I had tried Earthbound ages ago but didn't give it a proper try, until now that it got added to NSO, and this time I got mega hooked, finished the game in a single week. Let me tell you it doesn't just stand the test of time, but in fact if it came out today it would still be considered one of the best JRPGs ever made. That says it all. Take it from someone that really had no attachment to this IP.
I played it too, but it’s difficult to say it’ll be considered one of the best j-rpg. There’s a lot of things that didn’t stand the test of time. Like inventory, stutters and slow down, controls, and other things that would be hard for me to express correctly in english. But these things could be corrected. Loved the last couple of hours though.
no it wouldn't h=it has so many glaring flaws and horrible design choices, i=f it came out today it would laughed at and shat on. For good reasons too, its an incredibly amature game and Itoi didn't truly make the game he wanted until Mother 3 which would and should be praised today.
The rewind feature is amazing for games like this. At an earlier point in my life I’d have thought it was cheating, but now as a parent of three young kids who has very limited time to play games, it takes a lot of the tedium out of games like this.
Absolutely - I'm in the same boat. Great to be able to avoid retreading monotonous old ground due to poor checkpoints, or even having to re-watch unskippable cutscenes when I get some precious gaming time.
@@marioluigibros.8176 I was making a point about games in general. There are a few parts you can't skip in Earthbound but they are very few and far between. Plus they are really short too. 🙂
You really, really don't want this. You think you do, but you don't. They would censor a lot, change a lot of the dialogue to be memes, and it probably wouldn't feel like the same game anymore. You're better off playing the fan translation.
I'm so tired of people thinking they want that, when they actually don't. It's like no one is aware that to get the game the most lucrative T for Teen rating or even a preferred E for Everyone, Nintendo would have to butcher, censor and bowdlerize the hell out of the game just to get it past certification, removing MANY of it's most iconic assets and details, and generally being so inferior to the Fan-Translation that it would just receive more backlash and complaints than praise. Everyone THINKS they want this, but actually doing so would not only be an undue financial burden for Nintendo to put this much effort into a localization just to get massive hate in the end for doing what they'd need to do to the game, making it not remotely worth either Nintendo's time and money, nor acceptable or worth it to the fans. People just need to accept this can't happen, it shouldn't happen, it will never happen and just go play the translated rom, already. There's a reason Nintendo hasn't bothered to take it down in the over a decade it's been up for the public.
@NightStarXPlays Dude. Thank you. You are one of the many people to go in depth with the lesson of "Be careful what you wish for." Because people had apparently hyped games like Pokemon Sword & Shield and Pokemon BDSP only to find how shit they were. 😊
First of all thank you Nintendo Life for this incredible overview of the series! I feel like Earthbound Beginnings/Mother 1 gets a lot of flak compared to it's successors, sure it's not as refined as the other two, it can be *really* frustrating at times, but it has a simplistic charm which I find to be quite delightful, it has a very feel-good 80's vibe if you know what I mean. Plus the whole Giygas backstory the game has going for it is really cool, and the melancholy behind Maria's character is something I'm quite fond of, I might go as far to say that it's setting is my favorite in the series. It is true that the game doesn't quite live up to it's predecessors, but I believe that's due to all the limitations it has going against it, being on NES hardware and all. It's a fun ride if you can get behind all the clunkiness it has. My dream is for this game to get a remake that fleshes out its characters and story more, with a more engaging combat system, so that can live up to the other installments in the series. Earthbound/Mother 2 is really awesome but you've probably heard enough about it's awesomeness by now, so go play these incredible games already!! (Or don't, I'm not your Mom)
Actually it's surprising how much stuff they got right straight from the very first game, Earthbound is very much a much more polished version of it, or if you prefer, Mother feels like a prototype for Earthbound, which to be fair, it kinda is. With some Quality of Life features like faster text skipping and such, it would still be fantastic, and actually from an atmosphere point of view, I think it might in fact be better than Earthbound, it's downright creepy at times (possibly also because of the much more limited color palette), while Earthbound is certainly more fun and upbeat overall.
i just finished beginnings after they came to NSO. using save states and rewinding was a god send and made it a much better experience for sure. it's already my most played NES game now lol (32 hours)
@@sfkapacheoutlaw5348 No, No, NO, NOOOOO The medium is not art. Just like books, movies etc. are not art in of itself. It has to simultaneously use the medium well and go beyond it to be art.
Earthbound beginnings was a pleasant surprise to play. I’m almost done as well. Tip: use Repel rings and buy lots of bread I’ll be playing Earthbound again once I’m done too! Never beat It but I shall on the switch
Yeah, l see a lot of people complain about EBB’s encounter rate but don’t seem to know about Repel Rings or Bread Crumbs. I don’t really blame them - the game doesn’t ever really bring them to your attention. However, complaining about these design problems without bringing up the options the game provides to mitigate them makes a review feel incomplete. I definitely agree that EBB has waaaaay too high an encounter rate, but Repel Rings really do help a lot with it.
EarthBound is a really great game! So quirky, but still fairly relatable! My only issue is the speed. The game is too slow at times and that’s too bad. That doesn’t mean the game is bad though! I loved the game so much that I bought it both on New 3DS and Wii U!
just keep eating skip sandwiches, haha. Nah forreal tough, some of the slowdown is funny, like the Scaraba market place or if you confront a group of Fobby/foppys
"EarthBound is a really great game! So quirky" That's it, the only real reason people pretend this game isn't garbage. Its sooo quirky, well guess what quirky doesn't excuse shitty game design.
