the future, bringing news that an evil alien leader named Giygas will destroy the world! He also tells Ness that he is a hero who has been chosen to save the world along with three other kids: a girl named Paula, a genius named Jeff, and Prince Poo (don’t ask) of the floating isle of Dalaam. Ness needs to use a device called a Sound Stone to record eight mystic melodies from places called “Your Sanctuaries” so he can play a tune to multiply his strength several times, allowing him to take on Giygas. And so begins The War Against Giygas… Nice plot. Funny too, although it tends to get a little serious near the end. What I like is how you can name Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo, Ness’ pet dog, Ness’ favorite food, and Ness’ favorite thing (you get a special attack named after it)!
Theme: *****
I haven’t done this rating in any of my previous Reviews, have I? Well, this game is so original I just had to put this rating here. Instead of taking place in the midieval times like every other RPG out there, this game takes place during the 1990s! That’s right! No swords, no dragons, no wizards! Instead you have stuff like ATMs, elevators, and malls! When you defeat enemies, you only get experience. The money the enemies would give is actually given to you as an allowance which you can withdraw from ATMs, which are located in almost every town. Instead of blacksmiths and temples, you have convenience stores, hospitals, and restaurants. Ness and co. use stuff like baseball bats, frying pans, and yo-yos. (Okay, so Poo uses the game’s only sword. It’s hard to find, so it doesn’t count.) You recover your HP (health points) using a variety of foods such as hamburgers, fruit, bread, cookies, juices, and other stuff. You can even use condiments on food to increase the healing powers! And instead of magic, you have Psi, or psychic powers. (But why does Ness use PK in Super Smash Bros.?!)
A Note From Lemmy: I'm told that the moves were called PK instead of Psi in the Japanese versions of the game. However, this does not explain why, in SSB, Ness had moves such as Psi Fire. In Earthbound, Paula has that move!
Graphics: ***
Why does everyone hate these graphics?
They're colorful, smooth, and pretty. Well, considering the SNES could
do 3D stuff (but most of the time it was pulled off very poorly) and this
game is completely 2D, I guess these graphics are a little poor. I think
they fit the game though. The battle backgrounds might make you a little
dizzy though.
Music: ****
I can see why Lemmy likes this tunes so dang much. It’s nice, calm, jazzy and even a bit sad at times. It’s sort of a jazz/rock/blues mix. Every town has its own theme song and there are tons of battle themes depending on the kind of enemies you are fighting. It even sounds like it’s being preformed by real instruments. It’s not at a Dinosaur Planet quailty, but the music in Dalaam comes very close. ^_^
Sound: ***
Your regular blips, beeps, and bloops that set the standard for SNES games. Although I do like the Psi sound effects.
Gameplay: Broken down, like usual.
Field Mode: ****
I kind of expect an RPG to have a good field mode as you’ll be in it so often. This is a typical RPG field mode, with some slight differences. The battles are not random, meaning you won’t be just walking along then suddenly you’re in a battle with stupid, annoying monsters. No, instead, you can see the bad guys walking around. When you make contact with a bad guy, a battle will begin. If you touch an enemy from the front or sides, you’ll start the battle normally. If you touch the bad guy from the back, you get to attack twice in your first battle round as a surprise attack! Be warned, if an enemy touches your back, the entire enemy party gets to attack before you go! Another nice touch is that once you’ve beaten an area’s boss, the baddies in the area will be scared of you and try to run away from you, often exposing their backs. If you touch ‘em when they’re like this, you could win automatically! This is great when you want to level up but don’t have the time to battle every single baddie you find along the way.
Battle Mode: ***
When you go into battle mode, you’ll face off against 1-6 enemies. When in battle, you have a couple of options: Bash, Psi, Items, Auto Battle, and Special. Bash simply attacks with the equiped weapon, Psi allows you to use a magic attack (these use PP or Psi Points) as long as you’re not Jeff, and Items lets you use a healing item or some other kind of battle aid in your character’s inventory. Auto Battle lets the characters be controlled by the computer and Special is a character’s exclusive move which can do a lot of different things. Ness’s special is Run, which allows the party to escape the battle (it doesn’t always work though). Paula can use Pray, which is somewhat like Paper Mario’s Mystery? item, Jeff can use Spy, which shows the target’s stats, and Poo can use Morph, which allows him to assume the form of an enemy. (I haven’t got it to work yet though. -_- )
Length: *****
This is a very long game. I got it last December and I beat it in Febuary. Although you tend to spend less time in towns after you get past Fourside, it’s still a really long game. The Santuaries are just the right amount of space apart. Well, except for maybe Magnet Hill and Pink Cloud, but I’m not taking points off for just those two. Also, the towns are very large. You do get a map though.
Humor: *****
This is where the game really shines. It’s got loads of funny stuff you’ll just break down laughing at. Here’s some funny parts of dialogue I’ve taken from the game:
“You encounter the New Age Retro Hippie.”
“This is it! This is what we’ve been waiting for! It’s finally coming out! (Fart)”
“There’s a monster up on giant’s step. I wonder if it’s stronger than my wife…”
“Preeet! Pooot!”
“Jeff wets the bed sometimes, but he’s a nice boy.”
“All the info is there, except for the info that isn’t there.”
“Let’s get it on, Spanky!”
Overall: *****
Best game ever, in my opinion. I’d give it a 6, but no game is perfect. You might be put off by the simplistic graphics, but I actually like them. This game is like Final Fantasy… only better. And if you don’t like it, I’ll eat my 4-foot long sword! Now if only they’d make a sequel…
THE GOOD
+ Funny!
+ Very original for an RPG.
+ Finally, some videogame characters
I can relate to!
+ You’ll never guess what game they’re
remaking for GBA.
THE BAD
- Release the sequel already!
- Needs a better inventory system.
- I’d kinda like more references to
your favorite food and favorite thing.
- There are some hard parts that are
nearly impossible the first time through the game.
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