Nostalgia Factor: Low.
Difficulty: Medium. Be prepared for a few unexpected difficulty spikes.
Earthbound is a refreshingly unique RPG. It’s very different from the swath of medieval RPGs that have saturated the genre, especially on the SNES. At times Earthbound is quaint, at other times it’s eerie and trippy, but it always maintains a mood and vibe that is hard to put into words. I absolutely loved my time in the world of EagleLand.
The soundtrack is sooo interesting. Again, it’s very unique. Sometimes you’re hit with something funky and psychedelic featuring that dope SNES bass synth, and sometimes you’re hit with a quaint and super catchy hook. The sound effects are really satisfying. Womp. SMAAAaaash!!
There can be some obstacles in fully enjoying Earthbound (random difficulty spikes, the atrocious inventory system), but RPG fans that stick with it will be so happy that they did. The characters are curious but lovable. The enemies are bizarre and fascinating. As strange as the story can be at times, it still sucked me in so deep. There’s also plenty of humor. I often found myself laughing out loud. The game will continually surprise you.
Earthbound has one of the best RPG endings I've ever played. I was hooked for the final hours and stayed up until 2am just to finish the game. Shigesato Itoi (writer/director) and the HAL team have somehow managed to capture those ambiguous warm feelings of childhood in a wonderful RPG adventure. I strongly recommend this game to any RPG fan worth their salt.