Have you ever had someone look at you in shock and say “I can’t believe you never played ___!”? That’s what this column is about. I’m an old fart gamer experiencing some of the classic retro games for the first time – and rather than having something profound or meaningful to say about it, I’m just going to share my initial thoughts upon playing a game most others have already deemed a classic. Hope you enjoy my newcomer insight – and ignorance – to games I should have played by now!
This week, I’m covering Earthbound for the SNES.
In a lot of ways, Earthbound is the kind of game that this column should really be about. It’s an iconic game that inspired a whole generation with its catchy upbeat soundtrack, simplistic yet engaging RPG system, and one of the world’s earliest and most amusing anti-piracy measures. It’s been on my list of games to play for years, but for some reason newer games always caught my eye first, putting it further behind the queue. But let me say this: when I finally gave it a chance, I wished I had sooner.
Right as you open the game, you’re given the option to name not one but four characters, a dog, your favorite food, and your favorite thing – all of which come back later in the game. Later, I would regret accidentally naming my signature energy attack Psi Farts, but it did sort of bring me back to childhood a bit to watch the mad libs portion of the game surprise me now and again. You’re never too old to laugh when your mom doesn’t realize she’s saying “Eat some poop and scoot up to bed.”
Right from the first crazy night of exploring a spaceship in your pajamas, the world of Earthbound charms instantaneously. The graphics design does a lot with a little, giving a sort of three dimensional experience with two dimensional drawings; you can walk in any direction, and also walk up and down varying elevations. The music score draws you in with catchy and happy songs early on as well – it’s been a long time since I’ve deliberately stopped moving in a game just so I could listen to a track in the game a little longer before moving to the next screen. My addiction to Onett’s theme is a large percentage of the reason I made so little progress as to merit making this a two part article.
One of the relics of an older time that is both underrated and also infuriating is the absence of hand-holding. I learned very quickly in my run through that this is a game where you absolutely need to pay attention to dialogue, because if you miss where to go you will be lost for a good amount of time. Fortunately for the player, though, the game also provides incentive to chatting with everyone in the form of quirky dialogue.
As an adult who has a full time job and fairly active social life, I do not take it lightly when I say that it is worth it to talk to every person in this game so you don’t miss any amusing notes.
The learning curve in terms of skill vs grinding can very easily catch you off guard or mislead you countless times in the beginning of the game. The first few enemies, the Spiteful Crow and Runaway Dog, are absurdly powerful for that beginning stage, but the acquisition of Buzz Buzz makes the whole world less scary. That is, until the neighbors kill Buzz Buzz and then you’re once again back on your own, getting obliterated by The Sharks and Frank Fly.
The neighbors claim they are in poverty because they loaned Ness’ father a lot of money, and then every time Ness calls his dad he seems to wire his son money. That seems odd. These same neighbors also seemingly abuse their children and then claim they were too easy on them, which either is strangely cruel humor or unintentionally horrendous botching of localization – I’m not sure which.
Actually, a lot of the game is enjoyable because of some things that make completely no sense. The police seem both completely patronizing to Ness as a ten year old and completely okay with police brutality; there’s an early scene where, in order to get to the town Twoson, you need to endure being locked in a room and having five police officers attack you one after another. This game inspired a very vital trope used later in video games, where a young protagonist endures a world of adults not taking him seriously, only to have him prove himself again and again when the time comes. Ness, the archetypal silent protagonist, accepts this role with neither frustration nor discouragement, but merely just powers on with no complaints.
So far, so good – I’m loving this game. The sound is addicting, and the world is the kind of vast land that both begs to be explored and rewards you for searching every nook and cranny. I look forward to talking more in my next article about deeper areas of the game and what else I’ll experience.