EarthBound (1994)

(Re)playing this game on NSO for the first time since it came out, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the game held up despite some archaic mechanics.

When I first started replaying it on a whim I wasn't sure I'd end up playing the whole thing before dropping it, but it really hooked me in with its strange non-sequitirs, cheeky satirizing of its own genre, endearing characters, and just generally charming weirdness.

It was also hard in a specific sort of way that I don't often experience in modern games - with an unspoken assumption that you will often die on your first attempt to get through a dungeon, and you'll have to do the whole run over again, except you'll have gained experience (both literally and as exp points) from the previous unsuccessful attempt that will carry you further this time. Gives faint proto-rogue-lite vibes.

The enemy exp and level requirements also seem to scale in a way that you can't rack up levels by grinding easy enemies, even in huge grindy quantities you'll barely see any change. You can only gain meaningful amounts of exp by fighting enemies who pose more of a credible threat. This game doesn't want you to mindlessly grind mooks until you're overleveled enough to mindlessly destroy bosses. It wants you perpetually on the knife's edge, struggling yet capable of making it with a bit of strategy, sometimes a bit of luck, and sometimes a bit of failure you can learn from.

Fantastic game even today.

First Impressions / Setup: I’ve always loved the Mother / EarthBound series — in my opinion, it’s one of the most creative JRPG franchises ever made. The bizarre enemies, surreal dialogue, and unique world-building make it unforgettable. Mother 3, especially, has one of the most emotional stories I’ve ever experienced — one of the few games that actually made me cry.

For this playthrough, I dove into Mother 2 Deluxe, a ROM hack by Messaniac that enhances EarthBound while staying faithful to the original. Since I played the original EarthBound years ago, I don’t remember all the details, but the base game remains intact — the story, locations, and characters are all true to the 1994 classic. The hack mainly adds quality-of-life improvements, enhanced sprites, better enemy AI, and a lot of extra content, making the game feel fresh while still authentic.

Gameplay

Combat works just like classic EarthBound: random encounters trigger a battle, and the turn order is determined by Speed stats, not positioning. Each character can use Hit/Bash, PSI abilities, Defend, Run, or unique items and skills.

Deluxe improves many annoying aspects of the original:

Jeff’s tools now have a dedicated menu, instead of cluttering the inventory. In the base game, inventory management could be frustrating because he collects many items that don’t fit naturally into the standard slots.

Characters need to equip certain pendants and bracelets, adding a layer of strategy that wasn’t in the original.

Enemy AI is smarter, and some encounters are more challenging, which makes the game feel fresh even for veterans.

The difficulty is more balanced but way harder than the original. EarthBound is naturally on the easier side if you’ve played it before, but Deluxe adds moments that genuinely challenge your tactics — sometimes frustrating, sometimes exhilarating.

Story / World

The story is simple but charming: travel across eight locations, collect Sound Stones, and confront bosses along the way. The narrative is full of humor, quirky characters, and bizarre situations — exactly what makes EarthBound so iconic.

The ROM hack doesn’t change the plot significantly, but it refreshes the experience for returning players. Fans will notice a lot of extra content, minor story tweaks, and improved presentation that make the adventure feel alive without losing the original’s essence.

Characters remain just as lovable: Ness, Paula, Jeff, Pu, and the unforgettable bittersweet Douchebag Porky. Each one has charm, personality, and subtle narrative depth.

And this version is faithful to the Japanese version of the game.

Atmosphere / Music

The soundtrack is phenomenal — whimsical, strange, and incredibly memorable. From battle themes to town music, every track enhances the world’s quirky atmosphere. Many tunes are iconic in meme culture, but they’re also genuinely well-composed.

Visually, the sprites have been improved in Deluxe. While staying true to the original style, the game looks sharper, smoother, and more polished, making exploration and combat feel more satisfying.

Authenticity

Mother 2 Deluxe stays very faithful to EarthBound. All original mechanics, story beats, and NPC interactions remain intact. The hack respects the base game while fixing quality-of-life issues, enhancing graphics, and subtly rebalancing difficulty + a lot of Extra content. For longtime fans, it feels like a true enhancement rather than a reinterpretation.

