LogFAQs > #951686767

04. EarthBound (SNES, 1995)

Like Killer7, EarthBound is a distinctly weird game, layered with loving homages and references to pop culture, especially music. Unlike Killer7, it comes from a genre I do not generally have a fondness for: the RPG. Because I had become such a fan of Ness in Smash, like Nick, I gave EarthBound a whirl, not knowing much about it beyond that it was a jRPG set in a strange American setting, starring a group of weird kids trying to save the world. Unlike Nick, I adored it immediately.

That it turned out to be a weirdly satisfying combination of wholesome, bizarre, and dark was and is to its benefit. The modern setting, the unending charm, the lack of random encounters, the bright and fantastical visuals, and the spectacular score, which beautifully borrows from American musical influences (note the similarities to Johnny B Goode when you fight the New Age Retro Hippies, for example) is one of my favorites.



The game also uses elements from western pop culture to great effect throughout the game. Playing it for the first time in my teens, these references to Bowies Diamond Dogs and Starman, to Coltranes Giant Steps, to The Blues Brothers, to various Beatles songs, to War of the Worlds, Dali, etc, helped hook me on the game, but also got me to consider and reconsider the pieces of culture which were being referenced, which then deepened my appreciation of both those things and the game.

Even the general concept of the story is an homage to Americana: its Stephen Kings The Body. Its Charles Schulzs Peanuts. Its The Goonies. Its Lovecraftian. Threed is a George Romero setting if ever there was one. Its a classic kids vs the world story. Adults are present, but have a minimal influence on the proceedings. Ness dad exists only as a voice on the phone (Ive always wondered if this was an influence on Pokemon, which also has a conspicuously absent father). Nesss fatherlessness is mirrored in his ultimate enemy, Giygas, whose father abandoned him in the events of the first Mother game. The final battle of Earthbound remains one of the most memorable and surprisingly poignant finales to a video game. It is a pitch perfect ending to a game that traffics in the kind of blend of surreality, style, and heart that few games can claim.

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The Thighmaster