/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.10032604]

why is this game hated now?

[Anonymous No.10032608]

>>10032604
It has been surpassed in every way. The battle system was surpassed with Final Fantasy 16. The world was surpassed by Grand Theft Auto 5 and the music was surpassed by Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Everything it did, some other game has done better.

[Anonymous No.10032613]

^terrible bait. lurk moar

[Anonymous No.10032620]

>>10032613
Do you REALLY think that Earthbound's graphics are as photorealistic as Avatar: The way of Water? Really?
You are delusional, dude. Avatar: The Way of Water has scenes that LITERALLY look better than real life, not to mention it's 3d. Earthbound looks like SHIT compared to Avatar: The Way of Water.

[Anonymous No.10032639]

>>10032608
>world surpassed by GTA5
Is this retardanon seriously comparing some 2d SNES quirky RPG to a modern 3D GTA game?

Next you'll compare a bicycle with a fighter Jet and tell me how the fighter jet surpasses a bicycle.

[Anonymous No.10032647]

>>10032604
Natural reaction to obnoxious fanboys fawning over it constantly. That said, I have very fond memories of this game.

[Anonymous No.10032651]

Back then it was considered an underrated gem that was shoved into everyone's face. Then people saw it for what it really was, a fairly average RPG where's it gimmick of whacky and weird gets old fast. Especially since the system it was on was known for it's legendary RPGS, FF6, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and even Super Mario RPG outclass Earthbound. I don't even hate EB, but it's gets praised a lot when it has a lot of cons about it. I wish EB actually did get a remake so it fixes it's issues.

[Anonymous No.10032663]

>>10032651
>wanting remakes

[Anonymous No.10032669]

>>10032651
>pretending so many things like a modern setting for an RPG, let alone unique mechanics like the rolling health bar, just don't exist because...
>...because they just don't count! okay??

[Anonymous No.10032671]

>>10032608
>zoomer with asperger's thinks he's being poetic/philosophical

[Anonymous No.10032680]

>>10032647
>obnoxious fanboys fawning over it constantly.
the people who make these posts outnumber the people youre complaining about like 20:1

[Anonymous No.10032682]

>>10032604
Because a bunch of retards went on to make other games, citing EarthBound as an influence, while doing absolutely none of the things that made EarthBound special. A bunch of other retards (fans) ate it up and perpetuated this false description of these games.
What we wound up with was a bunch of games made by people who didn't play EarthBound, being played by a bunch of people who didn't play EarthBound, being sold to other people who didn't play EarthBound as EarthBound-likes.

[Anonymous No.10032686]

>>10032604
I haven't never actually played it yet. Also hard for me to compare it to anything as I haven't played 16-bit Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, any other SNES RPG's, or modern games inspired by it like Undertale. One day I might give it a shot

[Anonymous No.10032703]

>>10032680
OP asked why the hate and I told him, simple as that. You wouldn't have been butthurt enough to post this if you weren't one of them.

[Anonymous No.10032714]

>>10032663
A remake with clay in the style of Kirby Rainbow Curse to align with the OG sculptures could be great.

[Anonymous No.10032728]

>>10032604
Earthbound's popularity is one of the most bizarre things in retro gaming.
Are the visuals really that unique? The popularity can't be only related to that, since nobody gives a shit about Paladin's Quest.
Is the gameplay good? Not especially. Gameplay wise it's pretty much an NES game.
Are the characters good? They're on par with other RPGs of the time.
Is the story good? It's nothing special: the only really interesting part is at the end.
Is it funny? Maybe. So were many other games.
Does it have anything to do with the fact that it's set in a modern time/city setting? Earthbound is certainly not the only game that did this at the time, so I doubt it.
Is it just because when people first had access to emulators, they went through the list of games and Earthbound was near the top due to the alphabetical order (thus made it more played that other similar obscure titles)?
Who fucking knows.

Some see this as some kind of super original gem of a game. It commands prices that are absurd (even before the speculative bubble took off). Yet, there's nothing that special to it.
The game is not "hated". Normal people just see it for what it is: another old retro game that you would likely not play that much nowadays.

[Anonymous No.10032731]

>>10032604
Everyone played it after pretending to play it and now they can't lie about it having super deep gameplay and incredible story telling and beautiful emotional music because all of that was made up

[Anonymous No.10032740]

>>10032604
It isn’t.

[Anonymous No.10032745]

>>10032728
>>10032731
I'm not an earthbound lover but these arguments are just so ridiculous. You guys might be autistic, because earthbound is clearly different from all its contemporaries and even its successors

[Anonymous No.10032751]

>>10032745
You must have not played enough video games. There's really nothing much to say to someone like you. If I were you I wouldn't be flaunting my ignorance around like this.

[Anonymous No.10032774]

>>10032745
maybe if you’ve never read a book? or experienced a narrative for the first time in a game?
it takes a certain nlntoddler to stomp the ground and insist “NO!!!!!!! IT WAS SPECIAL!!!!!!! I WAS THERE I FRICKIN PLAYED IT!!!!” without even talking about why.
maybe you are autistic for not seeing why such a game would get completely glanced over by the modern gamer.
no i dont care about what you think of the modern gamer

[Anonymous No.10032776]

>>10032751
It was the only parody JRPG in a contemporary setting with surrealist and weird Japanese comic elements. It also has a charming and rather unique aesthetic that evokes strong feelings of nostalgia in people who experienced it as a child. The gameplay itself is bog standard; it's a Dragon Quest clone and nothing to write home about.

