About the Game: Earthbound is an RPG for Super Nintendo and came out, I believe, in 1995. It is the sequel of Earthbound Zero, a game for Nintendo that was translated into English but never officially released. There were plans for a third installment to the series, Earthbound 64, but the plans fell through. In Japan the first two games were called Mother and Mother Two. Earthbound Zero isn't an official name, but since we named the sequel before the prequel, it kind of got weird.
Earthbound stars a boy named Ness (I'm not sure if he's the star of Earthbound Zero), and the game is immediately discernable from other RPGs in that the game takes place in the present. No knights, no dragons, no swords... well, ok, one sword. Instead, there are escalators, phones, and ATMs, and you get healed in hospitals... although there are also mysterious healers. The items are well-themed considering that the main characters are kids. They equip baseball bats and hats, slingshots, and boomerangs, and recover their HP through a wide variety of foodstuffs, the tastier the better.
The game starts when a meteorite falls in Ness's backyard. Ness goes to check it out (encountering the stupid police, one of the game's political jokes), and eventually finds out that there is an alien plot afoot. In ten years, the evil Giygas will destroy the world, but BuzzBuzz, who is NOT a bee, comes back in time to warn Ness. However, Ness and BuzzBuzz soon encounter Starman Jr., who is a flunky of Giygas, not an invincible item. BuzzBuzz is able to destroy Starman Jr., but is soon swatted by an insanely annoying human. Ness starts his adventure with a cracked bat, a baseball cap, a few dollars, and the Sound Stone BuzzBuzz gave him in his humorous death scene. Can he save the world?
Important Characters:
Ness: You start the game as Ness, and he'll be around throughout. He never talks, but is obviously a simple baseball-loving kid who suddenly has to save the world. His HP and PP (Psi Power, this game's magic) are both strong, especially after- whoops, no telling.
Paula: She's the first friend to join Ness for good. Her Psi Powers are very strong, though she is physically weak. She is very mature for her age and helps out at a daycare when she's not out saving the world from evil aliens.
Jeff: He's a genius, and the second to join Ness. He may be weak, and he can't use any Psi at all, but he can fix any broken item, which may cause him to end up being very strong. His dad, Dr. Andonuts, abandoned him at a boarding school.
Poo: He has a stupid name, but he's so strong he makes up for it. The prince of Dalaam is the last to join Ness, although he also leaves for a short excursion soon thereafter. He's the one who uses a sword, if you luck into finding it. The items that Ness and Friends use actually reduce his abilities. He is trained in the ancient arts of the Moo. Yeah...
Dad: You never get to see Ness's dad, but you can call him up on the black telephones, or the green payphones for one dollar. When you call him he'll save your game and tell you how many points everyone needs in order to level up. He also gives you money based on the enemies you beat. Man, I wish Bowser would give me that much money! Sometimes, if you're playing for a long time, he'll somehow call you and suggest that you take a break. I say somehow, because you don't have a phone on you. Well, that might change...
Mom: She's not all that important, but since I listed Dad... Ness's mom stays at home, and if you come for a visit she'll make you your favorite food and you'll be all healed up, which is nice because healing usually costs money. Ness's mom won't let him leave the house until he changes out of his pajamas.
Tracy: Ness has a sister too and she'll store items for Ness and his friends, which is nice because you can't carry much at a time but there are lots of useful items. If you can reach a phone you can call her and ask to ship over or pick up some of your items... but there is a shipping charge.
King: Ness's dog is not important, but you do get to name him along with the four party members.
BuzzBuzz: He looks like a bee, but says he's not. He comes from ten years in the future and gets Ness started on his quest. Then he gets himself killed.
Apple Kid and Orange Kid: Both of these inventors will ask you to finance their projects, one will also ask for something to eat. One of them, if you agree, will spend the rest of the game making useful inventions that you need. The other will spend the game trying and failing to figure out how to change scrambled eggs back into regular ones. Which is which? Sorry, you'll have to play and figure it out.
Mr. Saturn: He plays an important role, but who am I referring to? It's hard to say, because everyone in Saturn Village is named Mr. Saturn. Their words are shown in a really odd font, and they speak really weird. My favorite quote: "May I sell at you BOING?"
Pokey: This is the annoying, stupid, idiotic, selfish, snobbish pig who lives next door to Ness. He's not a walking cactus, he's a waddling, incredibly fat kid. He thinks he's great and has an incredibly annoying knock, after which he tends to let himself in... unfortunately, his little brother Picky picks up that habit. How does he factor into the game? Sorry, not telling. His parents, though usually not his brother, are nearly as annoying as he is, and his mom killed poor Buzzy.
ManiMani: This isn't really a character, it's a statue, but there is something really odd about it...
Giygas: Is it an alien, or just pure evil? Even if I wanted to tell you I couldn't, because I'm just not sure. Giygas is trying to destroy the world, and he will do so if four kids don't manage to stop him!
