One More Try
When I first played Earthbound I was about 9 years old. I saw it at my local Blockbuster; it stood out because of that huge box. Now, you have to understand that as a 9 year old, my attention span was small, and my desire to put time and effort into just about anything was smaller. But it looked cool. So I rented it. And then guess what happened?
I hated it.
Yup, I really, truly despised it. I could never figure out what was going on; I kept on dying, and the story didn't make any sense. (but remember, this was a rented copy, and there were save files from the end of the game.) I got all huffy and returned it, deeming it the worst videogame in history. And for the longest time, I kept thinking that. After a few years, my memories of Earthbound became a blur; I started to forget the charecters names and I couldn't recall what towns looked like. This was when I was 14 years old. By this time I had played plenty more RPG's - mostly mainstream popular ones ( a la Final Fantasy) but for some reason, I chose to give Earthbound another try.
And I wondered if I had ever really played it before. I thought to myself, "5 years ago, I had to force myself to try and like this game, and now I'm having fun without even thinking about it." So, like the hyperactive, wierdo tween I was, I told all my friends. " What are you talking about?" "Is that by Squaresoft?" "That game sucks. The charecters look like they're 5."
To me, I wondered how anyone could NOT like Earthbound; because to me, it seemed so likeable. I thought videogames were supposed to be like Earthbound; quirky and fun and outrageous. Because it is; that's what Earthbound's all about. Ever since then, I felt like I was being foolish playing it - no one else likes it, so why do I? I got my answer when I was 15. My cousin - he was 12 - came over to play with me. He told me all about what games he and his friends were playing and why they were cool. He told me that they were fun because the graphics were good, and you got to beat people up.
"Andy, you wanna play Earthbound? "
And that was it. I handed him the controller and watched his eyes light up as we entered the names of all his friends on the start up screen. There were times when he got frusturated; but I was there to help him out. He kept coming over, each time, he would ask if he could play. And I let him, because it felt so good for me to see someone else understand why Earthbound is Earthbound. Eventually, he got himself his own copy, and so he started to come over less and less. But each time we saw each other, we'd laugh, and talk, and converse about Earthbound; it was the one thing that really tied us together in a way I'd never experienced.
I'm glad I didn't give up on Earthbound, because if I had, I'd be missing out on way too much that would have never come without it.
When I first played Earthbound I was about 9 years old. I saw it at my local Blockbuster; it stood out because of that huge box. Now, you have to understand that as a 9 year old, my attention span was small, and my desire to put time and effort into just about anything was smaller. But it looked cool. So I rented it. And then guess what happened?
I hated it.
Yup, I really, truly despised it. I could never figure out what was going on; I kept on dying, and the story didn't make any sense. (but remember, this was a rented copy, and there were save files from the end of the game.) I got all huffy and returned it, deeming it the worst videogame in history. And for the longest time, I kept thinking that. After a few years, my memories of Earthbound became a blur; I started to forget the charecters names and I couldn't recall what towns looked like. This was when I was 14 years old. By this time I had played plenty more RPG's - mostly mainstream popular ones ( a la Final Fantasy) but for some reason, I chose to give Earthbound another try.
And I wondered if I had ever really played it before. I thought to myself, "5 years ago, I had to force myself to try and like this game, and now I'm having fun without even thinking about it." So, like the hyperactive, wierdo tween I was, I told all my friends. " What are you talking about?" "Is that by Squaresoft?" "That game sucks. The charecters look like they're 5."
To me, I wondered how anyone could NOT like Earthbound; because to me, it seemed so likeable. I thought videogames were supposed to be like Earthbound; quirky and fun and outrageous. Because it is; that's what Earthbound's all about. Ever since then, I felt like I was being foolish playing it - no one else likes it, so why do I? I got my answer when I was 15. My cousin - he was 12 - came over to play with me. He told me all about what games he and his friends were playing and why they were cool. He told me that they were fun because the graphics were good, and you got to beat people up.
"Andy, you wanna play Earthbound? "
And that was it. I handed him the controller and watched his eyes light up as we entered the names of all his friends on the start up screen. There were times when he got frusturated; but I was there to help him out. He kept coming over, each time, he would ask if he could play. And I let him, because it felt so good for me to see someone else understand why Earthbound is Earthbound. Eventually, he got himself his own copy, and so he started to come over less and less. But each time we saw each other, we'd laugh, and talk, and converse about Earthbound; it was the one thing that really tied us together in a way I'd never experienced.
I'm glad I didn't give up on Earthbound, because if I had, I'd be missing out on way too much that would have never come without it.
