Games To Try Before You Die: Earthbound (SNES)

I own a lot of video games, and I love each one of them! Nowadays, I am more of a 'video game historian' than really a 'player.' There is a game that I own that I never thought that I would own in my life, because it costs a lot of money. I amazingly received it as a Wedding Present from my previous employer and I had never played it before. It's a quirky but fun game.

What: In Earthbound, you play as Ness. A kid who is approved by Buzz Buzz. Buzz Buzz is from the future, and informs you that the future world is dominated by Giygas. Your task as Ness and friends is to defeat Giygas in the 'now' because he is to powerful in the future! Save the world!

Why: This game came out at a very strange time. Nintendo was starting to amp up the Nintendo 64, so people were slowly starting to forget about the Super Nintendo and thus, this game didn't sell extremely well in America. It's not an entirely rare game, but you most likely will never find this one in a discount bin. This game can usually grab around $150-$250 bucks on eBay!

That aside though, what is so special about this game. It's just a wierdly quirky game. There were so many 'serious' RPG games that were dominating the SNES at the time, that Earthbound was hard to take seriously. So at first glance, you would find it boring. However, sit and play it for a bit, and the game is really full of awesome. The interesting humor, weird characters, and the rip-off of The Blues Brothers. The fighting engine is pretty basic, but keeping it simple is not necessarily a horrible thing either. I will admit though, you can EASILY get lost in this game. Many times trying to play it, I really have no idea what I am doing. Nintendo tried to mend that wound by including a Strategy Guide with the game! However, I only got this game last year, and don't have the Strategy Guide. Fortunately, my friend Kyle is a guide for this game and he REALLY knows where everything is.

Earthbound is one of those games for RPG fans. If you don't like RPG's, I would start with something else first. Only because of the 'Where the eff' do I go?!?' factor.