Earthbound has a legacy that looms large. It made me put off playing it for quite some time. Now that I've found the time to finish it, it's an experience that feels greater than the sum of its parts.
Earthbound's script, atmosphere, and general tone feels ahead of its time. Playing through it, I felt like I was witnessing the genesis of inspiration for a large swath of indie games. And these aspects completely held up for me! Earthbound's vision of American suburbia and society is charming and quirky from its rendering of the enemies you fight to the character's you interact with. It tells a story of the power of friendship and community that does resonate.
At the same time, I was surprised to find the JRPG combat felt plodding and not as thoughtful by comparison. The battle system provides plenty of options for strategy, but they feel like they are only truly needed in tricky boss encounters and at the beginning of the game when you have less party members. Those types of encounters remained interesting and tense! However, at a certain point, the most efficient way to get through any battle is to just mash the attack button. This loss of strategy combined with a high encounter rate pads out the game and makes fighting not very interesting. It was a struggle to get through the last sections of the game for this reason. I thought I'd be able to recommend Earthbound as a good first JRPG, but I feel that it's combat system is not a great representation of what the genre is capable of. It can be simple to the point of tedium.
This sore spot still pales in comparison to all Earthbound has to offer. I adore the way the game uses friction to immerse you in its world. You will need to use ATM's to continuously withdraw and deposit money for shops, call your dad to save your game, and manually buy items and physically hand them to NPC's that need them to name a few interactions that give Earthbound a sense of place. A great example of friction positively impacting a game space.
And the final boss battle is jaw dropping. It's a showpiece of nightmarish imagery that culminates with an unexpected vision of solidarity in the face of ultimate evil. I cried. Worth a play!
Favorite Tracks:
Your Name Please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qKE0GKtPHs&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=6
Home Sweet Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8HLmavya0M&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=17
Otherwordly Foe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSkwblpGnAI&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=13
Pokey Means Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMCXMg8p9sc
Smiles and Tears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQVOb1b7iOc&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=116
Earthbound's script, atmosphere, and general tone feels ahead of its time. Playing through it, I felt like I was witnessing the genesis of inspiration for a large swath of indie games. And these aspects completely held up for me! Earthbound's vision of American suburbia and society is charming and quirky from its rendering of the enemies you fight to the character's you interact with. It tells a story of the power of friendship and community that does resonate.
At the same time, I was surprised to find the JRPG combat felt plodding and not as thoughtful by comparison. The battle system provides plenty of options for strategy, but they feel like they are only truly needed in tricky boss encounters and at the beginning of the game when you have less party members. Those types of encounters remained interesting and tense! However, at a certain point, the most efficient way to get through any battle is to just mash the attack button. This loss of strategy combined with a high encounter rate pads out the game and makes fighting not very interesting. It was a struggle to get through the last sections of the game for this reason. I thought I'd be able to recommend Earthbound as a good first JRPG, but I feel that it's combat system is not a great representation of what the genre is capable of. It can be simple to the point of tedium.
This sore spot still pales in comparison to all Earthbound has to offer. I adore the way the game uses friction to immerse you in its world. You will need to use ATM's to continuously withdraw and deposit money for shops, call your dad to save your game, and manually buy items and physically hand them to NPC's that need them to name a few interactions that give Earthbound a sense of place. A great example of friction positively impacting a game space.
And the final boss battle is jaw dropping. It's a showpiece of nightmarish imagery that culminates with an unexpected vision of solidarity in the face of ultimate evil. I cried. Worth a play!
Favorite Tracks:
Your Name Please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qKE0GKtPHs&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=6
Home Sweet Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8HLmavya0M&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=17
Otherwordly Foe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSkwblpGnAI&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=13
Pokey Means Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMCXMg8p9sc
Smiles and Tears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQVOb1b7iOc&list=PL1kU0pk5M3GCwzveqamX71sW3RmCzuXB5&index=116