Earthbound - Who says a RPG has to be serious? Or sane?

Uhh...I don't know...did I?

Games seems to break in to two major camps.  One says "THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS" and attempts to provide a truly realistic and all-encompassing experience, With sweeping story lines and pulse-pounding action.  On the other side, you have games that are silly, odd, or just generally "lighter weight" then the first camp, and present weird stories, or sometimes no story at all.  They tend to dive straight to the action and sillyness, and leave the heavy stuff to others.

Earthbound takes both camps and makes them wear silly hats.

Whenever I try and explain Earthbound to people, I tell them this: "Ok, let's say like, tomorrow, you decide you're going to be in a RPG.  You use stuff like bats and toy guns, fight enemies like mice, ants and annoying people, walk around bothering townspeople, all that.  That's Earthbound.  Oh, and there's some magical psychic stuff, and a time traveling bee."

No, seriously, a time-traveling bee comes out of here.  He's also a super-hero.

Earthbound is also known as Mother 2, one of many victims of the re-naming craze that seemed to hit SNES games hard when the crossed the ocean from japan.  Whatever you call it, it is a amazing game, and has one of the most loyal, wide-spread and rabid cult followings I've ever seen.  It starts on a dark night, when a meteorite falls near your home.  You and some local kids go to investigate, and...well, you'll have to see for yourself.

Earthbound could very, VERY easily be a stupid, overly silly parody game, but it's not at all.  It pokes fun at everything, from video games, RPGs, pop culture, human nature, just about everything, but does so in a way that's never heavy-handed.  It's one of the few games I've found myself giggling while playing from some of the dialog alone.

The fact that you have to say that doesn't instill me with a lot of confidence.

Underneath the gags and oddball battles, there's a really good RPG framework.  Beware, it's hard starting out, and until you get the hang of things, you'll probably be running home to heal after every two or three fights, but once you get a little stronger, the pace picks up.  It's also shockingly unforgiving for such a bright and silly game, so be sure to save often.

The vague realism is, I think, one of the neatest bits.  You're armed with stuff like pins, bracelets, bats, yo-yos and frying pans, because YOU ARE KIDS.  Unlike most RPG games, shopkeepers are leery about selling tools of death to over-excited pre-teens.  You don't get gold after fights...your dad wires you money, which you pick up from a ATM.  It's not a lot, but just enough to keep you engaged...and make you look at that baseball bat in the garage with an appraising eye.

Yes, I'm probably going to get arrested.  However, it's worth it to hear the guys on the news try and explain the screaming guy who got arrested on the street whacking hipsters with a yo-yo.

Really, i can't recommend this game enough to you, even if you don't really like RPG games.  It's fun, challenging, weird, and just a joy to play overall.  It's back when you didn't need eighty-six class categories and a full crafting system to make a good RPG, just a cool story and some art guys you could lock in a room.

See the amazing number-named towns!

Hear the seziure-inducing sound effects!

Feel the rage as you die for the tenth time in a fight with sentient barf!

He still haunts my dreams.