Conclusion / Personal Take

Mother 2 Deluxe is a labor of love — Messaniac and his team spent 11 years on this ROM hack, and it shows. It’s challenging, funny, and bizarre in exactly the way EarthBound should be. The improvements make battles more strategic, the inventory more and less frustrating, and the overall experience more polished.

For any fan of EarthBound or quirky JRPGs, this hack is essential. It’s faithful, challenging, and utterly charming — a revitalization of a legendary game that makes it feel alive again.

Rating: ★★★★★ (5 / 5) Bizarre, charming, challenging, and unforgettable — a perfect enhancement of a classic JRPG.

This is has been incredibly long in the making. I think I started back in 2018 recently after acquiring the SNES-Mini. I played a good portion of the game and then it got lost somewhere between other life-event stuff. I was so glad to finally pick it up again in 2020.

This game is a true joy to play (even though I will say there are a few difficulty-spikes here and there). Let's start by looking over the gameplay and battle system.

I found the system not too overly complex and relatively simple, but with a lot of depth and opportunity to explore the many items and enemies provided. I did eventually over-power my stats because I was at certain points leveling up for the sudden difficulty-spikes. The game has sections that completely spikes the difficulty, which is then followed by easier sections. The game went back and forth like this many times, leading me to simply power-level to a relatively overpowered state just to be sure. There also becomes an awkward level gap as your party members join the party as the story progress, the last one being pretty late in the game. At the end of the game, Ness was in level 82 while Poo reached the modest level of 64.

There are some weird statistical hiccups like that along the way. Ness' bank account fills up at an absurd rate, leaving you with millions of dollars by endgame. And that's not a problem, as it leaves the player free to splurge on items and whatnot. Another flaw is the Escargo Express functionality of storing your items, which was extremely time-consuming, leaving me to often just wing it and keep my items as they were.

But even with some of these imbalances and clunky mechanics that's not really what we are here for most likely. This game has a story, characters, and a mood, unlike anything I've ever played before.

The dialogue for this game might be one of the best I've ever encountered in a video game. I laughed and giggled more times than I've ever done in front of a game. There are tons of references and wittiness. The story is both eerie and engaging, with many memorable characters and relationships. This game ends with a beautiful and engaging message to the player.

The graphics are a little bit strange but within such a cohesive context that the game as a whole just looks stunningly charming. The sprites are funny and clever. The enemy design often feels random but since it's part of the theme of the game it all fits in there just right. The general sense of world-building created with all of these elements creates an engaging and fun world that one wants to spend time in and explore.

Now to the sound design. The soundtrack has everything, cozy tunes, fast tunes, funny tunes, and eerie tunes. And the execution of all of them fits just perfectly with the world and story. I've got some of my all-time best jams from this game.

With all of this said the game has aged extremely well and after playing through it it is clear what a piece of gaming history this truly is. Earthbound is truly a cornerstone of many modern games and this game was first with many things, paving the way for many of the modern RPGs.

It's very much recommended to play this piece of gaming history, no matter if one likes retro games or RPGs or whatever. There is something for everyone inside of this true gem of a game.

When I picked up the Super NES mini, the game I was most looking forward to playing was not Star Fox 2, but Earthbound. I missed it back in the Super NES heyday, likely because being a stupid preteen at that time, I thought the graphics were "dorky" or something lame like that. Knowing that the Super NES is a powerhouse for RPGs, I wanted to dive into this classic, and boy was I not disappointed.

The game, more than anything, is a love letter to Americana. That is one of the things I adore about the game, besides the fact that it is so off the wall weird. I mean, stranger than strange. It's gotta be the most unique game I have ever played. And that's also a part of it's charm.

From the quirky sense of humor to the weapons like baseball bats to paying for things with a credit card and saving the game by calling home from a pay phone, this is not your standard JRPG. But while I love that genre, this is also why I love Earthbound. It's so different.

Tough? Sure is, but never unfair. And the entire time, you will have a huge smile on your face.

