Is it good?

Is it good?

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nah
all style no substance

I liked it. I don't think its the GOAT that everyone else thinks it is but it's good. I think Mother 3 is a lot better.

It's fun if you enjoy classic rpgs.
It's not if you don't.

Yes, it's my favourite game of all time (Even though Mother 3 is better in every aspect)

This. Mother 3 is such a drastically better game in so many aspects. Better art, less grinding, generally the same level of music, and a much better story. I will say though, EB's ability to hit you when you least expect it is impeccable.

>all style no substance
That's Chrono Trigger, user

it stinks

No, it really isn't

It's worth every penny.

What about the first Mother?

>tfw you remember when you could get a good condition, used copy of Earthbound for $10.
Fucking hipsters inflating the prices of not so rare games.

Mother thread? Post pics

Yes, however it shouldnt be rated in a conventional system

It captures the sense of adventure with the fantasy of a kid the best.

While I agree that Mother 3 is a better game on the paper, it didnt connect with me as much as Mother 2.
It was so dialogue and story focused, which in turn worsened the exploration.

Completely agree user
It's my favorite too

Just beat Earthbound for the first time a month ago

It was pretty good overall but Mother 3 was really, REALLY damn good, ultimately better than 2.

>it shouldnt be rated in a conventional system

When someone says this about a game, you can tell they know it's mediocre/shit, but don't want others to know that.

No. It has a lot of gameplay problems and is tedious as fuck. It's only saving grace is the story but it's hard to get invested if you don't self insert as Ness because the party doesn't really have any personality or speak very much. The fanbase is obnoxious too.

Not really.

An aged Dragon Warrior clone. If you enjoy Earthbound's writing and Dragon Warrior's gameplay, Mother is a good game.

I agree with him. Earthbound's gameplay is just ok by rpg standards, and the writing is hokey and cliche at times, but the atmosphere the game creates through its world building, visuals, dialogue and music is 10/10, even better than Mother 3 is some respects.

By that I refer to the 1-10 rating scale.

It's fairly unique hence why people love it or hate it

I spent way too much time trying to get this weapon

Why not? Gameplay wise, Earthbound is only an improvement on classic rpgs such as the original FF and DW games. The only way you could really like those kinds of games and hate Earthbound is if you hate the setting or plot, which is a fair opinion to have.

Earthbound is mechanically worse than every DQ aside from DQ1 and 2

It have a lot of personal and detailed touch in the game but the the target audience are kids. The story is made oversimplified for the sake of it, but it maintain a cheery tone towards the entire game, which is very nice.

If you are in the key demographic the game was meant to be played, it's a marvelous game that will stay forever within your favorites. If not you will find the many flaws bu comparing and analyzing it more profoundly. Also, most of the positive comments about this game came from people nostalgia's.

TLDR: It has it's flaws and it's good points, way too good if you played as a child and a very mediocre game at parts if you play it as an adult.

Okay fags, so I've seen an influx of people saying that EarthBound is really a bad game that's only liked because of nostalgia. On top of that, actual fans of the game are barely able to defend their opinion and clearly state what makes it good. So here's a post just for that. Everyone doesn't have to like the game, but at least it's an argument for those who want to hear why, or those who're looking to try it.

>atmosphere
First of all the atmosphere in EarthBound is great. I think the notion of a kid going on an adventure armed only with a baseball bat appeals to everyone on some level. The game is adventurey, sometimes surreal but without overdosing on "DUDE PSYCHEDELICS LMAO" to appeal to the crowd that thinks anything being trippy makes it good. I'd best compare it to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It's a strange concept to begin with, not a total parody but also takes itself seriously sometimes while not at all at other times, and it's all about the mundane becoming more and more bizarre with the story often taking new directions at different points. In fact you can even draw parallels between Pokey and Dio. Now you wouldn't say JoJo has a an objectively "good" cohesive story, but it's just so damned unique and fun. EarthBound is the same way for me.

>world + pacing
The pacing of the game is great. There's barely any padding. Each location is diverse and has its own mystery different from the last. Onett's gang problem, Twoson's cult problem, Threed the zombie apocalypse town, and Fourside, my absolute favorite "things seem normal on the surface but something VERY fucked up is going on behind the scenes" setting in a video game. The dungeons never overstay their welcome. The hardest parts of the game such as Peaceful Rest Valley or the Fourside Dept Store are still beatable in under 10 minutes, all fights included.

