EarthBound

Yes...I am finally going to post a topic about this. Took me long enough, dontcha think?

I guess I'm finally doing this because at least a few members here have dabbled in it and talked about it with me. So, I'm going to bring it out to the whole community and see if we can't get some good discussion going about it whether you've played it or not, or are just curious about it or whatever. I'll be honest, I love talking about this game with fans and non-fans of it alike.

First, quick background. It came out around the same time as PSIV for SNES. It's an RPG, but broke a LOT of the RPG molds around back then. Some of the stuff it did is still pretty unique. It was also totally overlooked back in the day, but today is in high demand and is often a top download at ROM sites, largely thanks to the extremely popular Smash Bros. games.

Second...well...I'll see where this thread goes and I don't want to spoil much. I just love talking EarthBound!

Very happy to see you start this topic on "Earthbound", Caged Wolf.

I must admit that I have never played, and am not very familiar with this game of "Earthbound", and I think I could honestly say that I have learned everything I do know about it from reading various posts/comments you have done here on the forum. Plus always admiring your wonderful "Earthbound" related avatars, signatures, etc.

So, while my comments may be brief (atleast until I become more familiar with the game), I look forward to some interesting and learning discussion ahead.

Well, discussion of whatever about EarthBound more or less what I want to foster, Silver. There's so much to talk about with it. All things considered, most people who like the PS games would probably like EarthBound. They're 90s era RPGs, only so much variation in that time. Though Earthbound has a way of being so funny and silly for so long that the 180 is pulls on you at the end is totally unexpected...and really incredible. That's probably one of the things I like about it most...how much it truly, genuinely, frightened me at the end.

I'll probably be back to this thread quite a bit as I play through it. I need to stop being lazy and get the ROM first.

I've seen some of the game through video LPs, and I have to say I'm intrigued. I like its mix of silly and classic RPG elements. The parents calling is funny, I think I saw one of the characters "apologize profusely" during battle, and that final boss is pretty darn scary when from what I saw the rest of the game looked pretty cartoony otherwise. I have to give this a try. It's so out of my normal "likes" in RPGs, but the writing made me laugh. That's pretty good considering it's gone through a translation (I guess? Or was this made by a North American company?) and the game is 16 years old.

Nope, it's a Nintendo game, and did go through a translation.

The writing in the game is also gold. Even the game's detractors admit that it has a superb sense of humor and great writing. Another thing I like about it...it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's just a big bundle of doing one thing through most of the game, then doing a 180 on it all at the end.

I was laughing at almost all the NPC chat I saw. That's rare for me. Usually I find the "chat" in RPGs tolerable at best. The random people wandering around are hilarious in this game.

I'll need to follow Tanith and check it out myself. It's been a while since I used a Nintendo emulator. But the game itself sounds good enough.

I love you guys, so indulgent towards me. ^^ And yes, if people do end up playing it, this can be a help thread too.

Oh, yes, the random people are funny in this game. Most everything in this game has a sense of humor about itself. It even directly pokes fun at itself in a few instances. So yes...do try it, Xander. I think you will like it. ^_^

About a year and a half ago CW's talks about Earthbound inspired me to play the game via emulation. It was never released in Australia (what a surprise ). I eventually beat the game and at one stage asked CW for some assistance as I was stuck getting through some valley or something like that, I can't quite remember.

I've also heard a few stories about Mewtwo (that pokemon) being based on Giegue, the final boss from Mother 1 on the NES. I've also thought of playing Mother 1 sometime as well. But we'll see what happens.

Lucas wrote:

About a year and a half ago CW's talks about Earthbound inspired me to play the game via emulation. It was never released in Australia (what a surprise ). I eventually beat the game and at one stage asked CW for some assistance as I was stuck getting through some valley or something like that, I can't quite remember.

I remember precisely where and when...because where is a spot I had trouble with at first too.

Lucas wrote:

I've also heard a few stories about Mewtwo (that pokemon) being based on Giegue, the final boss from Mother 1 on the NES. I've also thought of playing Mother 1 sometime as well. But we'll see what happens.

Yeah, I've heard that rumor too. And they DO look alike, so I personally think it holds some water. And Mother 1 is well worth a play through too...I just recommend downloading the easy patch if you don't like level grinding. Easy patch just makes all enemies give you twice as much experience and money, as otherwise, the game has a LOT of level grinding. Which is not my favorite thing.