This may be due to the fact I’ve played dragon quest 1, but playing earthbound beginnings isn’t that bad in terms of interacting and battling so far. Now I have heard the end of the game gets very difficult but maybe if I spend a moment grinding I should be able to get through it without too much frustration.
I'm one of the dozen or so people who actually bought Earthbound when it released in the US. It's been stuck with me ever since that summer; the music, the atmosphere, the overall incredible tone of real life seen from a off center perspective.
If anyone's actually new to the series, to clear something up: yes, Giegue and Giygas are the same... person? entity? lifeform?. point is, it's the same character, but years apart.
EarthBound Beginnings aka Mother is a very impressive NES game. I played it on my Wii U last summer. Loved it a bunch would recommend using a guide though, It has some oldfashioned aspects like one will quickly see with the backpack inventory for that you need to often leave things with Ninten's sister. Plus some of the 'dungeons' in this one can be quite confusing without drawing/having a map. The music is an absolute treat. I absolutely loved the whymsical nature of following a boy and the friends he makes on their adventures as well as the stories regarding the kids' sudden appearing psychic powers and how beginning from a puppet various people, Anmials and other things start to act oddly caused by some Alien lifeform that seems to be related to Ninten's grandparents and get only more interesting as you find out more. Give that one a chance if you didn't before! I honestly admit, I had a great time with each game but would actually say that I prefer Mother over Mother 2 slightly. Could be because I didn't play that many other NES RPGs taht left me with that kinda impact as this one yet and when going into the SNES game afterwards, some aspects didn't grab me the same way even though it's definitely really good (thinking about it, I feel like the whole part of having savestates is very much contributing against most RPG frustration parts anyways and the way you approach things in the games might also leave you with different impressions). Hope to play "Mother 3" as well at some point anyways.
I always wanted to try earthbound. So I have started with earthbound beginnings... slowly losing interest... I probably should of just started with earthbound...
I remember buying Earthbound when it was rereleased on Wii U and never even made it past Onett, and when I heard it was coming to Switch Online I audibly said "Alright, this time its for real." I just made it to Threed and loved every minute of the game so far.
I'm playing Earthbound for the first time and having a lot of fun. I agree that it's grindy, but the characters are just so good, the game is beautiful and the dialogue is so funny. It's a very charming game and i'm definitely playing until the end, and going to play Earthbound Beginnings right afterwards.
This comment was originally written by Reggie -- formerly of Nintendo of America -- but was reworked into this other comment, by ME: play 👏 the 👏 game 👏
I beat Mother 2/EarthBound on NSO, I had a blast, it's one of the best Nintendo JRPG franchises ever made, I'm playing the original Mother and still having great vibes from these gems
Do you even need to answer this question? I mean, despite their amazing quality, they're on NSO anyways. Still a great review, but that title is confusing.
It's certainly far better than buying the SNES Classic just to play EarthBound, in terms of availability. If only it was able to be purchased separately like all the other SNES or NES games
@@knuclear200x I mean I’d personally gladly pay money to actually own SNES games instead of having a yearly subscription that won’t exist in the future, but that’s just me.
I love Earthbound Beginnings, but for someone looking to try it, I'd recommend the GBA version instead. Its localization is much improved over the Beginnings one, and it adds an item to help rebalance the amount of grinding needed. It may still feel like a chore at times, but is a much nicer experience for the average player these days.
Would the GBA version be a fan translation? Since as far as I know, the GBA version of both Beginnings and Earthbound (called Mother 1+2 in Japan) never ended up being localized.
@@amirgarcia547 Technically yeah it's a fan translation, but it's actually done by the guy who translated Mother 3, and is an actual professional. I was a fan of his work even before playing a translation of his, so really it's many steps above what people would think of a fan translation as being.
In earthbound beginnings. If you keep opening the menu it reset step counter which stops battles from appearing so often this might make things less tedious. 🤔🎮
My first experience with Earthbound was when I borrowed my cousin's SNES Classic and spent hours on it. He took it back before I finished it, but I'm glad I can now beat it.
I only just started playing Eathbound and the world and charachters are interesting but so far the combat sends me to sleep, I just kind of glaze over during battles. I'm on to the second town now really hoping it improves with more party members.
I'm (was) part of that community that was active around what demi did over 20 years ago getting the old FC(NES) game out to the market to play. I remember the struggles, Nintendo had put some sneaky game kills within for a copy protection routine that had to be defeated. There were such gems as a one hit progression stopper within an area with tomb stones, also having the difficulty cranked up to suicidal levels too on things from the get go. I tried to get into the game then and never really tried much since because one thing always confused me. I never could find a way to restore health much and definitely never your PSI power which just turned the game into a club fest with the bat and grew tiresome being unable to continue much into the game. I'm really curious how people are playing this now without an ability to restore your PSI power or heal much because the difficulty as said is utterly nasty from the get go especially compared to its SNES sequel.
I think it might be a good idea for anyone who isn't a seasoned veteran of classic RPGs to temper their expectations for EarthBound a bit as much of what gives it its unique charm and makes it feel fresh for its time could possibly be lost to some degree without that strong background understanding of the genre's tropes and cliches. It's still a good game, regardless, but I believe that lack of context may make it more difficult to fully appreciate it.
