/vr/ - Retro Games

Earthbound is the grandpappy of contemporary hipster indie games that go style and pop culture references over substance. Aside from charm and humor, EB has very little to offer. Dull and bland combat, no customization whatsoever, nothing stands out about it as a game. Even the appeal of its charm, humor and plot is questionable, because characters are flat, the story doesn't feel to coherent, and the zany humor and artstyle are really up to personal liking.

You can say, "you should have played it as a kid. You're basically playing Calvin and Hobbes but YOU are the main character!" but it's not a defence of a game's qualities. My favourite childhood game was the first Breath of Fire. I sank literally hundreds of hours into beating it over and over. I have very fond memories of the game, its story and characters. But replaying it today, I can honestly say that it is not a very good game, and the plot and the characters that have captivated me as a kid are actually flat, dull and generic. But that's probably I am not really exposed to a loud and obnoxious fandom fawning about how BoF is so deep and is the best game ever on every corner of the internet.

Earthbound is a very mediocre game with a style that some may find charming. Nothing more, nothing less. The existance of such a devoted and militant fandom for it baffles me, to be honest.