>people always posting about how they dont like earthbound
What the frick is wrong with it? I just finished it for the first time and had a great time.
>people always posting about how they dont like earthbound
>people always posting about how they dont like earthbound
What the frick is wrong with it? I just finished it for the first time and had a great time.
Nothing. As someone who has finished it upwards of seven times, I can confidently say it's the crown israeliteel of RPGs as a whole.
liking earthbound is proof that you post on reddit
Not liking earthbound is proof you're a twittertard
What was your favorite part of the game?
The combat is the best part. Every area has new enemies with unique ways on fighting, each party member has a role and don't feel like dead weight (Ness being Tank/Cleric, Paula is a strong Mage, Jeff's an Engineer/Thief, and Poo is a mix of a mage/monk), and the Rolling HP works to make the game not grindy at all and paces the adventure really well. It does so much for being so simple.
I know some people say the story sucks, but I don't think every game needs to be grand like Final Fantasy 6 or something like that. What really matters is if a story makes sense and drives you forward, even if it's not very dramatic. You really feel like you're exploring the world since each area has a completely different vibe, and solving people's problems that relate to the villain's plot in some way. The endgame is great too, really feels like a climax that makes the whole thing come together so nicely.
>The combat is the best part.
The music is.
This one for me
It’s the perfect song for “Your adventure’s over, mom’s calling you for dinner, hurry up and go eat!”
All wonderful songs. And even the battle tunes are childish, fun and unique. It's great.
Rolling HP isn’t praised enough imo
So many times that shit saves you, and it doesn’t feel easy because you still have to sit through all the animations even after you’ve selected your healing magic. It creates tension but feels fair in the heat of the battle. I wish more games took that mechanic back in the 90s
I like games set in a modern (for the time) setting
moonside and the final boss
wasting money on that shitty house. Scummy ass realtor
Over-leveling myself after failing to get the Sword of Kings at Stonehenge, so much so that the big XP boost Ness gets after Magicant doesn't give me a level-up.
>failing to get the Sword of Kings at Stonehenge
if you're at a high enough level you can time out the Starman's teleport to get a sneak attack on the Super and instakill it. If those annoying ass Atomic Robots appear just have Poo mirror it to replenish the party's HP during the battle while Paula has a shield up to protect the entire party. I think Poo's gear is usless anyway, Poo himself is kind of useless too. He's kind of a backup shellcaster with Freeze or Star Storm.
What you should be saving your grinding for is getting Star Pendents in that lava area.
Getting the sword felt good though. Plus it's nice to be able to use his equipment slot on something
It's music.
the soundtrack I think, it really ties the whole goofy, surreal experience together.
I think the games are equal, and excel in different areas. Earthbound feels more 'complete' as a game in some ways but I find myself connecting to the world and characters of Mother 3 much stronger. I do agree that the underwater part of chapter 7 is a bit of a slog but Tanetane island is one of my favorite locations in the whole game from a story perspective.
I'm really partial to Twoson's theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc9yO4giTog
Getting Jeff from Winters to Threed.
Tessie a part of the fantasy and Winters some of the comfiest of times.
Magicant in both Mother 1 and 2 is pure kino.
For Mother 3 probably Tazmilly just after the timeskip.
Threed. I wish there were more steps needed in the progression before you can progress to Saturn Valley, but the short time there is still fun.
Wish these frickers weren't so expensive, they're really nice looking plushes.
Also speaking Itoi's merch, reminder that full versions of the official Mother collaboration mangas were uploaded to the internet archive. Hope they get fully translated sometime.
https://archive.org/details/pollyanna-mother-official-comic
https://archive.org/details/pollyanna-2
they're incredibly details and undoubtedly a very limited production run. Of course they're expensive as all hell.
It's a shame.
for me, it's the first desert. I love the atmosphere
The music, the final boss fight is pretty crazy.
Like
and
said, rolling HP is pretty kino, but as for a specific point in the story, I'd say the journey from Threed to Fourside. The globetrotting part of the rest of the game, while it still manages to keep my interest just like every other point in the game, is kind of a bit schizophrenic as you go from the desert, to the swamp, to the dinosaur part, etc, whereas the progression from each of the four towns/cities flows a little better.