[Anonymous No.10032786]

>>10032774
I am not an earthbound fan. im just saying that it is clearly different
>never read a book?
this is something youd say to someone praising the writing, i am not.
>>10032751
Ive played plenty of games, earthbound is clearly distinguished from other jrpgs, regardless of what you think of it

[Anonymous No.10032796]

>>10032786
u gonna just keep saying its distinguished?
and that it’s tone is enough of a selling point if not the writing?

because it doesn’t even have that.

[Anonymous No.10032801]

>>10032796
I am not saying its good. I am not saying it deserves to be talked about. I am not saying it deserves to be played. I am simply saying it has aspects that are not like the other stuff that was coming out at that time.

[Anonymous No.10032809]

>>10032801
You could try telling this anon that the sky is blue and he'd argue to the death. Welcome to 4chan.

[Anonymous No.10032823]

>>10032604
Because it was always shit and people finally started realizing it after years of mindless hype

[Anonymous No.10032830]

>>10032823
But enough about FF6

[Anonymous No.10032845]

>>10032682
This is the most likely explanation. Exposure has over time created a counter-fandom irritated at it and as a result it's become somewhat cool to shit on Earthbound, or more precisely on the idea of Earthbound-inspired RPGs, to the point where now "quirky Earthbound-inspired indie RPG" is used derisively to refer to independent games, even when It doesn't fit.
For example Off is called that sometimes despite being actually inspired by Killer 7. YIIK is another one, where the authors are openly fans of EB but the game is mainly inspired by Persona, SMT and a load of hipster novels.
Ergo, Earthbound to some has become synonymous with "quirky indie game"

[Anonymous No.10032872]

>>10032776
>It was the only parody JRPG in a contemporary setting with surrealist and weird Japanese comic elements
think again. just because these couldn't have been brought to the west doesn't mean that Mother was the "only" game in town.

[Anonymous No.10032905]

>>10032872
>just because these couldn't have been brought to the west doesn't mean that Mother was the "only" game in town.
Yes it does you fucking moron, nobody outside of Japan knew this stuff even existed in the 90s. There were no emulators or fan translation community when Earthbound came out.

[Anonymous No.10032907]

>>10032872
This is absurdly obscure. You are arguing in bad faith

[Anonymous No.10032913]

>>10032639
No, they aren’t seriously comparing them. How could you think they were?
>>10032604
It’s boring, and charm can only take it so far. The people who said they loved it actually played it and realized that it was never a great game and there was a reason it didn’t sell well. No, it wasn’t the stinky marketing.

[Anonymous No.10032915]

>>10032801
goalposts. what is the point of this thread? every game is “worth playing” for one reason or another.


just be confident in your innocence of enjoying the game. it doesn’t need to be be critically acclaimed for decades on end.
no one is dying on a hill like “original mario holds up and you need to respect it” because it’s been completely succeeded by every merit. literally by itself in this example. and on a grander scale, nintendo willingly let the IP suffocate beyond shallow nods. now why is that?

[Anonymous No.10032921]

>>10032915
>goalposts
Mine have not shifted at all
>enjoying the game
I have made no statement for or against earthbound

[Anonymous No.10032935]

>>10032604
It "got hated"
on release by
>moms who hated the "GROSS!" scratch n sniff
>dads who hated the full price
>everyone who DIDN'T have an SNES console wars! hooray!!
>impatient ADHD children who can't stand RPG
in 1999 by
>everyone who DIDN'T buy it before Super Smash Bros. came out, since they had NO CLUE who "Ness" was supposed to be and felt very spiteful considering he was, apparently, "as cool as Mario, Samus, and Link... a secret character cool, even"
>everyone who DIDN'T have an SNES or N64 console wars! hooray!!
in 2006 & 2008 by
>everyone who saw Mother 3 get a release and felt "left out" for not playing Earthbound
>everyone who saw Mother 3 get a fan translation and felt "left out" for not playing Earthbound
>everyone who DIDN'T own a Nintendo console have I mentioned console wars? yippee!!
And, of course, it's "hated" by anyone who never played it because today's socialized nonsense refuses to accept the idea that anyone else can be right if they disagree with you, therefore your decision to never invest into playing it was the correct choice and everyone else are utter morons.

[Anonymous No.10032937]

Because it was never loved in the first place. This is another "hidden gem" that some faggot on YouTube played up for views and young millennials and zoomers fell for it. If you're old enough to remember when Earthbound was new you know game stores were desperate to get rid of it. The fake buzz around Earthbound is absolute proof of what sheep collectors are.

[Anonymous No.10032939]

>>10032935
its not my fault, video games are chores man. am i really expected to play every game under the sun? it just makes me feel exhausted

[Anonymous No.10032940]

>>10032608
Now post a game that combines all those things together.

[Anonymous No.10032947]

>>10032604
I don’t hate it, but I’ll probably never play it again because there is a deliberate gay child characters, something that is literally more impossible than the alien invasion.

[Anonymous No.10032951]

>>10032935
Oh, and, of course, because games like "Undertale" blatantly claim to be inspired by or outright copy "Earthbound" as a source, so conservative gamers from then on see it synonymous with "indie-gaming" which is infuriating and disdainfully avoided-at-all-costs. A sad coincidence, but true nonetheless.

[Anonymous No.10032957]

>>10032939
>its not my fault
What's not your fault? Choosing not to play Earthbound? Correct. You are not required to.
>video games are chores man
Depends on the game and if they meet your tastes, but, again, you are mostly correct. Most video games are not worth the cost.
>am i really expected to play every game under the sun?
No, absolutely not.
>it just makes me feel exhausted
Then don't. I support your decision to be picky about what you choose to invest your time and money into.

