EarthBound

When it comes to great RPG's on the SNES the first names to pop into your mind might be the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger or even Terranigma, but EarthBound (or "Mother 2" as it's also known in Japan) holds it's own and is by far the most original with weird enemies, trippy graphics and a bunch of weird weaponry.

EarthBound sees the player in control of Ness, a young boy who is later joined by Paula, Jeff and Poo as they go around the world trying to defeat Gigyas, an ultra powerful enemy. The adventure sees the characters fighting with hippies, old men, ants, a giant blob of puke and dinosaurs as the you go through a variety of caves, forests and peculiar dungeons.

Whilst on the face of it is just "another RPG" with a weird theme it's the heart of the game that makes is really stand out. Not only is it set in the modern day (as opposed to being set in the past), with references to The Beatles and weapons such as Yo-yo's and Frying Pans but it also has a very unique charm to it that makes you want to carry on playing. It's weird, it's wacky and wonderful.

Not only is it a very unique game in terms of it's themes and characters it's also a very full game. Each character has a number of weapons, a number of attacks (many of which are psychic based) and a number of stats which change as the player levels up. The game will give you at least 15 hours of fun and enjoyment, in fact on a first play through you can easily expect to get double that especially if you want to collect everything in the game.

Despite being a long and weird game it's got it's own flaws. One of the major complaints is that the characters have a very limited item space. With the game having quite a number of necessary items and things like weapons, clothing and food items you find your inventory regularly full. Even if you store the items you still find yourself really struggling to balance how many you are carrying at any one time.

Whilst at times you may get a little frustrated with the game you'll find you've fallen in love with it and simply want to play it. It's kooky, it's funny, it's bizarre and it's brilliant. Whether your an out and out RPG fan or not this really is a game you MUST play. Thankfully it does have an inbuilt save function which really comes in handy (though original cartridges may be finding that the battery back up is beginning to die now well over a decade after the game was released).

It's huge, it's fun, it's addictive and it's one of the most amazing SNES games you will ever be able to play and now it's out on the Virtual Console so you really have to play it now!

94%

Details:
Console-SNES
Release-1994 (Japan) 1995 (USA)
Developer-APE, HAL Laboratory
Genre-RPG
Players-1

Trivia:
The game has long been associated with the Super Smash Bros. series, with Ness and Lucas being playable characters and Onett (one of the games towns) being a stage in Super Smash Bros Melee
The game was the follow up to Mother (or Earth Bound Zero) a Japan only release that would later get a fan translation by Demiforce