Game Review: Earthbound
Earthbound is a Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) released for the second generation of home Nintendo consoles, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Earthbound sets the blueprint for many modern indie role playing games through its eclectic, odd, and unique narrative and gameplay patterns. In Earthbound, you play in the shoes of Ness and his friends navigating Eagleland, a parody of 1990s United States.
Earthbound permanently changed the tone and gameplay loop of the traditional JRPG by its eccentric storytelling and satirical dialogue. By coming out in 1995, Earthbound found itself competing with other JRPGs populating the SNES with critically acclaimed games such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Secrets of Mana. Earthbound sets itself apart from the crowd however initially via its setting. Earthbound is not situated in some magical, fantasy world wherein the main character receives a gift from the Gods, or the power to turn back time, or the ability to wield an ancient sword. Ness is an American child with PSI powers who wields baseball bats and Yo-Yos as opposed to a magical sword. The towns are scattered full of American themes, from arcades to circuses rather than magical worlds. This sets Earthbound apart from games in the same genre by its unique storytelling.
There are countless satirical criticisms of American life hidden within Earthbound too- look no further than the Happy Happiests within Peaceful Rest Valley (completely undeserving of the name). The theme of mad cultists is harsh for a primarily children audience, but coats the brute subject matter with a childish, goofy obsession with the color blue. Because Earthbound’s setting is completely different than other RPGs, it can be creative with the messaging and theme by coating complex subjects with goofy elements. For another example, Earthbound pokes fun at the typical RPG stereotype by placing meaningless obstacles to block progression to maintain a linear story. An example of this is the pointless Iron Pencils blocking gameplay paths. The developers could have chosen to connect an obstacle back to the story, but instead creates a ridiculous, goofy obstacle that will make the player chuckle. This is even more apparent in the GBA-Japan exclusive final to the Mother trilogy, Mother 3 wherein the protagonist Lucas is unable to progress in some areas due to invisible ants crawling on the ground.
The historical context of Earthbound shows the move from Japanese themed JRPGs to more American themes, obviously with the setting of Eagleland being set in a stereotypical American playsetting, but also with the titling. Earthbound is actually a part of a trilogy of the Mother series, with Mother 1 being exclusively released in Japan (until long after Earthbound was released). The successor to Earthbound mentioned above is Mother 3, (my favorite game ever made) but is for the GBA. All of these games include unique gameplay elements that revolutionized the genre.
For example, Earthbound’s combat mechanics are similar to fans of the JRPG genre, but adds its own twist in the dynamic health meter. One of the critical elements of JRPG games is health bars in turn based combat. A main criticism of turn based combat is there’s no real sense of urgency, that you can think through your turn as long as you like. This takes an element of action out of the player’s perspective, as there seems to be no immediate threat. However, Earthbound revolutionized the genre by adding in a pedometer-esque “rolling” health meter. Essentially, when you get hit by an enemy, rather than having your health immediately be subtracted, you have a grace period wherein you can heal and use an item before your health reaches zero. The higher your health is, the longer you have to respond. This implements an element of action and urgency in a genre where that normally isn’t a concern. Mother 3 takes this a step further in which you can hit enemies to the rhythm of the song, and can chain up combos.
Lastly, I wanted to talk a bit about the cultural significance of Earthbound. No question about it, Earthbound has one of the most vibrant, passionate fan bases for any game. Even so much so that Mother 3, only available in Japanese, received a free fan translation by an avid fan. Indeed, many indie developers took deep inspiration from Earthbound’s wacky storytelling, most famously Toby Fox for Undertale.
