Do you guys like Earthbound?

[MLGF]

It's just a bad game. The color pallet is incredibly reserved and bland, taking away a lot of the potential charm, so it's not very appealing to travel through. The gameplay features that stupid rolling numbers element which literally makes you just sit and watch until you're fully healed (made worse in Mother 3 mind you.) so that was annoying. And it was just impossible to care about your characters as they have little personality, ironically everyone else in the game is loaded with personality. Chances are all the acclaim these games hurts it for me too, but I just can't enjoy this game.

 

[Nido]

The gameplay features that stupid rolling numbers element which literally makes you just sit and watch until you're fully healed (made worse in Mother 3 mind you.) so that was annoying.

wat, it's very helpful because of how you actually have the amount you heal so if you heal from 100 to 900 then take 400 it still scrolls to 500 so you don't just sit there, you keep going with the fight, please don't tell me you played the whole game like waiting for it to cap because if you did you're pretty stupid.

 

[MLGF]

That's more of a complaint from Mother 3 TBH, I didn't like that one either but it's the more recent game.

 

[Nido]

But the scrolling HP system functions the same for both games.

In fact it's better in mother 3 because it scrolls slower than in Earthbound to compensate for lower max HP figures rofl

 

[MLGF]

*Slower
I was already complaining that it was so damn slow. How is making it slower better?

 

[Nido]

You survive longer.

 

[MLGF]

Battles last longer too.
Why on earth would I want simplistic battles to drag on. Fast paced battles are far more engaging.

 

[Nido]

The scrolling hp doesn't slow down battles unless you wait for it to stop scrolling.

Just keep wailing on the enemies and ignore it

 

[Makai Wars]

Agreeing with Nido, the scrolling HP bars is pretty unique and I liked what it did in battle
Like, if you take moral damage, the rush to real your character before they die is intense.
Anyway, I loved EB and M3 and recommend it to my friends a lot, I'm gonna 100% complete Earthbound one of these days (as in talk to EVERYONE)

 

[Wiisnake]

Curious, what inspires such hate?

Honestly yeah, I get the fans overrate it but still, I'm curious about this.

 

[Kayo]

Guys, there is no helping this guy. I've seen people like him before that hate Earthbound because it gets a lot of attention and not understand why. Usually these people nitpick reasons to feed other people. Or... He's trolling. Or both!

 

[MLGF]

Hey, he asked I answered.
If you like Earthbound more power to ya, I just didn't find it that hype. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, maybe I'm not the target audience, IDC. I didn't enjoy it, I'm not saying if you do like it that you're wrong or anything. Perhaps I was too blunt, but no need to be defensive.

 

[♡ⓛⓞⓥⓔ♡]

Earthbound is by far my favourite RPG, I love the originality and humour

 

[Bryonato]

Yeah I didnt mean for everyone to get all mad. I was only curious

 

[StarshipGroove]

Earthbound used to be one of my favorite games, but as the years passed I realized it's not that good. I agree with MLGF

I aso hate Earthbound's portrayal of Ness.

Smash Bros's Ness is a pest. He's the guy who wants to wants to kick posteriors not because he's a brave hero and he was chosen by some higher entity, but just because he can. His moves follow the guidelines of slapstick too.

Earthbound's Ness is the cliché personality-free rpg protagonist. He doesn't talk. He almost never smiles. He's sooo mature for his age and mommy's natural born fighter, complies to everything, wets his bed... uh, and his moves are not funny. "Ness attacks!" they could've got more creative that that. Like "Ness punched the target's nose!" or some such

He's just so boring. and the same goes for the other main characters. Paula is a doormat, Jeff is just kinda there, Poo..

 

[EdgeTheLucas]

I saw someone complain that while the scrolling hp bars help you survive longer, they don't like waiting for the hp bar to go all the way up to when it completely heals.

But that second part never happens in the game.

