When I started planning out this review about halfway through playing Earthbound, my reaction was going to be mostly negative. However, after completing the entire game, my opinion has improved dramatically. I still don’t think it’s the unmarred masterpiece some people describe it as, but Earthbound is incredibly ambitious for its time and a definite must-play for any RPG fan.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way. First of all, Earthbound has an incredibly slow start. Like I say, it wasn’t until about halfway through the game (around Moonside) that I genuinely started to enjoy myself. A lot of the comedy early on just feels like weirdness for weirdness’ sake. There’s a ton of setup that pays off later in the game, but if it wasn’t for Earthbound’s reputation, I never would have stuck with it that far.
Maybe it’s just been a while since I’ve played a JRPG, but it seems like there is a ton of grinding in Earthbound. The grinding necessary to beat the first boss is downright atrocious. I died more trying to take him down than I did at any other point in the game. The difficulty curve is all over the map. Several times, I had to grind in the previous area after beating a boss just so I could survive walking through the next one. Other times, I’d enter a new area and even the bosses were complete pushovers.
The flow of the game can be a bit wonky as well. At one point, you have to put the controller down and wait three whole minutes to gain entrance to a secret base. Why not thirty seconds? There are three different concerts you have to sit through, and none of them are very interesting. Any time you use a vehicle, you still have to travel screen by screen; it’s barely faster than walking, so what’s the point?
Without question, the worst offender in terms of breaking flow is the Camera Man. The first few times he shows up I really enjoyed him. A funny little man drops down from the sky, declares himself a photographic genius, takes your picture, and without a word of explanation zooms back into the sky. It’s very charming at first, but the more he showed up, the more I dreaded hearing his signature fanfare. His spiel never changes; it’s the same exact joke (barely a joke) repeated over and over and over again. At one point on my playthrough, he showed up twice in less than a minute. Any time I was getting pumped to explore a new area or got invested with the story, this annoying jerk would show up and grind the game to a screeching halt.
By far the worst thing about Earthbound is the menu system. The inventory space is ridiculously small and holds consumables, equipment, and key items all in the same space. In shops, you have to buy and sell items one at a time and have go through a dialogue tree between each transaction. You have to select “Help” to see what an item does in your inventory, and there’s no way to see what an item does in a shop before you buy it. In battle, there’s no way to see what your PSI attacks or items do. You just have memorize them or consult a strategy guide.
It took me a while to discover that “L” acts as talk or check depending on context, so why doesn’t “A” act this way like in every other RPG? Why do you have to select “talk” or “check” from the menu until you chance upon the shortcut? Accidentally talking to signs or checking telephones gets really annoying after a while, and there’s no reason for it.
However, despite all the problems Earthbound is still a really good game. At first glance, the story is nothing special: a young boy named Ness discovers that he’s the chosen one and must gather allies to defeat the ultimate personification of evil, but there are a few things that set Earthbound apart.
For starters, the game is set in a semi-realistic present, still a rarity for JRPGs. As the game progresses, the realistic settings give way to more surrealist locales, such as a hallucinatory neon city on the moon, an underground jungle filled with dinosaurs, and a floating island in Ness’ own subconscious.
The tone of Earthbound is goofy on the surface, but there is some seriousness underneath. There is a lot of satire at the expense of adults, depicting them as greedy, easily corruptible and self-important. Inspired by Shigesato Itoi’s own absentee father, Ness’ father only appears in the game over the telephone, and Pokey and Jeff also have fathers leaving a lot to be desired.
Children on the other hand are mostly depicted as idealistic and noble. Our four young heroes constantly put their lives in danger for the common good while adults occupy themselves with petty concerns. Similarly, the Mr. Saturns are shown as innocent and childlike, even down to the font displaying their speech. The species lives an idyllic, peaceful existence which is only interrupted when they are acted upon by the corrupt outside world.
Apart from a few garish NPCs, the game’s visuals are very well done. The artstyle has a whimsical quality to it, almost like a child’s drawing. When Earthbound was first released, it was criticized for its simplistic visuals, but in retrospect its art has aged far better than many of its contemporaries.
Combat is a bit of a mixed bag. In place of random encounters, enemies appear on the world. Strong enemies chase you, but weak ones run from you, making backtracking a lot less of a pain. If you are strong enough, some enemies will be defeated automatically without even having to battle. Since random encounters are one of the most hated features in RPGs, all of this is welcome innovation. Enemies are also varied and unique; what other RPG lets you fight Abstract Art?
However, the battles themselves can be a bit slow and visually uninteresting. The moving psychedelic backgrounds are kind of cool, but apart from the PSI attacks, there is very little to look at. Enemies are not animated, and our heroes don’t even appear on screen. On a positive note, attacks don’t drain HP all at once. Instead, each character’s health is represented by scrolling number wheels which slowly spin down after attack. Even if mortal damage is inflicted, you can still heal party members if you act quickly enough. Times like that make battles a lot more exciting and stressful than RPG fans might be used to.
The final boss of the game is one of the most memorable and unnerving in video game history. Giygas is shown as a swirling chaotic evil barely capable of being comprehended and it only becomes stranger as the fight continue. The entire battle emits a sense of overwhelming dread, yet somehow manages to fill you with hope and optimism by its end. If nothing else, this battle alone justifies playing the game.
The score by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka is another one of the game’s high points and ranks among the best soundtracks the SNES has to offer. I tend to play a lot games muted, but apart from some grinding sessions, I kept the sound on through the entirety of Earthbound. Songs like “Hi Hi Hi”, “Pokey Means Business” and “Smiles and Tears” perfectly fit the game’s tone and will surely please any fan of video game music.
Earthbound may not quite live up to its sterling reputation, but if you’re willing to give it a little time and put up with a clunky interface, you’ll be rewarded by a gaming experience unlike any other. I’m very glad I stuck with it to the end and will be sure to play the rest of the series when I have the chance.
