EarthBound

"A Flawed Masterpiece"

Now, before we start this review, I want to make some things perfectly clear: If I were to make a list of my favorite RPGs of all time, Earthbound would have a very solid spot high on the list. In fact, if I were to make a list of my top-ten favorite GAMES of all time, Earthbound again would have a fairly solid standing on it. So, do we have that absolutely clear? I do not hate this game. In fact, I absolutely adore it, so you can put down your torches and pitchforks.

However, while this game's flaws are few, they are serious. While some will be able to look past them and enjoy the game anyway, still others will be completely turned off by them, and it's pretty naive to deny that it the latter case will happen. This game, while great, isn't suited for everyone's tastes. It's simply the nature of this game and indeed the nature of the entire Mother series.

So putting aside my almost rabid love for this game and series, let's take an unbiased look at Earthbound:

STORY: Alrighty then, we'll start with this game's plot. It's the year 199X, and you play as a young boy named Ness (You can name every playable character whatever you want, but I'm using their default names in this review) who is startled one night by a meteor crashing on a nearby hillside. He soon decides to check it out, but he finds that the road to the hill is blocked by policemen and his (annoying) neighbor, Pokey, so he decides to go home. Later that night, there's a loud knock on the door. It's Pokey again, and apparently he's lost his little brother in all the excitement. So after getting that cleared up, something very strange happens with the meteor...a mysterious being named Buzz Buzz (who is not a bee) basically explains the objective of the game: You, two other boys, and a girl are destined to save the world from an evil alien by the name of Giygas who controls the minds of animals and the weak and evil-hearted. To gain the power to defeat him, you must travel to the eight centers of power, called "Your Sanctuaries" and gain strength from the Earth itself. This is the first five minutes of the game. Overall, a nifty story, but by itself it's really nothing special.

What does make this plot special is the fact that the plot is not by itself. Interspersed in the story is witty dialog, pop culture references, a few interesting plot twists (What becomes of Pokey is quite interesting, though I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers), more humorous and hilariously absurd moments than you can shake a Gutsy Bat at (Mr. T is in this game. I'm not kidding. He really is.), and some of the best translation and localization in Nintendo's history, which really is a huge plus in such a text-heavy game.

Another thing worth noting is that, despite this game's funny, lighthearted exterior, there's a tiny undercurrent of darkness throughout the whole thing that's pretty hard to see at first, along with a few tiny tidbits of foreshadowing that are so remarkably subtle you probably won't make the connection unless you look it up. However, the last three hours or so of this game are just INTENSE, especially the infamous fight with the final boss. Once again, I'm going to spare the details, but if you expected the entire game to be a cute little romp through a colorful world of sugary sweetness, prepare to be surprised. There are also parts of this game that simply feel...ethereal. It's hard to explain, but something about this game just feels so very deep at some parts, even when the dialog is nothing special. It probably has a lot to do with the music, which I'll get to later.

Sadly, things fall very short in terms of the personality development of the playable characters, which is something that this game desperately needed. For example, you are told by non-playable characters that Ness is strong-willed and loves his family, Paula (the team's only female member) is kind and caring, and Jeff (A boy who's adept with machinery) is shy and reckless, yet to my memory, only one of these traits is shown or implemented into the game in any way (Ness will occasionally get homesickness, something I'll go into more detail about later). Another problem is that the majority of the time, none of the main characters have any dialog whatsoever, and when they do, it's pretty generic stuff and doesn't really reflect the personalities we're told they have. However, certain NPCs are developed fantastically, especially a certain villain who's name will go unannounced.

OVERALL: A pretty generic base storyline and poor character development is well more than made up for with a good sense of humor, smooth dialog, great translation, and surprisingly dark turns. 8/10

GAMEPLAY: Whew, that last section was huge, wasn't it? Well, the Mother series is heavily plot-based, so naturally there's a lot to say. Anyway, let's move on.

Gameplay here is...pretty average, actually. Sure, it's fun to fight with psychic powers, baseball bats, ray guns, and frying pans instead of the usual swords, clubs, bows, and magic, but for all intents and purposes, it's all exactly the same. However, there are two HUGE advantages Earthbound has over the usual RPG fare.

First off, breath a sigh of relief, RPG fans: There's no such thing as a random encounter in Earthbound. That's right, you will always know exactly what kind of enemy you'll be fighting before it ever gets to you, because you can see them right there on the screen. Enemies, unless required to continue the plot, are never constant in an area, either, so if you keep exiting and reentering an area, you can shuffle the amount and variety of enemies that are on the current screen. It also means that you can sometimes avoid a fight altogether by sneaking past them, and if you can't, you're able to prepare your strategy before the battle even starts.

