Earthbound

[Juxapose]

Okay time to get into the touchy subject that is earthbound. I have noticed that this game does have a STRONG and LOYAL cult to the game. So one day I figured, what the hell? Lets give the game a try! 

And how does the Jux feel about it?

To be honest, I really hated the game!

I mean, I found earthbound to be the most boring RPG that has ever landed in any console ever. I am so confused, I love RPG's. But I find earthbound to be rather childish to understand, and WAY too abstract for my taste. 

I understand that the gamers love this game for tons of reasons, but I cannot see what they see. Anything that they claim to be fun came out to be boring and pointless busywork. I could never relate to the characters in any way, even though all the earthbound fans claim they do. What they see as unique innovation came out to be rather infantile to me.

Lets talk about what I do see:

The characters - Unlike my favorite RPG's where the main characters are adults around the age of 20-40 (With the occasional 17 year old teenager as the main character), seeing the characters who are made up of a group of young children with special powers was WAY too strange for my taste. I mean, as I played, I just spent the whole game shaking my head in shame. I felt like I was playing a game made for 2 or 3 year olds. 

The monsters - Like before, I always LOVED seeing big ferociuos scary monsters that dated back all the way to the original NES. Now I am killing off civilians, defenseless animals, inanimate objects, and aliens in the shape of stars. I cold not feel the thrill of killing beasts, but instead I am killing clowns and the mailman. Not too fun.

The playing field - In the 90's, the RPG's were praised for their well detailed maps, cities, and fields. Examples were Final Fantasy 3, Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, and so much more. But Earthbound had the laziest and simplest play field I have ever seen. Once again, I felt that a child made them, not a famous computer programmer. 

The music - Unlike the other RPG's with talented orchestra writers in their disposal, a lot of the music used in this game is rehashed pop music from different pop cultures. Hearing them made the game feel lazy and cheap. I know a lot of people love the pop culture references, but they belong in a parody, not an RPG that is supposed to be a "masterpiece".

Those little "extras" - I just plain don't get it. Those little things that the game throw at us just made the game annoying. For example: the "homesick" status effect. RLY? The point was what? To make the gamer "Relate to the main character"? I really don't get it, the boy is psychotic enough to kill dogs, cats, people, and lamps with a baseball bat, and has psychic powers, but he gets "homesick"? If I went around killing "Annoying old party man"s (http://earthbound.wikia.com/wiki/Annoying_Old_Party_Man) homesick was the last thing I would feel. 
There are a ton of other extras, but I am not getting into detail of all of them. Just know that I don't really feel their impact.

Story - 1 comment, Legend of Zelda ripoff!
I do understand that the game does have some deep moments, but the game is so infantile and silly, that I get emotional whiplash when these supposed "deep" moments present themselves.

Final Boss - I had to do some research to understand what was the meaning behind the final boss. I do get it now, but they could have dome something a bit better than what they gave us. The final boss is basically a distorted windows wallpaper. That's it. Umm. . . . . . . Scary?

To conclude this rant, I have no idea what the other people of this forum feel about this game. If you love it, whatever; as long as you're having fun. But until I get a REAL explanation of why is this game such a cult, I would REALLY like youtube to stop rubbing the game in my face forcing me to try something I don't like.

I get it, I tried it, the game is NOT for me. Can these Earthbound fans now just run to their corner and talk about the game among themselves. All they keep doing is make me dislike the game even more.

[TBustah!]

You've been here long enough that you might remember that I'm a fan of the series.

Honestly, I don't think most fans would care that you don't like it. You gave it more than a fair shot, and are entitled to your opinion. It's the people that are like "I didn't make it past Frank in Onett, the whole game sucks!" that we can't stand.

[Mage the Observer]

EarthBound was one of the first RPGs I ever played, and I think the first I managed to beat. There's a bit of nostalgia there for me, but I can understand that it's not for everyone. I'm not a hater, though. Not everyone is going to like what I like. Not everyone is going to dislike what I dislike. Everyone has different tastes and preferences, there is nothing wrong with that, and the only people I want to hurt are those who think there is.