I'm going to continue in the next post and talk about music and gameplay(the most important thing for a game) and maybe other things.
(1/3)

>Sega Master System graphics and 2 frames of animation
>poor writing, basically zero connection to the game it's supposed to be a sequel to, "let the player decide" used as an excuse for Itoi to be lazy
>mediocre final boss fight that's crap, supposed to be "symbolic" but comes off as barely a cutscene

Chrono Trigger is far superior

>music
The music is fantastic. It's very varied, takes from a number of different genres, and the soundtrack is huge for a game of the SNES-era. I mean, it's got different battle themes just for what kind of enemy you're facing. Even detractors of the game often agree that the music is pretty damned good. In addition to EarthBound having a unique concept and setting compared to any other RPG of its time, its music naturally was too and is very unique unlike the generic 'fantasy epic' soundtrack most other games went for. Some favorites:
youtube.com/watch?v=D20dF5Ao1mE
youtube.com/watch?v=-QcnI9EXUlI

Short post because my write-up on gameplay was too long, so it'll be on the next one.

(2/3)

>gameplay
Most people who dislike the game say it's because the gameplay is unforgivably simple. This is probably what you've been waiting for.
Firstly, lets look at what EarthBound does right. No random encounters is a huge, HUGE plus. It immediately decreases frustration by exponential amounts. Not only that, but weak enemies are auto-killed on the spot when you encounter them, making revisiting areas a pleasant experience. Think of backtracking in lategame FF games and being ambushed by fucking Leaf Bunnies. Not here.
The rolling HP meter is also fantastic. It forces the player to make split second decisions. "Do I have enough time to cast a spell or will the long animation lead to this character dying?" In lategame battles it adds tons of tension and arguable makes the fights more 'real time' than the FF series' ATB system.
People need to stop pretending that SNES RPGs were the paragons of good gameplay. Sure monster recruiting in DQ5 was fun, customizing jobs in FF5 is neat and the magicite system of FF6 allowed for a lot of customization. But still for regular mobs you're just mashing A, and for the bosses you're spamming your strongest spells + healing since status ailments don't work. EarthBound fully acknowledges it's a JRPG: it doesn't distract you with some really neat skill system to hide its simple battles, but at the same time it alleviates the common frustrations of the genre as mentioned above.

In short, other JRPGs have higher highs and lower lows. EarthBound cuts out all the fluff, but also greatly improves the shitty conventions of the genre. This is why many people who normally dislike JRPGs end up liking the game, such as Yahtzee. So the bottom line is, I say "no, EarthBound does not have bad gameplay."

(3/3)

Played it for 10 hours then dropped it out of boredom. Shit characters, graphics AND combat. Story was for literal babies. Good music tho

No one really cares about what you think. If you want to have a discussion, go argue with the posts that are contradicting you point of view.

No one is going to read the autistic 3000 letters post of someone that can't even engage on a conversation about what they are preaching for.

>I don't come to online image boards where people tend to write out their opinions to read, faggot.
I bet you're the type of guy who complains about any and every comic having "too many words."

On the other hand, the opposite seems to be happening with Harvest Moon. Its price has been falling ever since the hipsters moved on to Stardew Valley.

>pricecharting.com/game/super-nintendo/harvest-moon

No need for projections, I'm telling you as it is. If you want interaction and discussion you need to be the person that peruses them.

No one is going to indulge you own views if you don't present them in a debatable way.

The fact that you had that shit ready to go and in some word document means you're a enormous autist. Though, it kind of makes sense since the game is supposed to appeal to people like you.

>if you don't present them in a debatable way.
>i don't have an argument LOL

For it's time, most definitely.

As of now, it is fine, but a bit overrated, to be honest.

It still has loads of charm though, and the one thing I will defend about the game, even now, is that its presentation, both in terms of aesthetics and audio are still very enjoyable, even if you may find the game lack luster.

Funny, I can see that same thing being said about Undertale in about a decade from today.

>EarthBound fully acknowledges it's a JRPG: it doesn't distract you with some really neat skill system to hide its simple battles, but at the same time it alleviates the common frustrations of the genre as mentioned above.
Earthbound is far more reliant on grinding and mindless spamming than any of its peers on the SNES. For all its attempts at improving the overworld mechanics it falls into the same pitfalls as its predecessor and other early NES RPGs when it comes to in-battle gameplay. Lacking any semblance of depth or intrigue does not make it better than games that actually do have versatile, interesting battle systems, even if it's not required to take advantage.

