The House That Charm Built
There are some games that want to set the world on fire. They have revolutionary graphics, controversial content, unheard of gameplay, dynamic, immersive sound, and sweeping, epic plots. And then there's this game. Average graphics for the time, nothing new in the sound department, a battle-system used for years and years in other games, and little to no character development. It's not a mistake that I awarded this game five stars, because it taps into something used less and less as time goes on and gaming gets more "mature:" charm. This was the first RPG I played that used a real-world money (good old-fashioned $$), things like cheeseburgers and fries to heal damage, and a baseball bat for a main weapon (things like yo-yos and frying pans to come later). And all this combined with some of the catchiest tunes ever put to cartridge and one of the most memorable supporting casts ever make me overlook any of the game's myriad of shortcomings to see one of the most fun games I've ever played.
The game opens with Ness (or whatever you've chosen to name the character) awakened from his bed by a loud crash from up the hill of his modern, suburban house, followed by a persistent knock at the door. The knock turns out to be his neighbor, who seems to harbor the delusion that Ness is his best friend, asking for his help in investigating a meteor that's crashed on the hill. In traditional RPG fashion, these humble beginnings unfold to a plot by a warlord from the future to conquer the world, you discover more characters who'll join your party (and many, many more who will oppose you) and eventually save the world.
The combat system is a first person view almost devoid of animation (but with delightful sound effects) unless psychic special abilities are being used, but serves its purpose.
The game is incredibly generic in all the big ways, but incredibly unique in the small, in my opinion more important ways, that it can be replayed time and again and small new things can be discovered, even if the game flows basically the same way every time. Unique enemies, unique helpers, and one of the most oddly poignant "journies inward" make Earthbound one of the most beloved cult classic RPGs of all time, and easy to reccomend if you have even the slightest sense of whimsy left. And if you don't, this game may just bring it back.