[Anonymous No.10032960]

>>10032728
It's because of Smash Bros 64, then every subsequent Smash game.

[Anonymous No.10032970]

>>10032947
Are you speaking of Mother 3?

[Anonymous No.10032971]

>>10032957
So what am I supposed to do? I dont like any of these fucking games

[Anonymous No.10032979]

>>10032915
Because Shigesato Itoi gave up making games because they're too stressful and hard to make.


>>10032905
Zsnes is 26 years old today. It's older than you and it's not even the first snes emulator.

[Anonymous No.10032980]

>>10032971
>these
100% of all video games in existence?
Don't play them, I would suppose. Also stop investing your team speaking about them as it seems to be an utter waste.

[Anonymous No.10033023]

The entire modern indie scene today consists of quirky Earthbound-inspired indie RPGs about depression or abuse. That’s what caused Earthbound to be hated.

[Anonymous No.10033024]

>>10032951
Undertale is genuinely better than all the Mother games. Better gameplay, infinitely better soundtrack, actually has consequences for what you do. Sometimes games are better than the ones that inspired them, Strife, for example, is much better than Doom.
>muh reddit humor!
Don't care. I had fun with it.

[Anonymous No.10033028]

>>10033024
Undertale is literally nothing like any Mother game. They have nothing whatsoever in common besides their penchant for blatantly plagiarizing other people's music.
Undertale also would not have become popular were it not for its creator's notoriety within the community it originated from, and his fans' insane devotion to shilling the game.
Had anyone else released Undertale as-is, no one would have played it, let alone paid for it.

[Anonymous No.10033035]

>>10032979
>Zsnes is 26 years old today.
In other words, it didn't exist when Earth Bound was released, like I said. Emulators didn't become a thing until the late 90s, and decent fan translations didn't become widespread until well into the 2000s.

[Anonymous No.10033059]

>>10033028
>Had anyone else released Undertale as-is, no one would have played it, let alone paid for it.
Maybe it wouldn't have been as popular, and the fans were rabid, I'll give you that, but I saw it on Steam and decided it give it a try. Got a lot of shit from friends for playing it over Lisa, which was fucking awful.
My take on Earthbound is further up the page. It was never popular, it got YouTube exposure in the last decade or so and collectors took it as an opportunity to rip people off.

[Anonymous No.10033062]

>>10033059
You're just wrong here, people genuinely like these games. You can't be wrong on your opinion of them. But you are wrong that everyone who likes the game is pretending.

[Anonymous No.10033067]

>>10033024
You’re not alone, I liked it too.
Earthbound is just a boring game to me, and RPGs are my favorite genre. As far as actually enjoyablility goes, it doesn’t hold a candle to its contemporaries like FFVI, Chrono Trigger, or Tales of Phantasia. Instead you’re fucking around with an overly simple battle system, inventory management, obnoxious status ailments that bring the game to a drag like homesickness, and blatant time wasters like having to withdraw money and being stopped to have your fuzzy pickle harassed.
It’s quirky! Cool. It’s still a boring game though that doesn’t have anything else going for it.

[Anonymous No.10033090]

>>10033059
It's more than the fans being rabid. The whole idea that "Toby Fox started from nothing" is a TLC-tier feel-good fabrication to inspire other indies. His success hinged solely upon being the most influential person in the Homestuck community. He could have released something far worse than Under so-called tale and still have been propped up far beyond the game's actual worth.
It would be like saying Shigesato Itoi himself came "from nothing" when in reality he was quite successful and well-known in Japan for his previous work even before starting on the Mother series. It would be like ignoring that Omori's creator had a similar following as with Undertale's success, where their mediocre game was propelled artificially into the spotlight by blindly devoted zealots.
I get extremely suspicious of these sorts of stories because the moment you start digging, you usually find out that a good deal of the charm you're being sold is smoke and mirrors. "It was made by one guy!" (and don't look at the credits to discover that it was actually made by a pretty big team or that will shatter the illusion). "This person started with nothing!" (except daddy's money/a huge existing fanbase/some other difficult to ignore advantage). "It's a love letter to [game]!" (except that it has nothing in common with the work that allegedly inspired it).

[Anonymous No.10033095]

>>10033062
I never said the people who liked them were pretending. I said that they were never beloved games, citing the fact they sold so poorly when they were new that stores did anything they could to get rid of them. The only reason they gained popularity recently is because YouTubers exposed people to them.
>>10033067
Same. I'm not even saying the series was bad. Just that the idea it was always super popular in the West and had natural hype behind it is bullshit. What >>10033028 said about Undertale is truer for Earthbound.

[Anonymous No.10033114]

>>10032951
>>10033024
>>10033028
>>10033059
>>10033090
Not retro. Fuck off to /v/.

[Anonymous No.10033116]

Earthbound, for the United States of America, did A LOT of things they could both associate with and also found utterly new. Right off the bat.

