"Good game indeed, but it's not much of a challenge."

Ah yes, the so loved Earthbound. A game where you take the role of the psychic kid named (by default of course) Ness. Ness is just an ordinary 13 year old when a meteorite came crashing down near his house in the peaceful village of Onett, Eagleland. Once he examines the meteorite he's met by a time traveller from 10 years in the future named Buzz Buzz, which takes the shape of a bee(!). Buzz Buzz then tells Ness that in the future all will be chaos and destruction because of the powerful Gyigas. It's up to Ness and the friends he will meet later in the game to stop Gyigas wrath and save their world. It sounds kind of generic doesn't it? Well it is, but it doesn't prevents it from being engaging. There are some screaming plot holes, but for spoilers sake I won't reveal them here. But the plotline isn't the main trait of Earthbound. The game really shines in it's uncanny sense of humor and enjoyable game play. Many people tend to compare EB to Final Fantasy. I have a word for them: Sqauresoft is a HUGE company, it poured millions of dollars in the development of each Final Fantasy. Ape is NOT a huge company. In fact the EarthBound series are the only titles I know form that company, so just quit comparing those games. It's like comparing a made for TV movie and a Hollywood blockbuster. But this made for TV movie is a lot funnier then most blockbuster. I'd like to put some personal comments here. I remember when I was a kid and I watched my friend play EB. I couldn't play it back then since I wasn't any good in English (I'm Brazilian), but these days I went through the whole thing and I can say it was not only worth the wait, but it sure brought me back some nice childhood memories, so I maybe a bit biased on this review, but I'm trying hard to be most impassible as possible. And it's kind of hard to write a 1500 word review of the game! There are many things that you'll like and/or dislike in this game, I'll try to list them here.

Graphics: 7/10
It is surely no eye candy and the enemies battle sprites have no animation. And some people may say that, being released at the highest stake of the SNES lifespan, it could have better production value. So why did it score so high as 7 you may ask me. That's because the graphics make you stop looking for visual delight and concentrate on the gameplay, which, as we all know, is where the fun is at. Other major responsible for the high score is the battles backgrounds. They are really trippy, colorful and remarkable.

Sound/Music: 9/10
While some of the tunes in this game are bland and forgettable, most of the battle music are lovely and will stay with you for lots of times. Specially the boss music. The sound effects aren't that great it's true but are enjoyable anyways. They kind of sound like NES sound effects, this may get you nostalgic or frustrated. The SNES was indeed capable of much more, but since I don't know the programmers budget, I can't blame them for not exploring the full power of the console

Gameplay: 7/10
The battles are self-explanatory, and there's always the "Help!" command if you don't know what an item or a PSI power does. Walking around is not a problem, and at first it may seem that the whole menu that pops up when you press the A button to, e.g., talk to someone, will kill the game, but the programmers had a great idea: They made the "L" button the "generic action button" so it can be used to talk, open presents, use objects etc... Why the score is 7 then? Well I can't stress how much the itsy-bitsy inventory will frustrate and annoy you. So it can take some time to get used to carrying so few itens around and have to leave lots of presents/battle spoils behind. The odometer like life gauge is just brilliant since you can heal other characters even if they're dealt mortal damage before they "life'ometer" reaches zero, which can create some unusually (considering it's an RPG) and good fast paced, quick thinking moments. Of course, it's impossible to let the fact that Ness is much more powerful than your other party members slip unnoticed. And it's hard to swallow that when you're on your high 20's you'll meet a party member by the level of 1. But every game has it's flaws doesn't it. It kind of keeps the game from being perfect, but believe me: lower level characters can and, if you take the proper care and put effort on it, WILL catch up with Nes, it just may take some patience. It also could have used a "New Game +" feature.

Challenge: 6/10
The game weak spot. Getting overpowered in this game is extremely easy, since when you are too strong for an enemy you will automatically win the battle if you engage it. It's a good idea, for sure, but some enemies that are instantly killed shells out insanely high amount of experience (2500 and up it goes). Once you figure this out it's easy to get 20 levels in just 2 hours of playing, making you too strong and leaving the enemies powerless.

Fun: 10/10
Addictive, simple and casual gamer friendly, Earthbound is very likely to find it's way into the hearts of many players and keep them coming back for more. It's easy too see why this game spawned lots of dedicate cults to it. Of course, those looking for more mature RPGs are less likely to enjoy this game, but for those of us looking for a non-violent, innocent game, this is a great choice. Parents concerned about how games affects their kids should let them play Earthbound without worries. I mean, what bad can come out of a game where the theme "death" is only explicit once?

EB as a game: 8/10
In this section I'll cover what can't be covered within the other ones above. The feeling of the game. The game relies on it's humor and pop-culture references, and it also is the eastern point of view to the USA. One of the fun things to do (if you are a Beatles fan, that is) is to try and spot all the Beatles references in the game, and boy, there are lots of them! Another thing that's very interesting in this game is the whole ATM thing. After you defeat an enemy, the money won't magically appear on your pockets, but it'll be deposited in your bank account, and it can only be withdrawn via ATM machines. The saving system can be painful sometimes. The only way to save your game is via telephone, by calling your dad. The problem is: sometimes you can stay away from savepoints for a long time, and dying then will really be an unpleasant thing. But, I think the programmers saw this coming and didn't put any absurdly long mazes in the game. Most people complain about the Nintendo of America "censorship". Well it doesn't affect the fun at all. I mean, do we really want to see Ness naked? I don't, thank you. Do you need to read the alcohol references? Well it could make some odd dialogue clearer, but Nintendo wanted it to be an all ages game, so they were replace by coffee references. Do we need to see red crosses every hospital? While I agree it may be a little exaggerated to take that as religious reference I don't think it affects anything either.

So that's it folks, I hope this review can be helpful towards you!
See you!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/06