Earthbound is definitely worth playing if you haven’t already, since it’s a gem of a game that’s clearly inspired some of the most beloved and influential RPGs in recent years, including Undertale and Omori. Earthbound Beginnings though…even if it’s aged like milk due to being an NES RPG, it’s still worth checking out if you’re curious enough to see where the series started, and still has plenty of its much-improved successor’s charm.
Me and my best friend used to "speedrun" Earthbound back in the 90's as kids. Not because we were attempting to pioneer jrpg speed running, but because we would rent this game (or Mario RPG) and try to finally beat it before returning it to the store and praying we can get our save file back next weekend. Last time I played Earthbound as an adult, it felt like I was possessed; the muscle memory was deep and intense.
I completed Mother 3 years ago and it was one of the most emotional and loving games I’ve ever played. I then went and played Earthbound on 3ds and loved it, with spurts of fantastic storytelling. I’m currently playing Beginnings and I’m honestly loving it as a combo of Earthbound and early JRPSs like Dragon Quest 1 and Final Fantasy 1.
Think about it this way: EarthBound is an _incredibly_ charming and weird SNES-era JRPG which comes with most of the pros and cons of being a SNES-era JRPG. If you're into that, then you'll more than likely enjoy what EarthBound has to offer... ...EarthBound Beginnings (Mother 1) is a history lesson. You play it to get a taste of where the original EarthBound idea was coming from. Then you never play it again.
My Nintendo Online subscription expired right before the EarthBound announcement. I didn't plan on renewing since I only play single-player games but now I'm really tempted because EarthBound is tied with Super Mario RPG for my favorite game. (Still waiting for you to add that one too, Nintendo!)
Levelups are random in Mother 1. For example, Ninten's "average" ups is 2, "bad" is 1, and "good" is 3. A bad string of 1s can ruin you early on. But if you rewind to just before you chose the action that won you the fight, you can reroll until you get a good score!
You don't know how much I agree with this review especially with the narrative and the storytelling. As weird and quirky the story is, playing it as an adult gives you a different perspective. I never got to play this as a kid and I grew up with turn based RPGs but eventually outgrew the turn based system and eventually bored out by it and embraced a more fast paced and action oriented RPGs and other genres as I grew up. I gave Earthbound a try after it got announced and released on NSO. I never turned off the SNES app on the switch ever since I played it until I finished it. I eventually get bored even with the new games that I play and even sometimes leads me to rushing it just for the sake of finishing it to get my money's worth, but, Earthbound just does the opposite and this is a 2 decade old game. It got me hooked and kept me hanging on what's about to happen next whenever I put my switch down that I'm eager to finish my work and meal to play Earthbound. It's a beautifully written game and it has got a certain charm that most of the modern games fail to do nowadays. Only a few does. I love it from start to finish and I'm thankful to myself I gave it a chance.
“Has kid would think the puke monster was goofy and funny but I thought it was actually pretty stupid “ haha yea cause it’s a kids game haha but it’s still fun tho
I remember my grandpa taught me how to read while i was playing Earthbound/Mother 2. Everytime I spoke to an npc or 'read' a sign or something, he would have me read the words out loud to practice my reading skills. Alongside the lunch lady at my school teaching me to read by reading Dr. Seuss' Go Dog Go, I came to enjoy reading and RPGs, that's probably why I enjoy story heavy rpgs and visual novels xD
I beat Earthbound on SNES but ended liking Beginnings because its more challenging. Its the more difficult game so its definitely for the harcore rpg gamer. Yes it is more frustrating with the high encounter rates and being a bit grindy, but the game gives you Repel Ring and Bread to make the game more enjoyable.
Maybe it’s just my age but I’ve never played through a NES rpg (not including Zelda). They just don’t look fun. I love SNES rpgs and it has some of the best OAT.
Just started Earthbound and dabbled a little in Beginnings. Mother 2 just seems like an improvement on the first one, so I’m sticking with that. I think it’s a game I’ll pick up every so often to make progress and play over the course of a year.
Ridiculously grindy? I don't follow. Once you can beat the crazy farmers outside your house, the game is quite smooth as far as difficulty progression is concerned.
@@Nukatha let me tell you, I'm playing it and it is insanely grindy. I'm at the point to where I need to awaken the dragon And you have to be at level 25 to do so. and at this point it's kinda boring. I'm too strong for everything but I need to level up and it takes forever.
I just finished Earthbound on NSO. What an incredible game. I still can’t believe it was released in 1994, almost 30 years ago! This game was ahead of its time in every aspect. Yes, Earthbound is a masterpiece confirmed.
I always feel compelled to play games in order (the only exception being Metal gear rising) so i picked up Beginnings on my wii U virtual console a few years back and I loved it but didn't finish it, i picked it back up when I heard it came to NSO and j haven't put it down since, i have a feeling im gonna get slightly emotional at the ending from what I've seen online
I love how you can practically play eb one handed...still remember the game like the back of my hand. My biggest regret is selling it to my friend for like 20 bucks...I was a stupid(ier) high school kid
Earthbound Begginings was the first Mother game i played because I'm stubborn and like playing things in order, it's very frustrating, sure, but the story and characters are so charming and the ending twists are genuinely heart wrenching and pulled a tear out of my eye, i understand it's a very difficult and frustrating game but i wish it could receive more love somehow, maybe a remake or something, i genuinely love that game and while Earthbound is leagues better i still feel people should experience Begginings at least once in their lives
I think you failed to mention the powerful story in beginnings, that is a major reason to play the game. Just a bit sad to see it be discarded as a curiosity
I have never played Earthbound before, and only knew about it through Smash. One thing that always captivated me though was the Earthbound Music. Smash Bros has given us so many great music tracks from the Earthbound/Mother Series, and whenever I hear the original versions of some of those songs (in videos like this) it always makes me really happy!
