Humor and Charm and a unique battle system is what make Earthbound, a great rpg experience
In Earthbound the player's goal is to find eight sanctuaries around the globe but this is not an easy task because in each sanctuary there is guardian. The player has to defeat each guardian in order to record the sound afterwards. The sanctuary bosses have different themes and backgrounds in fights. The background in the sanctuary boss is a black and purple color. Behind the sanctuary boss is a purple spider-web that sometimes has servants fighting along side them. Each normal battle will have a different tune depending on the enemy you are facing. Every battle has a different battle screen because it makes each battle unique. For example if I was fighting an enemy in a desert, the background color would be brown behind the enemy. The background might also have decorative or doing different things with brown in the background.
In role-playing games the player is forced by the developers to explore different areas. Earthbound is no different from any role-playing game in that regard since it also forces the player to move place to place. Most places or towns that you go to would present certain problems and the player has to solve the problem within that place. This game sometimes makes the player confused. The player does not know which town they have to go next and what task do they have to do. The game gives out hints to help the player, but sometimes it is not a good hint and the player have to pay the character a lot of money who is giving out hints.
One of the reasons why Earthbound is a great game is because the game makes the player laugh. The player learns that Earthbound makes fun of traditional role-playing games. The player knows this by looking at the character names. Some of the dialogue is funny because some characters say phrases that do not make any sense. The player also knows that some of enemies are designed in funny manner. The designers intentionally create weird and awkward moments to entertain the player. The designers did not want to create a serious traditional role-playing game that can bore a player. The developers want the player to realize that this game is different from traditional role-playing games.
The game forces the player to level up and learn more abilities to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The reason being is that this game is a turn-based role-playing game. The player is supposed to have some certain strategy in battle that is determined by the main enemy or boss. In order to know what strategy the player is supposed to know their own strengths and weaknesses and their enemy's strengths and weaknesses. To know the enemy weakness, the player has to use the character named Jeff. Jeff has an ability to analyze the enemy's strength and weakness. After Jeff's analysis, the player should know what certain techniques are going to defeat an enemy.
Each character has their own unique abilities and skills and the player needs to know how they utilized in battle. The player needs to know what item and weapons are compatible with the character Ness is the main character in the game and he has all around stats. Ness has high hp, which means health, considered to the other characters. Ness preferred weapon of choice is bats and yo-yos. Paula is the best PSI user in the group but she suffers from low health, attack, and defense. She has to the best defensive equipment out of all the party members. Her preferred weapon of choice is frying pans. Jeff is a character who only uses physical attacks. Jeff can also make inventions like rockets and bombs which does a lot of damage to the enemy. But Jeff doesn't have any PSI so he can't use magic. Poo is the player last party member; he supports the party by healing them with magic spells. Poo does not wear any equipment so there is no need to buy him anything.
Earthbound has a couple of problems within the game. One of the problems is that this game does not have a lot of character development. Players are more connected with the characters in a role-playing game than any other genre because of its in-depth character development. But in Earthbound, the main character is a silent protagonist so he cannot talk and the other characters in the party rarely speak. It is diifficult to connect with the characters inside this game. One thing that is unique about this game is that the player doesn't have to grind for money. The player has to call the main character's dad for some cash and save the player's progress. This also is bad news to the player because the only way to save is calling the main character's father in a facility like a bakery or a hotel. So the player cannot save inside a cave or a forest.
Earthbound is great game that is overlooked in gaming and should be recognized as one of the best role-playing games of all time. Earthbound is different from most role-playing games because the game relies mostly on humor to interest the player and the game itself mocks traditional role-playing games.
My Score: 9.3/10