RPGs were not a large genre in 1994 and, for the U.S., it was a time of "Nickelodeon" gross-out gummi bears and ice cream trucks. Earthbound, being set in exactly that tone, at exactly that time was more than "something new" for RPG-games... it was PERFECTLY-timed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qKE0GKtPHs

The writing for this game was brilliant! It was funny, right from the very start! It was mysterious, but relatable. It was simple and very quick. The punchlines were fast and usually rude. It kept pace extremely well and it made the plot extremely immersive: for the first time, kids playing this game ACTUALLY WANTED to talk to NPCs and see what they'd say! It was remarkable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkOIK1hQMrk

The aesthetic visuals were also quite unique in its angular walking style and town set ups and permanently "chibi" overworld. The characters were strongly understood stereotypes, the enemies were recognizable pests. The towns fit the mood; both inside and out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ofAEBjtc-k

The locations were diverse! All over the world! Places you "knew" and the music always fit! It was spectacular!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn0x4_bVLSQ

The battles were heavily rewarding, had new elements (like the rolling HP) and yes, the game was challenging! Or!! You could simply avoid the fight altogether, maybe sneak up, or have THEM run away FROM YOU! Again, with great music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6TEXfM3x5c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2fjIawImFc

I really just wanted to enter the thread and say that Earthbound was a very fun game to play and I'd like to think it remains so, today. And yes, I love the music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niE24aTdtns

[Anonymous No.10033118]

>>10033090
Maybe I'm weird, but I don't play games based on who made it. Like I said, I saw it on Steam, thought it looked interesting, gave it a try and ended up liking it. The only "indie" game that was sold to me on the writer was DDLC, after five minutes with it I knew that was bullshit, the dude has a big titty anime waifu talking about how clever he was in his own story. If it hadn't been for the blatant "these characters are going to die horribly" plastered all over the store page I would have stopped there.

[Anonymous No.10033124]

>>10033114
>Fuck off to /v/
Fuck no, it's a cesspool, get the jannies to actually clean it up and stuff like this wouldn't happen.

[Anonymous No.10033129]

>>10032604
Because it should've remained forgotten and ignored. It's mediocre in every way and the autistic normalfag worship it got only served to get people to resent this piece of shit.

[Anonymous No.10033134]

>>10033124
as if /vr/ is better

[Anonymous No.10033145]

>>10033124
>Everyone will have to deal with me shitting on the floor until the Mods clean up my home board
Entitled.

[Anonymous No.10033160]

>>10033134
>as if /vr/ is better
You noticed how me and the other anons were having an actual conversation before you derailed it. Are you making this much of a stink about the Smash Remix thread?

[Anonymous No.10033173]

>>10032651

[Anonymous No.10033175]

>>10033160
What the fuck are you talking about?

[Anonymous No.10033184]

>>10033024
I will never buy undertale just because of the fans. This explains why people hate Earthbound

[Anonymous No.10033186]

>>10032604
basic contrarianism

[Anonymous No.10033270]

>>10033184
I dont care about either game but this reasoning is dogshit

[Anonymous No.10033276]

>>10032604
It isn't hated. There isn't one actual human on the planet who hates this game. There are people who haven't played it, people who like it, and people who dislike it. The things that behave as if they hate it are not people and they can't be said to truly feel anything. Most 4chan posters fall into that category of entity, so if you're hanging around here then you may have been tricked by them.

[Anonymous No.10033279]

>>10033160
Nigger go make a Discord or fuck off to /b/ or /soc/.

[Anonymous No.10033280]

>>10032604
It's not, it's mostly loved.

[Anonymous No.10033283]

The people whining about how annoying earthbound fans are have always been way more vocal and annoying than the fans. In fact it started as just a silly meme that a lot of didn't realize was a joke and took serious and got mad because of it

[Anonymous No.10033286]

>>10033116
Notice how no one replied to this because it's an actual argument that goes against the current hivemind opinion on /vr/

[Anonymous No.10033292]

Real 3rd worlder hours in here.

[Anonymous No.10033316]

>>10032608
>>10032604

[Anonymous No.10033359]

>>10033116
>Perfectly timed
So perfectly timed, it barely sold when it came out.
>Writing was brilliant
So was the writing of many other games at the time. An especially of games that were coming out when Earthbound started to gain actual proper recognition (meaning, well after release).
>Aesthetics were unique
Sure. As someone else mentionned here, Paladin's Quest also had that. Many other games had unique aesthetics at the time.
>Locations were diverse! All over the world!
Are you rehearsing some kind of youtube video script you're about to record? How is this even a notable point to bring up? SMBRPG also had that, FFVI also had that.
>Music always fit
I also like games that are competent. There are many of them on the SNES and other consoles.
>Battles
The rolling HP barely ever came up in normal play, and there's nothing truly unique about this battle system aside from that.

>>10033286
Nobody bothered to answer that bullshit because I was the only one retarded enough to waste time even stomach reading through this empty overly optimistic bullshit. It's like reading a goddamn reddit comment: apparently meaningful, but meaningfully empty.

[Anonymous No.10033372]

>>10032669
Those things can only carry the game so far, EB has a lot of annoying stuff that brings it down
>brutal early game difficulty
>shitty small inventory
>fast travel is fucking shit and annoying
>no real story, just things happening
>weak graphics when compared to again FF6, Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger

[Anonymous No.10033376]

>>10033359
Putting in the effort to bring up multiple, variable points and surrounded them with examples, support and reason. All while remaining positive and even providing direct content to each point with contributions to spike other people's interests like an image and links to OST music. Enjoyable to read rather than predictably contrarian and hateful.

>I disagree!
>Therefore, not only am I right, but everyone who disagrees with me is wrong! And stupid!
The Internet 2023.

[Anonymous No.10033420]

>>10033376
Describing the content of a post and its superficial qualities, while remaining devoid of any substance, and implicitly whining about the bad people that are mean.

>But but muh positivity
>But but muh nice examples of my meaningless subjective statements

The internet, 2023.

[Anonymous No.10033424]

>>10033376
>>10033420
God shut up.

