This review was published on 06/10/2013.

EarthBound is a turn-based role-playing game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System late in the 16-bit console's lifespan. It's the sequel to Mother, a Japanese RPG released for the 8-bit Famicom in 1989. In Japan, EarthBound is known as Mother 2. Nintendo of America probably thought that Mother was an inappropriate title for a video game, so they changed the name when bringing it over to the states. When EarthBound was first released in North America, it was ignored by the masses. This was a problem for Nintendo, because they threw a lot of money into marketing the game for a North American audience. The game cartridge came in a box bigger than the average SNES box, packed with a guidebook for the whole game. The guidebook even had a scratch and sniff section. RPGs didn't sell well in North America at the time, and EarthBound was just a failed attempt by Nintendo to change that. EarthBound is no unsung hero, though, because it eventually gained a massive cult following many years later. There's a good reason for that; the game is really good. In some ways, it's more of an experience than a game.

Many years later, Super Smash Bros. was released for the Nintendo 64, spawning a series that would become extremely popular by the GameCube era. The protagonist of EarthBound is a playable fighter in the Smash Bros. series, which prompted a lot of gamers to play the game the character originated from. That's the story of how EarthBound amassed its cult following. It should be noted that when I say EarthBound has a cult following, that I mean this in the most literal sense possible. They can be a bit nutty. There is almost no other game out there that has fans as dedicated as the EarthBound fan community. A couple of these die-hard fans formed a website dedicated to EarthBound and the Mother series known as Starmen.net. That site is still in operation today. These are the sort of people who are certain with every fiber of their being that EarthBound is the best game ever made. EarthBound is like a religion to some of these folk; a way of life. I can't say I regard the game as highly as they do, but I understand their enthusiasm. It speaks volumes that such an old game can get so many people together in a positive way. EarthBound is definitely a special game.

Somewhere in rural America during the 1990s, a young boy named Ness sleeps the night away in the coziness of his bedroom. The peaceful slumber is interrupted by a sudden crashing noise outside. Without hesitation, Ness, our daring hero, decides to venture outside in his pajamas. Before he can leave, however, his mom urges him to change into some proper clothes first. Ness does so and attempts to leave the house a second time. He is successful on his second attempt, stumbling around in the dead of night as he makes his way past townspeople and policemen to find out what all the commotion is about. Apparently, a meteorite crashed onto a hill not far from Ness' house. Somehow, this causes the local animals to become violent and attack Ness and his pals. A bit later, Ness encounters a mysterious talking bug that tells him of a great destiny. Aliens are conspiring to take over the planet in complete secrecy, so it's up to Ness and a few other children he'll meet later to save the world.

Ness' goal is to find a number of mysterious locations that will help him unlock his hidden potential. Along the way, he will meet a few kids who'll join him on his quest to stop the evil Giygas from taking over the planet. These friends include Paula, a girl with amazing psychic abilities, Jeff, a boy genius who invents snazzy gadgets, and Poo, a boy from the East proficient in martial arts. A lot of EarthBound may seem happy and cheery, but there's always a sinister underpinning to it all. That's because the conspiracy of Giygas, the alien fiend trying to conquer the Earth, is constantly at work. The people of EarthBound are totally unaware of the impending alien takeover, which is why everything appears peaceful at first glance. It's not until very late in the game when the general public become privy to the alien takeover, and even then, only some people know about it. If a real alien takeover were to take place, it would probably happen the way it does in EarthBound. This all just adds to the atmosphere of the game.

The big thing about EarthBound is its unique setting. Back then, most RPGs took place in medieval times with fantasy settings that take heavy inspiration from Tolkien. Even now, RPGs can't get enough of swords and sorcery. With RPGs, the setting is usually either fantasy or science fiction. EarthBound chooses to go somewhere in the middle with a totally contemporary setting. Instead of swords, you use baseball bats, yo-yos, and frying pans as weapons. And instead of blacksmiths, you go to drugstores or department stores to buy your equipment. Magic has also been replaced with psychic abilities. Want to save your game? Then have a chat with your dad on the telephone. Don't forget to deposit your cash into the bank with your ATM card. Remember to find a hotel if you're low on health, because inns are too old fashioned. You may want to look both ways when crossing the street on your way there, since cars will occasionally drive by. I think you get the idea. The fantasy setting was already overplayed in the '90s, so EarthBound was a breath of fresh air.

