/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.7014548]

I just fucking can't. Is this game supposed to be so tedious or is it just me? I'm in the graveyard and everything keeps killing me. I don't know if I'm underleveled or what and I also get a random encounter every 3 seconds. What the fuck is wrong with this game? Do I need to grind for hours to up like 2 levels because the amount of exp I get is also painfully small?

[Anonymous No.7014551]

It's an 8-bit RPG, yes, it's literally designed that way. M1 isn't a hard game, you can beat it with LVL ~30 characters. Also, if you're dying in the graveyard you're under-leveled / under-equipped.

[Anonymous No.7014570]

>>7014551
>under-equipped
What am I even supposed to equip? Buy the wooden bat? I need to wait for my dad to send me the money then I guess. And I don't know where to grind. AAA I just want to like this game

[Anonymous No.7014589]

>>7014570
Don't grind in the graveyard, grind outside it. You can buy all the best equipment for that part of the game at the department store. Don't walk around with your cash, that way you can't lose it on death. Just grind, buy gear, grind, etc. It's a Dragon Quest clone, but it's a very special game. The map is colossal for a Famicom game, and the music is phenomenal. Keep trying, if you hate it —drop it or play one of the patched versions, but you'll have more street-cred if you play it as intended.

[Anonymous No.7014596]

>>7014589
Yeah the music is cool because it's Hip Tanaka. Thanks for the advice

[Anonymous No.7014614]

>>7014596
Of course, I would recommend this walkthrough —it's definitely a tough game to figure out where the hell to go next otherwise.

http://walkthrough.starmen.net/earthbound0/

[Anonymous No.7014746]

>>7014548
it's a terrible game, /vr/ tricked you into playing it

[Anonymous No.7014754]

>>7014596
Yeah Tanaka worked in it (and I think there was a third composer for some of the tracks too? Not sure) but the main composer on Mother 1 and 2 is the japanese rock legend, keiichi suzuki.

[Anonymous No.7014853]

Mother 1 in it's original form is incredibly grindy with a stupidly high encounter rate.
If you're not enjoying it you can always play it using this hack which lowers the encounter rate and increases the amount of EXP and money you get.
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4161/

[Anonymous No.7014936]

>>7014853
>>7014548
Git gud

[Anonymous No.7015108]

it's an RPG

[Anonymous No.7015116]

>>7014548
>not playing with the random encounter rate fix patch
That's where you fucked up OP.

[Anonymous No.7015356]

>>7015116
"Fix" patches are gay, OP did that right

[vaginaisevil !!xBEjDksE4NW No.7015361]

>>7014548
>wtf the jrpg won't let me speed run!

[Anonymous No.7015602]

OP here, I'm starting to like the game. I now need to storm the robot factory with Lloyd. What level does he need to be? I grinded a little bit and I am now level 20 and he is 11

[Anonymous No.7015613]

>>7015602
I always grind until the new party member is the same level as the MC when I grabbed them. If my ass gets handed to me by the boss, I usually do about 3-4 more levels for all party members.

[Anonymous No.7015758]

>>7015602
Be sure to find the extra Franklin Badge in the factory. Also, one of the towns later on sells Plasma Beams, it helps out Lloyd's shit attack early on.

[Anonymous No.7015817]

>>7015613
Damn that's a lot of grinding
>>7015758
>Franklin Badge in the factory
Found it but it doesn't seem to work though, doesn't protect me from those robot attacks.
>Plasma Beams
I have a light beam right now, what does it do? I also equipped both Ninten and Lloyd with boomerangs

[Anonymous No.7015825]

If it's an 80's JRPG you need to spend 2 hours killing the first enemy you see before you can play the game

[Anonymous No.7015828]

>>7015817
The Franklin Badge deflects instakill PK Beam attacks. Only the instakill ones. It's far more helpful than it seems.
The Plasma Beams are items you use in battle, you can't equip them. They'll hit for quite a bit of damage but have a low chance of breaking when used, so buy a few of them. Lloyd will eventually outpace them, but until then, it's the best he has.

[Anonymous No.7015840]

>>7015828
Thanks, so the Franklin Badge is a must have I guess. Also when I play JRPGs I always want to know what level do I need to be to fight the final boss. Do I need to be level 30 like the other anon said?