[Anonymous No.10033429]

>>10033424
Anon, it's not like this bait thread has any remaining substance right now.

[Anonymous No.10033432]

>>10033424
That's a reasonable request. Good night.

[Anonymous No.10033601]

>>10032604
It's not, btfo's Mother 1 and 3 by a million miles

[Anonymous No.10033630]

I'm tired of quirky queer 20-something white leftists from the PNW, and I'm tired of the media they make and consume, so I'm tired of Earthbound

[Anonymous No.10033640]

I'm tired of performatively quirky 35 year old white queer leftists whose twitter is mastodon and tumblr is cohost. And I'm tired of the media they consume, So I'm tired of Earthbound

None of this is the game's fault, but games don't exist in a vacuum.

[Anonymous No.10033710]

>>10032728
People love Earthbound because Nintendo is like a cult. As are most brands/companies but especially Nintendo and its fans. The cult members proselytized it until it caught on with the normie-tier nerds.

[Anonymous No.10033714]

>>10032776
Live-A-Live

[Anonymous No.10033863]

>>10032682
I couldn't have put this better myself.

>>10032731
I've heard a lot of people call Earthbound's plot deep (it really isn't), but I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone refer to the gameplay as deep, and then only in your purported example.
The rolling HP counter is nifty. I think the fact that enemies are actual entities roaming the world in numbers, which you can plan around, sneak past, run from, ambush or be ambushed by, etc, that's cool and an aspect where it's above a lot of JRPGs of the time period. But deep? I wouldn't say so, the actual combat is simple and not appreciably dissimilar from the average JRPG of that time.

[Anonymous No.10033878]

>>10032872
Wow, two untranslated games which no westener has ever heard of or seen before! I wonder why they are ignored? Clearly everyone was aware of these and had played them, but obstinately refused to consider them when talking about Earthbound!

>>10032937
Earthbound's insistent fandom predates YouTube, you absolute scrotum gargler.

[Anonymous No.10033885]

>>10032608
I know this is ironic just because we are on /vr/, but I know those retards unironically exist outside.

[Anonymous No.10033891]

>>10033059
>muh YouTube boogeyman
>"in the last decade or so"
Why are you gay and retarded? Why are you such a gay fag retard who chokes on cock all day? Do you really need to frontline a pride parade in your special little motorized tard wheelchair, with your yet more retarded and gayer lover riding on top and feverishly thrusting into your mouth, as you use a pair of air horns to signal your special need for cock with morse code?

Is this all really necessary?

[Anonymous No.10034063]

>>10032604
alot of people got tired of people praising it and now they tear it apart every chance they get
its a pretty good game imo, not perfect but a good time if you like rpgs

[Anonymous No.10034115]

It takes a very small brain and a stunted personality to hate a game because other people like it.

[Anonymous No.10034637]

>>10032604
I think its a very good game, totally worth the playthrough, just wildly overrated.

[Anonymous No.10035036]

>>10033023
From my own personal experience, FUCKING THIS. AAA Games have been overwhelmingly shit or mediocre for at LEAST 10-15 years, and what happens when indies finally start to take off? When it looks like there might FINALLY be some sort of return to smaller teams creating passion projects that push the envelope, for no other reason than the fact that they love games?

FUCK THAT, LOOK AT OUR OH-SO-QUIRKY 2D PIXEL RPG! Look at our oh-so-quirky & relatable humor, it's just like Earthbound! Look at how our game appears cutesy, but actually has TOTALLY DARK THEMES like depression and stuff! That shouldn't be in MY fun & wacky game! We're different from the rest, guys, trust us! WE KNOW WHAT EARTHBOUND IS WE'RE REAL GAMERS WE SWEAR!

[Anonymous No.10035063]

>>10032604
It’s reddit. It’s always reddit.

[Anonymous No.10035101]

>>10032604
i like earthbound, but i'll admit the gameplay is mediocre at best and i really dislike the wave of indie "earthbound-like" games.

[Anonymous No.10035105]

>>10035101
Indies ruin everything. I hate people on this board who want to shill indie games to me. Fuck you

[Anonymous No.10035972]

>>10035105
This is why I gatekeep the "true" indie games that I like and don't bother with the astroturfed shit that poisons all outlets of video game discussion online.
Even if I shilled the shit I like, most people just wouldn't get it.

[Anonymous No.10036689]

>>10033116
Stop being so pretentious, you are talking as if this game does everything perfectly. It doesn't, its good at its's best, but it's not the best there is.

[Anonymous No.10036740]

>>10032604
I still believe if Sakurai never put Ness in Smash it wouldn't be that big these days.

[Anonymous No.10036793]

Nice to see /vr/ is just as clueless and retarded as normal /v/ about indie games.

[Anonymous No.10036821]

>>10032608
This nigga googled "video games" and started talking about the first 3 results

[Anonymous No.10037101]

>>10032604
People are mad at the annoying fanbase and pissed they didn't sell the game for $1500 CIB with manual to someone like I did.

[Anonymous No.10037105]

>>10032608
>The world was surpassed by Grand Theft Auto 5 and the music was surpassed by Super Mario Galaxy 2.
What even is this post. Am I having a stroke?

[Anonymous No.10037113]

>>10032608
None of that is true, but nice bait.

[Anonymous No.10037421]

>>10032669
I've personally played like five different SNES RPGs that have a modern setting. It's really not that uncommon.

[Anonymous No.10037424]

>>10032604
has one of the most autistic fanbases in history

[Anonymous No.10037436]

The group of people who complain about the "obnoxious fanbase" are now larger and more obnoxious themselves.

