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EarthBound (Nintendo SNES) discussion [game]
 
EarthBound on the SNES
9.14/10 from 44 user ratings

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EarthBound Review (Nintendo SNES) (10.0)  by  

Because EarthBound is an amazing RPG that I love above all others, I thought I'd start up the game thread and throw in some of my favorite reviews of it.







Man I love this game. Just beat it again a week or so back for the 2nd time this year and somewhere in the range of 20+ in total since '96.



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09/30/12, 03:06    Edited: 05/12/14, 16:55
 
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@chrisbg99

It's that screen, but it's over to the right maybe? There's always been a present in the background outside of the wall that you just can't get.
07/24/13, 14:22   
Hmm, I booted up a game that I could get to Fourside and searched around the whole area inside and out and didn't see a present.
07/24/13, 20:47   
@chrisbg99

I might be thinking of the wrong area...but I remember a present outside of the walls when I'm at Magnet Hill, not in Fourside. Maybe it was just in the background for filler, but that drove me nuts as a kid.
07/24/13, 21:01   
Edited: 07/24/13, 21:02
Why is this thread not exploding? EARTHBOUND IS FINALLY HERE!!!

I'm really liking it so far. I love how subtly dark it is underneath all the humor; kind of reminds me of Majora's Mask. I don't think it will end up being one of my favorite games ever since it's just an RPG, but for what it is, I love it.
07/26/13, 22:48   
Because people are fickle I imagine.
07/27/13, 04:21   
Between this, Animal Crossing, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and Luigi's Mansion (not to mention M & L and Pikmin 3 coming up), I'm in one of those 'I just can't hold all these games' situations. Pretty nice.
07/27/13, 05:40   
Pretty awesome review of EarthBound if I do say so myself.

07/27/13, 15:21   
Edited: 07/27/13, 15:23
What Earthbound means to me. Shigesato Itoi

What is the video game, Earthbound?
Even today, it’s so hard to answer that question.

It was like a group of children taking dolls from a toy chest.
Old dishes no longer used in the kitchen.
Nuts and bolts found inside a toolbox.
Little flowers and leaves from the backyard.
And they were all laid down on the carpet with everybody singing made-up songs.
Ready to talk all day about that world they just made.
That, I think was how Earthbound was made.

Well, I’m a grown-up too,
so I didn’t hold back in adding things here and there,
like putting more angles here,
hiding a secret there,
and sometimes slipping in little mean things.

Then a whole lot of friends came over to play.
And they helped it grow as they were having fun as they pleased.
They gave it branches, leaves and flowers,
to what was once a simple story of just root and trunk.
For every person that played, there are that many iterations of Earthbound.

As I met different people on unrelated occasions,
they told me “I found out about you by playing Earthbound.”
This was not only right after the game was out.
People were telling me this after it’s been out for quite some time.

All sorts of people tell me about their memories,
about all the things I left in the playground called Earthbound.
From the tiny safety pins, broken pieces of colored glass to the withering leaves.
When I ask them, “how do you remember so much?”
With their eyes gleaming, they say,
“I love that world so much I remember everything about it.”
I reply right away saying “me too.”

Ah hah! That may be it.
Maybe I wanted to make a playground.
A playground filled with things no matter how small or unwanted,
they would all be kept dear in people’s hearts.
It looks like all my friends from around the world have discovered the theme to the game as they were playing – even though I didn’t think I gave it one.
That’s right, that’s something I also wanted to do all along.

I was already a grown-up at the time I was making Earthbound,
but now that thirty years have been added to my life, I’ve grown up even more.
I think about things that I didn’t back then.

Things like, “what kind of a person do I want to be when I die?”
I already know the answer to this one.
It’s “someone with a lively wake*.”

The person who passed away has to be in all sorts of different people’s memories.
What they’ve done, how stupid they were, what kind of things they did for fun,
and how kind that person was sometimes.
All the people who are still alive are laughing,
wanting to be the first one to bring up those things to everyone around them.
The life I want to live is something that can be concluded with that kind of a party-like wake.
Fame and fortune, setting records and accomplishments are all meaningless.
That person is inside those stories that are told,
where people talk about their episodes, casually and sincerely.