The game (both EarthBound and Mother 3) accounts for how much damage you took so it knows to stop there, as we all know. Same thing with damage healed. However, while you can interrupt the damage taken while it's scrolling to survive a fatal attack with lifeup, this can never happen if you heal. The player does not have to wait for your hp to completely fill by the amount healed because attacks don't interrupt it.

For example, let's say Ness has 90 hp currently and he gets hit by a 100 damage attack. Your hp is now at 0, but you have time to heal before the counter scrolls to it. So, as we know, if you cast lifeup and gain 60 hp from it, the game calculates it as 0+60 to hp. If you're quick enough, of course. However, if after you finished casting lifeup and the counter is now at 20 (it's going to keep on scrolling up) and you get hit by a 30 damage attack while it's scrolling, it won't be another fatal blow. The game just calculates it as 60 (the amount you just healed to save yourself) - 30. So, rather than getting another fatal blow from being hit while the counter was at 20, the hp counter just keeps going up, stopping at 30 (the new total) instead of 60 (the old total).

So there is no need to wait for the hp counter to stop at the amount you healed.

I guess this means MLGF just didn't know that happened when healing. I wish he'd have known, he'd have enjoyed the game more, at least.

 

[OrangeSodaGuy]

Earthbound is one of my favorite RPG's ever.

While Mother 3 is a great game as well, I really like the "this could have been me as a kid" vibe I get from this game. Onett seems like the kind of town that reminds you of your town when you were a kid.

It makes you miss the feeling of waking up every day, going to play and have fun with the local boys your age you would wreak havoc with, summer days off of school with no responsibilities and not a care in the world, and all of the libraries, stores, and parks that seemed so magical and surreal when you were going out and discovering it all for the first time as a kid.

Everyone knew a Paula, a Jeff, and sadly even a Pokey or two growing up.
Not to mention that Giygas is one of the darkest, most nightmarish final bosses in the history of gaming. The sheer terror of that final showdown in contrast to the rest of the game really catches you off guard.

There are better RPG's out there in terms of game mechanics, but in terms of originality, humor, and atmosphere, Earthbound beats nearly all of them if you ask me.

Mach Pizza takes forever, but the Escargo express shows up in seconds.
Every bathroom in the game is occupied.
At one point, the townspeople use Zombie Paper to deal with an undead uprising, trapping them like flies.
One character loves RPG dungeons so much that he has himself turned into one.
One NPC claims to have lost his shirt in a Solitaire tournament.
One of the bosses is a sentient pile of puke.

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't not love a game where you get to go out, pound on some hippies with a baseball bat, singlehandedly wallop the entire police force and a ku-klux-clan inspired cult, and go hang out with the blues brothers afterwards. It's like the childhood I wish I could have lived.

 

[EdgeTheLucas]

Earthbound is one of my favorite RPG's ever.

While Mother 3 is a great game as well, I really like the "this could have been me as a kid" vibe I get from this game. Onett seems like the kind of town that reminds you of your town when you were a kid.

It makes you miss the feeling of waking up every day, going to play and have fun with the local boys your age you would wreak havoc with, summer days off of school with no responsibilities and not a care in the world, and all of the libraries, stores, and parks that seemed so magical and surreal when you were going out and discovering it all for the first time as a kid.

Everyone knew a Paula, a Jeff, and sadly even a Pokey or two growing up.
Not to mention that Giygas is one of the darkest, most nightmarish final bosses in the history of gaming. The sheer terror of that final showdown in contrast to the rest of the game really catches you off guard.

There are better RPG's out there in terms of game mechanics, but in terms of originality, humor, and atmosphere, Earthbound beats nearly all of them if you ask me.

Mach Pizza takes forever, but the Escargo express shows up in seconds.
Every bathroom in the game is occupied.
At one point, the townspeople use Zombie Paper to deal with an undead uprising, trapping them like flies.
One character loves RPG dungeons so much that he has himself turned into one.
One NPC claims to have lost his shirt in a Solitaire tournament.
One of the bosses is a sentient pile of puke.