I just love how you make it seem like nobody was able to play earthbound all the way to 2013 as if emulation doesn't exist 🤣. I'm sure more people have played this game on an emulator than they ever have on original hardware or eShop. I know I've beaten it at least three times on emulator And I actually owned it on a super Nintendo. I just couldn't give it the time and deserved when I like 10 years old.
Great review! I’m a HUGE Earthbound fan and need to check out Earthbound Beginnings one day. Hopefully soon…I feel like as a fan of Mother 2 and 3 I just have to haha
Earthbound is one of the only games I've ever purchased (Wii U Virtual Console) that I couldn't bring myself to finish. I feel the same way about it as I do Chrono Cross, in that I love everything about it except for the actual gameplay. The series of tedious things I had to do every time I died, before I could get on my way again, became too much for me to stomach anymore. That plus the grindy nature of it that Zion mentions here.
1:08 "Earthbound was sold poorly in the West, because of some higher price tag and a weird marketing." Is that it? So your telling me that's why it flopped so bad? Your telling me that a SINGLE PLAYERS GUIDE and a HIGH PRICE TAG were the reasons that Earthbound flopped so hard in the West?! IS THAT THE REASON WHY?!??!
Nobody knows why, that is a theory, the ads were weird also but still, also remember it was kids depending on their parents to chalk over the money, not like today where the 80’s and 90’s kids are grown up with their own funds
I played Beginnings first, with the 25th anniversary patch. Simply having characters join at not Level 1 is enough to make it a massive step up from the original, and the new graphics are beautiful.
Beginnings is hardly a slog. Losing fights is a slap on the wrist, items exist for reducing encounter rate, fully open world, and fast travel, plus every character has unique dialogue and there's around a full hour of unique music tracks. Absolute pinnacle of NES games.
I had tried Earthbound ages ago but didn't give it a proper try, until now that it got added to NSO, and this time I got mega hooked, finished the game in a single week. Let me tell you it doesn't just stand the test of time, but in fact if it came out today it would still be considered one of the best JRPGs ever made. That says it all. Take it from someone that really had no attachment to this IP.
Dank & Based
I never liked it until it tried it on NSO and my god it’s so good
I played it too, but it’s difficult to say it’ll be considered one of the best j-rpg. There’s a lot of things that didn’t stand the test of time. Like inventory, stutters and slow down, controls, and other things that would be hard for me to express correctly in english.
But these things could be corrected. Loved the last couple of hours though.
no it wouldn't h=it has so many glaring flaws and horrible design choices, i=f it came out today it would laughed at and shat on. For good reasons too, its an incredibly amature game and Itoi didn't truly make the game he wanted until Mother 3 which would and should be praised today.
Exactly!!
The rewind feature is amazing for games like this. At an earlier point in my life I’d have thought it was cheating, but now as a parent of three young kids who has very limited time to play games, it takes a lot of the tedium out of games like this.
Absolutely - I'm in the same boat. Great to be able to avoid retreading monotonous old ground due to poor checkpoints, or even having to re-watch unskippable cutscenes when I get some precious gaming time.
Is there a way to turn off the feature? It would be nice to be not tempted to rewind.
@@Ubebread1 Just don’t use it…
@@SuperSonicish uhh unskippable cutscenes? in earthbound?
@@marioluigibros.8176 I was making a point about games in general. There are a few parts you can't skip in Earthbound but they are very few and far between. Plus they are really short too. 🙂
I'm hoping the release of both of these on the Switch is foreshadowing that we'll finally get an official translation and release of Mother 3.
You really, really don't want this. You think you do, but you don't. They would censor a lot, change a lot of the dialogue to be memes, and it probably wouldn't feel like the same game anymore. You're better off playing the fan translation.
@@nintendo-relatedchannel5810 THIS 1000%
I'm so tired of people thinking they want that, when they actually don't. It's like no one is aware that to get the game the most lucrative T for Teen rating or even a preferred E for Everyone, Nintendo would have to butcher, censor and bowdlerize the hell out of the game just to get it past certification, removing MANY of it's most iconic assets and details, and generally being so inferior to the Fan-Translation that it would just receive more backlash and complaints than praise. Everyone THINKS they want this, but actually doing so would not only be an undue financial burden for Nintendo to put this much effort into a localization just to get massive hate in the end for doing what they'd need to do to the game, making it not remotely worth either Nintendo's time and money, nor acceptable or worth it to the fans.
People just need to accept this can't happen, it shouldn't happen, it will never happen and just go play the translated rom, already. There's a reason Nintendo hasn't bothered to take it down in the over a decade it's been up for the public.
@@the-NightStar preach
@NightStarXPlays Dude. Thank you. You are one of the many people to go in depth with the lesson of "Be careful what you wish for." Because people had apparently hyped games like Pokemon Sword & Shield and Pokemon BDSP only to find how shit they were. 😊
First of all thank you Nintendo Life for this incredible overview of the series!
