This could easily have been released for download to the DS/3DS. Or even to the original Wii.
Releasing it for the Wii U exclusively is just a shameless attempt to get people to buy that crappy failure of a system.
Don't care. Freaking taking it. Earthbound.
Honestly, the entire console generation war thing is something that shouldn't even exist in the first place. First of all, the strongest console has never won a console war. Second, graphical fidelity is no longer really an issue anymore, we're at the point where increased fidelity either means more fine dust particles in the case of environment or further intrusion into the uncanny valley in terms of human beings, neither of which is needed. We don't need all that investment into hardware.
Beautiful game. I'll definitely be playing it again, if only because I haven't even touched it since playing Mother 3. I'm interested to see how it holds up, as right now I'm in the "M3 is superior" camp.
I'd love a US 3DS release of Mother 3, too, but that would probably just frustrate me because I have unreasonable expectations of remastered audio in rereleased GBA games (seriously, it would take ten minutes with the original game resources, but us fans can't do it properly because Mother 3 uses a modified Sappy engine).
Beautiful game. I'll definitely be playing it again, if only because I haven't even touched it since playing Mother 3. I'm interested to see how it holds up, as right now I'm in the "M3 is superior" camp.
Earthbound is superior in terms of gameplay, but in terms of storyline? There's no contest. Mother 3 is a masterpiece.
It's a nintendo game, sure they could have put it on 3ds too but they obviously want to sell wii U.
It's not like it was going to appear on xbox or playstation.
People whine the Wii U has no games and no exclusives, then when they get 1 (yes admitted a very very long over due but heavily demanded old one), people moan.....
This was going to be exclusive to Nintendo no matter what. As you said, it was clearly never going to appear on the PSN or XBOXLive.
But this didn't need to be Wii U exclusive. It just didn't. There is nothing that they could do to the game that would make a DS/3DS(and probably even a GBA frankly) incapable of running it. This is really just Nintendo's way of thanking people that have already purchased the Wii U(from a realistic standpoint, they are not going to drive sales of the Wii U by re-releasing Earthbound like this). I guess it's nice for Nintendo to reward loyal customers, but at the same time, it doesn't do anything to help their current console struggles.
This was going to be exclusive to Nintendo no matter what. As you said, it was clearly never going to appear on the PSN or XBOXLive.
But this didn't need to be Wii U exclusive. It just didn't. There is nothing that they could do to the game that would make a DS/3DS(and probably even a GBA frankly) incapable of running it. This is really just Nintendo's way of thanking people that have already purchased the Wii U(from a realistic standpoint, they are not going to drive sales of the Wii U by re-releasing Earthbound like this). I guess it's nice for Nintendo to reward loyal customers, but at the same time, it doesn't do anything to help their current console struggles.
I'm confused as to why people are shocked that Nintendo is choosing to rerelease a game for their newest platform.
They're obviously not going to do it for the Wii because they haven't released a new game for the Wii Virtual Console since they released Burgertime in December of last year. They're not going to do it for the 3DS because, with the exception of the NES, the Virtual Console games they've been releasing for the 3DS are for their past handheld consoles, with the SNES being distinctly not a handheld. They're not going to do it for the DS because the DS does not have Virtual Console, and because they have the 3DS now.
So why are people are acting like this is some sort of subterfuge by Nintendo as opposed to a completely logical course of action?
Not that I wouldn't love it if Nintendo would allow the 3DS to emulate Super Nintendo games and the Wii U to emulate handhelds, and indeed this will get awkward if Nintendo ever chooses to release Mother 3, which is for the Game Boy Advance and therefore would end up getting ported to the 3DS if they don't choose to rerelease the Mother series in a rerelease for the Wii U or whatever console they'd have at the time — but COME ON GUYS, you're getting on Nintendo's case for no valid reason at all. The Wii U is the current console, therefore Nintendo will be prioritizing new games toward that console. To complain about that is like complaining that Sony isn't making games for the Playstation 2.
Honestly, the sense of entitlement is just nauseating. They're rereleasing Earthbound and all people can do is complain that they didn't buy the system that would allow them to play it?