[Anonymous No.7015843]

>>7015840
As long as you have the healing spell that heals the whole party, you're golden. The real danger is Mt Itoi, the devs flat out admitted they never balanced it.
Protip, the high level PK Freeze spell sets the enemy to single digit HP. Extremely useful in said area. Instakill PK Beam also has use.

[Anonymous No.7015857]

>>7015843
>the healing spell that heals the whole party
Which one? How do I unlock it?
Also are there multiple versions of this game? My ROM is called Earthbound Zero. Is it any different from Earthbound Beginnings and the GBA Mother 1?

[Anonymous No.7015872]

>>7015857
You get the Lifeup spell via levelup, can't remember exactly when. Earthbound Zero and Beginnings should be the same thing. GBA Mother 1 isn't much different unless you're using the translation patch, which adds in an Easymode Ring (boosts xp gain and lowers encounter rate) and uncensors stuff.

[Anonymous No.7015879]

Mother 1 is one of the best 8-bit RPGs, its Dragon Quest system prevents it from being overly frustrating or unfair (eg, it doesn't take you to the your last save point if you die, you only lose half the money you're carrying - and you can keep most of your money on the bank anyway, talk about generous).
The encounter rate can get high at some points but most of the times it's normal, there's games with far, far higher encounter rate and they're all considered classics (DQ, FF, etc).
Here's one thing to consider about 8-bit RPGs: They are fast. There's no fancy graphics going on, there's no fancy attack animations, it's all just flashes and sounds, so the battles go by really quickly, taking mere seconds if you know what to do and are quick with the menu navigating, which has also a pretty swift command, so even if from one town to another you fight a lot of enemies while walking, the actual time you spend on battles isn't as long as on more later RPGs (especially ones starting on the 3D era which have loading times, and dramatic long animations). So when you compare the high encounter rate of old RPGs to newer RPGs, it might seem an excess, but when you think about the actual time you spend in battle, the excess might lie in the newer games.
Another thing about Mother 1, the way you can seamlessly walk around the world map (in all 8 directions, not limited to just 4), and the way the actual worldmap is a gigantic interconnected world (sans Mt. Itoi/Holy Loly which is a separate map), it doesn't have sub-maps for towns, it's all connected to the rest of the world. That's something not many other RPGs did.

[Anonymous No.7015887]

>>7014936
>grinding is skillful

[Anonymous No.7015903]

>>7015887
Still pretty fitting, since you have to git to the level that makes you gud.

[Anonymous No.7015923]

>>7015872
Nice, one last question: I'm playing without any patches or stuff like that but I still seem to get lots of money. For example when I reached Magicant I could already buy the Gold Ring, H2O pendant and the Magic Coin. Is there something wrong with my ROM or what? It seem to me that all of the cheaper coins, rings and pendants are useless since you always have the money to buy the best ones. I bought them for Lloyd too
>>7015879
> it doesn't have sub-maps for towns, it's all connected to the rest of the world.
Yeah that's pretty impressive

[Anonymous No.7015924]

>>7015879
You make me want to give Mother 1 another shot, but the grind in it makes my mind go numb for some of the reasons you listed ("There's not a lot going on"). Granted, not to the level DQ1 does (I've literally zoned out while playing DQ1), but it still feels like the game revolves around walking in a circle for the next hour or so to progress. I've been thinking about waiting until the fan remake, but that probably won't be out till 2025 and will probably be shit anyway

[Anonymous No.7015927]

>>7015879
>one of the best 8-bit RPGs
That's like being the fastest runner at the Special Olympics

[Anonymous No.7015942]

>>7015923
Every time you kill a monster you get money dumped into your account, but you probably knew that by now. Since Mother 1's pretty grind heavy and there's not much you need to buy, money's generally not an issue so the cheaper coins and rings are worthless. The H2O Pendant's the best pendant that isn't found in a present, you made a good decision picking that.
Some advice for Magicant. If you keep defending against Groucho, it'll eventually leave and one partymember will get exp, more than if you KO'd it. Also, be sure to store the sword you found in the well

Also, you technically don't need to take the train to grab Ana, but you'll get fucked up if you try running through the tunnels. It's possible, though. don't forget to get a hat from one of the stations

[Anonymous No.7015962]

>>7015942
Thanks for the tips and I already knew about Groucho. Also Groucho looks like Specknose from Kid Icarus
>Also, be sure to store the sword you found in the well
Yeah, to be honest I googled haha and that's why I'm not going to throw it away

[Anonymous No.7016010]

