Earthbound

Earthbound

Cultists

Earthbound has attained a cult following over the years, and so I decided it might be worth seeing what all the fuss was about. Additionally, I knew a variety of nerd references, not to mention Ness from the Super Smash Bros. franchise originated here. I can happily say that Earthbound did not disappoint. There were zombies, human-sized metal pencils, dinosaurs, small pink things that speak only in doodles, talking dogs, mummies, meteorites, and a final boss that I think was supposed to be the devil. So yeah... it was quite the ride.

This was a game that managed to be epic, interesting, and humorous all at once. The original, known as Mother was released only in Japan (although I believe an English port now exists), and the series did not reach North America until Mother 2 (or Earthbound). It did not sell extremely well, and in truth that doesn't surprise me - it doesn't include many characters who are well known in North America not does it fit with what you'd expect on a Nintendo console at the time.

Giygas

Earthbound follows Ness, who has found out he is some kind of chosen one after being instructed to hunt down an evil super-being named Giygas by a strange bee named Buzz Buzz who dies comically almost immediately after starting the plot. Ness travels to various locations, including various towns with helpful names indicating the order you should visit them (Onett, Twoson, Threed, and Fourside), a dinosaur valley, a weird cult town, a valley populated by Mr. Saturns (who have some of the most amusing dialog I've seen in a while).

Over time Ness also meets up with various traveling companions, and faces off against an inexplicably evil boy from his hometown. The final is quite strange and just begs to be analyzed on a "what were the designers getting at with that" kind of level, although I am not convinced it was intentional. All in all, Earthbound is well worth a play and I highly recommend it to anyone reading. It's earned a cult following for a reason.