I feel like Earthbound Beginnings/Mother 1 gets a lot of flak compared to it's successors, sure it's not as refined as the other two, it can be *really* frustrating at times, but it has a simplistic charm which I find to be quite delightful, it has a very feel-good 80's vibe if you know what I mean. Plus the whole Giygas backstory the game has going for it is really cool, and the melancholy behind Maria's character is something I'm quite fond of, I might go as far to say that it's setting is my favorite in the series. It is true that the game doesn't quite live up to it's predecessors, but I believe that's due to all the limitations it has going against it, being on NES hardware and all. It's a fun ride if you can get behind all the clunkiness it has. My dream is for this game to get a remake that fleshes out its characters and story more, with a more engaging combat system, so that can live up to the other installments in the series.
Earthbound/Mother 2 is really awesome but you've probably heard enough about it's awesomeness by now, so go play these incredible games already!! (Or don't, I'm not your Mom)
Actually it's surprising how much stuff they got right straight from the very first game, Earthbound is very much a much more polished version of it, or if you prefer, Mother feels like a prototype for Earthbound, which to be fair, it kinda is. With some Quality of Life features like faster text skipping and such, it would still be fantastic, and actually from an atmosphere point of view, I think it might in fact be better than Earthbound, it's downright creepy at times (possibly also because of the much more limited color palette), while Earthbound is certainly more fun and upbeat overall.
i just finished beginnings after they came to NSO. using save states and rewinding was a god send and made it a much better experience for sure. it's already my most played NES game now lol (32 hours)
Earthbound is a postmodern masterpiece; it's not a game, it's art.
It definitely is a game
It's both, games are works of art.
@@thegreygoblin5165 That's quite the overgeneralisation, take FIFA 17 for example, to call that a work of art would be crass
@@corinbertrand Just because it’s art doesn’t mean it’s _good_ art
@@sfkapacheoutlaw5348 No, No, NO, NOOOOO
The medium is not art. Just like books, movies etc. are not art in of itself. It has to simultaneously use the medium well and go beyond it to be art.
Earthbound beginnings was a pleasant surprise to play. I’m almost done as well.
Tip: use Repel rings and buy lots of bread
I’ll be playing Earthbound again once I’m done too! Never beat It but I shall on the switch
Yeah, l see a lot of people complain about EBB’s encounter rate but don’t seem to know about Repel Rings or Bread Crumbs. I don’t really blame them - the game doesn’t ever really bring them to your attention. However, complaining about these design problems without bringing up the options the game provides to mitigate them makes a review feel incomplete. I definitely agree that EBB has waaaaay too high an encounter rate, but Repel Rings really do help a lot with it.
Every true gamer should experience Earthbound at least once. Enjoy your first playthrough, it's a lifetime experience ❤️
Short answer yes, long answer yessssssssssssss
EarthBound is a really great game! So quirky, but still fairly relatable! My only issue is the speed. The game is too slow at times and that’s too bad. That doesn’t mean the game is bad though! I loved the game so much that I bought it both on New 3DS and Wii U!
just keep eating skip sandwiches, haha. Nah forreal tough, some of the slowdown is funny, like the Scaraba market place or if you confront a group of Fobby/foppys
It would have been nice if you could keep using the bicycle
It’s the main reason why I’m entirely glad they added a sprint button to Mother 3.
"EarthBound is a really great game! So quirky" That's it, the only real reason people pretend this game isn't garbage. Its sooo quirky, well guess what quirky doesn't excuse shitty game design.
@@brya9681 Lmao the game is good cope...
"Zion had an asthma attack"
"suffered 30 damage".
Playing earthbound now
This may be due to the fact I’ve played dragon quest 1, but playing earthbound beginnings isn’t that bad in terms of interacting and battling so far.
Now I have heard the end of the game gets very difficult but maybe if I spend a moment grinding I should be able to get through it without too much frustration.
I had my og 3ds for years. I only got the n2dsxl because snes games were only available there. First thing I did was download earthbound.
I need a remake. I don’t like old games like this but if they recreated it I’d be all over it
I’m playing the original version and it’s not bad. Still would like a remake though
I'm one of the dozen or so people who actually bought Earthbound when it released in the US. It's been stuck with me ever since that summer; the music, the atmosphere, the overall incredible tone of real life seen from a off center perspective.
If anyone's actually new to the series, to clear something up:
yes, Giegue and Giygas are the same... person? entity? lifeform?.
point is, it's the same character, but years apart.
EarthBound Beginnings aka Mother is a very impressive NES game. I played it on my Wii U last summer. Loved it a bunch would recommend using a guide though, It has some oldfashioned aspects like one will quickly see with the backpack inventory for that you need to often leave things with Ninten's sister. Plus some of the 'dungeons' in this one can be quite confusing without drawing/having a map. The music is an absolute treat. I absolutely loved the whymsical nature of following a boy and the friends he makes on their adventures as well as the stories regarding the kids' sudden appearing psychic powers and how beginning from a puppet various people, Anmials and other things start to act oddly caused by some Alien lifeform that seems to be related to Ninten's grandparents and get only more interesting as you find out more. Give that one a chance if you didn't before!
I honestly admit, I had a great time with each game but would actually say that I prefer Mother over Mother 2 slightly. Could be because I didn't play that many other NES RPGs taht left me with that kinda impact as this one yet and when going into the SNES game afterwards, some aspects didn't grab me the same way even though it's definitely really good (thinking about it, I feel like the whole part of having savestates is very much contributing against most RPG frustration parts anyways and the way you approach things in the games might also leave you with different impressions). Hope to play "Mother 3" as well at some point anyways.
I always wanted to try earthbound. So I have started with earthbound beginnings... slowly losing interest... I probably should of just started with earthbound...
