EarthBound: A Unique World???
If you were solely defending the honor of (our favorite!) EarthBound from a horde of bloody-thirsty Square-worshipping RPG fans in an IRC chat, what would be your first argument?? "Well, it's unique, and modern!" That would be my pre-emptive attack, because the fact is, EarthBound has the most unique environment when compared to just about every RPG. It's not medieval (Dragon Warrior), it's not steampunk (Final Fantasy VI), and it's not super-futuristic (Final Fantasy VIII). All three of those environments are based on time periods that once have or will have occurred in our real world. So what am I getting at?
Well then, what time period does EarthBound take place in? You guessed it! Modern times! The very same environment that you are sitting there, staring at your monitor in. So then just how unique is EarthBound then if it takes place in the everyday modern world?? Maybe not as much as we thought....However, are you a just-about-old-enough-to-buy-alcohol mercenary? Probably not. A soldier brainwashed by an evil empire?? I doubt it. How about a legendary warrior descended from heaven itself?? Not counting on it. When was the last time you went ripping back and forth through time?--
--Wait a second! Would you, the reader, by some wild chance be an everyday teenager living out your adolescence in a small suburban town?? Magic 8-Ball says outlook is good! Regardless of the originality of EarthBound geographically, it is still unique in the sense that it is an adventure we can relate to. Not only an adventure to save the planet, but an adventure through adolescence.
If you were solely defending the honor of (our favorite!) EarthBound from a horde of bloody-thirsty Square-worshipping RPG fans in an IRC chat, what would be your first argument?? "Well, it's unique, and modern!" That would be my pre-emptive attack, because the fact is, EarthBound has the most unique environment when compared to just about every RPG. It's not medieval (Dragon Warrior), it's not steampunk (Final Fantasy VI), and it's not super-futuristic (Final Fantasy VIII). All three of those environments are based on time periods that once have or will have occurred in our real world. So what am I getting at?
Well then, what time period does EarthBound take place in? You guessed it! Modern times! The very same environment that you are sitting there, staring at your monitor in. So then just how unique is EarthBound then if it takes place in the everyday modern world?? Maybe not as much as we thought....However, are you a just-about-old-enough-to-buy-alcohol mercenary? Probably not. A soldier brainwashed by an evil empire?? I doubt it. How about a legendary warrior descended from heaven itself?? Not counting on it. When was the last time you went ripping back and forth through time?--
--Wait a second! Would you, the reader, by some wild chance be an everyday teenager living out your adolescence in a small suburban town?? Magic 8-Ball says outlook is good! Regardless of the originality of EarthBound geographically, it is still unique in the sense that it is an adventure we can relate to. Not only an adventure to save the planet, but an adventure through adolescence.
