15 years ago, I received a copy of the original Smash Bros on the N64. Super Smash Bros is the ultimate crossover, bringing characters from multiple Nintendo franchises together and serving as a great introduction to many franchises I was previously unfamiliar with. Thankfully, I've since became a huge fan of many of these franchises. But one character that continued to elude me was Ness. As a kid, I was fascinated with him. In a game with electric rodents and space foxes, I felt I could relate most to the baseball-playing schoolboy with psychic powers. But where did he come from and what was he like? I always assumed based on Ness' unassuming demeanor that Earthbound was a simple, carefree game. I couldn't be further from the truth.
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| R.I.P Buzz Buzz. Sorry about Pokey's mom. |
At first, the battle system plays like any standard RPG. You and your opponent trade hits until one is left standing. At the beginning, Earthbound was somewhat tough with just Ness. Taking on punk after punk in Onett proved tiresome without a proper way to heal myself. I initially adopted my strategy I used in my Pokemon playthroughs and relied only on free healing (in this case Ness' house). I'm usually stingy when it comes to buying items, and it didn't help matters when the ingame currency is dollars. If I wouldn't spend $14 for a hamburger in real-life, I'm sure as heck not going to spend that here!The turning point of my playthrough was when I finaly recruited Paula after rescuing her from a cult (yes, this game is weird). I finally could share my adventure with a new friend, and a powerful one at that! Paula's psychic abilities make up for her low HP. Although problematic at times, I found a simple workaround. The neat thing about Earthbound's HP system is that it's represented by an odometer. When someone hits you, the numbers will roll down. So if you heal yourself before the numbers stop rolling, you can actually reverse the rolling and save yourself from a knockout! This also works if you finish a battle before the numbers stop rolling. I applaud the odometer health meter in Earthbound; it's an innovative mechanic not usually seen in RPGs that adds a new level of strategy.
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| The rolling HP meter can be used to your advantage to avoid K.O.'s |
That's it. Opening the door with Jeff's Bad Key Machine. Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but laugh. I spent a good hour guiding Jeff through this epic quest to save his friends, only to have him simply open the door. It was anticlimatic to be sure, but well-played. The game gets pretty trippy when Ness drinks coffee at Saturn Valley and eats some Magic Cake at Summers to recruit Poo. Not to mention you learn teleportation from monkeys, help a race of cave people get over their shyness by checking out a book from the library, and bail out a famous band from unfair contracts TWICE. Who comes up with this stuff? The game even manages to break the 4th wall and asked me twice if my name really was Smiles.
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| At this point, I'm not surprised |
Earthbound's story is zany, yet managed to pull at my heartstrings. I couldn't begin to imagine the burden put on Ness to save the world just because it's his "destiny" or some other crud like that. Throughout their journey, Ness and his friends are attacked by policemen, fire hydrants, crocodiles, records, floating smiley faces, and piles of puke. All of these...enemies are under the influence of
Giygas, probably the most disturbing villain in video games.
The ambiguous and nonsensical world of Earthbound leaves it up to interpretation. To me, Earthbound is an analogy of overcoming hatred. Ness must collect the 8 melodies for his Sound Stone so he can enter his mind and defeat the evil inside. Along the way, he forges new memories with friends while reflecting on his past. As corny as it is, nothing beats the power of friendship. But Ness' quest doesn't end there, he must defeat Giygas, or rather "free" him.
Oftentimes, the scariest and most powerful forces are those that are intangible. Evil, hatred, Giygas. Its hatred literally turned it into an insane entity of pure evil. The final battle pits you against a shapeless and horrifying background accompanied by a bloodcurdling "song" as you fight this monstrosity. It's enough to paralyze you with fear. How can you defeat something that's incomprehensible?
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| You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas' attack! |
During the final phase of Giygas' battle, you have Paula use the Pray command to ask the residents of
Eagleland to pray for your safety. Paula finally asks you, the player, to pray for them. In games, we're used to slaying the big bad monster with legendary blades, but here we are taking down the epitome of evil with nothing more than this simple act of love. Their struggles against insurmountable odds resonated with me, and over time I felt truly drawn in the fate of these 16-bit characters. I bowed my head in prayer, and just like that we defeated Giygas.
Playing Earthbound was a spiritual experience. When I was first introduced to Ness 15 years ago, I couldn't imagine such a rich and deep origin. This post is extremely long, but doesn't even begin to scratch the surface on what makes Earthbound a great game. I am in awe on how well Earthbound combined exceptional gameplay with a hilarious and moving story. While sad to see it all end, I'm at least lucky to have enjoyed this masterpiece, and I encourage every gamer to play it.
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| The war against Giygas is over, but our friendship is everlasting |
*Credit to Starmen.net for the images
