Is Earthbound really worth it?

[TxFxL]

I love the snes rpg's, pretty much right across the board. i don't do any of the emulator stuff so if i wanted it its looking like $70 minimum for the cartridge

so what i'm getting at here is, is it really worth the price tag? it looks sort of silly but that's never stopped me from enjoying a game. anyhow i'm sure there are fans of the game on this site and i'd like to hear from someone who likes the game what makes it so great

also as a side note if anyone has an extra cartridge they'd like to let go of a little cheaper feel free to let me know, gotta try

[Ze_ro]

No.

Unless you're completely out of other RPG's to play, I'd say wait for a Virtual Console release instead (From what I heard, it's being held back by some licensing issues, though I'm not sure of the specifics).

If that's not good enough, try it out in an emulator. I know you said you "don't do emulator stuff", but when there's $70 on the line, I think it's worth figuring it out to at least try the game before you break out the wallet.

--Zero

[Archangel]

I am a fan of the game, everything about it is great. From the references to the quirkiness it really is something that is wonderful and worth while about playing.

I have played it on an emulator, and after completing the game I began to hunt down a cart for myself. As for the price, if you are lucky to find it for cheap at a yard sale then get it. If you have the disposable income to buy it for $80 or so on eBay then do it if you truly do not wish in partaking use of an emulator.

As for myself, I am both a fan and a collector. Which means if I ever get the chance to get one for myself it would fulfill my needs as a collector and a fan of the game.

[TxFxL]

i also like to collect games so if it's a great play through i'd like to add it to my humble collection

[MissingNo_1231]

I paid like $80 for my copy, which is pretty insane, that's like the second most I've ever payed for a game... I usually don't go higher than $20, haha

But I love it, and I feel it's a great game. I dunno.

[vivaeljason]

Earthbound is fun, but if you're really anti-emulator, then don't worry about it. It's a great game, but the price tag is just waaaaaaaaay too high.

[TheRedEye]

Originally Posted by TxFxL

it looks sort of silly but that's never stopped me from enjoying a game.

If "silly" is something you merely tolerate instead of embrace, then you probably will not enjoy EarthBound.

[Mobius]

Originally Posted by TheRedEye

If "silly" is something you merely tolerate instead of embrace, then you probably will not enjoy EarthBound.

Exactly. The silliness is what makes it so great. I don't like most RPGs, but I really like Earthbound because it's just so off-beat.

[TxFxL]

i do embrace silly, making a good case here

[todesengel]

I really don't care for RPG's but I love Earthbound. The story and characters are charming and cute. I'd definitely try to find the game for cheaper if you can, the game is great but just too damn expensive. I got lucky with my copy, $20 for a SNES with Earthbound, Chrono Trigger & Mario RPG about 10 years ago from a friend of a friend.

[Scawt]

Earthbound is one of my top 5 favorite games ever. I paid $60 for mine a while back and never regretted it. And honestly, it's worth the extra to have the guide too. It's not a hard game, but the guide is amazing.

[kupomogli]

Earthbound is a good game, but it's not $70 for a cartridge good if you're not into the sortof Dragon Quest style gameplay, because that's really what it is. Earthbound is nothing more than a Dragon Quest title with a different coat of paint and you get into battles by running into enemies rather than random battles. Earthbound is also more akin to Dragon Quest 2, rather than Dragon Quest 3 and onward where the series really advanced(even though the third title is tied with DQ7 as the best in my opinion.)

The style of graphics is really what makes the game though. Restaurants to buy health items, hospitals as your sort of cleric/priest that you go to to revive or lift curses, item shops to buy items, ATM machines as places to hold your money as to not be reduced by half if you die, etc.

The game starts off amazing at the very beginning, still good until a bit after your third character. About three fourths into the game it starts to drag quite a bit, and at the end you just want to finish it so you can stop playing. Everytime I play it's always the same. It's always enjoyable up until near the end when it just starts to become pretty boring.

[Snapple]

*doesn't read the topic*

The answer is yes.

[guitargary75]

Over $50.00 NO! Under $50.00 yes!!

[darkslime]

Definitely not for $80. That's just too high for any game IMO no matter how good it is.