I'd put it right up there with Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and Super Mario RPG as the four great ones (RPGs) for the Super NES.

EarthBound is an extremely quirky game. I knew very little about EarthBound besides the fact that it's alternatively called Mother 2 over in Japan and it stars Ness who I learned of from Super Smash Bros. I've been wanting to play this game for years... Especially when I began maining Ness in Smash. So my girlfriend and I got a SNES emulator and played it from beginning to end

And it met all my expectations

EarthBound has one of the most self-aware stories I've ever seen. Ness is the chosen one? Because destiny duh... The game doesn't hide it's ridiculous nature and I love that.

Ness, Paula, Poo, and Jeff are very great characters that you grow very attached to and that feeling flows well with the gameplay.

EarthBound has a great soundtrack that perfectly mixes with the amazing locations and situations that the game throws at you.

However, the game is EXTREMELY UNFORGIVING. Probably because it came out in 1994 and games were just a lot harder back then. This isn't a gripe at the game... I just didn't see it coming

I can see where the inspiration came from for Undertale and I'm just happy to represent my main in Smash and to just play a classic RPG.

Thanks, EarthBound

Would Recommend

4/5

It's not only that I didn't own a SNES back in the day, but also that Earthbound never made it to PAL territories, so when it got released on the Nintendo eShop for the 3DS, and after all the hype around it still today, I had to give it a go.

The first thing that stood out to me was the contemporary setting of the story, its light-hearted and quirky dialogue and a fairly simple graphical presentation that actually looks very sharp and nice even today. All these design choices were likely aimed at differentiating this game from the horde of fantasy-themed and more serious RPGs of the time. Something that it likely achieved back then but isn't as effective today, with a gaming community that have witnessed pretty much anything by now.

The game was very innovative in some ways:

• Rolling HP meter, giving you a slight chance to heal a fatally wounded character before the meter reached zero.
• Foes visible on screen rather than random battles, although one could rarely avoid aggressive mobs since they move much faster than the player.
• Battle auto-win when engaging low level enemies.
• Hint service (for a fee) in case you get stucked but I rarely felt the urge of using it.

However, and in my opinion, it lacked a well narrated story which is what I'm normally looking for in any RPG; a lot of things happen in the game but I was unable to understand why and how all the events were connected. Everything just felt to me very... random!

Add to this some technical limitations or gameplay trends of that time and all of a sudden the game becomes a bit of a chore at times:

• Painful management inventory with separated inventories for each character (I bet you'll be moving a lot of stuff across your characters) and a frustrating item "delivery" service. Also, any money one spends has to be withdrawn from ATMs, which quickly becomes annoying.
• It can be grindy due to the amount of hostile mobs in some of the zones and the mob spawn mechanics.
• Some unnecesarily long dialogues for simple recurrent tasks, like saving the game.
• Cumbersome menus. An obvious example would be having to hit a "Check" command to know what an item does rather than showing the explanation somewhere on the screen when the item is highlighted.

All in all, I'm afraid I must be one of the few out there that did not enjoy the game all that much and only beated it because I forced myself to do so seeing so many people praising it. Am I missing something? I can imagine those who played it back in the day might get loads of nostalgia from it but, personally, I'd rather play severall other RPGs from my backlog. I don't know, I guess Earthbound might not be for everybody after all.

Finished the game last night, this was a really fun one. A few thoughts, positive and negative. Minor spoilers throughout, but the game is a) super popular and b) 25 years old, so I don't think it'll ruin anyone's day. Let's get the negative out of the way first.

