An original RPG that any lover of unconventional RPGs is sure to go wild for, though it might seem dry to others.
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Finally, after years of being poor and not getting the chance to play many great SNES games, I finally got my hands on this Earthbound game that everyone and their kids were talkin’ about. I just beat it a week ago, so since it’s still fresh in my mind, I may as well review it!
Characters: 8/10
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The four main heroes certainly aren’t this game’s strong point. However, combined with the many other main characters, they make up a witty, interesting cast that you won’t be forgetting any time soon. A few of the characters develop as you progress through the game, though this game really doesn’t hold character development on a high level of importance. If you’re looking for a game with many epic characters, look away. But if you’re looking for something different and amusing, by all means, play this game!
Gameplay: 8/10
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The battle system feels a lot like Dragon Quest, expect that it has an added feature: HP scrolling. When you’re damaged by the enemy, the HP bar will count down slowly, allowing you a chance to save yourself if you’re dealt a mortal blow by the enemy. This becomes an essential strategy later on in the game and is very useful to remember. Ness acts mainly as your healer, though his PSI (insert cool thing here) packs a punch. Paula lends her elemental and defense spells to the party, the genius Jeff uses guns and other strange weapons, and the Dalaam Prince Poo has a combination of Ness and Paula’s spells. Most of the time you’ll find yourself killing all of the enemies the same way, but later in the game some tougher enemies will prevent you from using such simple strategies. The item menus get a little annoying, but eh, what’ll you do.
Difficulty: 8/10
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This game is not easy. I died many times, even on normal enemies! Usually with training you can make said enemies/boss easier, but sometimes you have to get better at conserving items, or planning your battles (sometimes Shield is very important). If you’re in the middle of a dungeon/area and you have no more healing items, you’re pretty much screwed. Some of the bosses (and even normal enemies, like Ghost of Starman) are very difficult and will require quite a few attempts to beat. I think the difficulty is pretty balanced until the last areas. Personally the enemies in the last area are harder than the last boss itself, which is odd.
Graphics: 9/10
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At first glance they may appear very simple, but they really make their mark on the SNES (and if you don’t believe me, Mother 3’s graphics are almost identical after over 10 years!). The enemies are whacky, colourful and well sprited, and the NPCs and human characters have rather amusing sprites with silly faces (particularly the women with the red lipstick). There are also the unique, psychedelic visualizations in the backgrounds of battles that add a certain trippy flavour to the game, along with the equally whacky soundtrack.
Sound: 8/10
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The music is truly an outstanding part of this game. The OST features a lot of beaty techno music that will probably turn off people who’re used to hearing Yasunori Matsuda and the rest of the big shots. But the music really doesn’t disappoint; it’s always eerily fitting for the moment, battle or area, and a few of the tracks are bound to get stuck in your head (Onett and the Sanctuary Battle tracks come to mind). This game has a truly unique sound that even people who love the big shots like me can come to love!
Replay Value: 7/10
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As good as this game is, Replay Value is unfortunately an area that it really lacks in. Not only is there not many extra things to do, going through the game once can feel like enough of a chore; I don’t feel like going through it again for at least a couple of years. Though the game is innovating in other senses, it leaves something to be desired in terms of replay; you’ll only be wanting to replay this one to experience the world and characters again once they’ve started to drift from your mind after a couple years of not having played the game.
Conclusion
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If you have access to an SNES, at least give this game a shot. It’s an acquired taste that you just might come to like, whether you like swords and dragons or not (Hey, it’s got swords and dragons too!).