Earthbound, released in 1995 to the Super NES, is arguably one of the more inventive RPGs to date. Rather than
a fantasy epic, involving Princesses and dragons, Earthbound is set in a more modernized world with skyscrapers, telephones, and ATM machines abroad.
Set in the year 199x in the world of Eagleland, your character, Ness,
awakens one morning to the crash of a meteorite. Upon investigation,
Ness discovers that the meteorite actually contains a bug sent from the
bleak near-future. According to this bug, only with the help from three
friends he's never actually met and power gathered from key locations
across the world, can Ness defeat Giygas and save Eagleland from
impending disaster.
Though the graphics aren't technically impressive, they certainly fit
the mood of the game. The interaction between NPC characters will often
leave you laughing, and Earthbound consistently provides goofy
situations that would mostly be taboo in other RPG games. One of my
favorites is the psychedelic town of Moonside, where you're attacked by
electric guitars and saying yes actually means no. With a healthy sense of
humor, it's hard not to fall in love with Earthbound's quirks.
The game mechanics are very similar to Dragon Quest. In battle screen,
you face your opponent in a first person view, where you you can simply
choose to Attack, use Psychic powers (PP) to heal or attack, use goods
in your inventory, or defend. With a click of the button, your means of
attack is easily registered. However, if you're attacked by an enemy,
depending on your characters' vitality, you can prolong your death. For
instance, if your character is "mortally wounded", your health will
steadily trickle to zero. If you're fast and able enough, you can
either heal before your HP hits zero, or you can frantically try to
defeat your opponent before your own HP is depleted. This adds a nice
twist to otherwise tedious battle moments. Enemies are often of the wacky
variety, such as the Unassuming Local guy, an evil circus tent, or the New Age Retro Hippy.
There's no character customization in Earthbound, which may be
classified as a detriment to the game. From the get-go, Ness has a
limited range of psychic powers, but as you encounter enemies and
level-up, your arsenal of abilities steadily increases. Ness mostly has
healing and status-affecting abilities, and is loaded with HP. Your
first ally, Paula, may be limited in health points, but she has a lot
of psychic points (PP) to disperse attacks such as Fire or Freeze. Your
third ally, Jeff, doesn't have any psychic points. However, Jeff can
repair broken items to be used in battle, and can also fire
heavy-hitting bottle-rockets with ease. Your fourth ally, Poo, is
merely average in all departments. He doesn't have a lot of HP or PP,
though he can "mirror" enemy's abilities and does have one of the
stronger psychic attacks in the game. Each character can hold a total
of 14 items, which seems somewhat limiting, especially in the early on,
when you only control Ness.
Earthbound never truely takes itself too seriously, which is definitely
refreshing for the RPG genre. Despite this, due to some excellent
pacing and a strange, if enduring storyline, it's hard to put the
controller down. The soundtrack complements the game superbly, with
music that perfectly fits the wonders and humor of the setting. If you
can admire all of Earthbound's quirks, you will fall in love the
characters and the world you travel in.