Worst part of this game is Teddy. Not as a character, but how he's implemented.
>Replaces your non-PSI-user and has no special skill but makes up for it in raw stat power.
>Used for exactly one dungeon - the fucking caves, worst part of the game.
>After clearing the caves, gets promptly blown up and replaced by your original weakling, who's now behind several levels.
>PROGRESS IS ENTIRELY USELESS, YOU'RE BACK BEFORE THE CAVES AND HAVE TO DO THEM OVER AGAIN.
>IF YOU TRY TO GET AROUND THIS YOU'LL STILL NEED YOU WEAKLING TO FIX THE MOTORBOAT TO EVE.
>IF YOU SKIP TEDDY ANYWAY AND THINK YOU CAN GET HIM AFTER EVE THEN YOU'RE AT THE ENDGAME WHERE HE DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING.
Seriously, you'll have a better time just skipping him entirely, he should've been a guest character like Pippi for the Duncan Factory or something instead of kicking a permanent party member out of your team so late in the game.

[Anonymous No.7016021]

>>7014548
Dragon Quest clone. Also the third one is too edgy with needlessly mature themes and is only to be enjoyed by commies and those drag queens who read at libraries

[Anonymous No.7016297]

>>7016010
>Literally exactly the same as a little girl sans weapons.
Can't tell if Pippi is impressive or Teddy is just the worst.

[Anonymous No.7016374]

>>7014548
JRPG's in the 8bit era were awful dragon quest clones outside of a handful of standout titles that nobody ever played or talks about.

[Anonymous No.7016469]

>>7016374
There just wasn't enough tech for the games to meet their full potential till the 16bit era. They're too barebones, but I guess you were supposed to fill it in with imagination.

[Anonymous No.7016501]

>>7016021
Embarrassing and brainlet tier

[Anonymous No.7016525]

>>7016010
I love Teddy, replacing the nerd weak kid with the strong, brute jock delinquent boss was a great gist in terms of plot (and how at the end, Lloyd ends up rescuing them, and taking his place back after Teddy got seemingly fatally wounded).
Teddy was easily a favorite of mine just for how strong he is. He comes extremely handy on that last cave before Mt. Itoi.
>>PROGRESS IS ENTIRELY USELESS, YOU'RE BACK BEFORE THE CAVES AND HAVE TO DO THEM OVER AGAIN.
I think the house in Mt. Itoi serves as a teleport spot, right? You don't have to go through the caves again, although I haven't played the game in a while, I don't remember that.

[Anonymous No.7017132]

Fuck, OP here. I'm tired of GRINDING holy shit. I've just obtained the 4th melody and my levels are 25, 21 and 15. It looks like I'm only halfway through but I'm so tired of endless random encounters to be honest

[Anonymous No.7017139]

>>7014548
It's a nes era RPG. What the fuck are you expecting? They used endless grinding to cover for length

[Anonymous No.7017148]

I figure it's like the Ulysses of videogames - people just pretend to like it and convince themselves they do so they can feel part of an elite and enlightened few. I've never even attempted to play it though so I could be full of shit, just my impression.

[Anonymous No.7017154]

>>7016021
Yeah reading and learning at the library is super gay

[Anonymous No.7017174]

Bros, I'm sorry, I give up. I got my ass whooped by the dragon and I just can't fucking grind anymore. I like everything about this game except for the gameplay itself, just like with every other turn-based and time-based JRPG. I guess I'll just stick to action RPGs

[Anonymous No.7017318]

>>7017174
>I got my ass whooped by the dragon and I just can't fucking grind anymore.
You should really to save the Dragon in Magicant as the last melody. I know it's not marked as the eighth melody for some reason but it's basically the game's actual final boss.

[Anonymous No.7017358]

>>7017318
I decided not to give up and I raped the dragon lol. You just need to use your PK abilities wisely. I've learned 6 melodies so far and I'm in Youngtown now, making progress. This game will not filter me!

[Anonymous No.7017378]

>>7017318
>>7017358
Traversing the swamp right now. Why the fuck is Lloyd's father in the trash can haha

[Anonymous No.7017402]

>>7017358
Well if you can beat the Dragon you can beat the game. Good luck, you've got this!
>>7016525
It's true though, when Lloyd rejoins you're brought all the way back in the house between the town of Ellay and the caves of M. Itoi, so basically you've made zero progress. Teddy is completely optional and is only truly useful for the Magicant Dragon or maybe melody-hunting on the side if you've skipped any after Mt. Itoi on a low-level game, the only thing you miss out on is the cute NintenxAna scene but I'd take that over trekking through the insufferable caves again anyday, just catch it on YouTube or something.

