EarthBound

Man, there's so much to love about this game that I can't even remember it all! One night I was on my friend's computer as he was playing this, and I just happened to glance over as he was getting to Threed, and I noticed that the game had kooky music and was kinda odd.

Later I actually borrowed it and man, I've never been sucked into a game like that before! The story was complex and intriguing and chock full of humor, the music is awesome and nutty, the characters are interesting, and the game as a whole is a joy to play.

It really broke my heart to read that Earthbound 64 has been cancelled. Someday I hope to play Mother as well.

Awsome Awsome GREAT Game. Too great for words. The best part is the story line and the way it moves along smoothly, giving suspense, mystery, comedy, and action all at once. All those so-called gamers that HAVEN'T played it and say it's stupid have no right to call themselves game players. Not violent and graphic, yet not supporting child like graphics, it keeps the flow. I don't know why this didn't become so popular. It was a major hit in Japan. Probably because they are more open minded and don't judge things before they see or get to know them like we have a tendancy to do. (No offense to all who are reading)

I have a soft spot for odd things and this game appealed to me ever since I first laid eyes on that larger than average, game box while at a supermarket (back when there were VHS tapes and old cartridge games you could rent). I observed the box many times, wondering why it was that size. When I finally got chance to actually play it, I realized why, it's crammed full of surprises that a guidebook was needed for it to cram it all in (I wouldn't read it all the way through if you like great surprises). On the surface it looks childish since you are controlling a bunch of kids, but if you look deeper there's plenty of offbeat mixtures of humor and darkness in a modern world. Being an RPG fan myself, I had to play through this to see everything, which you really have to do to fully appreciate its style. Even when you beat it once, you'll want to play through it again and again to catch everything you missed the time before.

Released in 1995 in just Japan and America, Earthbound is a classic and it even stands up to today's games. It is pretty much the great RPG that everyone must have. It is a very smart game and has great humour. Unlike most RPGs, it is set in modern times (1990's) and instead of earning gold, you get money deposited into your bank account by your dad. Instead of swords and armour, you have baseball bats and bracelets and all the like. It has a lot of charm and any RPG will get a kick out of it. In fact, ANYONE will enjoy it. I'm glad I got introduced to Ness and the Earthbound franchise by Smash Bros. At first, I thought it would be a bad game, but I played it and it was awesome. It shows that even Nintendo's obscure side is awesome. Even better, it's now in Europe via the Wii U virtual console! This RPG is essential!

At first glance, 1995's Mother 2/Earthbound might seem like a childish game that wouldn't keep a more seasoned gamer occupied. But if someone was brave enough to pay 20$ for a brand new, discounted copy of this game around the time that the 4th generation of video game consoles were fading out, they would've bought a cult classic...and a profitable product - Original, good condition copies of this game top $200 in value in online auctions.

Set in the '90s, Earthbound is the story of a young boy named Ness, who is gifted with Psi powers and is thrust into a quest in the middle of Eagleland (A fictional take on the U.S.A.) to save the world from the evil Giygas.

First of all, This game is loaded with cultural references to a lot of things, from Religion to the Beatles. It rejects Swords in favor of Baseball Bats as weapons, and rejects Potions in favor of Hamburgers for regenerating health. It requires a mind abundant with thought about what to do, but a sense of humor that can determine what is funny and what isn't. And there is lots in the game to laugh at. From the "Parents Opposing Obsession Plan" to the guy who wants to make "Pretty girl paper" and then eating the cake in summers, and finally, fighting master belch, a big pile of barf.

But to look at the game from a different perspective, When you were a child, you would've seen lots of things that didn't make sense that you would see again as an adult, that finally did. This game is a take on that. You are playing as Ness, who is seeing the world for the first time and since he is a child, most of it doesn't make sense at all. This is particularly evident in "Happy-Happy Village" in which all of the members want to paint the world blue. As the player, you realize that part of the game represents a cult that has a goal that seems sensible. But to a child, It looks like a bunch of morons who want to waste their time doing a pointless task.

Thankfully, Nintendo made this game available for $10 on their eShop on the Wii U. That's definitely the best legal option to play this classic...or you could do it the way everyone's been playing SNES games for the last 15 years or so by downloading it for free and playing it on an Emulator.

Either way, go play it. It's definitely worth a few days of your time.