[Anonymous No.10037491]

>>10037436
>are now
Always have been. Same with the people who whine about 'muh quirkly indie RPG about depression' when there's like maybe 5 games total you could define as that but they pretend is all over the place

[Anonymous No.10037492]

>>10032947
>>10032970
https://wikibound.info/wiki/Tony
https://earthbound.fandom.com/wiki/Tony
Tony (Jeff's roommate)

[Anonymous No.10037532]

>>10032608

[Anonymous No.10039976]

>>10032604
Probably because it's shit

[Anonymous No.10040137]

>>10032604
Mostly because only a handful of its fans have played it.

Its fun. Its not a bad game. But its plot isnt anywhere as impactful as people pretend it is (lol, giygus fetus lol). In the series as a whole, its even out of place. 1 has a serious plot with events that make some sense, and a sense of closure. 3 is, love it or hate it, philosophical wanking feom begining to end with a plot that serves that.

Earthbound, you wander around for a little while, occassionally bump into a fat kid, and finally fight a cloud with the power of prayer. Thats it. And its not fun enough to really provide satisfaction with that, beyond scratching that jrpg itch.

[Anonymous No.10040308]

>>10033710
Anon please don't let your autistic hate for companies get into your head too much, it's genuinely turning you insane.

[Anonymous No.10040329]

>>10033891
What is it with this board and people coming up with elaborate gay fan fiction. Get help, sir.

[Anonymous No.10040379]

>>10032845
YIIK is more interesting/entertaining than Earthbound because of it being terrible while being completely up its own ass and still having some slightly good/promising qualities. Like there's the skeleton of something good if the creators weren't fart sniffers.

[Anonymous No.10040404]

>>10032651
Those games all suck earthbounds dick. Besides ff6 maybe

Especially chrono nigger. The most braindead game I’ve ever played

[Anonymous No.10040405]

What other game is inspired by earthbound besides undertake? I don’t think there is another one . Retards

[Anonymous No.10040413]

>>10032604
I never played it back in the day because Nintendo hated Europe, but I liked it for the most part except that battles are quite frustrating. Too often you just get one hit ko'd by just regular enemies.
I stopped playing at the Stonehenge level

[Anonymous No.10040498]

>>10037105
>What even is this post. Am I having a stroke?
I interpret it as some kind of satirical passage seeking to ridicule sentiments of games becoming obsolete or "aging" as newer, technically superior titles come out, the generation-crossing comparisons people sometimes make and the often unproductive discussion surrounding them.

By picking multiple references that fall not only outside of the original game's era and genre scope but each others' as well, the resulting comparison is outrageously dissnonant, or ironic. I believe the main idea of the poster was to entertain others while communicating his/her own frustrations in this non-literal, abstracted and humorous way, but many didn't seem entertained or amused but rather defensive, even hostile in response to it.

Myself I'm simultaneously baffled at the reception, as I generally regard /vr/ as a board of higher than average intellectual sophistication - yet the epigram seems to have exceeded many anons' wits - and relieved that there is still some thirst for knowledge and understanding. That being said, maybe the disdain for this kind of youthful recklessness in self-expression is just cynicism that comes with age.

[Anonymous No.10040564]

>>10040137
>he cares about jrpg stories
lol gay

[Anonymous No.10040593]

>>10040137
>Mostly because only a handful of its fans have played it.
My favorite part of how retarded 4chan tends to be is that people took an obvious BS meme, pretended it was real and then got mad about it

[Anonymous No.10040734]

>>10040593
Anon, if there wasn't any truth to it, it wouldn't have become a meme.

[Anonymous No.10040741]

yeah at this point the anti-EB people are more annoying than the EB fanboys.

[Anonymous No.10040760]

>>10032669
the rolling HP isn’t a good thing, it makes an easy game even easier

[Anonymous No.10040763]

>>10040760
post your no-game over run.

[Anonymous No.10040862]

>>10040329
Anon made it abundantly clear with his opinions and how he conveyed himself that it is in fact 100% canon. Only the gayest and most retarded of gay retards would come to the conclusion he did.

>>10033134
Yes.

>>10040760
It's a neat enough mechanic, in how that can give some enemies incredibly potent attacks where you can mitigate the damage, even avoid KO, by actjng and thinking fast.
It's the kind of thing which could be a really good thing if applied differently, but as it is, it just makes the game easier. Games being easy doesn't have to be bad inherently though, just like how games being really hard isn't bad either.

[Anonymous No.10040886]

it isn't

[Anonymous No.10040896]

>>10040862
Whatever helps you sleep at night, closet case.

[Anonymous No.10040938]

>>10040734
That's not even remotely how that works.

[Anonymous No.10042234]

>>10040938
Next, you'll say you also believe that stereotypes just appear out of thin air and have no basis in how people really act.

[Anonymous No.10042264]

>>10040405
Lisa, Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, and Oddity (Formerly Mother 4). Though that last one is almost certainly vaporware at this point.

[Anonymous No.10042919]

>>10042264
>Lisa
>nothing at all like EarthBound/Mother
>Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass
>nothing at all like EarthBound/Mother
>Oddity
>Forced soul that only resembles EarthBound/Mother in the same way M3 is a pale imitation of its predecessors
Nice slop post, retard

[Anonymous No.10042937]

>>10032604
Ness and Paula doesn't fuck >:(

[Anonymous No.10043371]

>>10042937
I once read a fanfic where the whole party has regular orgies, and then they die in the middle of the desert and have one last orgy as their bodies rot and decay into nothingness, as it deacribes how its now just a force of habit and not really anything pleasurable, and is in fact painful now that their skin is peeling off... off topic, but you reminded me of it.

