EarthBound
Style over substanceGenre: rpg - japanese
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1995
System: SNES
Gameplay Score: 3
Gameplay Notes:
First, the negatives: First person view that doesn't show your characters. Not a deal killer, but I'm not a fan of this presentation. Navigating several two layers of menus just to talk or try to check something is so annoying. This might be the last JRPG ever made which uses this archaic control scheme. The A button should interact with anything in front of you. The map lacks detail. Attempting to interact with anything uninteractable (is that a word?) shouldn't produce a “No problem here.” message. The inventory system was outdated for a 1994 game. Heck, it was outdated for a 1991 game (looking at you FF IV). The inability to hold more than 12 items at a time causes more than just the hassle of inventory management. No, it also makes PP (your magic points) more previous than they ought to be because it's impractical to carry restorative items since your inventory space is so limited. That means you essentially can't use your PSI powers (magic) for attacking outside of boss battles. Another problem that the inventory system compounds is the randomness around status effects. It's beyond frustrating to get most of the way through an area only to get mushroomified just before the boss. If you don't have the right item to cure yourself you have to reset and replay the entire dungeon. Again, the inventory system is awful. At the very least, armor, weapons and key items shouldn't have taken up slots. Having to manage your inventory just to hold 5 sandwiches is a nightmare and frankly ruins the experience for me. Oh and the save and ATM systems are just stupid. It's 1994 - give me a save anywhere system for crying out loud. And I shouldn't have to take money out of an ATM. Who thought this would be a good idea? Overall I'd say this game is severely hampered by RPG mechanics common in 80's RPGs. There's a lot to like, but the clunky mechanics prevent it from being fun. In this way, Earthbound reminds me of the LucasArts point-and-click games which are so funny and well designed, yet they're still point-and-click games. It takes hours before finding a second party member and when you do she starts out on level 1. Now the positives: The Auto Fight feature pulled form Secret of the Stars is very welcome. Auto-fights against underpowered enemies is also a fun addition. Movement feels nice. 8 directional movement allows for precise pathing. The isometric view works well because your controls don't map to the isometric perspective - down is still down. Taking a hit during battle causes your HP to scroll downward. This gives you a chance to restore enough health to keep that character from dying. Pretty cool idea.
Level Design Score: 5
Level Design Notes:
Ok, props for having a ton of unique, interesting, and positively bonkers encounters. This game is nothing if not memorable. This makes a bit unintuitive, so bring a walkthrough, but there's a lot of variety in the scenarios this game throws at you. It's not a long series of fetch quests and castles to storm like so many other RPGs of the time.
Theme Score: 2
Theme Notes:
This is a seemingly unpopular opinion to hold, but I don't like this game's quirky theme. In fact, quirky doesn't adequately describe this game. It's absolutely bizarre. Therein lies its appeal as well as its cult status. It's so overtly weird that you can't help but laugh, but I found myself cringing more often than not. I don't think I'm alone in saying that, but Earthbound has come to be regarded as some universally beloved classic. I just don't see it. I think it's fine for some people but not a game for everyone. The modern setting is novel, to be sure, but it's not my cup of tea, just like spiritual successors like Undertale and killer7. Oh and there's so much dialogue to slog through. Making the text skippable would've massively improved this game.
Art Style Score: 4
Art Style Notes:
I've heard a lot of people say that the art in this game is primitive compared to contemporary games, but I think it looks good. The sprites are simple but the backgrounds, animations, and effects are quite strange and interesting.
Audio Score: 3
Audio Notes:
Like everything else in this game the music is positively bizarre. It's not a soundtrack that I would listen to outside of the game, but it fits the game to a T. It's unlike anything I've heard on the SNES. Unfortunately, for every two catchy tunes there's one that makes me want rip my ears off. Sound effects play a huge part in this game as well and are some of the most recognizable aspects of the game for me.
Overall Score: 71
Review ID: 153
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