Technical Information

Developer: Ape, HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: August 27, 1994

EarthBound is a turn-based RPG that tells the story of Ness, a boy who, together with three other kids, travels around the world in search of eight melodies in order to stop Giygas from devastating the world with his infinite evil.

In Japan, the game is known as Mother 2 (since it is a sequel to Mother, released for the Famicom).

Final Considerations – Analyzing the Game as a Whole

Graphics and UI

I have pretty mixed feelings about EarthBound’s art style. I’m not sure whether the simplicity comes from the fact that it was designed as a game for kids and the team wanted something with a more cartoonish vibe and flat colors, or if the art is actually simplistic due to a lack of stronger artistic direction in the project.

Some sprites are actually quite ugly, they look like they were made without much care. :/

The animations are extremely simple. When characters walk, it’s basically just two sprites, with one being a mirror of the other. In the bus animation, for example, they could have added some reflection on the wheels so that when it moved, it would create a stronger sense of motion.

Anyway, I didn’t really like it. That doesn’t take away from the quality of the gameplay, but it could have elevated the work as a whole.

On the other hand, I found the battle backgrounds very interesting. They’re always colorful shapes in motion, a simple way to make any type of battle fit any enemy.
The design of the enemies and supporting characters is extremely creative! The enemies range from mushrooms with legs, aliens, cute UFOs, hippies, and even zombies. Each biome has a group of enemies that fits the location very well.

And I have to point out that the Tenda (a type of creature that appears at a certain point in the game) definitely looks like a green penis with little arms!

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

I’ll admit that at first I didn’t really like the music. I thought it sounded strange, some parts even felt bizarre and disconnected from the game. But after playing for a few hours, I got used to it and started to see it differently.

And that’s the charm of it: the entire sound design of EarthBound is incredibly unique and memorable. Literally out of this world.
Before I knew it, several songs and sound effects were already stuck in my head.
Everything feels very creative, a great mix of charm and suspense.

By the way, the song “Pokey Means Business!” is fantastic. I loved it! Now I already want to learn how to play it on the guitar! hahaha

Gameplay

There isn’t much mystery here, the game is pretty linear. There’s even a house where you can pay to receive a hint about what your next step should be.

There were only two moments when I got stuck: the battle against Master Belch (because I had forgotten about the Jar of Fly Honey) and the final part of the battle against Giygas.
At that point I was already using Paula to pray (I accidentally discovered that this was what I was supposed to do, I was actually trying to restore my team’s HP hahaha), but on what seemed like the final turn, a message appeared saying that Giygas had swallowed my prayers. At that moment I thought it wouldn’t have any effect anymore, so I just kept attacking. After several more turns, I decided to check a guide to see what I was supposed to do, otherwise I was going to die and I didn’t want to start everything over again.

I didn’t find the difficulty particularly high, it felt pretty balanced to me. When I play turn-based RPGs, I tend to spend hours and hours leveling up my characters. Practically all bosses were defeated on my first try, including Giygas. I finished the game with Ness at level 87.

The story is quite interesting, even though it’s another “save the world from evil forces” type of plot.

I don’t know if it was just my impression, but some dialogues sound almost like social commentary. For example, the fact that Ness’s father only talks to him over the phone because he’s always working.
At one point, you go to a town where everyone has been brainwashed and joined a cult… and its members wear outfits that look very similar to those of the Ku Klux Klan.
There are several small details that sit on that thin line between satire and criticism, at least in my view.

The game is packed with nonsensical and comedic dialogue. I even put together a little collection of the funniest things NPCs said.

What bothered me the most in the game was item management. There isn’t much inventory space, so you constantly have to rearrange items. I recommend playing without worrying too much about it, trust your characters’ levels and just keep moving forward.

Another negative point is the slowdown moments, which happen fairly often when there are many characters moving on the screen.

Replayability and Game Retention

This was an unforgettable game for me! It’s definitely on the list of my favorite RPGs, without a doubt.
I started playing it to see if it really lived up to all the hype, and it absolutely does! I wasn’t expecting much from the game, but it far exceeded my expectations.

I’m always really happy when that happens. If you like JRPGs and have never played EarthBound, don’t waste any more time, play it RIGHT NOW!

I stayed interested and immersed the entire time. Every new town I visited brought a wave of new events and that little thrill of wondering whether the game would continue to surprise me.
It was one of those games that makes you feel like you lived through everything yourself.
I loved it! <3