Well, it’s not dead, and it’s not even human,
but to me Earthbound is a game that’s kind of like that guy.

Now that you’ll be able to play Earthbound to your heart’s content,
I hope you’ll play it with someone and create all kinds of great, happy memories.
I’m glad that this day has come.
And I think everyone who had a part in making this game is very excited too.

Thank you for everything.


http://earthbound.nintendo.com/message/
07/30/13, 06:01   
Yeah Shigesato Itoi is one interesting guy. So awesome that he and I share the same birthday.
07/30/13, 07:11   
@NoName

That's touching!

I just got to Moonside... wow. Was not expecting that. This game keeps getting crazier and crazier!
07/30/13, 08:06   
So is everyone just waiting until September to play this then??

I am pleased to report that while I was playing the Happy-Happy Village section, Sarah decided she wanted to start her own file. I was pleasantly surprised since she doesn't play a ton of games and the RPGs she usually goes for are Final Fantasy...and I'm also happy to report that she loves it, and is currently even farther than my own file (she just got to Summers).

I think, more than ever, EB is really showing its long-term quality, based on how many people new to the series suddenly adore it now that they can finally experience it. For me, it's one of the most nostalgic and enjoyable games ever.
07/30/13, 23:07   
@TriforceBun

It reminds me of playing Pokemon as a kid, but with a little bit of Simpsons-flavored mean-spiritedness thrown in there.
07/30/13, 23:53   
Question - as this is a Wii U VC game, is there no way to stretch the game to all borders of a 16:9 TV? The thought occurred to me that I could possibly wait until I move out and get a new plasma....but I wouldn't want to play this game for too long pillarboxed (not until after I break it in enough).
07/31/13, 08:44   
@PogueSquadron

I've been playing it in 4:3 on a 16:9 TV. Doesn't other me. Actually, because of the way the game is "shot," so to speak, it actually looks good on any sort of TV. Take this room for instance:



Doesn't even fit the whole screen; it's just a little box. The game does that a lot where the dark borders don't make the screen into a perfect 4:3 box. Kind of neat.
07/31/13, 08:54   
@NoName It's interesting to see what he thinks about it now. You can definitely tell from playing the game that a lot of it was inspired by his life experiences, which is what makes it so unique.
08/01/13, 00:00   
I finally downloaded Earthbound and figured I'd wait until September, but... Well, I've moved my Wii U to the bedroom so it's accessible while I'm in bed now... And sharing the bed with Earthbound just seems so right.

I love this game. Just beat the Happy-Happy Religious Group and rescued Paula.

Have there been any changes to the music or anything? I kept hearing that the "Frank/New Age Retro Hippie" fight music had copyright issues (which is silly), but it remains. What was the reasoning for Nintendo holding it back? I noticed the new "T" rating, vs. the old "K-A" it had. Is that it?
08/03/13, 18:22   
Yeah I haven't heard of any changes to content just the rating.
08/04/13, 00:30   
@chrisbg99
After some sleuthing, it seems like the only real changes are to some of the PSI power animations. Even then, they simply dulled down the bright flashes a bit.
08/04/13, 00:50   
Just beat it. What an absolutely amazing game! It's so surreal to have just played through a classic Nintendo game for the first time.

I love how weird the game gets. It feels like there's so much more to it than what you see on the surface level! I mean, it can go from totally juvenile and fun humor with Pokey calling you "Pig's Butt" and then an hour later have to go through the super-creepy Mu training.

Honestly, aside from the N64 Zeldas, this is probably my favorite Nintendo game. I really want to play the other two now. I'm so tempted to read stuff online about what some of the stuff in EarthBound might mean, but it looks like some of it is sort of explained in Mother 1... gonna have to force myself to wait!
08/09/13, 11:36   
@Secret_Tunnel

Congrats. If you want to read a pretty good interpretation of the game here is a good one, it is pretty long but he does a great job of breaking down some potential underlying story of the game.

And I sure can recommend Mother 3. Mother is a bit of question if you are willing to deal with some of the absurd difficulty the game has but it is certainly an unique experience for a NES RPG.
08/09/13, 12:10   
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