The Camera Guy: Sorry, I just had to vent at him. You'll be wandering around in the game, minding your own business (sort of), and when you chance to step on one of the many hot spots in the game you'll be forced to stop as The Camera Guy spirals down from the sky amidst his own theme music. He'll instruct you to say "Fuzzy Pickles", Ness will give the peace sign (a young Mario?), and The Camera Guy will snap a picture. He'll then spiral back up into the air and you will be allowed to go on your way. I bet The Camera Guy is the real cause of all the trouble.
How the Game Works: As Ness, and later as Ness and Friends, you must travel around throughout the towns of Eagleland, investigating the many oddities, which occur more frequently and become odder and odder as the game progresses. Ultimately you are looking for eight places called "Your Sanctuaries", referring to Ness. If Ness can reach the special spots he can realize a piece of a special melody, and once he realizes all eight pieces of the melody a transformation will take place which will ultimately allow him to take on Giygas. Your Sanctuaries are few and far between, however, so Ness will have plenty to do. He'll also have to be awfully strong to beat the boss that guards each one...
Now that I've told you all this background, let's get to the Reviews already! In case you forgot by now, I'm grading on a scale of 7.
Graphics: 2
Nintendo never originally intended to release this game in America, but decided to after booming Japanese sales. However, the game never sold well in the states because of the game's poor graphics. Unlike other games of its time, Earthbound's graphics still look primitive, almost like a regular Nintendo game. There is no attempt to make anything look 3D, and the biggest problem of all is that the battles are not animated; you just get a picture of the enemy/enemies on the screen, and they flash a bit when they attack or take damage. In addition, I was surprised to see some slowdown in the game, especially when you're moving around with all four of your party members onscreen. Nintendo is usually good about avoiding that problem. For these reasons, I am obliged to give this game a low score in this category. However, I would like to stress that if you can ignore the graphics for long enough to, say, make it past Starman Jr. (should only take a few minutes), you could well be hooked. The graphics are good enough so you can tell what's what, and don't take away from the gaming experience. They just don't add anything.
Sound: 7
I am really into good video game music, and I was impressed with this game. It has a vast number of musical themes, even several battle themes depending on the type/seriousness of the battle. The music is always well-themed for the location or situation. Giygas's theme is annoying, but makes sense. Very well done.
Control: 5
I don't quite remember what each button does, but it was one function per button, easy to use, easy to learn. I took off points because Ness can't run, which is annoying when I am really interested in getting something done. Ness can't jump either (literally, I'm not making fun of him this time), so he must have practiced between Earthbound and Super Smash Bros... though in that game he can't jump either, and this time I am making fun of how bad it is.
Characters: 5
This game is full of many, many characters. Many of them are crazy, some are funny and pointless, a few actually are serious or have something useful to tell you, but only four of them actually join your party. I took off points because the party is so small and, unlike in most other RPGs, there is never any choice as to who is in your party. No switching members in and out, you use all the members you have, between one and four. Some more party members would have been nice, considering how long the game is.
Length: 7
Speaking of the length, this game is huge. It took me a week's worth of seriously heavy playing in order to beat the thing. I'm not sure how many hours I played exactly, but it was a really long time, and I would probably have been much better off playing less each day over the course of two or three weeks. But the game was so good, I couldn't stop until I absolutely had to.
Terrain: 7
The game transcends all kinds of places. The only "normal" environment I can think of that Ness doesn't visit is an underwater area, but then again the kid can't swim either (so far, he can't run, jump, or swim, but he can think really hard). In addition to the many varied normal areas, there are also some crazy, ridiculous, completely original areas, which you probably can't imagine but the guys at Nintendo did. And yet, once the story's bits and pieces are put together, even the weird areas make sense, at least in terms of why they are there.
Field Mode: 7
There's lots of stuff to do in Field Mode. The characters wandering around are riots, so be sure to talk to them all. You'll want to go out of your way because there are lots of Gift Boxes with nice items in them just sitting around... hey, finders keepers! And of course, you need to piece together what the bleep is going on so you can work on finding a solution. The fact that Ness can't run is annoying, but I took points off for that under control, and it's not fair to punish the game twice for the same mistake.
Field Mode also runs into Battle Mode, because you can see the enemies onscreen. If you bump into one you'll battle, after some time is given for other nearby baddies to join in... up to six baddies can fight you at once. Most of the time you and the baddies will attack first based on speed, but if you touch the lead baddie in the back then your entire party gets a free first round. However, if a baddie gets you in the back, the entire enemy party gets a free first round. Onscreen enemies only move when you do, so you can stare them down and decide whether you want to challenge them. If you turn around and walk away, though, they may chase, and since they're usually faster than Ness (he can't run!) and his back is turned to them, that's usually dangerous.
One nice feature is that you can automatically win a battle in Field Mode. First off, when you beat a boss, baddies in the area will start to run from you, exposing their back. If you get a first strike on them, and if your level is high enough for that area, you will instantly win and earn points. Makes earning level ups just that much easier and less annoying.
