Nostalgic Reviews: Earthbound

Rating: K-A (Kids to Adults, a rating that meant it had kid-friendly material with some other material thrown in to amuse adults. This rating is no longer used, though.)

Score: 9.5/10

“Nostalgic Reviews” is a new series where I review older games. Why? Because there are some games that received less credit than they deserved. Some games were not appreciated as they were considered minor characters in a minor game. Earthbound is the fourth in this series.

One decade ago, a simple, humble game was released on the Famicom (The Japanese version of the NES, or better yet since Famicom came first, the NES is the North American version of the Famicom). This game was called Mother. It was successful, so they prepared it for a North American release, renaming it “Earthbound”. After being delayed and delayed, its release was eventually cancelled. It’s sequel, Mother 2, on the Super Famicom made it overseas and it was renamed “Earthbound”, for the SNES. Unlike normal sequels though, it has a loose connection with its prequels and other sequel, Mother 3, not released here either. You shouldn’t be lost in Earthbound’s story if you never played Mother 1, don’t worry.

Speaking of the story, it is about this kid named Ness (although you have the option of naming him whatever you want) who helps his neighbour Pokey Minch find his run-away brother. Ness suspects the missing boy is near the meteorite that crashed earlier that night, so they venture up there. Sure enough, they find a small kid sleeping by a tree close to the fallen meteor. Once they collect him, they get interrupted by a small flying alien who alerts Ness he will embark on a journey where he must defeat the evil Giygas in the present, because he’s too powerful in the future. This small alien gets killed by Pokey’s mother, who had mistaken him for a dung beetle. Just before leaving, he gives Ness an important item (The Sound Stone), and tells Ness he needs to visit eight “Sanctuary” locations. Along the way he can get the help from three other important characters. I won’t spoil the rest of the game, but that’s the intro to our epic story that takes Ness through far away places to meet odd creatures and interesting people.

The gameplay is a normal turn-based RPG, for the most part. You attack, the enemies attack, plot your next turn, repeat. The one big thing to differentiate from normal RPG is the health. Instead of just going down instantly when hit, it slowly goes down. This adds a level of intensity when you get hit by a lethal blow, but you still have a chance of surviving if you select a healing food or a healing power, and flick through the menus as fast as possible. It trades 100% strategy for more intense moments, and it works great. Button mashing A and hoping you healed fast enough during a boss fight makes for some of the most memorable moments in video game history. That, and the interesting story plot twists and characters, made it a huge hit for the small market that actually had a chance to experience this game. Some great games you play, others you experience. This game was all about maximum enjoyment from start to finish.

If you look closely, and read gingerly, you’ll find some pop culture references to people and places. There are references to The Beatles, Stonehedge, and Monty Python, among others. It’s full of clever moments that you know are related to some pop culture event/person/place/thing/whatever. You’ll even see Mr. T - how awesome is that?

The music is simple, but catchy and hard to forget. Considering you’ll see so many places, and do so many things throughout the game, each themed with different music, you’ll hear a variety of tunes. Some you’ll like, and few you’ll dislike. They’re simple enough to be catchy, and complex enough to avoid being repetitive and therefore unpleasant.

The only complaint was the overly-simple graphics. True, the battles look like they could be on the old NES (as opposed to the SNES, which is about twice as powerful), but the worlds you walk around in look great, and the characters and creatures are all extremely creative. I think most gamers can easily overlook that battles don’t look amazing.

This game has a huge legacy, and with good reason too. Ness became popular enough to be included in all the Super Smash Bros games. It’s the weirdest game I’ve ever played (It’s the only game I can say “I fought a hippie with a toothbrush, and won a cookie for it”), but its weirdness only makes it more memorable in the long run. We need Earthbound on the Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, and Playstation Network. We also need the prequel and sequel released officially in North America. More people need to experience this unforgettable old-school RPG.