Frank's character development in the postgame was on par with the chosen four
My favorite part is the end of magicant, its so hopeful and makes me cry. Same as the part where ness's thoughts are projected onto the big screen and when jeff has to leave school and when you get to walk paula home and all of the little bits of dailogue that make you feel at home. And your dad 🙂
When I was a young boy and I first got to the end of the game where you had to walk Paula home, it put a lump in my throat as if I was really walking a girl home (I didn't register that that's what that was until I actually went on to actually experience that later in life). That whole last walk home is just a fantastic finishing touch for the game even if you don't really do anything but walk.
Its mediocre. Small inventory space makes it so you are constantly going back to get key items to progress or pre-emptively keep them in your inventory so you don't need to bother with fumbling what you need and what you should stash. Character growth and customization is basic, same with party customization. Battles are mostly basic outside of a few with a heavy hitting enemy that makes your HP roll.
>Small inventory space makes it so you are constantly going back to get key items
That's why you go to the pizza place and get the number for your sister and they'll deliver shit to you, or store shit. However the most annoying shit I always forget to grab is the pencil eraser.
I wouldn't even worry about condiments. Early game you have hamburgers, the Ness learns the Life Up spell. After that your party should have a few Cups of Life Noodles or Horns of Life each. Use magic butterflies to reup on PP, or sleep. A few places have constant butterflies, like Master Belch's area where you can grind on Fobbies for a while to get mega XP and keep getting the magic buttefly to relax over and over until fully healed and PP is replenished.
I like it for its writing, but if i were to pick things wrong with it, its gameplay is derivative. Mother 3 improved it tenfold.
How am I supposed to know ketchup goes with hamburger? Why would I waste a item slot for a shitty condiment?
Do europeans not know how hamburgers work?
Trick question, you don't. You shouldn't bother with the condiment system unless you have a walkthrough with that part bookmarked
Unless if you have Jars of Delisauce. Always get those, they're good with anything, even PSI Caramels.
"people" are afraid of enjoying things sincerely. There's probably a number of reasons like being afraid to associate yourself with others that like it. I'm convinced either way it's rooted in fear
Contrarianism is a disease
Earthbound was great, not as good as 3 but man this shit was fun.
My only gripes is you move too slow compared to enemies who can zip up and hit you from across the screen. Fix that and the game shoots up in quality imo
>not as good as 3
Nah man
Man it’s rare to meet someone who thinks Earthbound is better than 3
For me while 3’s story takes way too long to get into the meat of the game, the beats throughout really make it more memorable for me.
Both games suffer from having you slog through an area that’s kinda trash. Chapter 7 with the underwater part and the island was lame and in EB the swamp area is garbage. Still love em both tho
I dislike mother 3 because it tries to make me feel sad in such a hamfisted way that it ruins a lot of the buildup. I know why it’s like this, but that doesn’t excuse any of it
That’s fair. I never really felt anything for Hinawa’s death but the moment in the sunflower fields did get to me a little. Comes out of nowhere tho
Like I said I just hate how hard the game tries to make you feel sad instead of actually making you feel sad, if that makes any sense.
To put it more succinctly, the game made me more annoyed than sad.
Nah I get you, there’s moments in the game where it feels like there’s supposed to be a big title card in the upper right telling you “THIS IS SUPPISED TO MAKE YOU FEEL SAD!” like the audience laughter type stuff.
You're not really supposed to feel sad about her death. It happens too early for it to have any impact but you're supposed to gradually understand how others reacted to her death...like how it caused your brother to run away because he couldn't handle the sadness. It eventually makes you think of all the loved ones in your life. Also is the adventure in Mother 3 real or is it all about coming to terms with death and different ways of dealing with grief? But those sunflower scenes are phenomenal and the last two bosses are so fricking good. There's never been a final fight in a game as good as the one mother 3...and it's in basically a static environment in a 2d game based on 16 bit tech. It's crazy what mother 3 accomplished. I love every game in the series though
God the final fight in 3 is still unmatched for a lot of rpgs, I know there’s very little gameplay but it knocks EVERYTHING else out of the park that I can forgive it. And besides, Porky was a good fight anyway so I can let it slide
Yeah it's memorable. I've haven't played mother 3 in over a decade but the ending sticks with me and I think about it a lot. Earthbound and mother 3 are the only two games I've ever played that tell a story that could only be told in the video game medium. The only games I would consider art
I think that EB64 was meant to tell a much more complete story, but apparently Mother 3's story got trimmed to hell and back so a lot of scenes feel either somewhat irrelevant or forced, ie Chapter 6 and 7, Salsa, and Leder's story.