Honestly, the sense of entitlement is just nauseating. They're rereleasing Earthbound and all people can do is complain that they didn't buy the system that would allow them to play it?
Sorry I have a sense of entitlement after buying a $250 3DS, and would like to play Earthbound on my handheld console. Seriously the amount of Nintendo fans that will defend the company's every decision is what's nauseating. The company has made so many mistakes in recent memory that they don't deserve the amount of fandom that they still receive. Sure, in the past Nintendo was the best gaming company around but they just cannot properly market themselves in an aging market. This was an opportunity to reach out to the hardcore fans that love Earthbound, but instead they squander it by releasing it only on their new home console and not on their old, much more popular console (Wii), or their CURRENT HANDHELD the 3DS.
But you're right, I should have shelled out an extra $300 so I could buy their new home console, especially when they just released a new mini version of the original Wii console, not even half a year ago.
Sorry I have a sense of entitlement after buying a $250 3DS, and would like to play Earthbound on my handheld console.
Which would have any basis at all if other SNES games were indeed being released on that console. Except notice how they aren't. There are zero other SNES games on the 3DS, just like there are zero games from any handheld system on the Wii or the Wii U.
You're acting like this is a deliberate snub. It isn't.
Sure, in the past Nintendo was the best gaming company around but they just cannot properly market themselves in an aging market.
Which is why the Wii was the obvious winner of the previous console war?
Also, having just watched footage from the X-Box One, I'd say Nintendo could very well be the gaming industry's last best hope. They're at least a video game company that remembers that their focus should be on making games.
This was an opportunity to reach out to the hardcore fans that love Earthbound,
... "Hardcore fans"? Really? "Hardcore fans"? Here I thought "hardcore" meant gamers who played FPSes and stuff like Call of Duty and Halo. Now "hardcore" gamers are Nintendo fans who love obscure Super Nintendo games with quirky graphics?
but instead they squander it by releasing it only on their new home console and not on their old, much more popular console (Wii),
Wait wait wait, now "hardcore" gamers are Wii gamers? Did I miss something here?
Also... You are actually complaining that they're releasing a game for their new system as opposed to their old one...
or their CURRENT HANDHELD the 3DS.
Which would make sense if there were even one other SNES game for the Virtual Console for the 3DS. There isn't.
This is a cash grab and you know it.
They're a company. Everything they do is a cash grab. But you're whining over something that is a perfectly understandable thing to do. Of course they're going to release the game on their newest system. They're definitely not going to release it for the Wii, and they're not going to release it for the 3DS. Yeah, the latter one's kind of annoying, but it's entirely consistent with their choice of keeping the handhelds on the handhelds and the console games on the console. That in itself might be unfortunate, and I do hope they change it, but you are not justified in saying that Nintendo's decision to rerelease Earthbound just for the Wii U is in any way inconsistent with their previous actions. It isn't.
You're just whining because they're releasing games for a system you're unwilling to buy and because of that, you're not going to get to play them. Guess what? That's how the console industry works. That's how hardware works. I'm kind of annoyed I don't get to play Halo or Mass Effect because I didn't buy an X-Box or a Playstation. You know what I don't do? Blame Microsoft or Sony for the fact that I didn't buy their systems, because that was entirely my own choice. Similarly, I don't whine about the fact that I don't get to enjoy all the games that are PC exclusive because I own a Mac instead of a PC. I didn't buy the hardware, therefore I don't get to have the benefits and features the hardware provides. That's how it works.
Which would have any basis at all if other SNES games were indeed being released on that console. Except notice how they aren't. There are zero other SNES games on the 3DS, just like there are zero games from any handheld system on the Wii or the Wii U.
Oh alright, because the company doesn't release any other SNES games on the 3DS, I shouldn't be angry that they aren't releasing Earthbound on the 3DS. Maybe they should be releasing SNES games on the 3DS, because I know they could definitely fit a game like Earthbound on the 3DS, but instead they rub their hands together and come up with the brilliant idea to offer it only on the super awesome amazing console the Wii U. I can see the dollar signs on their eyes already.
Which is why the Wii was the obvious winner of the previous console war?