1. Dear god, why this inventory system? This game has so many items, it's pretty difficult to find out in advance which ones are better than others. So I wound up stockpiling stuff, then dumping most of it because turns out, I don't need things that recover 20 HP or 12 PP in the middle of the game. I wound up selling my bags of dragonite, super bombs, etc., because why do I need them when I have spells that are more effective? Same with every "offensive" item in the game - dirty socks, mummy wrap, the snakes - why use these when PP is virtually infinite thanks to the magic butterflies? Does anyone actually use status effects in this game?
   1a. Then, it forces you to hold on to the three key items the entire game. WHY DO I NEED AN ATM CARD TO FIGHT GIYGAS? Plus, if you're not familiar with the game, you're probably holding onto the Pencil Eraser, Eraser Eraser, Broken Key Machine, and so on, way longer than you need to, not knowing when/if you'll ever use them again.
   1b. Jeff's items - it's a bummer they won't let you sell the repaired weapons once they're obsolete. More trips to Onett or calls to Escargo Express. Plus he has so many repaired items, you don't know what to hang on to or what's effective in battle. Most of them I never use or they never worked, so in the end I wound up only hanging on to the defense shower (it works with shields!) and heavy bazooka.
   
   
2. Balance, grinding, and the end game. When Paula and Jeff joined, they kept dying, so I leveled them a bit with the caterpillars in Dusty Dunes. Ok, no big deal, now they can survive fights and not die from an exploding enemy or any given group PSI attack. I should also note here, I usually fight every encounter in RPGs. I don't usually run or avoid them (except in SaGa games...). Poo got some grinding with the upgraded caterpillars in Scaraba. At the end of the day, I didn't need it. It's almost like enemies start giving too much EXP. Around Magicant, Ness was lv. 84, the rest in the 70s. And the end game just gets so easy, but also oddly unbalanced. Unlucky fights against Psychic and Major Psychic Psychos could wipe my team out. I actually had two game overs from bad RNG with Final Starmen. But then, bosses like Electro Specter, Carbon/Diamond Dog, Ness' Nightmare, and the last boss fight were SO EASY. By that point I'm just like "please, stop leveling up." Seriously, almost every fight, someone was gaining a level.
   

Addendum - In this run through, I didn't go after the Sword of Kings or any other 1/128 drop chance items (except I did luck into a Goddess Ribbon in Onnett 😁). The last time I played I did, and be forewarned, doing this will easily max out everyone's levels.

This game should come with a warning, letting players know how much they will grow to love every character in this game and become attached to the cities, sounds, and story that are packed into this absolute beauty of a game.

It's rare that a game leaves me feeling the way I feel right now, having just finished the game: so satisfied and relaxed and content. And I have definitely never played a game quite like this one. EarthBound takes all the elements you've come to expect from a turn-based RPG and flips them on their collective head.

Instead of an intense, lore-based fantasy game, we get a happy little story about a boy destined to save the world from an evil force. Instead of healing with potions and elixirs, he eats croissants and jerky. Instead of using giant swords to fight, he uses baseball bats and yo-yos. And instead of fighting scary monsters, his enemies range from annoying hipsters to insane cult leaders to hot cups of coffee to alien starmen. It is absolutely and utterly bonkers. And I love it.

The fighting system took a while for me to actually enjoy, and I don't think I fully appreciated what they did with setting until a good couple hours into the game, but once the pieces fully clicked, I was totally immersed. I wanted to play this game every day. The last three weeks have been an awesome journey with my little 16-bit friend.

And the final boss.... what a unique experience that was. Wow!

When I bought EarthBound on the Nintendo EShop, I didn't know what to expect. My exposure to the series was limited to Ness' and Lucas' appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, which does not really prepare you for this roller-coaster of a game.

Admittedly I'm not hugely into RPGs, but every aspect of this game just oozes originality. The enemies, the story line, the characters, the music, everything. It truly is an example of trailblazing within a genre. It was challenging, but not frustratingly difficult, and this applies to both the combat and puzzles within the game. The only complaint in this area is that Ness becomes incredibly overpowered near the end of the game, which allowed me to bulldoze through the final stretch up until the final boss. Speaking of Giygas, he is a great final villain. Though he is very simplistic as evil incarnate, I'd argue that it fits perfectly within the world and atmosphere of EarthBound. Also the way you defeat him was a truly pleasant surprise.

The game is arguably more linear than most RPGs, but I didn't really find that a problem. Many non-linear games are plagued with the danger of a lack of direction which can result in the player getting lost or, even more disastrous, bored. I was never bored with EarthBound, and that is a sign of a truly wonderful game.