[Anonymous No.10043382]

>>10043371
didnt know stephen king wrote vidya fanfiction

[Anonymous No.10043726]

>>10032651
>no Lufia
Anon, I...

[Anonymous No.10043734]

>>10032651
you are insane

[Anonymous No.10043795]

>>10040498
ChatGPT: the post

[Anonymous No.10043814]

>>10032651
Thank you, couldn't have said it better.

[Anonymous No.10043826]

Everyone picks up the Casey Bat and equips it. Then they go under stonehenge with the enemies that heal to max health in one turn. Then the Casey bat only hits 25% of the time. Then you either dont realize your bat sucks, or you have to leave and buy a weaker bat that hits like normal. That part of the game is fucking bullshit.

[Anonymous No.10043960]

>>10033276
I hate it and I hate you

[Anonymous No.10043980]

You can call mom all day long. Ness just gets homesick for no reason. Seemingly at the same spots every single playthrough. What the fuck

[Anonymous No.10044047]

>>10043980
Ness is a sexy little bitch.

[Anonymous No.10044370]

>>10032604
Fig. 1 depicts the typical Nintendo fanboy reacting to this thread and its responses.

[Anonymous No.10044375]

>>10032604
it isn't. touch grass.

[Anonymous No.10044390]

>>10033276
Based
>>10043960
t.non-human scum

[Anonymous No.10045096]

On my first playthrough, just got to Scaraba and I'm feeling a little burnt out on this game. Worth sticking it out or does it not get any better?

[Anonymous No.10045285]

>>10045096
>just got to Scaraba
>does it not get any better?

[Anonymous No.10045973]

>>10032647
Pretty much this it's the normal reaction on 4chan. It does get annoying though with the LE HIDDEN GEM stuff. People still pretend it's some obscure unknown game when that really hasn't been the case since Ness was in the original Smash and Melee.

[Anonymous No.10047219]

>>10032935
>>10032951
You sound like a giant fucking faggot and your explanations are wrong. You should kill yourself for every single time you said "yipee"

I have the real explanation.

People hate Earthbound mostly as a reaction its obnoxious shiddit tier tumblr tier fanbase, which is noteworthy for being a fanbase that only likes Mother 2 and ignores the rest of the series, and yet even then, haven't even touched the damn game. Only like it for the same reason a shitload of "earthbound"-inspired garbage that came out from it.

In fact, I am surprised more people don't hate Earthbound, given that these same attention seekers likely hate JRPG in general, given that in the end, its has many faults gameplay wise and mechanics wise and its a Dragon Quest clone too.

[Anonymous No.10047615]

>>10032604
1/2
It all began long ago and far away, in Japan of 1989, in which Shigesato Itoi released the first of the Mother series. This was a creative new take on the RPG genre, using humor, parody, and modern references to subvert its tropes. The game was successful, but ultimately its creative vision was somewhat limited by the capabilities of the NES/Famicom. So, with the advent of the SNES/Super Famicom and its greater powers of gaming, and buoyed by a successful title, Itoi and his HAL Laboratory went to work on a sequel, known as Mother 2. With the rising popularity of vidya worldwide, Nintendo was also willing to take a gamble on a Western release, where the sequel was rebranded as Earthbound. Mother 2 was another success, but Earthbound floundered. It was alot of things: RPGs were always more popular in Japan, it had to compete against heavyweights like Chrono Trigger, SoM and FF6, scratch n sniff marketing, and the overall quirkiness didn't resonate with Western audiences. Thus, Mother 3 was released only in Japan, and Earthbound seemed consigned to obscurity.
But the story didn't end there, oh no. Some people did play this game, and became absolutely enthralled with it (for reasons I'll get into later). Eventually they found their way onto the internet, and realized they weren't alone -- there were others out there just like them, fans of this eccentric game that none of the other kids at school seem to have played. From there, they formed fansites, communities, and hugboxes; echo chambers where their obsession with the game increased and multiplied without limit.
Eventually, the levees broke, and all this love & enthusiasm for Earthbound flooded the rest of the internet, with varying results. cont

[Anonymous No.10047618]

>>10047615
2/2
Some were bemused and didn't really care. Some tried the game out of curiosity, found they loved it too, and joined the ranks of the Earthboundfags. But then there were others who couldn't personally get into it. They probably didn't actually hate it or anything, but they were annoyed by all this boundless enthusiasm for something they couldn’t personally enjoy, or maybe they just wanted to bring more balance to the discussion, or even be purely contrarian. So, they started pushing back and criticizing this sacred cow of vidya: “It’s a Dragon Quest clone”, “This is try-hard hipster bullshit” etc. The earthboundfags, instead of brushing this off as they should’ve, predictably went berserk.
It was at this moment that the trolls stepped in, dunking on the game purely to elicit the hysterical fanboy over-reaction. Then more trolls piled on, singing Earthbound’s praises to troll the trolls, and on it went.
Because of this process, it’s actually quite difficult to get a straight answer on Earthbound, but I’ll give you one now. Stripped down to its nuts, bolts, and bare bones, yes, it is in fact a DQ clone. But what matters is all the stuff layered on top: graphics, music, sound fx, writing, plot, characters, humor, scripted events, atmosphere, interesting gimmicks, and so on. All these components come together to form a coherent personality, which is where the game truly excels. However, this is not a CT or SMW where just anyone can dive in. Earthbound is a very specific style of game, made with a certain sort of person in mind. If that’s who you are, you’ll fall in love; if not, then surely you’ll see that this is a high quality product, and understand why it’s beloved, even if it’s not for you. But ultimately, Earthbound (and the Mother series as a whole) has to strike a chord with you. Either you’ll absolutely love it or be bored by it, no in-between.

