Earthbound....

[Zing]

I was initially very excited for Earthbound, not because of the hype, but because I found multiple comparisons to the first Dragon Warrior, a game that I adore.

These comparisons were spot-on. The game does play out very similarly to Dragon Warrior. You visit a town, talk to everyone, go out and fight near that town to achieve a goal of some sort, return to town, then head to the next town and repeat. Weapon upgrades are very simple, you just buy the best you can afford.

However, where it differs from Dragon Warrior is in the battles. The battles compared to Dragon Warrior take forever. They do play out similarly in that you just use one or two different attacks through the whole battle. There is very little decision-making. This exacerbates the battle length problem. It reminds me of Dragon Warrior II (a game that I do not care for after getting about 4/5 of the way through and quitting), where the battle could take an inordinate amount of time, and cheap deaths were common. Cheap deaths are also common in Earthbound once you get a bit into the game.

Earthbound also throws a hojillion different items at you, but severely limits your inventory space. Many of these items are one-time use and very rarely help you more than just pressing "attack". Related to this is the fact that money is never a problem. Call up dad and he throws another few hundred in your bank account.

[Zing]

I wonder if price would drop if they put it out on Virtual Console?

When they put Chronotrigger on to the VC the price dropped about $10 for about one month then whent back up to its original price despite what many people think putting games on to the VC rarely effects rare games cart price in a large way. I would guess that putting Earthbound onto the VC would drop the price $5-10.

I suspect that people paying $100+ for cart-only are not the kind of people who would instead just play the VC version if it were available. If that is the case, they could just emulate it on the Xbox/PC/PSP/whatever and call it a day.

The price probably wouldn't drop at all. It might even go up, as people become more aware of its existence!

[AppleQueso]

I've noticed that the affect that digital re-releases have on games kinda last about a week or two before the prices return to 'normal'.

[ninjainspandex]

Xbla release of radiant silvergun hasnt lowered the price of a hard copy, in fact i think its gone up now that more people know about the game

[Breetai]

I was initially very excited for Earthbound, not because of the hype, but because I found multiple comparisons to the first Dragon Warrior, a game that I adore.

These comparisons were spot-on. The game does play out very similarly to Dragon Warrior. You visit a town, talk to everyone, go out and fight near that town to achieve a goal of some sort, return to town, then head to the next town and repeat. Weapon upgrades are very simple, you just buy the best you can afford.

Have you played any other traditional J-RPGs? Final Fantasy I-VI, Dragon Warrior/Quest III-VI, Phantasy Star I-IV, Breath of Fire series, Wild Arms, Lunar I/II, etc.? They all follow the same formula.

[DonSilvestre]

Two important things to know about EarthBound:

1. Use the "L" button! This will let you talk to people/interact with objects without opening the menu to select "Talk, use, etc."

2. The game's charms have little to do with gameplay and mechanics. This game is all about the subtle, off beat, and hilarious writing in the game. I laughed so much because so much care was taken in each and every object and character you come across. If you don't appreciate the game's sense of humor, it will be quite a slog to finish because it is pretty slow paced and traditional in the RPG Gameplay department.

Is it worth the astronomical prices? I don't know. It's easy for me to say yes because I own it already, have played it, and love it. That being said, if I were to sell my copy or lose it for some reason, I would have a hard time paying $150 for the cart alone.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I was initially very excited for Earthbound, not because of the hype, but because I found multiple comparisons to the first Dragon Warrior, a game that I adore.

These comparisons were spot-on. The game does play out very similarly to Dragon Warrior. You visit a town, talk to everyone, go out and fight near that town to achieve a goal of some sort, return to town, then head to the next town and repeat. Weapon upgrades are very simple, you just buy the best you can afford.

Have you played any other traditional J-RPGs? Final Fantasy I-VI, Dragon Warrior/Quest III-VI, Phantasy Star I-IV, Breath of Fire series, Wild Arms, Lunar I/II, etc.? They all follow the same formula.

It's the battle system that's very Dragon Quest/Warrior-esque.

Those other games you mentioned have added elements to their combat systems. Earthbound literally emulated the Dragon Quest combat (completely turn-based, enemy portraits don't move, no characters on screen).

You already know that though.

I would one day love to see an American re-release of Mother 1/2/3 all on one cart. It will never happen.

[Mephikun]

I would one day love to see an American re-release of Mother 1/2/3 all on one cart. It will never happen.

I agree with this statement.

I played Mother 3 and thought it was pretty good. lost my save though so I'm probably not gonna play for a while.

[pakopako]

I would one day love to see an American re-release of Mother 1/2/3 all on one cart. It will never happen.

In retrospect, I am surprised Earthbound got released and relatively unaltered. (Parody is protected free speech!)

[GameMasterGuy]

I would one day love to see an American re-release of Mother 1/2/3 all on one cart. It will never happen.

In retrospect, I am surprised Earthbound got released and relatively unaltered. (Parody is protected free speech!)

http://earthboundcentral.com/m2eb/
Whatchoo hai on boi.