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Title: Earthbound (3rd Review)
Author:Nintendo
Rom Player: ZSNES
Reviewer: Stevo Folts
Synopsis: Earthbound is one of those games that only comes along every 20 years. Its also one of those games where you either love it or you hate it, and i'm proud to say that it's my favorite game of all time. If i were slightly less lazy there would be a shrine in my closet right about now.
The term "RPG" used to mean little more than a game, based in medieval times, where you battled mythical monsters with swords and magic. This began to change in the mid 1990's when Earthbound hit the scene. Earthbound had Nintendo all fired up about its success in Japan (where its called Mother 2, yes there's a first one!). Nintendo put up posters and $10 off coupons everywhere. Even the box was huge, and came with a free player's guide!
This game broke the mold of dragons and sorcerers by focusing on a regular 13 year old boy in modern times. Who has a comet land in his backyard. Who finds out that he's being attacked by aliens from 10 years into the future. Who discovers he has psychokinetic powers. Whose main defense against his foes are yo-yo's, baseball bats, and lucky charms. Just a normal kid.
During the opening, Ness is drawn to the comet, where he meets a bee named Buzz Buzz. He tells Ness that aliens have come from the future, and me must visit 8 "Your Sanctuary" locations, and record their melodies on his Sound Stone. Sounds simple right? Well, Buzz Buzz is swatted by Ness' friend's mom, so now he's all alone :*(
On his journey, Ness meets, and fights, crooked politicians, blobs of red jello, corrupted cops, rabid moles, elderly women, among hundreds of other enemies, and my favorite: The New Age Retro Hippie. Any game that spawns a character like that is worth playing in its own right.
Ness is often contacted by others with psychic powers such as his. By the end of the game, he's allied with a small town girl named Paula, a non-magical genius named Jeff, and a martial arts master named Poo.
The game was certainly odd, I spent hours talking to the characters just to hear what hilarious things they had to say. One woman at a theater says, "This act is so sexy....unlike my husband". Genius. That's all it is.
Eventually, Ness and crew are transformed into robots and vanquish the evil Giygas yaaay!
Obviously this game is very original, and I could spend days telling you about the ATM machines, and the Mr. Saturns, and the psychic monkeys, but you'd probably just look at me funny.
The music is great too. From the soothing ambience of Onett, to the blaring trumpets of Fourside, to the downright creepy music of Giygas' lair.
The only thing that could possibly turn someone away from this game is the graphics. Not to say that they were bad, but when compared to titles such as Super Mario RPG, they aren’t exactly stellar either. Myself, I enjoy them, there seems to be more attention to detail, plus Ness is just so kyoot!
I think I rented this game 8 times in all from my movie store, when finally the clerk told me that I was the only person who ever rented it, so they sold it to me for 10 bucks! I hugged her and every other person in the store. It was a beautiful moment.
To show you how attached you can get to this game, I saw an extra copy at my local Gamestop (its a miracle to see one in a store), and bought it for $5. I was planning on selling on Ebay, where I saw it go for hundreds. Soon, I found myself whispering sweet things to my cartridge in the dark, and I knew we couldn't part.
In conclusion, this is the greatest game ever created, and I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't had the blessed opportunity to play it. Maybe you can grab a copy off Ebay for cheap, so good luck.
Greatest game ever. *voice becoming distant* Damn monkeys get back here! Share your bubble gum with me...
Best Cheats: I think the mark of any good games is not having cheats, such as in the Zelda series, and ths one has none either :)
Game Play: 10
Graphics: 9
Music/Sound: 10
Originality: 10
Overall Rating: 10
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