Secondly, the HP system is completely different from typical RPGs. Usually, if you're hit by an attack, all your health (Which I'm going to call HP) is lost all at once in one big chunk. Not in Earthbound. Here, your HP meter is like a counter, and when you're hit, it subtracts the HP you have with what you lost and rolls down until it reaches that number. This means that if you're hit by an attack that would normally kill you in one hit, you won't die immediately, and if you're quick enough, you'll be able to stabilize your HP before you're knocked out. Of course, the game's difficulty is set to compensate for this, since enemies usually do a disproportionately large amount of damage compared to other RPGs, so it doesn't really make the game much easier. However, it's still incredibly helpful and will save you from death more than a few times.

This game, for the most part, is fairly easy, and areas where you'll really have to grind levels are few and far between (Beware, though, they still exist). My only complaint with this is the lack of emphasis on defense. You're given three varieties of PSI powers: Attack, Defense, and Support. Attack PSI is extremely powerful (Especially Paula and Poo's PSI Freeze and Ness' PSI Rockin, which you'll find yourself using a LOT). Support PSI, which includes PSI Lifeup and PSI Healing also see a lot of use. But you can, and will most likely, go through the game without using either of the PSI Shields or PSI Attack/Defense Up. They simply aren't necessary, because most enemies and bosses can simply be blasted through with brute force. The game isn't childishly easy, but there really isn't much strategy involved.

Outside of battles, controls are pretty typical. You walk around, you collect stuff, you talk to people. You go to hotels to restore health (There are a few other methods, but hotels are the most common), and you use phones for several different purposes. You call your dad to save, you call your sister's place of employment to store items, and you call your mother for...well, whenever you want to hear from her. An interesting tidbit that sets this game apart is that the gameplay actually encourages and, well, forces you to call your mother on a regular basis through a mechanic known as homesickness, which manifests itself through having Ness occasionally drifting off into thoughts of his favorite food and family RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE. So don't forget to keep in touch with your family!

OVERALL: Fairly average, even easy, gameplay that's buffed out by a few quirky perks. 7/10

MUSIC/SOUND: We'll start with the music. The music in this game is not quite as polished in its sound as other titles, like Final Fantasy 6 or Super Mario RPG. However, the composition of the songs themselves range from average and forgettable to mind-bogglingly, absolute, pure brilliance. Most of the time, the music perfectly sets the mood and sometimes can even create this extraordinary feeling of relevance, that really makes the quest that the four children you control feel so very important. And it reminds me that Nintendo is packing some EXTREMELY talented composers in their ranks.

As for sound, there's really not much at all to say. It's very average, and there's really nothing special.

OVERALL: Excellent music that's only average at worst. 9/10

GRAPHICS: There's kind of an interesting thing going on here with this game's graphical style. At first glance, it looks cartoony, cutesy, and even, depending on how you look at it, bad. But a little ways into the game, you realize you wouldn't have them any other way. The innocent-looking, quirky style fits the game perfectly, and never detracts from the story. The overworld, while not especially beautiful or detailed, fills its role quite well, and the towns actually feel like real towns in their scale. Really, that's all there is to say about the graphics, though.

OVERALL: While simple, they fit this game to a T. 8/10

REPLAY VALUE: This is this game's fatal flaw. The factor that decides who perseveres and loves this game and who quickly abandons it to the back of their game shelf. You see, for all its triumphs, for all its success, this game's pacing is almost downright awful, and while it's not really that noticeable the first time around, you'll probably find it very difficult to play through this game a second time. The plot's progression is very jerky. You'll find three sanctuaries literally one after another, then not find another for five hours. You'll make your way through an exciting portion of the game, only to be greeted by a few tedious, almost irrelevant dungeons. Only the final five hours of the game is consistently interesting. Once again, not that bad initially, but it's very, very difficult to play through this game again once you know where everything is and what's going to happen.

OVERALL: Inconsistent plot progression and a very jerky feel greatly cripple this game's replayability. 3/10

RENT, BUY, OR RUN?
I'll ignore the fact that you can't really rent SNES games anymore and say rent. This game is absolutely not for everyone, and some will find it almost impossible to swallow. However, there is quite a bit this game did right, and if you're willing to give it a chance, it has a lot to offer.

This is a great game. It's a true classic that, with a little help from the Smash Bros. series, has stood the test of time, and even developed a very devoted fanbase in America, despite its not-so-impressive early track record. This game is definitely worth playing and worth adoring, but it's far from perfect. That's why Earthbound is truly the definition of a flawed masterpiece.

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/08

Game Release: EarthBound (US, 06/01/95)