Sure, statistically. But did you really enjoy the Wii over the other consoles? Really? I know I didn't. I had fun with the Wii for about a year before I got bored with it's gimmicky nature. I really don't care which console sold the most. I know I didn't enjoy it and, going back, probably wouldn't have even bought it in the first place.
Also, having just watched footage from the X-Box One, I'd say Nintendo could very well be the gaming industry's last best hope. They're at least a video game company that remembers that their focus should be on making games.
I probably dislike the X-Box One just as much as you. But to say Nintendo of all companies is the gaming industry's last best hope is comical. Do they make games? Yeah, they do. But they focus too much on stupid gimmicks (motion control, screen on controller :facepalm:) instead of just giving me a console on par (power-wise) with the new offerings from other companies.
... "Hardcore fans"? Really? "Hardcore fans"? Here I thought "hardcore" meant gamers who played FPSes and stuff like Call of Duty and Halo. Now "hardcore" gamers are Nintendo fans who love obscure Super Nintendo games with quirky graphics?
Hardcore as in no random twelve year old kid is going to turn on his Wii U system and want to buy Earthbound out the blue. Earthbound isn't meant to target the casual market. It's meant for the fans, the people who are willing to play it.
Wait wait wait, now "hardcore" gamers are Wii gamers? Did I miss something here?
No, I think you may be misinterpreting what I was trying to say. They could have reached out to a bigger audience by releasing it on Wii. But they wan't more money, so they didn't.
Also... You are actually complaining that they're releasing a game for their new system as opposed to their old one...
Which would make sense if there were even one other SNES game for the Virtual Console for the 3DS. There isn't.
They're a company. Everything they do is a cash grab. But you're whining over something that is a perfectly understandable thing to do. Of course they're going to release the game on their newest system. They're definitely not going to release it for the Wii, and they're not going to release it for the 3DS. Yeah, the latter one's kind of annoying, but it's entirely consistent with their choice of keeping the handhelds on the handhelds and the console games on the console. That in itself might be unfortunate, and I do hope they change it, but you are not justified in saying that Nintendo's decision to rerelease Earthbound just for the Wii U is in any way inconsistent with their previous actions. It isn't.
You're just whining because they're releasing games for a system you're unwilling to buy and because of that, you're not going to get to play them. Guess what? That's how the console industry works. That's how hardware works. I'm kind of annoyed I don't get to play Halo or Mass Effect because I didn't buy an X-Box or a Playstation. You know what I don't do? Blame Microsoft or Sony for the fact that I didn't buy their systems, because that was entirely my own choice. Similarly, I don't whine about the fact that I don't get to enjoy all the games that are PC exclusive because I own a Mac instead of a PC. I didn't buy the hardware, therefore I don't get to have the benefits and features the hardware provides. That's how it works.
Nice belittlement. Say that I'm whining so you sound like the superior person in this argument. I don't totally expect them to release in on the Wii, sure that's a bit of a stretch but the 3DS was the perfect system to release Earthbound on and they didn't.
Also, your argument with Mass Effect and Halo don't work because those are console exclusive games. Same with the PC to Mac argument. It's different. I'm assuming you bought a Wii-U, and so you get to enjoy Earthbound. Great. The other people that didn't are a little annoyed that it wasn't released on 3DS, especially after we payed for Nintendo's new handheld hardware and expect to have retro games like Earthbound released for it.
Just as an aside Norris, you are not nintendos target market, they have never been about power or graphics and always about innovative gameplay.
I am probably Nintendo's perfect target as I actually enjoy games for gameplay no matter what graphics are (my fave game of last generation was actually sprite based).
I owned wii, 360 and ps3 and the console I enjoyed most was certainly the wii.
However I do agree it would be nice to see Snes games on 3DS , but then I actually wouldn't mind them making a compromise if they want to use it as a wii U sales device and allow you to download it free on 3ds if you buy it on wii U.
Fair, I can accept that I'm not the target market. I would have just liked to play Earthbound on the $250 handheld I bought. But instead I have to buy a Wii U if I want to play it.
This could easily have been released for download to the DS/3DS. Or even to the original Wii.
Releasing it for the Wii U exclusively is just a shameless attempt to get people to buy that crappy failure of a system.