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't not love a game where you get to go out, pound on some hippies with a baseball bat, singlehandedly wallop the entire police force and a ku-klux-clan inspired cult, and go hang out with the blues brothers afterwards? It's like the childhood I wish I could have lived.

While I think Mother 3 is superior, you effectively summarized why I think EarthBound is one of the best pieces of fiction I've ever experienced.

 

[OrangeSodaGuy]

Mother 3 is also a great game, and in some ways it was straight up better than Earthbound.

I liked the feel-good atmosphere of Earthbound and how the world was a bit closer to reality as we know it, as opposed to the bleak, nightmarishly depressing world of Mother 3. The game had you in tears from start to finish, and while the story was very well done, and moving, I really liked how Earthbound had that contrast-- it was so happy go lucky, and out of nowhere GIYGAS.
It balances the serious moments with the humor and catches you off guard in way Mother 3 can't IMO. Mother 3 is just a SAD game from start to finish.
I also like the more open-ended world of EB. There were plenty of people to meet, places to see, and things to explore. Even after the end of the game, you can literally go ANYWHERE you want. Mother 3, while still great, is very, very linear. Things change so much between chapters that there's little incentive to want to backtrack and explore previous areas, and the whole final chapter is a point of no return (with little room to explore and poke around, sadly).

On the positives, I think Mother 3 did a better job with the battle system for sure. The rhythm combos are a lot of fun, and add depth to battles. Having the run button was a nice touch as well, and gave you a chance to actually avoid enemy encounters on the field. On a technical level, there's a good argument that Mother 3 was better than Earthbound in many ways-- however, I think Earthbound wins overall for humor, atmosphere, and for being able to balance the humor with the nightmarish horror and catch you off guard with it.

Either way, they're both great games and well worth checking out. Hope I didn't spoil too much for anyone else lurking, lol.

 

[Deleted member]

I loved earthbound until my 6th play through when I got stuck in Threed at lv 7.

 

[choknater]

i just downloaded the game since i main ness now and i want to like the character more

 

[The_NZA]

i just downloaded the game since i main ness now and i want to like the character more

I've played Ness for 15 years and I've never actually played Earthbound. Strange since I've kind of grafted my personality onto the character.

 

[smashbroskilla]

Will I pay 500 +/- dollars for it in the big box on snes? No. Do I consider the game worth a 20 dollar cart to have in a snes collection? Yes. The mere collecting of the rare big box on snes has triggered most of the attention this game gets. I love Ness. I probably play with him more than any other character in smash in overall game time so don't get me wrong.

 

[Eagleye893]

I do understand that they don't really flesh out the main characters as well in Earthbound as they could have, but they did just enough with Paula/Jeff/Poo to introduce them and give them meaning, and Ness is "some kid" who stumbles on a situation as the standard RPG goes. There are games that go in the complete opposite direction with their development of main characters, trying TOO hard to establish importance that I can't get into whatsoever; they throw tons of cutscenes and text together to explain that narrative to the player, and it helps to develop an image that people can refer to. Some people will like the in-depth presentation, some people will like the minimalist approach.

My main like for EB comes from the style. It's just a ton of "wit" with every name and town and phrase spoken. The fighting system is as every other RPG but with the flavor of text describing those situations that is so unique to Mother. It's a good game because of its style over its mechanics. Similar to how South Park: Stick of Truth is a good game right now; the South Park universe is fleshed out through all the scenes and text and environments and enemies, and even though the main character of "The New Kid" doesn't stick out well compared to the side-characters you can have on your team, you can enjoy the situation of fighting Nazi Zombies and Underpants Gnomes.

 

[TheGravyTrain]

Just finished Earthbound on Wii U and already started another run through. Also, any of you guys seen that a fan made Mother 4 is coming out this Winter? It is fan made, but it looks really enticing. Super excited

 

[FlamingForce]

I love earthbound, especially mother 3.
"The number you have dialed is currently out of pork chops"

Seriously man that game was pure hilarity.