[Anonymous No.10047625]

>>10047219
That 'annoying fan base' never actually existed. You just got gaslit into believing they did and getting mad at the fake group.
It's sad really.

[Anonymous No.10047626]

>>10047625
>You just got gaslit into believing they did
Well and proper, didn' he lad!

[Anonymous No.10049471]

[Anonymous No.10049552]

>>10047219
>I have the real explanation
>proceeds to type out a low-effort string of utter nonsense
Many such cases

[Anonymous No.10049576]

I played it in lockdown and I enjoyed it. It has a pretty unique atmosphere and I like the 90’s America setting through Japanese eyes. The gameplay is bog standard though but little touches like enemies avoiding you after defeating a boss is a god sent. Story wise I didn’t get it at all but I understand the whole ‘random lol’ events are hype as fuck for some. I think it’s a good game and would recommend to people but 1 play through is enough for me.

[Anonymous No.10049736]

>>10049576
only poster itt so far who actually played the game

[Anonymous No.10050780]

I feel like most people who talk about this game have never played it, and that's both scenarios of either shitting on it or defending it. People will watch a Let's Play and then be like "This game changed my life ;_; ." I wouldn't even say I have much room to comment, I only played through it a single time via emulator back in like 2012 as a teenager, and I barely remember any of the moment-to-moment events. I do recall it really resonating with me in the sense of it feeling like a grand globe-trotting adventure, I think the contemporary setting makes it feel bigger than a fantasy JRPG because you know long it takes to get between towns and cities IRL if you're just hoofing it, it feels like some kind of huge accomplishment, let alone traveling to foreign countries. Itoi was a middle-aged man when he wrote this, and it does capture that bittersweet "coming of age, looking back at your childhood" sensation, it has a pretty melancholic atmosphere at times thanks to the music as well.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUoN4lfF0hE
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8HLmavya0M
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIGpWlo8Fk

That item management system/interface is a real piece of shit, though, I do remember that.

[Anonymous No.10052037]

>>10045096
You're about halfway, probably over half you might as well see it through. Jeff gets some really broken items that can almost instakill bosses. There's also a joke bat you'll get, it maxes out your attack but minimizes your accuracy. You can equip the bat to instakill random encounters upon back attacks.

[Anonymous No.10052049]

>>10032604
By who exactly? I only ever hear it being ragged on by autists who think every RPGmaker game was inspired by it because they took the meme seriously

[Anonymous No.10052646]

>>10032608
how is earthbound like any of those games?

[Anonymous No.10052660]

>>10052646
>babbys first bait

[Anonymous No.10052664]

>>10032728
it got popular because of smash and stayed popular because it was unique, albeit with many flaws.

it's not a "good" game. the inventory sucks and you're constantlly switching things around and trying to make space, and it doesn't help that equipment is mashed in with all your normal items.

the battle system is slow and it can glitch if all your party members and the enemies die at the same time, although it is rare.
the hp meter goes too fast to make use of, just if you get lucky you might survive when you otherwise shouldn't have. hp meter also led to the battle freezing glitch i just mentioned.

the main party lacks character dialogue. they barely say anything so they don't have much of a personality.

it's unique with its world-building, music, npcs, last boss, and ending. i loved all of those things.

[Anonymous No.10052716]

>>10052664
i'll add something else.
the shock value got me to want to play it.

i was into watching unexpected scary things in video games type videos. which would have disturbing things in kids' games and stuff like that.

so i found out about earthbound through giygas and the fetus theory. someone also mentioned how the trail leading up to giygas looked like intestines. and the characters were faceless robots.

i was into horror so that all made me want to play it.

i did play smash but i never cared about what game ness came from until i later found out that "the fetus game" was his game.

i didn't even know that was his game until doing more research.

i think having shock value it a big contributor to its fame, but smash was also a big part of it.
there are a lot of "edgy" people who like spooky stuff like giygas. i was an "edgy" teen when i learned about it.
they like unexpected things like that. claus dying in mother 3 is also something they would fawn over. i was one of those people. i thought it was interesting because i would never expect a game that looks like m3 to have a kid dying.

shock value has value

[Anonymous No.10052727]

>>10052716
Can it blogposter I don't care about how you're underage.

[Anonymous No.10052732]

>>10052716
>earthbound has "shock value"
this is your brain on youtube

[Anonymous No.10052737]

>>10052727
i'm in my twenties now.

>>10052732
yes, it has shock value.
i just wanted to add more thoughts to the discussion. i don't think anyone else mentioned that. or i missed it. idk

unexpected things are interesting

[Anonymous No.10052881]

>>10032604
Dunno, I thought it was a fun game.

[Anonymous No.10053401]

I've played Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Pokemon and many other jarpigs and I still think Earthbound sits at the top. The enemy designs are kino, the music is kino, the humour is kino, it's undoubtedly a classic an deserves its reputation as a must play jarpig. Those who call the gameplay "dragon quest clone" haven't played dragon quest because it feels different. It has perfect challenge with a good experience curve, you can play the game with your left hand while eating thanks to the l button, the rolling hp makes the later battles really tense, the final boss is one of the best in any game ever. The graphics are colourful and charming, they are in the middle between dq5/ff4 and chrono trigger/ff6. Everyone itt are twitter obsessed terminally online faggots.