I sadly Must share this opinion. So the Wii U will have ONE must buy game. Still becomes a 200+ dollar game then. I'll even go as far as say this game wont even sell that well cause of 2 things:
1) Wii U nuff said
2) As much as its always talked about Most gamers don't care about it.
If this was put to 3DS it might of sold more copies.
Ehhh... I just beat Earthbound for the billionth time not too long ago... On my Android. I don't plan on getting a WiiU, so that's a shame, but even though that game is utterly amazing and awesome, it isn't enough of a draw for me to want to get that system. Same with Mother 3, to be honest.
As for if it is comparable to Chrono Trigger... Uhhhhh, up to a point. They are very similar in a lot of ways, but very different in many others. The combat, for example; while both play out very similarly, graphically they are pretty different. The enemies in Earthbound are static, flat images that don't move, and you do not see your party in combat, only their life and psi-point totals. You choose their actions and get little funky animations that sprit across the screen to show whatever it is that they are doing.
Story-wise, while Chrono Trigger has its moments of campy humor, Earthbound is rife with it. It doesn't detract from the game, however, it is pretty well organized and written. Plot-wise, I would put Earthbound in its own realm as far as the story goes. It has a lot of moments where things don't seem to make sense, but the overall big picture of the story is fairly epic, all things considered. Not that Chrono Trigger isn't as epic, they are just... different.
As to what is good about it... The story, for one. It took a fun stance in that it focused on a kid that lived in a town that seemed very normal; there are hospitals, pizza and burger shops, bakeries, a police station, a library... Even a treehouse where your friends hang out. For weapons you use rather unconventional items like baseball bats, yoyo's, popguns, and frying pans (though one character CAN get a sword, there is only one sword, and it is acquired under very specific circumstances.) The game isn't really that long, it can be completed I think maybe in a week or less depending on how much you play, but it gives off this feeling of epicness. It is one of those few games from my childhood that sit in my memory as being very large and sweeping, regardless of length. The graphics are amusing and certainly dated, but in a way that allows them to still be quite pleasing to look at. Difficulty wise... The game can actually be quite hard depending on how you go about it, but I remember it being rather easy or, at the very least, only moderately hard. The towns you visit are all fun, I don't remember not liking a single part of the game. The four characters you get are all different enough that you will end up liking them all and finding them all useful in combat.
If you have never played Earthbound I very much recommend you find some way to play it.
2 things.
1.) Not about consoles, which is better or more deserving of a game. About a game. Being released on Wii U. That doesn't suck and isn't mario-themed. Which is a special occasion to begin with.
Thank you, yes.
2.) I have never played Earthbound. What's so good aboud it? Is it comparable to Chrono Trigger? Not that it needs to be, but I have to have reference?
It's a very fun game that's also a parody of Dragon Warrior in that it's set in the modern day. So for instance, instead of some mystic kingdom, it's set in a quirky vision of America. Instead of swords, you get baseball bats. Instead of bandits, you beat up hippies. Etc.
It's creative, genuinely funny, has a world you actually want to explore, and all-in-all a great play experience.
Also, beating that will allow you to appreciate Mother 3 better, and Mother 3 is hands-down one of the best games ever made in my opinion.
As to whether or not it's like Chrono Trigger: no, if you want a game like Chrono Trigger, you want to play Radiant Historia. Earthbound is a good RPG for the SNES, but past that the similarities between it and Chrono Trigger end.
Thanks, sounds like a fun game I could get into. I'll probably give it a shot. Radiant Historia is the reason I missed my trainstop on more than one occassion, I actually think it's on par with or slightly better than Chrono trigger. I liked the combat a lot better, the world was amazing and the characters, while less outspoken than CT's, were cool too.
Word of advice: If you do start playing it, when you first go into Onett, what you need to do is go to the Drug Store, buy the baseball bat there, and equip it. A lot of people don't realize you need to do that, and get owned their first fight in town because they didn't equip the right weapon.
Word of advice: If you do start playing it, when you first go into Onett, what you need to do is go to the Drug Store, buy the baseball bat there, and equip it. A lot of people don't realize you need to do that, and get owned their first fight in town because they didn't equip the right weapon.
