Earthbound Rocks! One of the best and original RPGs ever!
User Rating: 10 | Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu SNES
Earthbound (aka Mother 2 in Japan) is one of of the most under appreciated games of all time and probably the one with one of the biggest cult followings. There are 2 other games in the series (Mother and Mother 3) which are equally as good but due to marketing and translation issues they were never released in the United States (Mother was released later on on the GameBoy Advance compilation with Mother 2). It's basically an RPG using everyday items such as whiffle and aluminum bats for weapons, drinking orange juice and eating sandwiches for power ups. In order to get money you call your dad and he puts money in your bank account and you withdraw it at an ATM after fighting battles. The shops you visit are just like in real life too. You go to a department store to purchase items and even go to a restaurant or a lemonade stand to purchase food item power ups. The 'monsters' you fight are equally out of everyday life too. From hippies to dogs to crazy taxis and 18- wheelers Earthbound has it all.
In addition to all these out of the ordinary RPG items and nuances there is a solid story, classic RPG game play (equal to great games like Final Fantasy III and Chronotrigger) and excellent sound effects and colorful bright graphics. For the time they were really cool and stand up very well today.
I hope they release the entire Mother series and even consider making a new one for the Wii. I'm sure it will do well if they stick to their winning formula. If you haven't played it you're missing out! Play it today!
