Many people like Earthbound, but I still don’ t understand what’ s so good about it. With this I’ m not saying that Earthbound sucks, maybe it’ s just me. Well, in my first battle I saw just a snake on some psycho-looking background, I attacked and I saw nothing at all, no weapons (if they can be called such), no characters, no effects. Not to say that I had to turn off the music because it was repetitive (at least in that stage). Now, I’ m asking this here hoping to find some Earthbound player and/or lover to tell me something that may make me give it a chance. Many people on the net like this game and in this forum even ranks are based on Earthbound so I decided to see what’ s so cool about it. On a side note, I’ d like, playing Earthbound, to understand what the ranks mean, but I haven’ t been brave enough to play. At least not up till now…
It’s funny
You mean humorous? Is it worth playing because of that? Thanks for the reply.
I played it once when it first came out. It was different. That is what was so speacial about it. A break from the normal fantasy/sci-fi story setting, and into a modern-like world.
Anyways, I gave it up after about 2 days. I think it is more of an aquired taste.
You’re complaining because you can’t see your characters/attacks during battle? Have you ever played Dragon Quest? It’s the same thing. Earthbound is a Dragon Quest clone. If you don’t like Dragon Quest, you’re probably not going to like Earthbound. I personally like Earthbound for the challenge, and also because too many RPGs take themselves too seriously, Earthbound is more than willing to poke fun at itself and others. I also simply like the Dragon Quest battle system, and Earthbound has it down pretty well. It’s definitely harder than many other games of its time, though. You’ll have to spend plenty of time levelling. If you don’t have the original cartridge, get familiar with your frame skip button.
(I’m hoping you were expecting a reply from me, since my name/avatar comes from Earthbound. :P)
I liked Dragon Quest because it was set in the usual fantasy setting. Earthbound is a modern setting.
Yes, it was REALLY hard. I do not think I made it past that mall.
If Earthbound came out in today’s market, it might have done better, with all of this retro stuff going on.
Yes, but not only that.
I seem to remember some kind of Scratch and Sniff ads for Earthbound in gaming magazines. Thats about the only thing about Earthbound that stuck with me as I didn’t really enjoy the game all that much.
Yeah i think Earthbound is something of an aquired taste since I feel the same way: don’t love it, but don’t hate it either. I hate doing massive amounts of leveling up though, but i have done that in earthbound since i got stuck in threed having to level up 10 levels. I had forgotten to get the last your sanctary around twoson, the one with the mole. Now i’m stuck in the underworld having to level up again some so the dinosaurs don’t kill me off grr. I’ve also had to do lots of leveling in 7th saga(x_x it’s nuts), i’ve gotten half of the runes by now, i think.
What’s up with earthbound’s walkthrough being under construction here at rpgc?
7th Saga had one of the worst level grind requirements evar heh
This is the first time I have ever heard of anyone having to “level” in Earthbound. And that’s one of the reasons I like it, because I don’t have to level to beat some common-folk enemy, or even a boss.
To answer your question about the ranks, they’re just various enemies in the game. Lower ranks are weaker, higher ranks are stronger. Blah blah blah.
Uh, yes you do. Even the first boss, in the arcade, will whoop your ass pretty hard if you don’t level. You don’t have to sit there running in circles for hours on some sort of overworld, but you definately need to clear out the arcade once or twice, at the very least.
EB really is an acquired taste though.
Yes, but not only that.[/QUOTE]
Sorry, I just re-read that, and I sounded like kind of a dick. I wasn’t trying to. Just trying to point out any similarities between EB and DQ. I’m really not trying to be a dick, honest. 
Yeah, Earthbound is hit-or-miss. Either you like it, or you don’t. Being one of those who like it myself, I can’t think of any particular reason why I’d like it any more than any other game of that era, as it doesn’t really stand out. I think it’s just that it was a new RPG available at the time, and there weren’t too many of those.
Uhh… no comment… >_>
(I think I actually am going to finish it up, after I finish the <A HREF=“http://tartarus.rpgclassics.com/staff/ys6/”>Ys 6 shrine</A>…)
Well yeah, you have to clear out the arcade once. Just like you have to clear out any other dungeon you go to. That doesn’t count as leveling though, that counts as playing the fucking game.
Perhaps I should clarify my definition of leveling: To go out of one’s way to fight random (or not random) battles for the sake of gaining more levels. Battles fought during normal gameplay are excluded, since you’re supposed to fight every so often anyway.
People like Earthbound because it’s different. It has a modern setting with modern enemies. It is quite funny, and even though the battle music may seen repetitive there are so many that you don’t get annoyed with them.
Earthbound’s appeal mostly lies in its completely absurdist setting, and the way it has of presenting that setting with a totally straight face. It combines modern symbols like pizza parlours, department stores, middle-class housing developments, baseball bats, and ATM machines with completely ridiculous shit like zombies, space aliens, talking piles of slime, time machines, and so forth. None of these things is funny in and of itself (although the modern scenery is pretty rare in RPGs), but the juxtaposition is hilarious. Some details in the game just don’t make any fucking sense at all, but the game just keeps adding them on anyway, like how the desert contains two lovesick sesame seeds, and the game just gives them dialogue and lets you interact with them as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Or, for instance, there’s that diary you can read in that ramshackle house that you can buy in Onett. When you start reading it, it’s bizarre but not really funny; but then, instead of being a short one-line little detail, it just keeps going on and on and on, and it’s so fucked up that it somehow becomes hysterical.
Earthbound Zero’s better. It’s probably not quite as “out there” as its sequel, or even as technically “good”, but Earthbound loses all its original points, since they were all (mostly) present in its prequel first.
And of course Earthbound’s going to be hard if you avoid the battles. Sheesh. =P
Where else in the RPG universe can you bash on a New Age Retro Hippie?
Okay, it’ s an unusual game. Since I almost haven’ t played it at all, are there any gameplay features that can keep you playing? Or, does the strange “storyline” keep you interested?
In RPGs I care about:
- Battle system (I want lots of options and stuff like that)
- Chatacter development (skills etc.)
- Storyline
- Soundtrack
- Length
- Freedom to travel
- Graphics* (I’ m not a graphics freak but, hey, I’ d like my eyes not to cry while playing if possible)
Does earthbound have any of these at a good level? (*graphics: for SNES standards of course) Am I likely to enjoy it? And yes, not seeing my characters in battle pisses me off. A lot.
I’d say out of that list, it has a really cool sound track (the final boss music was the best I’ve heard in any video game), it’s average lenght, and later in the game there you get that “freedom to travel”.
It’s a pretty simple game, with a goofy sence of humor (without being overboard Japanese).