Battle Mode: 7
The number one best thing about Battle Mode is the enemies, which I'm holding separate from just characters. The enemies are crazy, and are divided up into several groups, namely:
-Animals: Especially early in the game, you'll find yourself up against many enraged animals. If you have a problem with hurting them, sorry, this game is not for you. You have to tame them.
-Vegetables and other Immoble Objects: Well, they're supposed to be immobile anyway, but they're so mad that they won't let that little problem stand in their way. You need to make them stop moving.
-People: Some people who are under the influence, not of alcohol but of the evil being spread (except for Drunken Party Guy, maybe), will fight you as well. Don't worry, you don't actually kill them, you just make them turn back to normal. In an M rated version of this game, you then get to kill them : )
-Dead Things: What RPG would be complete without some already dead enemies? They're still weird though, like the stinky ghost in the garbage can. Ugh! Make them turn back to dust.
-Robots and Aliens: As you progress further into the game you will start to see more and more of the aliens' handiwork, and then eventually the aliens themselves. Scrap the robots, and make the aliens disappear!
-Other: And some things just can't be put into any category, especially the things in some of those crazy areas I mentioned. Laugh at them, but then be sure to take them out.
A major plus to Battle Mode would be to have it animated and more visually exciting, but I can't take off points for it here because I already took off those point from the graphics section. At least the one, non-moving picture of each baddie is well made, and the backgrounds are also rather... interesting.
Battling is easy. Just pick Fight to use your weapon. Or if you prefer, select a Psi Power to use, if you have enough PP left, and you're not Jeff. You could also choose to use an item, and every character also has one special ability that the others don't. Ness can choose to have the party try to run away, while Paula can Pray... I'm not telling why that might be useful. Jeff can find out the enemy's stats... sorry, I can't remember Poo's, which I liked enough to use once. You can also choose to go on guard, or you can have the game make choices for you as well, if you wish... but why?
You choose an action for each of your party members at the start of the round, then watch as they and the baddies go through their routine. If you're lucky you'll get a SMAAAAASH! hit and cause much more damage than usual, but be prepared to receive them as well. If the battle is still going at the end of the round you will have to input another set of commands. Repeat until you either win, lose, or successfully run away. Easy enough. Though getting the first of those three options might take some doing...
Difficulty: 5
This game is tough! You are really going to have to earn your victories, even if you are well leveled up. Towards the end of the game, it becomes nearly imperative for you to use your Psi Powers even during regular battles, but of course you want to be sure not to run out, and Psi is tough to recover... very limited items for it. If you are not careful, or if you catch a little bad luck, you could end up losing even to a baddie that you could instantly kill if you got a first strike. In particular, watch those baddies that can make you feel strange, i.e., confused. You'll start attacking yourself for just as much damage as the attack would cause the baddies and, if the confused member is Ness, your controls in Field Mode will also be messed up (on purpose). That mushroom on your head may look cool, but it won't transform you into Super Ness, that's for sure. There's also a nasty move which could mean Instant Death or some other nasty status effect to anyone in the party. A joy, really, especially when Giygas uses it.
Items: 7
This game has many, many items. They are all well-suited to the fact that four kids are the heroes. You find/buy many equipable items during the course of the game, and there is a smorgasboard of foodstuffs. One neat feature is condiments, which can improve the taste of food (and, subsequently, their healing power). For example, if you eat a hamburger and are holding a ketchup packet, you will automatically use the ketchup with the burger and recover more HP. Nice touch, although you can also make the food less useful if the condiment doesn't go well with it. I wish I could buy useful items for Poo, and some more items for recovering PP would be nice, but there are too many good items to withhold the perfect score.
Storyline: 7
How did I get this far into the Review without scoring the storyline? Anyway, I've already said a lot about the story, so all I am going to say now is that the story is really excellent and comes together well. There are some lingering questions left over which I can't list because they'll give some other things away, but I believe the original intention was for those questions to be answered in the sequel which, unfortunately, was never completed.
Fun Factor!: 7
I hinted at this before when I said I couldn't stop playing unless I had to. It gets annoying when you keeping dieing, in which case you lose half the money you were holding and have to restart at your last save location, plus you'll usually need to pay to have your friends cured at a hospital (Ness gets brought back for free so you can save your other friends). Again, the fact that Ness can't run is a true annoyance. But all things considered, this was incredibly fun to play, largely because the game is just so weird!
Recommendation:
Overall, I find
this to be a truly excellent game. Despite the game's poor visual effects,
any fan of RPGs should have this game in their collection. If you have
a good sense of humor, you also must get this game. Unfortunately, this
game is hard to find and, I'm told, many copies have little glitches, especially
with the music. I can't vouch for that as my copy seems just fine... though
I guess the glitches could, technically, have chanced to improve the music.
In short, I strongly recommend this game if you have the time to spare,
thirty or fourty bucks (I'm guessing, and forgot what I paid), and the
urge to play a really good game. I doubt you'll regret getting this game.