I just finished the game again, and it was even worse the second time around.
Ugly and lazy sprite work
- Almost no cohesive thought put into enemies
These are found in the same area:
- A lot of the designs are very sloppy
Awful difficulty spikes
- New areas produce powerful enemies and promote grinding
Some areas, like the Dept. Store in Foursome, have annoying difficulty spikes
Tragic Status ailments
- Many of Earthbound's status ailments are poorly implemented
Enemies tend to spam statuses like crying, poison, or cold.
- The worst status/gameplay mechanic is arguably "homesickness."
Homesickness is unpredictable and can be detrimental if it occurs during a boss fight.
- The mushroom status ailment is another annoying part of the game.
The story is ridiculous
- The more Earthbound goes on, the more absurd it becomes.
Earthbound could have been great farce, but it seems more "made up as you go" since it tries to take itself serious at times.
The game does not flow well
- Earthbound is plagued with numerous things that break its flow
The annoying delay of the camera man, switching character perspectives, deaths from difficulty spikes, enemies rushing to initiate battles, backtracking...amongst other things.
I am not surprised Earthbound was a flop when it released, and I am also not surprised Nintendo refused to release Mother 3 outside of Japan. While Earthbound is charming at times, it is still a terrible game, and if this is what Itoi was going for... yikes.
Ugly and lazy sprite work
- Almost no cohesive thought put into enemies
These are found in the same area:
- A lot of the designs are very sloppy
Awful difficulty spikes
- New areas produce powerful enemies and promote grinding
Some areas, like the Dept. Store in Foursome, have annoying difficulty spikes
Tragic Status ailments
- Many of Earthbound's status ailments are poorly implemented
Enemies tend to spam statuses like crying, poison, or cold.
- The worst status/gameplay mechanic is arguably "homesickness."
Homesickness is unpredictable and can be detrimental if it occurs during a boss fight.
- The mushroom status ailment is another annoying part of the game.
The story is ridiculous
- The more Earthbound goes on, the more absurd it becomes.
Earthbound could have been great farce, but it seems more "made up as you go" since it tries to take itself serious at times.
The game does not flow well
- Earthbound is plagued with numerous things that break its flow
The annoying delay of the camera man, switching character perspectives, deaths from difficulty spikes, enemies rushing to initiate battles, backtracking...amongst other things.
I am not surprised Earthbound was a flop when it released, and I am also not surprised Nintendo refused to release Mother 3 outside of Japan. While Earthbound is charming at times, it is still a terrible game, and if this is what Itoi was going for... yikes.