 

[IceyBeef]

Earthbound is amazing. 10/10

 

[thesage]

I bought a mother 2 cartridge with earnings from a smash tournament at magfest. It's my most prized possession.

 

[SamuelOak]

I've played Ness in smash since 64 and that's what lead to my discovery of Earthbound. After playing smash, I was always curious as to what genre of game Ness came from, but that was before I knew what emulators were so I didn't pursue my curiosity to great extents. About 3 or 4 years ago, I stumbled upon a Chuggaconroy lets play of Earthbound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcezxUzg_s8&index=2&list=PLD14CA711E34ACAFD). After watching the first couple of episodes of this lets play, I downloaded the rom and played through Earthbound. Earthbound has since became my favorite story in a game.

TLDR: Didn't know about Ness/Earthbound 'till Smash 64. Just played it for the first time a couple of years ago. Pretty sweet game.

 

[Ting Sing]

My brother and I played Earthbound for the first time probably around 1998 and we loved it so much. The colors, the music, the plot, THE MUSIC, everything. I loved the battle sequences, and I remember thinking how it was so awesome to walk diagonally for some reason. Threed when it's still haunted is probably my favorite part, or maybe Magicant / Sea of Eden. I want to fully beat Mother 1 and 3 someday.

 

[AlMasterX]

Earthbound (Mother 2) is amazing. It's easily one of nintendo's most unique creations and it has so much character. The games keeps you laughing nonstop, contains the perfect balance of challenge, and the story is excellent. To be totally honest, Earthbound drives me to use Ness above anything else.

 

[metaknight120]

I'm a massive weeb and I gravitate to RPGs faster than a thirteen year old using PSI to slip past the fourth dimension, Earthbound was made for me.
but seriously, **** the guy that made the sword of kings a 1/128 drop.

 

[Ting Sing]

but seriously, **** the guy that made the sword of kings a 1/128 drop.

After about 6 play-throughs I didn't even see the point. I usually never need it and you can spend too many hours farming super starmen. I just wish it was a bit more common :/

 

[gmBottles]

I'm finally getting around to trying this game out, and I absolutely love it so far. I'm not very good at RPGs, but the charm and personality the game has definitely is enough to keep me playing. Looking forward to completing the game.

 

[FamiGrafx]

The MOTHER series takes second on my list of favorite games. Yes, all of them together, because otherwise my top 5 would have three games from the same series, and that's no fun. The first is my favorite, but EB was the one I played first, naturally, and it's very special to me for a multitude of reasons. Three is good too.

 

[Infinite901]

Earthbound is comfortably my second favorite game of all time (only to Portal 2) and Mother 3 is an extremely tight third. (However I still haven't finished Mother 3 so that could change!) I'll probably play Mother eventually, but I especially can't wait for Mother 4! (fan made)

 

[Lord Horatio]

To play a Smash Bros. character properly, you must first become one with his/her heart and soul, which nesecitates playing the games they come from. Only by playing the Mother series can one truly master Ness and Lucas.

 

[Infinite901]

To play a Smash Bros. character properly, you must first become one with his/her heart and soul, which nesecitates playing the games they come from. Only by playing the Mother series can one truly master Ness and Lucas.

I wish that were the case. If it was I would be a master Ness player.

Though, I do play a lot of Pokemon, so...

 

[metaknight120]

To play a Smash Bros. character properly, you must first become one with his/her heart and soul, which nesecitates playing the games they come from. Only by playing the Mother series can one truly master Ness and Lucas.

I wish that were the case. If it was I would be a master Ness player.

Though, I do play a lot of Pokemon, so...

It's true for some characters throughout the series. for example, Robin in Smash 4 requires a lot of setup and tactical thinking, so Fire Emblem Fans have a better shot with him than most. Marth too, to a lesser degree. In the case of Ness and Lucas, really the only way Earthbound skill could translate into their playstyle is if they had rolling damage bars or something.

 

[EarthboundHero]

Earthbound really changed my life. To defeat the evil in the world, you must first defeat the evil in yourself.