[Sonicwolf]

What is with these prices? It reminds me of the PlayStation Final Fantasy games. Way too pricey.

[aclbandit]

One of these days, I'll buy a CIB copy. When I decide to do so, I'll find the cheapest price available.

Having played Mother/Earthbound Zero, if the second is anything like the first, the price is worth it to me. More than I want to pay for it, but not beyond what I would pay for it... yet.

[Archangel]

Originally Posted by Sonicwolf

What is with these prices? It reminds me of the PlayStation Final Fantasy games. Way too pricey.

I think its because of the limited amount exist due to having a poor rep at the time of its release but once RPG's went mainstream, the gem was found to be great by all.

Plus you also have to take in consideration the fact that NOA simply ignores its existence, as well as the rest of the series. They had many chances to re-release the games when Mother 1+2 came out for the GBA and soon after Mother 3 in japan. The fanbase here is noticeable, and if nintendo would just pay attention to this they might make a good profit out of this. But sadly again NOA does not like japanese games. Instead they rather make pointless cheaply made games than put this out on either VC or even the entire series on the DS.

I am sure that if nintendo did re-release the game and/or series in the US it would dramatically bring down the prices for the original SNES game.

Believe it or not, but it is a hot collectors item, many people know about it, hell even people at places like game trading stores say that if they had it in stock they would have bought it in a heartbeat. Its just a increasingly rare title.

[Mobius]

Originally Posted by aclbandit

One of these days, I'll buy a CIB copy. When I decide to do so, I'll find the cheapest price available.

Having played Mother/Earthbound Zero, if the second is anything like the first, the price is worth it to me. More than I want to pay for it, but not beyond what I would pay for it... yet.

Earthbound is way better than Mother. I played Earthbound first, and when I played Mother, all I could think was "This is like a prototype Earthbound... It's all there, just not as refined."

[j1e]

Originally Posted by Snapple

*doesn't read the topic*

The answer is yes.

This ^

[Zing]

It's funny how this game could barely be given away back when it was first released. Wasn't this the one that came with a free shirt?

[mobiusclimber]

Illusion of Gaia came w/ a free t-shirt, I don't think this one did. Could be wrong tho.

I say NO! I think Earthbound is actually pretty lousy. I've tried playing it three times. One of those times I got pretty far in it, but it got super boring and just felt like a lot of fetch quest running around nonsense. And while the game is weird, I didn't find it to be too funny. It feels more like Whitest Kids U Know than Monty Python (or like WKUK ripping off Monty Python and failing miserably at it). The game has surreal moments, and parts of it I loved (like the cult), but a lot of it is just like... they took things that every RPG (just about) does, and instead of doing something different, they just made fun of it. So you can cross a road b/c the cops are blocking it. And the cops crack jokes about it. *sigh* Now that I think about it, a lot of the game feels like those "--- Movie" movies, like Date Movie or Epic Movie, where they don't actually do a parody with any actual jokes, they just rip off a scene from another movie and think that's enough of a joke on its own.

In short, I hate Earthbound. Oddly enough, I really like Mother. I'm not sure if I'd still like it if I played it on actual hardware as opposed to an emulator (b/c the save state feature has saved my ass many times), but I thought it was less "wacky" for the sake of being wacky, and thus a bit better. Also I could forgive it for being so rudimentary, gameplay-wise, since it was a NES game, and not a late-period SNES title.

[ScourDX]

I would get the GBA Japanese because it has Mother 1 & 2 in one cartridge. Mother 1 was never released here.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

been playing earthbound for about a week now on an emulator, i cant in good conscience say its worth the money unless you're a collector but i will say this...



in the begining of the game when you get to name your friends and favorite meal....the 1st time i saw ness's mother say i looked hungry/tired and i should have some "crack" to make me feel better, lol i almost died in my own shit which i just shat....from laughing so hard.....



lol anyway game feels reallyyyyy japanese, so if you're a fan of wierd offbeat japanese humor, i say its worth playing, but thats about the only redeeming quality i see so far

[ScourDX]

Oh yea. Earthbound had censorship.

http://earthboundcentral.com/m2eb/