Speaking of EB64, anybody else fricking hate the art direction for it? The weird "realistic" eyes over the dot eyes make the characters look creepy as hell. I'm glad they made the change back for the GBA.
I think 3 is the better game but I prefer EB for delivering on the americana setting and letting you come to your own conclusions about the events and details of the setting.
I think people who prefer the first game are even more surprising. The craziest part is that I even get it despite that game's flaws. I do think EarthBound is largely a straight improvement, but there are some very distinct feelings Mother invokes that are largely downplayed in its two sequels.
I like the sequels as well but for me it's the original. This completely blindsided me.
shit. meant to spoiler that
Anon unless someone’s already played the game they’re not gonna have any idea what this is about
But yes
>but there are some very distinct feelings Mother invokes that are largely downplayed in its two sequels.
Mother 1 may as well be from a different franchise, so much of it feels different in regards to its plot and storytelling.
I just don't like mother 3's setting.
>people always posting about how they dont like earthbound
these people never even played the game. One of the only games that have a real sense of adventure in it.
>One of the only games that have a real sense of adventure in it
It's a strictly linear RPG where you go from one insular town to the next with virtually zero sidequesting or exploration.
There's plenty of shit to find if you're willing to look. Most of it inconsequential, sure, but it's there.
Compared to almost all of its contemporaries at the time it's basically a straight line of a game.
Name two besides Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy
fricking super mario RPG has more emphasis on exploration and optional content for you to find
I think Super Mario RPG has some great secrets, but in terms of level of detail I'd definitely say EarthBound has it beat.
Romancing SaGa 1, 2, and 3.
please don't actually play SNES Romancing SaGa 1
I played Final Fantasy Legend once
SaGa 1 and Romancing SaGa 1 are very different games
Man, I love Romancing SaGa 1, shame it is unfinished, you cannot get all the gems unless you play an specific port of the game OR the PS2 remake
Metal Max
Man I knew something bothered me about this series
There’s almost no side quests in them is there? That’s real weird for an RPG
It makes sense considering Itoi wasn't really a video game developer and was probably interested in eschewing "gamey" elements like sidequests or optional bosses in favor of delivering a more concise emotional experience
That's a good point actually. I don't think it really takes away from the game, granted, but something I've never really thought out beyond subconsciously.
yeah but the america-hopping aspect with the setting constantly changing is a lot of fun. i think sidequests and exploration don't necessarily equate to how adventurey it feels.
I agree I think just the concept of having to suddenly leave home and taking a bunch of friends with you to go across the world and stop evil is so great. Its so adventurous putting yourself in the shoes of ness and walking so far from home on an inexplicable but inherently important journey.
>One of the only games that have a real sense of adventure in it.
Not even so on its own console.
Its combat is boring and it's carried entirely by its music and setting.
If you used multi-bottle rockets or the sugar packets you didn't beat the game.
what's wrong with it is that it suffers by comparison to chrono trigger and FF3
Most people who play it enjoy the game, if not love it. There's just a share of shitposters who REALLY like to shit on it, especially in a post-Undertale world.
Contrarians because muh overrated underrated gem
It’s a great game that deserves at least one play through.
It's one of my favorites brother. Just sayin, it's a popular "underrated" game mostly known because of Smash, Giygas creepy pasta ending, and probably Undertale rather than the full game itself which is a disservice. So the series has the odd status of underrated and overrated for some people, and contrarians just like to go for the overrated part.
people have different opinions, no big deal.