I remember buying Earthbound when it was rereleased on Wii U and never even made it past Onett, and when I heard it was coming to Switch Online I audibly said "Alright, this time its for real." I just made it to Threed and loved every minute of the game so far.
Glad you're having fun buddy, the journey is so much fun! Keep moving forward and have a good time! :)
I'm playing Earthbound for the first time and having a lot of fun. I agree that it's grindy, but the characters are just so good, the game is beautiful and the dialogue is so funny. It's a very charming game and i'm definitely playing until the end, and going to play Earthbound Beginnings right afterwards.
Are they worth it? Wtf you mean? These are two of the best games ever made and it's been decades since they were created
This comment was originally written by Reggie -- formerly of Nintendo of America -- but was reworked into this other comment, by ME:
play 👏 the 👏 game 👏
I will not touch NSO until they remove that awful border. How hard can it be to implement an option to remove it?
Yeah. Its annoying
I've been playing Earthbound Beginnings without a guide and as a HUGE fan of the turn-based Final Fantasy series I am loving every minute of this game
THEY SURE ARE!!!! IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION?!?!
I beat Mother 2/EarthBound on NSO, I had a blast, it's one of the best Nintendo JRPG franchises ever made, I'm playing the original Mother and still having great vibes from these gems
Do you even need to answer this question? I mean, despite their amazing quality, they're on NSO anyways. Still a great review, but that title is confusing.
Are they worth... Trying lol
"charming simplicity"
Bruh this is all we had back then
i have been playing earthbound for the last few days - for the 1st time - and what a delightful game.
It's certainly far better than buying the SNES Classic just to play EarthBound, in terms of availability. If only it was able to be purchased separately like all the other SNES or NES games
>paying for snes games in 2022
@@knuclear200x I mean I’d personally gladly pay money to actually own SNES games instead of having a yearly subscription that won’t exist in the future, but that’s just me.
@@amirgarcia547 Nothing wrong with buying carts. But it is when waiting for Nintendo to sell it
@@knuclear200x carts that cost a trillion morbillion dollars
@@innocentzbat don't buy a cart then. Get the games free, right now
wdym "are they worth it" obviously they are 💀
I love Earthbound Beginnings, but for someone looking to try it, I'd recommend the GBA version instead. Its localization is much improved over the Beginnings one, and it adds an item to help rebalance the amount of grinding needed.
It may still feel like a chore at times, but is a much nicer experience for the average player these days.
Is it a ROM or is there somewhere I can buy it
Would the GBA version be a fan translation? Since as far as I know, the GBA version of both Beginnings and Earthbound (called Mother 1+2 in Japan) never ended up being localized.
Yes. It is still too chore-ish for me though, so hearing 8/10 was kinda funny.
@@amirgarcia547 Technically yeah it's a fan translation, but it's actually done by the guy who translated Mother 3, and is an actual professional. I was a fan of his work even before playing a translation of his, so really it's many steps above what people would think of a fan translation as being.
@@sergiomanzanares6817 I'm sure people have made carts with it on it, but finding a ROM would obviously be the most simple way of playing it.
So ur telling me they will release this but won’t let us actually buy it or release mother 3 witch is literally equally as offensive
Putting Earthbound's text speed on slow is putting the game in hard mode
In earthbound beginnings.
If you keep opening the menu it reset step counter which stops battles from appearing so often this might make things less tedious. 🤔🎮
I did not know this, though it sounds pretty tedious itself.
Why is the picture for Earthbound Beginnings so small? Did they crop out the anti-overscan pixels? Is the emulator set to pixel-perfect mode?
Over 300 music tracks in EarthBound
My first experience with Earthbound was when I borrowed my cousin's SNES Classic and spent hours on it. He took it back before I finished it, but I'm glad I can now beat it.
Man mother two looks crazy good compared to mother 1. I played through EB:B first and my jaw dropped when i started EB
I only just started playing Eathbound and the world and charachters are interesting but so far the combat sends me to sleep, I just kind of glaze over during battles. I'm on to the second town now really hoping it improves with more party members.
It gets better and way more difficult, I love how the hp counter drains while you're hit and you can heal and still fight right before dying
@@th3SyLvEsTeR agreed
Welcome to rpgs lmao
Usually in an RPG you start with three of four companions so things are a bit more interesting. Admittedly I haven’t really played many SNES era rpgs
I'm (was) part of that community that was active around what demi did over 20 years ago getting the old FC(NES) game out to the market to play. I remember the struggles, Nintendo had put some sneaky game kills within for a copy protection routine that had to be defeated. There were such gems as a one hit progression stopper within an area with tomb stones, also having the difficulty cranked up to suicidal levels too on things from the get go.
I tried to get into the game then and never really tried much since because one thing always confused me. I never could find a way to restore health much and definitely never your PSI power which just turned the game into a club fest with the bat and grew tiresome being unable to continue much into the game. I'm really curious how people are playing this now without an ability to restore your PSI power or heal much because the difficulty as said is utterly nasty from the get go especially compared to its SNES sequel.
Where is a good place to get an English repro copy of mother 3?
I think it might be a good idea for anyone who isn't a seasoned veteran of classic RPGs to temper their expectations for EarthBound a bit as much of what gives it its unique charm and makes it feel fresh for its time could possibly be lost to some degree without that strong background understanding of the genre's tropes and cliches. It's still a good game, regardless, but I believe that lack of context may make it more difficult to fully appreciate it.