Not to mention that by the time you'll actually feel like backtracking in any FF or DQ game you'll have access to airships or teleport spells to make backtracking painless. Earthbound uses the exact same technique too, its main difference is that it'll assault you in towns as well while other RPGs tend to treat towns as a safe haven from the overworld.

The game makes half steps towards improving genre conventions and utterly relies on them in other areas, while games like Dragon Quest 5, Final Fantasy 6, Terranigma, Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger were improving everything all around.

yes but if you play it as an adult it won't be as fun

you missed the boat if you didn't enjoy earthbound in your teenage years where you didn't constantly over-analyze everything

also the earthbound visual aesthetic is really cozy

I played chroma squad recently and it has sort-of the same look to it and it really helped me to enjoy the game more

Eeeehhhh it has a few clever moment but otherwise it's an okayish dragon quest clone that contrarian loves because it has beatles reference and lacks random encounter

I played earthbound for the first time when I was 23 and it became one of my all time favorite games.

its well written, which is a trait rpg's these days dont seem to give a fuck about. why dont more companies hire actual creative and funny authors to write their game stories than a crew of motley boring dipshits?

That looks like something I could write up in 10 minutes, though.

mother 3 is better

>Grinding
>In Earthbound
After you get Paula, there really isn't a point where you need to grind.

Oh, well, you know, the only thing us contrarians like more than the Beatles is hating on random encounters.
Did you even think about your post before pressing "Post"?

I wish we could learn more about Paula

>contrarian acting contrary
do something else

I don't see what the point to getting it is, you're still just going to cast PSI Freeze/Thunder/Starstorm all the time

It's filled with modern day JRPG cliches, but for it's time it was pretty groundbreaking.

getting the full set is kind of a sense of accomplishment back before games had achievements

What was groundbreaking about Earthbound?

I can't fathom how you would ever find it necessary to grind in Earthbound. That being said, I'd be hard pressed to think of a well regarded RPG on the system that actually necessitates grinding bar, perhaps, the first two SMT games.

I once spent so much time at Stonehenge that the party was hideously overleveled for the rest of the game.
Like that major XP boost from beating Magicant? Ness didn't level up.

The games front loaded with grinding in Onett and Twoson

It was one of the first JRPGs to actually have a good story. Also felt unique from every other game in the genre at the time.

Almost all prior JRPGs were dragon slayer simulators with stereotypical DND style enemies in a medieval Europe setting.

I want to imprison and rape Paula!

Keep your filthy hands off Paula

It does, but even I can tell that user copypasted it from elsewhere, he fucking left the [embed] text for the youtube links in

Earthbounds main story is incredibly shallow. What its got is strong atmosphere and dialogue writing.

Final Fantasy 6 and Dragon Quest 4 both have great narratives and predate Earthbound, and that's just from the two mainstream JRPG franchises.

I saw that post in a Mother thread and I just wanted an excuse to post pictures

it's okay, at best

Not mindblowing, but decent enough.

It's great. it's got a couple of weird RPG bullshit like occasional grinding, but it's seriously charming and funny and absorbing.

lot of "holy shit" moments in this game, too. best to avoid spoilers like the plague if you plan to eventually play it.

timeless masterpiece

I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly holds up well even today. Despite there being many other far superior rpgs on the snes.

I thought both those games had shit stories and shitty unrelatable characters.

If you can't consider EB a timeless masterpiece, then I can't even think of a game that close to this title

too many people jerk off over the mother series. It's good, it's fun, but god damn it's not that great.

I didn't like it, I never finished it.

>First chapters a grind with just Ness
>Way too much MISS and Critical Hits
>Severely restrictive item system. They don't even stack!
>Passive-aggressive humor is annoying. Maybe it wasn't translated well?

Just didn't have a good time, even after reaching Foursquare

For its time it wasn't all too ground-breaking.

Most the praise it gets is from people who've never played it and just keep hearing how great and revolutionary it was from people who also haven't played it. Its an alright game but its not that amazing. Its worth at least trying Earthbound, but Mother 3 is better

I personally didn't find it too fun until I got Jeff.

Slow start, amazing middle, tedious third act, phenominal finale. Overall a solid 9/10 RPG.

