I just couldn't get into it. Great storyline and outstanding character development meets lame 'battle' sequences.
10/10
Gameplay: Earthbound is a classic 3-d RPG. You get 4 characters and get to choose all their names. You also get to name the dog and your favorite food. Instead of swords and magical items in this game you get sandlot weapons such as sling shots, baseball bats, and air guns. You talk to people, work your way through each little town, and take bus rides to the next level/town. Personally I really did enjoy the overworld/quest part of the game, with unlockable towns, bus rides, people to talk to, and things to explore. It's a lot of fun when your NPC friends all join the party and they'll follow you around wherever you go on the map. On the other hand I'm not a fan whatsoever of the battle system in Earthbound. When you fight an enemy you automatically go to the battle screen. The lame battle screen depicts the enemy you're fighting and your character's HP and MP, that's it. You never even get to see your character in battle or any type of attack take place ever. No visible weapons, no visible attacks, no visible magic. Instead the battle screen offers you a brief description of what happened - "Alex swung the baseball bat... and missed." Then you just watch the HP and MP numbers to see what happens. Enemies include neighborhood animals and dogs, other groups of kids, and of course the Giygas.
7/10
Graphics: They're cool graphics which help the game overall, but nothing to write home about either. Character sprites remind me a lot of the Peanuts gang in fact. The environments include both inside and outside areas which are pleasing to look at. This neighborhood type of environment includes houses, trees, animals, streets, tunnels, busses, etc. There's also trails which lead out of town and up into the hills.
8/10
Audio: For the most part the audio and music in Earthbound is up to par. The music on the overworld/quest screen is great. But yet again I found the battle screen music to be borderline annoying. It's supposed to be weird alien music, but I just wasn't wild about it. The sound effects are about average.
8/10
Replay: Not a lot here to add replay value. I didn't even make it through the first time, let alone twice. About 3/4 of the way through I just couldn't deal with the boring, annoying battle system anymore. As far as I know there's only one ending and nothing unlockable to keep you interested over time. Furthermore this is not a 2 player co-op game.
4/10
Pros: Great story with loveable characters. Cute, funny sense of humor.
Cons: I personally did not enjoy the battle system at all. Heavy text RPG.
Overall: I really enjoyed the storyline, humor, and character development in Earthbound. However to me the 'battle' sequences are not very fun whatsoever. Call me crazy but I couldn't play any more of this game. True RPG fans will probably love this game anyway, just not my flavor guys.