Earthbound is definitely worth playing if you haven’t already, since it’s a gem of a game that’s clearly inspired some of the most beloved and influential RPGs in recent years, including Undertale and Omori.
Earthbound Beginnings though…even if it’s aged like milk due to being an NES RPG, it’s still worth checking out if you’re curious enough to see where the series started, and still has plenty of its much-improved successor’s charm.
AVGN does a great video on this game.
Short answer, rental of any SNES game is not worth it.
Me and my best friend used to "speedrun" Earthbound back in the 90's as kids. Not because we were attempting to pioneer jrpg speed running, but because we would rent this game (or Mario RPG) and try to finally beat it before returning it to the store and praying we can get our save file back next weekend.
Last time I played Earthbound as an adult, it felt like I was possessed; the muscle memory was deep and intense.
I completed Mother 3 years ago and it was one of the most emotional and loving games I’ve ever played. I then went and played Earthbound on 3ds and loved it, with spurts of fantastic storytelling. I’m currently playing Beginnings and I’m honestly loving it as a combo of Earthbound and early JRPSs like Dragon Quest 1 and Final Fantasy 1.
If Nintendo translated Mother 3 and put it on the expanded online subscription, I’d definitely upgrade.
Think about it this way: EarthBound is an _incredibly_ charming and weird SNES-era JRPG which comes with most of the pros and cons of being a SNES-era JRPG. If you're into that, then you'll more than likely enjoy what EarthBound has to offer...
...EarthBound Beginnings (Mother 1) is a history lesson. You play it to get a taste of where the original EarthBound idea was coming from. Then you never play it again.
and to get exposition of Giygas’ story and how he’s connected with EarthBound.
My Nintendo Online subscription expired right before the EarthBound announcement. I didn't plan on renewing since I only play single-player games but now I'm really tempted because EarthBound is tied with Super Mario RPG for my favorite game. (Still waiting for you to add that one too, Nintendo!)
Levelups are random in Mother 1. For example, Ninten's "average" ups is 2, "bad" is 1, and "good" is 3.
A bad string of 1s can ruin you early on.
But if you rewind to just before you chose the action that won you the fight, you can reroll until you get a good score!
You don't know how much I agree with this review especially with the narrative and the storytelling. As weird and quirky the story is, playing it as an adult gives you a different perspective.
I never got to play this as a kid and I grew up with turn based RPGs but eventually outgrew the turn based system and eventually bored out by it and embraced a more fast paced and action oriented RPGs and other genres as I grew up. I gave Earthbound a try after it got announced and released on NSO. I never turned off the SNES app on the switch ever since I played it until I finished it.
I eventually get bored even with the new games that I play and even sometimes leads me to rushing it just for the sake of finishing it to get my money's worth, but, Earthbound just does the opposite and this is a 2 decade old game. It got me hooked and kept me hanging on what's about to happen next whenever I put my switch down that I'm eager to finish my work and meal to play Earthbound.
It's a beautifully written game and it has got a certain charm that most of the modern games fail to do nowadays. Only a few does.
I love it from start to finish and I'm thankful to myself I gave it a chance.
“Has kid would think the puke monster was goofy and funny but I thought it was actually pretty stupid “ haha yea cause it’s a kids game haha but it’s still fun tho
Still waiting for the third game, Nintendo.
I noticed some slowdowns when there were more than six or so enemies in one area. But fun.
Yes.
It's worth it.
Very worth it.
I remember my grandpa taught me how to read while i was playing Earthbound/Mother 2. Everytime I spoke to an npc or 'read' a sign or something, he would have me read the words out loud to practice my reading skills. Alongside the lunch lady at my school teaching me to read by reading Dr. Seuss' Go Dog Go, I came to enjoy reading and RPGs, that's probably why I enjoy story heavy rpgs and visual novels xD
One of the best game on Nintendo!! It should be one of the icon of Nintendo other than super mario gang
I beat Earthbound on SNES but ended liking Beginnings because its more challenging. Its the more difficult game so its definitely for the harcore rpg gamer. Yes it is more frustrating with the high encounter rates and being a bit grindy, but the game gives you Repel Ring and Bread to make the game more enjoyable.
Maybe it’s just my age but I’ve never played through a NES rpg (not including Zelda). They just don’t look fun. I love SNES rpgs and it has some of the best OAT.
Just started Earthbound and dabbled a little in Beginnings. Mother 2 just seems like an improvement on the first one, so I’m sticking with that. I think it’s a game I’ll pick up every so often to make progress and play over the course of a year.
Yeah the first game is ridiculously grindy. If you like grind focused nes rpg games than play it through. I cant get into it but it isn't for me.
Ridiculously grindy? I don't follow. Once you can beat the crazy farmers outside your house, the game is quite smooth as far as difficulty progression is concerned.
@@Nukatha let me tell you, I'm playing it and it is insanely grindy. I'm at the point to where I need to awaken the dragon And you have to be at level 25 to do so. and at this point it's kinda boring. I'm too strong for everything but I need to level up and it takes forever.
I just finished Earthbound on NSO. What an incredible game. I still can’t believe it was released in 1994, almost 30 years ago! This game was ahead of its time in every aspect. Yes, Earthbound is a masterpiece confirmed.
