EGM # 72 Earthbound Review By John Gurka Transcribed by BenGrande BigBlkChev@msn.com
EarthBound (pic of Threex[Threed]) This is the town of Threex where you will spend a lot of time in the beginning of the game. A lot of places wont be accessible in the beginning. Don't got too frustrated because there has got to be a flag somewhere--you just haven't triggered it yet. Pay attention to what people say(especially people who might be blocking your way), for they might tell you what you need to do next. Keep yourself high on healing items and sell what you don't need. WELL,WHAT DO I GET TO KILL? There are a ton of enemies for you to fight in this game. The fight scenes may not look all that exciting, but once you get into this game, that no longer matters. The enemies are very tough, and it does take some skill to beat them. Also, a cool thing about this game is that the enemies don't just come out of nowhere. You can see them on the screen before they hit you, but it is extremely hard to dodge them. Another cool thing is, if you get into a fight that you're undoubtedly going to win, the game goes on as if you've beaten the enemies, giving you the money and experience. The Bosses all have their own distinct background, which gives you something very cool to look at as you're fighting them. CAREFULLY WOVEN STORY LINE! The story line in this game is very intense. Some of our editors are saying that the story line is better than FF3's. While I don't know about that, I'll tell you this: The story line is going to make you want to play the game until you beat it. This is yet another RPG that is going to keep you up late on weeknights and all weekend long. This game was originally called Mother 2 in Japan and was a hit over there. The people at Nintendo of Japan and Nintendo of America got together on the translation of this game to make it based more towards our culture. The effort is very evident in the game play. YOU WILL LAUGH OUT LOUD! The humor in this game is unexpected, but clearly evident. The game is actually fun to sit down and play because not only do you get hours of fun from playing it, but you also laugh a lot(a nice surprise). This game has been coming for a long time now. You can tell they really put their all into the game. This may be a Japanese game originally, but you can't tell by playing it. PLAYER'S NOTES: FIRST IMPRESSION When I first got a look at this game, I laughed out loud. It looked like it could have been done on a Nintendo, and that was all the thought I gave it. It wasn't until I sat down and gave the game more than a once-over that I realized this was no NES game. BEST FEATURE The story line is definitely what makes this one a winner. This game wouldn't be nearly as good without it. WHAT'S MISSING Graphic intensity! The graphics are nothing to get excited about, and I think that could really hurt this game. People might look at the back of the box and then put it down, not giving it a fair chance. WILL YOU LIKE IT? I think so. This is a game that most people young and old(not too old) can enjoy. This definitely isn't just a kiddie game. If you play this game for more than an hour, you'll most likely be hooked, which is a rarity in games nowadays. The characters in this game may look cheesy, but don't let that fool you. This is one of the best RPGs to date and will keep any play interested for a long time to come. (pic of dude in Chaos Theater saying "Hey,hey,hey! Don't get too close to me. I just farted,heh,heh...sorry") Who would have thought you'd read something like this while playing your Super NES. For that matter, who would have thought you'd see blood from Nintendo. This game is full of sick little human expulsions like that. There are all kinds of disgusting sound effects and such. One of the Bosses belches crud at you and does some hellacious damage. Very unlike Nintendo. To EGM: Please don't sue me. To everyone else: None of the above statements are necessarily my opinion, I'm just copying them down from my mag. Did you notice how the writer seems to think Mother 2 is a completely different game from EarthBound? Like he thinks it was set in ancient Japan and was a huge deal changing the graphics. It's the same game, just translated to English(sans nudity :P) -BenGrande Blue! Blue! Join the cult!