EarthBound: Nintendo's Unknown Star?
Whoa! What's that bright light shining from Nintendo? It's not The Legend of Zelda.. Not Super Mario.. Not even Pokemon.. But, EarthBound.
Yes, EarthBound. Some of you are probably sitting in your computer chairs wondering how on earth EarthBound can be such a popular game, well, the reason being, it's not your everyday sword swinging, spell casting, Materia collecting game. No, EarthBound was much more then just your average RPG. HAL took all of the common RPG styles and turned them upside down.
For instance, instead of receiving a sword, you are given a baseball bat. Instead of a scepter, you get a Frying Pan. Even the way you battle is different. In games like Final Fantasy you have a third person view at the battle. However, in EarthBound you take a first person view of your enemy. The other noticeable difference is that you're not in Medieval times, you're in present day. Which, in my opinion is the best part of EarthBound.
Getting back to the question at hand, EarthBound is Nintendo's unknown star because it was different, and it stood out. I believe that if Nintendo would have hyped the game more, it probably would be up on the charts with the Zeldas, Marios, and Pokemons of the world. However, in a way, it is a good thing that Nintendo didn't hype the game. Making it a sort of "cult favorite" if you will.
In the future, EarthBound can only gain in popularity. With many web sites dedicated to EarthBound/Mother series, and the small, but growing group of followers that it has. We may see more EarthBound related items soon.
Whoa! What's that bright light shining from Nintendo? It's not The Legend of Zelda.. Not Super Mario.. Not even Pokemon.. But, EarthBound.
Yes, EarthBound. Some of you are probably sitting in your computer chairs wondering how on earth EarthBound can be such a popular game, well, the reason being, it's not your everyday sword swinging, spell casting, Materia collecting game. No, EarthBound was much more then just your average RPG. HAL took all of the common RPG styles and turned them upside down.
For instance, instead of receiving a sword, you are given a baseball bat. Instead of a scepter, you get a Frying Pan. Even the way you battle is different. In games like Final Fantasy you have a third person view at the battle. However, in EarthBound you take a first person view of your enemy. The other noticeable difference is that you're not in Medieval times, you're in present day. Which, in my opinion is the best part of EarthBound.
Getting back to the question at hand, EarthBound is Nintendo's unknown star because it was different, and it stood out. I believe that if Nintendo would have hyped the game more, it probably would be up on the charts with the Zeldas, Marios, and Pokemons of the world. However, in a way, it is a good thing that Nintendo didn't hype the game. Making it a sort of "cult favorite" if you will.
In the future, EarthBound can only gain in popularity. With many web sites dedicated to EarthBound/Mother series, and the small, but growing group of followers that it has. We may see more EarthBound related items soon.