I feel bad for people who don't like Earthbound, and I don't mean that in a smug dickhead kind of way I genuinely feel bad for them. It's such a comfy and soulful game, playing it just puts a huge smile on my face. It's like injecting liquid nostalgia into my veins. I understand the complaints people have with it and maybe it doesn't hit as hard if you didn't play it as a kid, but damn what a great game.
lashback at all the indie knockoffs there are.
I never saw the charm in it. I would get an hour in and get bored every time I tried to play Earthbound.
the combat isn't enough to keep me around.
If it makes you feel any better, the first hour is the worst
NTA, but I kind of like the solo Ness portion of the game. It's the hardest part and it's fun to beat without grinding.
If it wasn’t for the bullshit in Franky’s fight I would agree.
I think it gets better when you get the second member of your party, Paula. Then you can start throwing around fire and ice spells and use shields. Makes the game more engaging. After Threed when you have Jeff is the best, because you can fix broken shit and use all kinds of tech to frick with enemies.
Favorite part is the Stonehedge base.
The monkey cave in the desert is shit. Its indefensible.
I don't know about that bro, can you come back with an item that will let me measure how shit it is?
For me it's
>miss
>miss
>enemy dodged
>status effect failed
>get crited
>miss
>enemy that does 1hp damage gets in 20 hits in before you stop missing
Stop using broken bat.
I'm using the tee ball bat
It's bad because Reddit found it before I did.
This I never even made it past Onett
The shotas
>This I never even made it past Onett
Onett can be shit. My advice is to wander around and grind on those shark gang members. If you're using an emulator you can just turbo around and keep fighting them until you get your first major spell PSI Rockin (or whatever our favorite thing is). Defeat Frank, go to your first sanctuary location and beat that boss, and then go to Twoson and rescue Paula.
are you fricking moronic or something?
I had fun with it, but I played it with save states for a less frustrating experience.
>save states for a less frustrating experience.
how bad are you? Earthbound isn't even difficult.
It got hate because somehow it became the inspirational game for "thousands" of indie games. It was considered a cult classic but it got popular on sites like tumblr so it became an influential cult classic that no one ever played but pretended to like because it was quirky.
Sovlful with many good ideas but pure ass on a technical level, also approaches walking sim territory with the rudimentary gameplay that ultimately spawned your favorite troony games. The good ideas also go horribly under utilized, like the bike that you'd rather not take for inventory space.
Jesus frick you can feel the menus lag like you're not meeting the min system requirements, on a 90s console. It is infinitely worse than >muh 10 inventory slots per character
Because Ganker is broken and you shouldn't fall into a pit of contarian nitpicks for (you)s and you shouldn't let games that draw inspiration from earthbound detract your enjoyment of one of the most unique and charming snes RPGs out there.
its one of my favorite games ever - got it when it originally came out. biggest gripe is the inventory system. it would've been much better if your equipped items didnt take up space. this is the best game in the trilogy imo, the nes one is brutal and has a completely fricked encounter rate. i had to disable the encounters at times through emulator to get through it. mother 3 is quite a bit different, both in tone (darker) and having a bit different gameplay. i only played it once back in 2006 i think, but i should revisit it some time.
Paula is ... cute.
because Ganker is swarming with absolute morons who think hating everything is a substitute for having a personality.
Just finished this last month for the first time ever, I'm born in 1997. Earthbound isn't a mechanically good video game, but it is an incredible, unique experience and one of the best cases of story-gameplay integration in the industry. It is one of the rare few games out there where you truly feel like you can see yourself or even become one of the characters in this world and you just want to BE in this world for as long as you can. It's also one of the rare few games where the most emotionally impactful moments are those of happiness, hope, and camaraderie instead of (melo)dramatic, tragic setpieces like most media. It isn't for everyone, especially people who are more focused on the technical designs of a game instead of the role-playing experience. And I do feel sorry for people who dislike it, for missing such an important and human aspect of our emotions and lives.
Because it caused a large influx of mentally deranged autists to create horrible RPG maker adaptations about depression and self harm or something whatever.
It's not the game, it's the deranged offspring it has bestowed upon this world.
Onions ground zero.