While it certainly makes that first fight easier, that isn't necessarily true. I never bought the bat the first few times I played through the game, I just grinded against the Shark gang until my level was high enough that the fight was a lot easier. Not that I am not advocating getting the bat, you should, it will make the fight a lot easier, and Highroller is very right that if you don't you probably will get owned in that fight.
It finally happened.
I cannot describe how happy this makes me.
"Personally I love high-riak, low-reqars gambles. Life's best with a decent amount of riak. And f*** reqars."
I'm glad that people will finally be able to play this wonderful game.
Hopefully they will release Mother 3 in the US, which is easily one of the best and most touching games ever made in my opinion.
So where are the Earthbound fans on this site? Share your fond memories of this game!
Releasing it for the Wii U exclusively is just a shameless attempt to get people to buy that crappy failure of a system.
Don't care. Freaking taking it. Earthbound.
Honestly, the entire console generation war thing is something that shouldn't even exist in the first place. First of all, the strongest console has never won a console war. Second, graphical fidelity is no longer really an issue anymore, we're at the point where increased fidelity either means more fine dust particles in the case of environment or further intrusion into the uncanny valley in terms of human beings, neither of which is needed. We don't need all that investment into hardware.
I'd love a US 3DS release of Mother 3, too, but that would probably just frustrate me because I have unreasonable expectations of remastered audio in rereleased GBA games (seriously, it would take ten minutes with the original game resources, but us fans can't do it properly because Mother 3 uses a modified Sappy engine).
I'm quite glad someone else thinks this way!
Cool that they're re-releasing it, not cool that it's just Wii-U. Still, for the Wii-U owners out there I bet this will be an awesome opportunity.
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Earthbound is superior in terms of gameplay, but in terms of storyline? There's no contest. Mother 3 is a masterpiece.
This was going to be exclusive to Nintendo no matter what. As you said, it was clearly never going to appear on the PSN or XBOXLive.
But this didn't need to be Wii U exclusive. It just didn't. There is nothing that they could do to the game that would make a DS/3DS(and probably even a GBA frankly) incapable of running it. This is really just Nintendo's way of thanking people that have already purchased the Wii U(from a realistic standpoint, they are not going to drive sales of the Wii U by re-releasing Earthbound like this). I guess it's nice for Nintendo to reward loyal customers, but at the same time, it doesn't do anything to help their current console struggles.
I'm confused as to why people are shocked that Nintendo is choosing to rerelease a game for their newest platform.
They're obviously not going to do it for the Wii because they haven't released a new game for the Wii Virtual Console since they released Burgertime in December of last year. They're not going to do it for the 3DS because, with the exception of the NES, the Virtual Console games they've been releasing for the 3DS are for their past handheld consoles, with the SNES being distinctly not a handheld. They're not going to do it for the DS because the DS does not have Virtual Console, and because they have the 3DS now.
So why are people are acting like this is some sort of subterfuge by Nintendo as opposed to a completely logical course of action?
Not that I wouldn't love it if Nintendo would allow the 3DS to emulate Super Nintendo games and the Wii U to emulate handhelds, and indeed this will get awkward if Nintendo ever chooses to release Mother 3, which is for the Game Boy Advance and therefore would end up getting ported to the 3DS if they don't choose to rerelease the Mother series in a rerelease for the Wii U or whatever console they'd have at the time — but COME ON GUYS, you're getting on Nintendo's case for no valid reason at all. The Wii U is the current console, therefore Nintendo will be prioritizing new games toward that console. To complain about that is like complaining that Sony isn't making games for the Playstation 2.
Honestly, the sense of entitlement is just nauseating. They're rereleasing Earthbound and all people can do is complain that they didn't buy the system that would allow them to play it?
Sorry I have a sense of entitlement after buying a $250 3DS, and would like to play Earthbound on my handheld console. Seriously the amount of Nintendo fans that will defend the company's every decision is what's nauseating. The company has made so many mistakes in recent memory that they don't deserve the amount of fandom that they still receive. Sure, in the past Nintendo was the best gaming company around but they just cannot properly market themselves in an aging market. This was an opportunity to reach out to the hardcore fans that love Earthbound, but instead they squander it by releasing it only on their new home console and not on their old, much more popular console (Wii), or their CURRENT HANDHELD the 3DS.