[Anonymous No.7017417]

>>7017402
Thanks, holy shit I barely made through the damn swamp, it was hard as shit

[Anonymous No.7017692]

>die when trying to climb Mt. Itoi again after Lloyd rejoins your party
>spawn in the house that's on the top because i saved there
good shit

[Anonymous No.7017760]

>>7017692
You still need Lloyd for the motor boat though?

[Anonymous No.7017771]

>>7017692
Pretty much essential if you want to skip the second trip up the mountain. Easy to grind Lloyd up too because you can just do it right outside the heal house.

[Anonymous No.7017779]

>>7017760
>>7017771
My hands are fucking shaking, I barely made it to the tombstone, got extremely lucky with the random encounters. Sometimes they occur literally every second and sometimes don't occur at all

[Anonymous No.7017782]

>>7017318
Dragon ends up pretty easy if you go to fight it with Teddy in your party. Just defense up everyone, PSI shield everyone, then offense up Ninten and Teddy. Easy fight.

[Anonymous No.7017790]

>>7017779
Repel rings are your friends.

[Anonymous No.7017808]

I loved Earthbound and Mother 3. is the first one worth playing though? it looks like shit and pretty boring honestly. if I loved 2 and 3, would I probably enjoy 1?

[Anonymous No.7017815]

>>7017808
It's a NES JRPG, so temper your expectations. The main reason Japan liked it so much in the first place was because it was a DQ clone set in then modern America where you got money out of ATMs which an incredibly distinct flavor when it came to writing. Also fantastic music, IMO some of the best in the series. Pollyanna is legendary.

[Anonymous No.7017824]

>>7017808
It has my favorite story (well, backstory mostly) of the trilogy.

[Anonymous No.7017924]

>>7017760
>He didn't use breadcrumbs

[Anonymous No.7018013]

Fuck! Can't beat the final boss, I'm so close. My levels are
>Ninten 29
>Ana 21
>Lloyd 24
Where do I grind to get Ana to level 22 to unlock the ability that restores ~60 hp to all party members?

[Anonymous No.7018181]

>>7018013
Honestly, probably the cave on the way up the mountain. The brains in a jar are free PSI restore. Simply PSI-Block them and PSI Magnet.

[Anonymous No.7018217]

>>7018181
I beat it! No save states, no easy mode patches. Finally. My part was Ninten 30, Ana 22, Lloyd 25. Ana's Lifeup spell that heals all party members is a lifesaver. Very charming game, amazing music. Didn't like the gameplay but then again it's an RPG from the 80s. Can't wait to play Earthbound now

[Anonymous No.7018319]

>>7018217
What did Itoi actually think of NoA adding an ending to his game? He seems like the kind of subversive type who would have intentionally made a game with no actual ending.

[Anonymous No.7018334]

>>7018319
It wasn't NoA though, Itoi and his team themselves decided to add it. He has stated that they were in a rush and wanted to release the game as soon as possible, that's why they didn't even test the final area. All of the changes are present in the GBA release too. Since it's exclusive to Japan this once again proves that this wasn't NoA who demanded an expanded ending

[Anonymous No.7018369]

>>7018334
I don't fully buy into that, to be honest. Itoi has always had a sort of melancholy nature in his games, like things aren't meant to be as spectacular as you're led to believe. He probably didn't think it mattered until he got word that his game was getting localized for America, whose collective tastes run different from Japan's.

[Anonymous No.7018390]

>>7018217
Good job OP. And good thing you played Mother 1 before Mother 2.
Playing this series in order is the ideal way. Even if it's not 100% necessary to follow each game's plots, there's certain subtle things that are better when you come from the previous game.
Mother 1 is very charming and has some classic music, but yeah the gameplay can be a bit rough if you're not used to old RPGs.
Mother 2 improves the gameplay (for one, you can see enemies on the map), and Mother 3 is even better in that regard. That's another reason why it's better to play the series in order, it'd be hard to go from Mother 2 to 1, but going from 1 to 2 feels great (just in terms of gameplay and QoL stuff, I actually prefer 1's plot/atmosphere)

[Anonymous No.7018521]

>>7017808
No, but go ahead if you're willing to force yourself to finish it to see all the little cute things that make it kinda worthwhile.

