For many fans of the Smash Bros. series, you may be wondering who exactly is Ness and where did he come from? To enlighten those who may not know, I am here to tell you that Ness is from an awesome game that many may have overlooked growing up. Now, myself, growing up in the late 80′s, early 90′s I am proud to say that I was able to see video games in their golden age. Who could forget timeless hits such as Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Secret of Mana and most importantly Earthbound? For many who grew up in this era, Earthbound, a sequel to the Japanese game MOTHER, was an SNES title that has very often been overlooked. Unfortunately, due to many copyright laws it cannot be ported to the Wii Virtual Console in the U.S., which is extremely unfortunate, but what exactly made this game so great?
Story wise, Earthbound is more or less a remake of the original game. It starts off with a boy named Ness from the seemingly average town of Onett. One night a huge meteor crashes near the town and then strange occurrences begin to take place. Ness is visited by a being from the future that informs him that only he can save the people of Earth from the ominous future from which he came. The game’s main antagonist is Giygas from the first Japanese game who is, again, trying to destroy and take over the world; except this time around his mind is now warped due to the tremendous power that he inherited. It is up to Ness to save the world from the horrible power of Giygas. The storyline is very intricate and doesn’t leave the player feeling bored. It is basic, yes, however it is very unique in it’s own way.
The graphics in this game are very good for the time. Much detail went into the unique style that this game has. It makes great use of color and not one part of this game looks dull, boring or lacking of anything.
The controls in this game are stellar. Everything is conveniently located on the SNES controller and seems to fit just right. No complaints from me in this department.
The game-play department is where I believe the game shines the most. Right from the start, you become hooked. The game-play itself is very similar to Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. You move around on a world screen and in towns which has a very Zelda-eque feeling to it. Enemies are random, except in this game you can either run into battles freely or run away from them on the map screen. If an enemy touches you on the map screen from behind, you take damage in the beginning of the match. If, however, you sneak up behind the enemy and touch them, you automatically get a first strike. The battles are done in first person and you are given many options very similar to ones found in other RPGs such as the Final Fantasy series. However, unlike the Final Fantasy series which gives you weapons such as swords, maces and other objects, in this game you attack with baseball bats, fans and other household items. As you progress in experience, you get stronger attacks, spells, and other unique abilities, some of which include intelligence, which, if you can get it high enough, some characters, such as Jeff, can build inventions as such a bottle rocket launcher.
It has often been said by programmers of the game, that the music alone is what took so long for the game to be developed due to the limitations of the SNES cartridges. Each track is unique and fits many parts of the game exceedingly well.
The replay value of this game is pretty moderate. This is a game that you buy and finish, but for some reason it leaves a lasting effect. It could be because the characters are very easy to relate to, or the fact that the true meaning of the story is touching. Whatever the case, this game isn’t necessarily boring if you’re willing to give it a second or third try.
Overall, I believe that Earthbound is a game that is highly underrated. What many may also not know is that this game is a sequel to the Japanese only Famicom game MOTHER. There is also a Mother 3 which makes several references to Earthbound. In Japan, these games were huge hits but I think the main reason that this game failed to do well commercially in the United States was that it just wasn’t released at a proper time. Nintendo spent lots of money trying to promote this game; even including a free players guide with every copy which included a scratch and sniff card to be used for different parts of the game. At the time of this game’s release, I remember many of my friends were more interested in Super Mario games and other games that were a bit more simplistic rather than RPGs. It’s unfortunate that this game will never again see a stateside release. The game, unfortunately, is now exceedingly rare and some copies can sell for hundreds but I assure you, it is worth the buy if you can find it. You know a game is huge when, even years after its initial release, it has a website that still goes strong, even to this day, promoting anything about the Earthbound series. It even includes a petition to Nintendo to remake the game so that it can be released stateside. www.starmen.net
Pros
Stellar Game Play
Intricate Story Line
Awesome Controls
Moderate Replay Value
Cons
Can sometimes be vague in explaining what to do
Some enemies are much too strong
Can have some “Level Grinding” which gets annoying
Won’t be re-released for Wii Virtual Console, and signs don’t look well for the other games either
Overall Score: 9/10
Recommendation: Buy It!
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