But you're right, I should have shelled out an extra $300 so I could buy their new home console, especially when they just released a new mini version of the original Wii console, not even half a year ago.
This is a cash grab and you know it.
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Which would have any basis at all if other SNES games were indeed being released on that console. Except notice how they aren't. There are zero other SNES games on the 3DS, just like there are zero games from any handheld system on the Wii or the Wii U.
You're acting like this is a deliberate snub. It isn't.
Which is why the Wii was the obvious winner of the previous console war?
Also, having just watched footage from the X-Box One, I'd say Nintendo could very well be the gaming industry's last best hope. They're at least a video game company that remembers that their focus should be on making games.
... "Hardcore fans"? Really? "Hardcore fans"? Here I thought "hardcore" meant gamers who played FPSes and stuff like Call of Duty and Halo. Now "hardcore" gamers are Nintendo fans who love obscure Super Nintendo games with quirky graphics?
Wait wait wait, now "hardcore" gamers are Wii gamers? Did I miss something here?
Also... You are actually complaining that they're releasing a game for their new system as opposed to their old one...
Which would make sense if there were even one other SNES game for the Virtual Console for the 3DS. There isn't.
They're a company. Everything they do is a cash grab. But you're whining over something that is a perfectly understandable thing to do. Of course they're going to release the game on their newest system. They're definitely not going to release it for the Wii, and they're not going to release it for the 3DS. Yeah, the latter one's kind of annoying, but it's entirely consistent with their choice of keeping the handhelds on the handhelds and the console games on the console. That in itself might be unfortunate, and I do hope they change it, but you are not justified in saying that Nintendo's decision to rerelease Earthbound just for the Wii U is in any way inconsistent with their previous actions. It isn't.
You're just whining because they're releasing games for a system you're unwilling to buy and because of that, you're not going to get to play them. Guess what? That's how the console industry works. That's how hardware works. I'm kind of annoyed I don't get to play Halo or Mass Effect because I didn't buy an X-Box or a Playstation. You know what I don't do? Blame Microsoft or Sony for the fact that I didn't buy their systems, because that was entirely my own choice. Similarly, I don't whine about the fact that I don't get to enjoy all the games that are PC exclusive because I own a Mac instead of a PC. I didn't buy the hardware, therefore I don't get to have the benefits and features the hardware provides. That's how it works.
Awesome.
*H_H got tired and collapsed...*
. . . you could at least wish it were released on 3DS, somehow.
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
Oh alright, because the company doesn't release any other SNES games on the 3DS, I shouldn't be angry that they aren't releasing Earthbound on the 3DS. Maybe they should be releasing SNES games on the 3DS, because I know they could definitely fit a game like Earthbound on the 3DS, but instead they rub their hands together and come up with the brilliant idea to offer it only on the super awesome amazing console the Wii U. I can see the dollar signs on their eyes already.
Sure, statistically. But did you really enjoy the Wii over the other consoles? Really? I know I didn't. I had fun with the Wii for about a year before I got bored with it's gimmicky nature. I really don't care which console sold the most. I know I didn't enjoy it and, going back, probably wouldn't have even bought it in the first place.
I probably dislike the X-Box One just as much as you. But to say Nintendo of all companies is the gaming industry's last best hope is comical. Do they make games? Yeah, they do. But they focus too much on stupid gimmicks (motion control, screen on controller :facepalm:) instead of just giving me a console on par (power-wise) with the new offerings from other companies.
Hardcore as in no random twelve year old kid is going to turn on his Wii U system and want to buy Earthbound out the blue. Earthbound isn't meant to target the casual market. It's meant for the fans, the people who are willing to play it.
No, I think you may be misinterpreting what I was trying to say. They could have reached out to a bigger audience by releasing it on Wii. But they wan't more money, so they didn't.
Also... You are actually complaining that they're releasing a game for their new system as opposed to their old one...
Which would make sense if there were even one other SNES game for the Virtual Console for the 3DS. There isn't.