Besides the setting, the other really big thing about EarthBound is the dialogue. The game rarely takes itself too seriously, so the dialogue revolves around making fun of RPG tropes. There's a surreal tinge to the humor in EarthBound's dialogue. A good example of the quirky writing in EarthBound comes from the nonchalant way Ness' parents react toward his quest. They're very supportive of his adventure, never asking any questions. Mom will even cook Ness a nice meal if he drops by. The bumbling idiot police force of Onett is another good example of comedic dialogue. Talking to these guys is a treat, because they always have something funny to say. In fact, talking to just about anyone in the game is a treat. One character I particularly like is the hint guy. He's found in various places in the game holding up a giant sign with the word "HINT" written on it. As you might guess, you go to him for hints about the game. The game even makes fun of common RPG mechanics, like status ailments. Most RPGs have negative status ailments like sleep, poison, paralysis, etc, whereas EarthBound has nighttime stuffiness, homesickness, mushroomization, and other crazy stuff. In a lot of ways, EarthBound acts as a parody of other RPGs, particularly Dragon Quest. You might not catch some of these if you haven't played a lot of RPGs, but for the RPG veteran, the jokes will be crystal clear.

Aside from psychic attacks, there's not much animation in battle. Most actions in battle are instead conveyed via descriptive text. This is where it becomes abundantly apparent that EarthBound's main strength is its text. The descriptive text in battle is just as humorous, if not more so than the text outside of battle. Part of it is the type of enemies you fight and their names. The hilarity never ends with enemy names like New Age Retro Hippie, Unassuming Local Guy, Annoying Party Man, and Extra Cranky Lady. As boring as the battles can be from a mechanical standpoint, there's always the anticipation of what crazy foes you'll encounter next. Another interesting thing to note about the relatively uninteresting battles is the music and backgrounds. I'm not sure what the designers were on when they conceived this, but the swirly backgrounds mixed with the psychedelic music makes the combat feel like an acid trip. It's so strange, yet so brilliant. Not everyone will like it, though. The last positive thing to note is that, thankfully, there are no random encounters. In addition to that, there is a system in place that allows you to skip battles if your characters are strong enough. Walking into weaker enemies defeats them instantly, granting you free experience points. More RPGs should do this.

Magical spells have been replaced with psychic abilities that cause similar effects. These psychic moves are referred to as PSI. Instead of using MP, your PSI moves use up Psychic Points, or PP. Your characters get stronger from leveling up, like in any RPG, but they also sometimes learn new PSI moves. PSI is divided into three categories: offense, recover, and assist. Offensive PSI moves are attacks that target either a single unit or multiple foes, doing electrical, fire, or ice damage. Recover PSI moves are pretty self-explanatory; they restore HP, cure status ailments, and revive fallen friends. As for assist PSI moves, those consist of buffs, debuffs, and negative status ailments. Each PSI "spell" has several levels to it, represented by letters of the Greek alphabet. For instance, Fire Alpha is the first fire ability and Fire Beta is the stronger version that consumes more PP per use. What I truly find unique are the teleportation PSI abilities. Ness learns these via the story instead of leveling up, and they allow him to teleport to any major locations he's been to. There's a catch, though; Ness needs enough running space in order to make the teleport, kind of like how the car from Back to the Future needs to travel at a certain speed to time travel. It's actually kind of inconvenient, though the concept is very interesting. EarthBound's PSI doesn't differ from magic functionally, but the idea of kids using psychic powers to fight off evil is pretty cool.

There are many awesome locations to see and explore in EarthBound. You start off in the simple suburbs of Onett, but you get to visit plenty of other areas as the game progresses. Each city or town has its own tale of woe and resulting intricacies, lending the locations a nice dose of personality. Onett's main problem is a gang of ruffians referred to as the Sharks, led by a nasty gang leader who holds himself up in the arcades. The Onett police have been trying to deal with this gang to no avail, which is mostly due the incompetence of the cops. Twoson is the town with a park that's like a flea market at its center, where many unsavory deals take place. Threed is a town that is completely overrun by zombies, because that's par for the course in EarthBound. And Fourside is the big city where mysterious happenings take you to a trippy alternate version of the city known as Moonside. Oh, and then there's the Happy Happy Village, a small place inhabited by mad cultists known as the Happy Happyists. At some point, you discover a secret, prehistoric land where dinosaurs still roam. If that's not weird enough for you, then maybe you'd like to see the barf factory, which is literally governed by a giant pile of puke. You won't find locations like this anywhere else, folks.

EarthBound is like no other video game I have played. Many games have been released since then, yet none have been able to capture EarthBound's unique atmosphere. The writing, music, and graphics all contribute to the game's incredibly surreal feel. It's true that the battle system is very plain mechanically, but that doesn't ruin everything else the game has going for it. However, not everyone will be able to withstand the battles or appreciate the surreal atmosphere. EarthBound is definitely an experience worth experiencing if you're in the market for surreal experiences.

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