Homeward (Earth)Bound
Few games are as true-blue American as Nintendo's classic JRPG Earthbound.
Read Full Article
Few games are as true-blue American as Nintendo's classic JRPG Earthbound.
Read Full Article
279: Homeward (Earth)Bound
- Thread starter Brendan Main
- Start date
I have loved this game ever since I've got my hands on it.
What made Earthbound more special than the others because not only for its parody of other RPGs but entire charm and appeal. Instead of the typical hero, you're playing a ragtag team of kids. Instead of typical weapons like swords and staffs, you equip daily household items. This goes on and on and it shows well. Earthbound has a lot of memorable moments too. A good music soundtrack, such as this when you decide to drink with one of the NPCs [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lxu8nbARYQ].
I also enjoyed the NPC dialogs because they are funny to read. One of the NPCs say when you beat the final boss "I've beaten Earthbound and I can't wait for the sequel!" I'm seeing quite a bit on Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
And who wouldn't forget Mr. Saturn? Boing! Ding Ding!
We have to thank Shigesato Itoi for bringing Earthbound to the west... except that Nintendo still hasn't released Mother 3 outside of Japan.
What made Earthbound more special than the others because not only for its parody of other RPGs but entire charm and appeal. Instead of the typical hero, you're playing a ragtag team of kids. Instead of typical weapons like swords and staffs, you equip daily household items. This goes on and on and it shows well. Earthbound has a lot of memorable moments too. A good music soundtrack, such as this when you decide to drink with one of the NPCs [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lxu8nbARYQ].
I also enjoyed the NPC dialogs because they are funny to read. One of the NPCs say when you beat the final boss "I've beaten Earthbound and I can't wait for the sequel!" I'm seeing quite a bit on Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
And who wouldn't forget Mr. Saturn? Boing! Ding Ding!
We have to thank Shigesato Itoi for bringing Earthbound to the west... except that Nintendo still hasn't released Mother 3 outside of Japan.
EarthBound carries the contemporary motif so well and has such a dedicated following in North America that it honestly never crossed my mind as a JRPG, but that's exactly what it is. It's sad a whole gaming generation is coming up that only knows Ness from Smash Bros.
Better than them not, sure. But it's kind of like your parents telling you your grandpa was a mailman yet never showing you any of the medals he got as a WWII fighter ace.Onyx Oblivion said:
I'd like to add that the final boss fight in Earthbound is probably the most haunting moment I've ever seen in a video game, especially in terms of the absolutely perfect soundtrack all through it.
Too bad Ness didn't carry around a coat hanger; that boss might have been a lot easier if so.
Too bad Ness didn't carry around a coat hanger; that boss might have been a lot easier if so.
Or that the only officially translated game we can know Lucas from at all is Smash Bros.Tim Latshaw said:
But absolutely, it is something. Perhaps there's a generation of players with fond memories of spamming PK Fire on Bowser, who at some point will grow interested in a look back. I know that for myself, there are a ton of characters I played first in Smash then sought out their original games: Popo & Nana, Marth, Ike, even Mr. Game & Watch.
Maybe it's because, beneath the bizarre slash-fanfic energy of it all, there's something careful, even curatorial, about how Smash handles its characters: Like they're a part of some greater canon. There's a sense I get, in flipping through the various unlockable stickers or figurines, of standing within a museum. But what kind of museum showcases its inhabitants by having them fight to the death?
The best kind, obviously.
Earthbound will always have a special place in my heart. JRPGs - a genre of which I admittedly very fond - are so often full of angst and tortured souls that Earthbound's silliness is extra refreshing. You're still saving the world, but it's more of a hoot than an ordeal.
This game was probably the only game I played for about 5 years. Not that it took 5 years to beat, just that I love the game that much.
"You may be strapped in on a one-way train, but it'll be one hell of a ride."
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Who else here would smell those awful scratch and sniff parts of the included players guide over and over, even though you knew they smelled awful?
"You may be strapped in on a one-way train, but it'll be one hell of a ride."
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Who else here would smell those awful scratch and sniff parts of the included players guide over and over, even though you knew they smelled awful?
Oh the awesomeness that is Earthbound. Many of my friends truly enjoyed this game and some make tributes to it like Team Banzai did with their Banzai Arcade Interactive Game Panel which is mostly in its full force at Fanime but also available at PMX and Anime LA. It's truly been too long since I've played this game so its about time I purchase and replay Earthbound.
I really loved Earthbound, I never knew it existed until I randomly played it on an emulator. If they released it on the Wii market, I would buy it. I believe I tried to play through it twice, the first time I stopped because I got distracted by something else, and the second time I believe I got to the last boss, couldn't beat him for some reason, got angry, and quit.
One of my favorite parts was the Runaway 5, gotta love the Blues Brothers parody. At the time, I kept a save state from each time they played in the game, just so I could listen to them over and over again.
One of my favorite parts was the Runaway 5, gotta love the Blues Brothers parody. At the time, I kept a save state from each time they played in the game, just so I could listen to them over and over again.
I'm glad to see this game getting the proper respect and attention it deserves. Maybe people won't be so ignorant now whenever I say the name "Ness" or "Lucas" they won't say, "oh, those kids from brawl." No, you idiot....
Snes had some pretty damn epic RPGs back in its day.
Snes had some pretty damn epic RPGs back in its day.
Watched a couple of the videos... This looks decently amusing. I kind of want to give it a whirl.
I never got to play Earthbound because of being in the stupid PAL region of Australia and it seems like Earthbound is similar to Psychonauts in terms of normal flipped on it's head. As a JRPG fan of 10 years it seems like the majority of JRPGs have their little security blanket they hide behind, using fantasy and scifi settings and friendship as the foundation and building from there to make what we know as the "stale" JRPG. Earthbound sound like a game I would have loved to play and it sounds like anything was possible in it. Maybe the reason JRPG's over the last 13 years have gotten boring to most is because we know what to expect now and unfortunately nothing truely new is made very often. After looking through my JRPG collection the last game with something truely new was Kingdom Hearts. But JRPGs still have good stories to tell and Lost Odyssey proved it with a well written emotional story. I think maybe in the future we'll see true sucessors to games like Chrono Trigger, Lost Odyssey and Earthbound but until then we're stuck with what we've got and until most people get over their Japanaphobia, we'll keep missing out on games like Mother 3 and Bahamut Lagoon.
That was quite possibly one of the most interesting games I've ever played. I enjoyed that game so much. It has some interesting game mechanics, a great story, and was just so much fun.
Your HP roll down in combat, so if you can finish it before you hit Zero HP, you can have your character survive. That's brilliant.
Your HP roll down in combat, so if you can finish it before you hit Zero HP, you can have your character survive. That's brilliant.