Nice belittlement. Say that I'm whining so you sound like the superior person in this argument. I don't totally expect them to release in on the Wii, sure that's a bit of a stretch but the 3DS was the perfect system to release Earthbound on and they didn't.
Also, your argument with Mass Effect and Halo don't work because those are console exclusive games. Same with the PC to Mac argument. It's different. I'm assuming you bought a Wii-U, and so you get to enjoy Earthbound. Great. The other people that didn't are a little annoyed that it wasn't released on 3DS, especially after we payed for Nintendo's new handheld hardware and expect to have retro games like Earthbound released for it.
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Fair, I can accept that I'm not the target market. I would have just liked to play Earthbound on the $250 handheld I bought. But instead I have to buy a Wii U if I want to play it.
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I sadly Must share this opinion. So the Wii U will have ONE must buy game. Still becomes a 200+ dollar game then. I'll even go as far as say this game wont even sell that well cause of 2 things:
1) Wii U nuff said
2) As much as its always talked about Most gamers don't care about it.
If this was put to 3DS it might of sold more copies.
As for if it is comparable to Chrono Trigger... Uhhhhh, up to a point. They are very similar in a lot of ways, but very different in many others. The combat, for example; while both play out very similarly, graphically they are pretty different. The enemies in Earthbound are static, flat images that don't move, and you do not see your party in combat, only their life and psi-point totals. You choose their actions and get little funky animations that sprit across the screen to show whatever it is that they are doing.
Story-wise, while Chrono Trigger has its moments of campy humor, Earthbound is rife with it. It doesn't detract from the game, however, it is pretty well organized and written. Plot-wise, I would put Earthbound in its own realm as far as the story goes. It has a lot of moments where things don't seem to make sense, but the overall big picture of the story is fairly epic, all things considered. Not that Chrono Trigger isn't as epic, they are just... different.
As to what is good about it... The story, for one. It took a fun stance in that it focused on a kid that lived in a town that seemed very normal; there are hospitals, pizza and burger shops, bakeries, a police station, a library... Even a treehouse where your friends hang out. For weapons you use rather unconventional items like baseball bats, yoyo's, popguns, and frying pans (though one character CAN get a sword, there is only one sword, and it is acquired under very specific circumstances.) The game isn't really that long, it can be completed I think maybe in a week or less depending on how much you play, but it gives off this feeling of epicness. It is one of those few games from my childhood that sit in my memory as being very large and sweeping, regardless of length. The graphics are amusing and certainly dated, but in a way that allows them to still be quite pleasing to look at. Difficulty wise... The game can actually be quite hard depending on how you go about it, but I remember it being rather easy or, at the very least, only moderately hard. The towns you visit are all fun, I don't remember not liking a single part of the game. The four characters you get are all different enough that you will end up liking them all and finding them all useful in combat.
If you have never played Earthbound I very much recommend you find some way to play it.
Thank you, yes.
It's a very fun game that's also a parody of Dragon Warrior in that it's set in the modern day. So for instance, instead of some mystic kingdom, it's set in a quirky vision of America. Instead of swords, you get baseball bats. Instead of bandits, you beat up hippies. Etc.
It's creative, genuinely funny, has a world you actually want to explore, and all-in-all a great play experience.
Also, beating that will allow you to appreciate Mother 3 better, and Mother 3 is hands-down one of the best games ever made in my opinion.
As to whether or not it's like Chrono Trigger: no, if you want a game like Chrono Trigger, you want to play Radiant Historia. Earthbound is a good RPG for the SNES, but past that the similarities between it and Chrono Trigger end.
Word of advice: If you do start playing it, when you first go into Onett, what you need to do is go to the Drug Store, buy the baseball bat there, and equip it. A lot of people don't realize you need to do that, and get owned their first fight in town because they didn't equip the right weapon.
While it certainly makes that first fight easier, that isn't necessarily true. I never bought the bat the first few times I played through the game, I just grinded against the Shark gang until my level was high enough that the fight was a lot easier. Not that I am not advocating getting the bat, you should, it will make the fight a lot easier, and Highroller is very right that if you don't you probably will get owned in that fight.