[Anonymous No.7018523]

>>7018369
>I don't fully buy into that, to be honest.
Not sure if the change was suggested by American side or not but either way it was approved and implemented by the Japanese.
Original ending is better since it supports the game's nonlinear structure and the new ending assumes you played the way the game wamted you to play, you technically just need to have recruited Lloyd to beat it.

[Anonymous No.7018551]

>>7018390
Yeah hopefully I'll like Earthbound. The game must be more accessible since it's a 16 bit RPG
>>7018523
What happens if I don't recruit Lloyd? If you don't recruit him you'll miss on a Ninten and Ana scene right? That sucks

[Anonymous No.7018586]

>>7018551
You'll need Lloyd in your party for the Duncan's Factory rocket, which I think is mandatory (at least for Ana, who in turn is needed for Teddy), as well as to repair the motor boat leading to EVE's lab on Mt. Itoi, which I know is mandatory. Ana and Teddy are optional characters, meaning you can just beat it with Ninten and Lloyd if you want to challenge yourself.

[Anonymous No.7018667]

>>7018551
>Yeah hopefully I'll like Earthbound. The game must be more accessible since it's a 16 bit RPG
Definitely is, in fact I'd say it's the easiest starting point since you don't really need to play Mother 1 to know about Giegue/Giygas but you'll need to play Mother 2 to get context for Pokey/Porky.
>If you don't recruit him you'll miss on a Ninten and Ana scene right?
The game has a failsafe for Teddy and that scene by extension in that you need a party with Ana and Lloyd in order to perform on the stage to recruit him.

[Anonymous No.7018708]

>>7018586
Shit I mean what happen if I don't recruit Teddy, that's what I was going to say. Yeah you can't beat the game without Lloyd

[Anonymous No.7018725]

>>7018708
Oh. Yeah without Teddy you won't trigger that scene in the house after the Mt. Itoi caves, which also means the boss and tank don't show up.

[Anonymous No.7019435]

>>7018725
Why does Teddy on the phone summon a giant robot to kill him? Is it related to the death of his parents or did it react to the phonecall or what? I feel like there's some lost lore here.

[Anonymous No.7019464]

>>7019435
If you examine the robot in one of the fights it says "New and unfortunately improved" implying someone's sending the robot after them.

[Anonymous No.7019485]

>>7019435
Teddy implied he was phoning some of his B.B.buddies but he was actually calling his ex to brag that he scaled the mountain in a vain effort to impress her and win her back, unfortunately it backfired since she was sick of hearing of his Mount Itoi obsession all the time so she finally snapped and sicced her secret killer robot on him.

[Anonymous No.7020246]

Where is it stated that George is Ninten's great-grandfather?

[Anonymous No.7020324]

>>7019485
Is this true? Where did you find that?

[Anonymous No.7020476]

>>7020324
Dude it was a big story! Teddy alleged it in his hit book, "From Boss-Blah to Bossa-Nova: How a Former Ellay Gangster Became a Teen Valentine's Heartthrob," specifically in Chapter 13: "A Mountain of Trouble". His girlfriend's lawyers got involved and claimed the robot was only meant to scare him until some nerd in an illegally-operated tank showed up and resulted in property damage and Teddy's injuries. This led to a rather strange court case that involved Lloyd's history of illegal weapon use and Ninten as an accomplice, where at one point their own parents had to testify in their defense but the fathers refused to show up unless were on the stand in a trash can or over the phone, respectively. After the case got off the rails it came to light that Teddy's ex happened to be Pippi's mother and she tried to allege that Teddy was Pippi's father and ducking child support payments, and he refused to "indulge that absurdity with a test", and...well, it was just a mess for everyone. The only person whose reputation wasn't tarnished was Good Christian Soldier Ana.

[Anonymous No.7020671]

Is this what ness and lucasfags complain about? I beat it without grinding or whining. If this is a problem for you, maybe you shouldn't be playing video games.

[Anonymous No.7020685]

>>7020671
>I beat it without grinding
Yeah, typical /vr/. Let me guess, you also did a level 1 run when you were 5 years old? Yeah you were playing the japanese version of course since you are not a pleb and know the language

[Anonymous No.7020691]

>>7020685
How would you not be at level ten when you get Llyod or Ana?