Sounds like bait but I know its true

It's not. Avoid this at all cost. Archaic battle system, terrible inventory management and painful overall gameplay feel.

Play Mother 3 directly instead.

Worst dungeons I've ever traveled.
Even worse in Mother 1

I agree that Mother 3 is in a lot of respects better, but I wouldn't sell EB so short. It's battle system is a little archaic, but it manages to provide a unique style of world to explore which really hasn't been able to be replicated since. It's definitely worth giving a try.

not good, but it's still interesting

The battle system isn't that bad.
>get a fucking Smaaaash out of nowhere
some of the fights were either clutch or insane blowout

>Mother 1's dungeon design.
Dear Christ, I still enjoyed the game quite a bit but I can't even begin to understand what they were thinking when they designed these dungeons.

What's bad about this?

People seem to criticize the battle system of Earthbound for being so barebones and basic and I don't really understand it. The rolling HP system is fucking genius and completely does away with cheap instakill bullshit that most other JRPGs do (we'll just ignore PK Flash), and the auto-win when you try to battle a weaker enemy is great for cutting down pointless grinding. There were definitely elements of it that were ahead of its time, and I don't get why more RPGs don't do stuff like that.
Even the smallest thing, like automatically being asked by the shopkeeper to sell your shitty old gear when you buy better new ones bogs down the monotony quite a bit.

Your level of perspective. It's not too difficult to get lost in these dungeons due to how little of the thing you see at any given time, plus you aren't given a map of any of the dungeon layouts iirc. It's also a pretty early dungeon in the game. Then again, I did play this game when I was 12, so maybe it's not so awful now.

Yeah, I guess I'd have to take a look at a video/screenshot of going through the dungeon to really appreciate the screen size, but otherwise the only dickish thing I see there is that there are a couple areas "below" the starting point, potentially confusing you on which direction to go. But when you figure that out, you just need to find a way to the "top".

It's undoubtedly charming and interesting, also a memorable crazy last boss.

Otherwise it's FF1-clone #ilostcount but with an original style and an interesting sense of speed over the gradual DMG-depletion system. Try it for yourself.

>What an almighty idiot!

...

This, it's like Itoi played a classic JRPG and every time something tedious popped up he took a note and when it came time to develop EB he made a system to get rid of that shit.

Really the only valid criticism of Earthbound I can think of that doesn't come down to opinion is the inventory system, which is really just awful, even with a full party.

Mother 3 was a fucking mess and didn't even feel like a Mother/Earthbound game

It was graphically less impressive than EB, which is forgivable due to the hardware. What's not forgivable is how much worse the art direction is, how much worse the music is, and how poorly written the story is.
I can understand that this is due in part to the game being redeveloped from scratch, but the hodgepodge frankenstein like way the final game was put together with elements that were obviously intended for the original version is just jarring. It's commendable that they managed to make an average jrpg in spite of all of this, but it falls painfully short of even the original Mother, let alone Earthbound.

thank god autistic anonymous gaming connoisseur lays down his expert opinions . you're so intellgeaiant mr gamer.

>It was graphically less impressive than EB
>how much worse the music is
>how poorly written the story is

Mother 3 has the best writing of any JRPG lmao. I can't read the rest of your post when your premise is so retarded

>Mother3 fags
not even once

you are the worst thing about this franchise

>The rolling HP system is fucking genius and completely does away with cheap instakill bullshit that most other JRPGs do
>the auto-win when you try to battle a weaker enemy is great for cutting down pointless grinding

all true and I don't even care for the game that much (M3 is better)
any mechanic that makes battles less stat reliant (like the odometer) is cool in my book

Just stop.

put actual thought into your posts if you want people to debate you. you sound like a moron. don't just write obvious bait and then get offended when people just tell you you're stupid.

On the upside, you'll never have to grind again for the rest of the game.

>Graphically less impressive than EB.
That's strikes me as an odd statement to make. The sprites employed in M3 are far more detailed and expressive than those used in EB - this is true of both overworld and in-battle sprites.

I can't really say there's anything in EB that's as graphically 'impressive' as the Drago that are seen right at the beginning of the game, for example.

I played Mother 3 first and found EarthBound to be a woeful step down. It's cute and the style is great but there are a number of very significant problems with it.

There are a number of incredibly tedious things in EB. Rolling health is absolute genius but most of the actual gameplay is pretty brutal.