I always feel compelled to play games in order (the only exception being Metal gear rising) so i picked up Beginnings on my wii U virtual console a few years back and I loved it but didn't finish it, i picked it back up when I heard it came to NSO and j haven't put it down since, i have a feeling im gonna get slightly emotional at the ending from what I've seen online
And supposedly 40 millions people have NSO, thats like 38 millions that didnt play it that can play it for free everywhere because handheld xD
I love how you can practically play eb one handed...still remember the game like the back of my hand. My biggest regret is selling it to my friend for like 20 bucks...I was a stupid(ier) high school kid
I guess you spent a lot of time playing it one-handed as a high school kid
What were you doing with your free hand when playing this game??
Yes they made it specifically so you could play one handed. It was just a way to not make it too complicated.
Why did you name the charecter 'Zion'?
Is this some type of message you're delivering to the world?
I will forever refuse to call Mother "Earthbound Beginnings". Such a silly silly name.
I think Zion doing Earthbound videos is the Premier League of Nintendo Life videos. Hopefully Nintendo will do something more with the series.
What do you mean ARE THEY WORTH IT. It’s included and yes of course it’s worth it. End of video 👏
its awesome that the Direct announced Earthbound specifically because people need to know Ness more than "that kid from smash bros"
Earthbound Begginings was the first Mother game i played because I'm stubborn and like playing things in order, it's very frustrating, sure, but the story and characters are so charming and the ending twists are genuinely heart wrenching and pulled a tear out of my eye, i understand it's a very difficult and frustrating game but i wish it could receive more love somehow, maybe a remake or something, i genuinely love that game and while Earthbound is leagues better i still feel people should experience Begginings at least once in their lives
“Buying a second hand cartridge for silly amounts of money was most people’s only option.” Emulator Gang like 😏
earthbound beginnings might be really annoying to play but god that music and the story, so beautiful. Itoi's a genius.
I just wish we got somekind of remake of mother 1/2 instead 😪 but it is nice for those of us who haven't played it before.
I think you failed to mention the powerful story in beginnings, that is a major reason to play the game. Just a bit sad to see it be discarded as a curiosity
I booted up the game and thought the same thing on the switch, the graphics weren't bad for SNES game.
1:20 You're forgetting about free emulators. Anyway, good video.
You think these games will ever sell in e shop store? What are the odds???? 1 out of a 1,000,000?
I have never played Earthbound before, and only knew about it through Smash. One thing that always captivated me though was the Earthbound Music. Smash Bros has given us so many great music tracks from the Earthbound/Mother Series, and whenever I hear the original versions of some of those songs (in videos like this) it always makes me really happy!
I would prefer to be able to buy these awesome games without the subscription....
Im in my JRPG phase, as soon as im done with cosmic heroine im gonna jump into earthbound
Of course it is. Because shitendo, now loves to abhor money like that.
I just love how you make it seem like nobody was able to play earthbound all the way to 2013 as if emulation doesn't exist 🤣. I'm sure more people have played this game on an emulator than they ever have on original hardware or eShop. I know I've beaten it at least three times on emulator And I actually owned it on a super Nintendo. I just couldn't give it the time and deserved when I like 10 years old.
But seriously anybody that hasn't played this game yet that likes RPGs really needs to give it a shot.
Great review! I’m a HUGE Earthbound fan and need to check out Earthbound Beginnings one day. Hopefully soon…I feel like as a fan of Mother 2 and 3 I just have to haha
Thanks to nintendo online I played it and now its one of my favourite jrpg’s
Bro earthbound beginning is infuriating . The random encounters is pure pain
Back when you could name characters whatever you wanted 😂
Earthbound is one of the only games I've ever purchased (Wii U Virtual Console) that I couldn't bring myself to finish. I feel the same way about it as I do Chrono Cross, in that I love everything about it except for the actual gameplay. The series of tedious things I had to do every time I died, before I could get on my way again, became too much for me to stomach anymore. That plus the grindy nature of it that Zion mentions here.
Then watch a walktrought
Same for me another game that is like that is FF7
1:08 "Earthbound was sold poorly in the West, because of some higher price tag and a weird marketing."
Is that it? So your telling me that's why it flopped so bad? Your telling me that a SINGLE PLAYERS GUIDE and a HIGH PRICE TAG were the reasons that Earthbound flopped so hard in the West?! IS THAT THE REASON WHY?!??!
Nobody knows why, that is a theory, the ads were weird also but still, also remember it was kids depending on their parents to chalk over the money, not like today where the 80’s and 90’s kids are grown up with their own funds
The best thing would be to see a localized Mother 3 on Switch
This game pretty much inspired every modern indie rpg now.
I played Beginnings first, with the 25th anniversary patch. Simply having characters join at not Level 1 is enough to make it a massive step up from the original, and the new graphics are beautiful.
For some reason my game softlocks when I reach the cave of the past
After all these years, and still they mispronounce Onett.
14:16 coulda swore he said Kenny G Suzuki 😂
I never played a turn-based RPG because the mechanics turn me off. But Earthbound looks really fun so I will give it a shot.
Let me warm you that the beggining is hard and a bit of a slog, I really ask you that you at least get to Threed
Beginnings is hardly a slog. Losing fights is a slap on the wrist, items exist for reducing encounter rate, fully open world, and fast travel, plus every character has unique dialogue and there's around a full hour of unique music tracks. Absolute pinnacle of NES games.
@@Nukatha Mah man I meant the BEGGINING of Earthbound. Not Earthbound Begginings!!
Just finished Mother and started EarthBound again last night!
this game is also available on the Gameboy Advance.