Earthbound is one of those games that some people absolutely love. It has a strange cult-like following that is rarely seen, especially for a game that is almost 15 years old. Earthbound is a game that was not experienced by a mass audience, but a small group of gamers who wanted something different from your typical RPG of the time. And for those who don't get what makes Earthbound so awesome, I'm here to help.
I've come up with 50 reasons why Earthbound is awesome. See why people love Earthbound for yourself.
Warning! Warning! There will be some major spoilers so... warning! Warning? Good warning.
50. The sesame seeds can talk.
It's no mirage. In the Dusty Dunes Desert, there are two sesame seeds that you can talk to. There is no real purpose to talking to them, but it's Earthbound so you have to expect crazy things to happen. Like talking to seeds.
Strange indeed.49. How to get rid of rabbit statues.
There's a cave in Dalaam that houses one of your sanctuaries, but large bunny statues block your way. So how do you get rid of the statues? The Carrot Key, duh! It's just too obvious. It's one of the many barriers with obvious solutions in the game.
48. Sign my banana.
The guy working at the Dinosaur Museum is a huge fan of Venus, the singer who got a gig at the Topolla Theater after the Runaway Five ran away from their financial troubles. So in order to explore the sewers under Fourside, you have to get her autograph on... anything, really. It just so happens that you end up meeting Venus and she gives you that autograph... on a banana. Now that same banana is on eBay and the latest bid is around $40,000. And you eventually saved the world. Everybody wins.
47. Super Monkey Bubble.
Jeff meets a buddy after leaving the Snow Wood Boarding House... a monkey that loves bubble gum. Incidentally, he is the Bubble Monkey. He's a big help on the journey to the laboratory of Dr. Andonuts, unlike his gay friend Tony. Bubble Monkey does find his significant other just before entering the lab and leaves Jeff, but it's all for the best. I mean, he'll probably begin to stink if he were a permanent member.
46. The Blues Bro... I mean Runaway Five.
The Runaway Five is the Earthbound version of the Blues Brothers except they don't know how to manage their finances. Ness and the crew usually end up paying off their debts throughout the game, but the Runaway Five are always there to help. Without them, Ness would never be able to reach Threed or defeat one of the minibosses later on.
Mom, what are you doing here?45. In the land of Magicant.
Magicant is a made-up land in Ness' mind, but there's a deep, dark evil part in Ness that must be defeated. In Magicant, there are memories of his family, his younger self, and bad guys he thwarted. It's a very strange place suitable for a very strange game.
44. My yogurt tastes fishy.
Trout yogurt is an acquired taste, but there is a maid in Fourside that has acquired and embraced that taste. She will give you a sample of her favorite dish and although it will slightly increase your health, do you really want to eat it? It's yogurt that tastes like trout. I'll stick with my peanut cheese bars and double burgers.
43. Frying pans and yo-yos.
The weapons list in Earthbound can be described as unusual since there are no swords, no axes, basically nothing you'll see in your traditional Final Fantasyesque RPG. Ness uses baseball bats, Paula enhances the female stereotype with frying pans, Jeff pops dudes with wacky guns, and Poo... well he can get a sword, but it's not a necessity. You just can't do that in any other RPG. Cloud with a baseball bat? Makes no sense.
42. The Mexican slot machine.
The Dusty Dunes Desert is chock full of insane interactions and the slot machine you can play is... a little broken. So broken that 3 Mexicans have to take over for the machine. They spin and spin and spin and sometimes they give you money.
That's some Earthbound jibba-jabba.41. I pity the fool who didn't see Mr. T in Earthbound!
Mr. T is going to fight Nazis or something with Will Wright, but he's no stranger to video games. Whether he knows it or not, Mr. T is in Earthbound and he also pities fools. It's just one of the many pop culture references in the game... and if Mr. T is holding up the Virtual Console release, then he is truly the fool.
Tomorrow, part Twoson! See what I did there?
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