To quote Reggie: "If its not fun, why bother?" This is where EarthBound excels - its just fun. That's why I love this game, and that's why I give it a 5/5.

Rating

9/10

Mini-review

I absolutely adore this game. If not for the great humor than for the great music and visuals. The story is a bit of a worn concept, but that's really not the focus here. This game is just chock full of hilarity and every NPC has something unique to say. It really makes it feel more like a living world than other RPGs. Combat can get a bit stale especially when I want to continue on with what's happening but I have nothing but praise for the visuals that go with the battles. Absolutely great sprite work and trippy visuals unlike anything I've ever seen. I really can't say more about this game except that it's WELL worth your time.

Recommendation

Play this game whenever you get the chance, it is 100% worth the ride.

Additional info

Emulated SNES version. Not really sure how long I played the game for due to no in game timer but if I had to guess I'd say 20-30 hours.

“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
-James Truslow Adams, Epic of America

EarthBound. How could it possibly have been so unsuccessful in the West when it was first released? Now it’s considered to be a classic by nearly everyone who’s had the delight of experiencing it. This is one of the most unique and endearing RPG’s on the SNES.

Definitively Nintendo, EarthBound packs a lot of charm, cheerfulness, self-aware quirkiness in its parodying portrayal of Western culture. Its characters are all wildly bizarre but at once extremely lovable and memorable: the Runaway Five, Apple Kid and Orange Kid, the Sanchez Brothers, Mr. Saturn, and Bubble Monkey.

So too its dialogue is wacky and innocently humorous. It’s genuinely funny. Remember the lines: “If they break their contract, they’ll be in deep doodoo with the police. The police would probably say, ‘Hey you guys!’ or something like that…”, “Drown to death in puke! Don’t you think that’s an incredibly masculine taunt to throw at you?”, “Last night there was a solitaire tournament…I lost my shirt…”

The game is distinctly American in its setting, with its inclusion of fast food joints, yo-yos, skateboards, baseball, arcades, conspiracy theories, small towns, B-movies, pop culture, cults, hippies, zombies, and UFOs. All of this is filtered through the hysteria of the hysterical late 20th century. Heck, you use ATMs to get your money (dollars, of course) and payphones to save your game! This setting stood in stark contrast to the typically high fantasy, medieval worlds of most RPG’s up to that point. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, Secret of Mana, Illusion of Gaia, and Breath of Fire II are just a few of the role-playing games on the SNES which drew inspiration almost entirely from “swords and sorcery” type settings, with the occasional sci-fi thrown in for good taste.

Click here for the full review: https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/ea...

Gameplay, Story and Value:

Earthbound is an RPG where you play as Ness, a young boy who has a great destiny bestowed upon him from an alien freedom fighter from the future who is also a bee... That basically sets the tone for the entire game. The story is, at it's core, a generic one: Bad man is coming to Earth and you and some friends must band together to stop him. What sets Earthbound apart is taking these deliberately blatant RPG tropes and juxtaposing them onto an absolutely surreal setting.

The game is very self aware, and it never tries to hide that from you. Why is a little boy chosen to save the world? Because destiny. Why does the girl a town and a half over that we've never met know we're coming to rescue her so she can join the cause? Because plot. Why anything? Because RPG. Earthbound will straight up tell you these things, and seeing it play out is truly amazing. Add to that some incredibly subtle-yet-bizarre dialogue like "Here's a map. Onett isn't the only thing on the map. All the info is there, except for the info that isn't there. Pressing the X Button allows you to view the map at any time. How convenient! You know, the X Button... located near the top. Ha ha ha." are some kind of special. It never stops either, and as a result you always feel a sort of eerie "offness" no matter what you're doing in the game.

And that's exactly what it's going for; that childlike, somewhat skewed version of reality that many of us perceived at a much younger age. In this endeavor I feel Earthbound succeeds to great effect, however it's the gameplay, and even the story, where it starts to lose me.

