Earthbound Central has been collecting old magazine reviews for Earthbound, circa Summer 1995. Thus far, the stable includes Gamepro, Game Players, EGM, and most recently, Video Games & Computer Entertainment.
I recently blamed Gamepro for destroying any interest my fifteen-year-old self had in Earthbound, as I well should: their review was wretched. But having looked back at Earthbound Central's library of horror, I've come to realise that Gamepro is not exclusively to blame for turning me off to Ness' adventure. American reviewers despised this poor game.
EGM's John Gurka reserved a coveted place beside the Throne of God for mentioning that the storyline rivals that of Final Fantasy VI, but even he can't resist sniffing at the “Nintendo-era graphics.” Every other review sneers at the very same, berating Earthbound's lovingly put-together world as “childish,” “cutesy,” and “McDonald's Playland meets Bobby's World.”
(So, which ultimately endeared itself to the world? Earthbound or Bobby's World?)
Earthbound is looked upon as one of gaming history's least appreciated games. The farts-n-pizza ad campaign didn't help, but the reviewers of olde probably didn't have them in mind when they snapped off the game and started banging on the keyboard. Why did Earthbound get shafted in the first place?
Though the JRPG genre didn't hit mainstream American culture until Final Fantasy VII, 16-bit era RPGs raised the heads of a few gamers who discovered the joy of an in-depth story. EGM wasn't off the mark when it compared Earthbound's story to Final Fantasy VI's—but there are obvious differences between the two games, not only in themes and narrative, but the delivery of said narrative as well.
Final Fantasy VI delivers its character development to the player, though sometimes those gab sessions take a little bit of searching (Sabin and Edgar, for instance, won't relay their past unless they're both in the party while visiting Figaro Castle). Earthbound, by comparison, scatters clues for the player to put together so they can draw their own conclusions. We learn a lot about Ness through the flashes of memory he experiences at his Sanctuary locations.
Both games tell a lovely story in very different ways. Japan, obviously long used to the nuances of JRPG storytelling by 1995, embraced Mother 2. America, still fresh from being hammered over the head with sex, betrayal, suicide, and everything else Final Fantasy VI offered us for the first time, understandably thought that epic RPG stories were meant to be fed to them intravenously.
In other words, America needed time to get tired of JRPGs ramming words down our throats. Now, over ten years later, we look back and see what a friend we had in Earthbound. Alas...
Related Links:
Abandon All Hope: No Earthbound for the Virtual Console
The Mother 3 Translation: We're Not Worthy!
Whatcha Listening To: The Earthbound Soundtrack