Mechanically, Earthbound is almost a parody. It practically runs on Dragon Quest's menu and battle engine and, while it does throw in some unique elements of its own, the intentionally generic gameplay often comes off as TOO generic. Additionally, the obvious RPG story tropes, while presented in a quirky and unique way, are just that - Obvious RPG story tropes. See past Earthbound's surrealism and you're left with an RPG shell that just isn't that compelling. The characters suffer from a similar issue. While I can certainly think back to points in my childhood where I saw the world as Earthbound presents it, I'm finding it impossible to actually connect with any of the characters in the game, leaving me even less interested in what's going on.

As far as the gameplay itself is concerned, you have all the basics, only under a modern interpretation. You have hotels (Inns), hospitals (churches), drug stores (shops), payphones (save points), ATM machines (gold banks) and you can call your little sister who acts as an item bank. Earthbound also uses two of my least favorite inventory systems - limited inventory size and personal inventories. Enemies appear on the map though they generally can't be avoided. Moving away from an enemy spawn point will reset the spawn, causing the same enemy to appear there, different enemies, or none at all. This system can be both infuriating as well as extremely if gamed properly.

Combat is turned based and characters can use basic attacks, PSI abilities (magic) or items. You can also set it auto-battle, a feature all RPGs should have, for the simpler encounters. Combat tends to be difficult unless you're over-leveled for the area, and you'll often need to make careful considerations as to how you want to spend your resources in order to make it all the way through a hostile area. Once nice feature, though even THIS gets tiresome after a point, is that if you encounter an enemy that your party would be able to dispatch in a single round before the enemy was able to make an action, you'll simply kill the enemy right there on the map and get the normally allotted EXP and items. This system is enhanced by the fact that these enemies will actively run away from you on the map, allowing you to avoid lesser encounters altogether should you so desire.

Finally, the controls. It all pretty much plays exactly like an early Dragon Quest game, with the confirm button opening a menu from which to choose options like TALK or SEARCH or whatever else. I hated this system as a kid and I hate it now. Luckily, Earthbound allows the use of a catchall interact button... which is unfortunately assigned to the left shoulder button of all things... I'll never understand why I can't just open the menu with X and interact with A like in every other RPG!

Presentation, Music and Sound:

While I appreciate the style that Earthbound is going for, and while it certainly does have its own charm to it, I can't help but feel that the visuals come off as "dated", rather than timeless. Like everything else in the game, the visuals strive for simplicity. Like everything else in the game, they meet their goal a little too well and I feel like the art in Earthbound falls, literally, flat. Like I said, it's not without its charm. I laughed out loud at the sight of some of the character and enemy sprites, but on the whole it all just felt lacking. Here's another place where I feel like the game suffers being a product of its time. Back in 1994 this sort of style would have been very amusing to see among the likes of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and such, an obvious contrast to the genre at the time. Nowadays, though, it doesn't quite have the same effect.

The game's sound effects and music are intensely quirky and add considerably to Earthbound's already surreal atmosphere. The sounds are modern and almost alien, playing nicely with the themes of the game. The music tracks, while not quite as memorable as those from other major RPGs, also do a lot to that end. Elevator music as battle themes? Hell yeah!

Afterthoughts:

Growing up in the 90's I completely missed out on Earthbound when it was relevant... and cheap... As I got older it was always a talked about game, but never one that I got around to emulating. I remember giving it a shot a few years ago but it didn't stick. Even recently before the project when I got my cartridge I gave it a go and didn't really get it. Now that I've forced myself to sit down and spend a few hours with it... I'm still not getting it.

Earthbound has been described to me as a game that doesn't truly shine unless you played it back before everyone was talking about it. In 2016 where parodies and throwbacks like the Hyperdimension series and games like Undertale are the norm, and having skipped Earthbound all those years ago, I'm finding it impossible to comprehend what makes this game so special, and I kind of really hate that. Regardless of whether I like it or not though, without the nostalgia factor to back it up, Earthbound simply does not resonate with me and if I take it purely for what it is, or at least what I perceive it to be, I'm looking at a quirky, tired, surreal, generic RPG that doesn't have enough on offer for me to see it all the way through.

Review:

Gameplay: