RedTigrr Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 On the surface, yes, but the quirkiness had a reason to it. It's not popular just because it takes place in a modern day setting. The game isn't even REMOTELY realistic to begin with. It's because Earthbound/Mother was a distinct post-modern game of criticizing and analyzing the old Japanese RPG conventions while staying within it. The quirkiness basically comes from that entire context and study of existentialism pertaining to a child's imagination (you never really know if the RPG is basically someone's imagination or not). It was just so much more than the generic 'story' + 'action' you typically get out of videogames. It was basically an artistic expression within the JRPG format. Cool. Thanks I-n-j-i-n. Now if only I could get someone to fully explain to me the fascination with the Smash Bros. series to me...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Cool. Thanks I-n-j-i-n. Now if only I could get someone to fully explain to me the fascination with the Smash Bros. series to me...... People really like to see their favorite/well-known mascots beat the shit out of each other. What else do you need to know..? Think back to that image where you got a bunch of Fast Food Mascots lined up ready to do battle against one another; in the image's case it was Wendy vs Ronald McDonald. Hell you had Jack-in-the-Box, Carls, as well as the Burger King taking on a pseudo Akuma/Rugal motif going Some would love to see their favorite fast food places win out, despite how bad they are for your health for the most part. Back in the day, there was a lot of interest having a good fight between Sonic and Mario. Crash Bandicoot at one point would be mentioned every once in a while but he pretty much faded away. These days there's still some interest in seeing fights between Mario and Sonic but not as feverish as it were back then; especially ever since Sega no longer have a huge placehold on the console territory hardware-wise... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhsu Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Don't mind him, he's just bitter because he's bad at the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Don't mind him, he's just bitter because he's bad at the game. Could be worse, there's this kid a few blocks down that is never allowed to have a second player on account of he's so fucking spoiled he'd cry in frustration for losing horribly on Madden 09 TO THE COMPUTER. Not a human player BUT THE CPU FOR FUCKS SAKES! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar of Justice Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I get bitter about Smash Brothers because it gets all kinds of attention, but a clearly superior product (Guilty Gear) gets no attention. It's like if everyone around you never wanted to play chess and only checkers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I get bitter about Smash Brothers because it gets all kinds of attention, but a clearly superior product (Guilty Gear) gets no attention. It's like if everyone around you never wanted to play chess and only checkers. Really..? I thought it wasn't as popular because many could not find the actual game.. I sure as hell couldn't find it when it came out... Kinda like how I couldn't find a copy of Digital Devil Saga 1 or even two back when they came out. So very few copies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhsu Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Haha, I have a bad habit of collecting 2D fighters but never playing them because I'm terrible at fighters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drack Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I get bitter about Smash Brothers because it gets all kinds of attention, but a clearly superior product (Guilty Gear) gets no attention. It's like if everyone around you never wanted to play chess and only checkers. Guilty Gear is awesome. I've got Accent Core and I main Baiken, and also play Order Sol, Axl, and Robo-Ky. I also play Smash, but I'm more ticked at people playing Capcom's fighters instead of GG rather than people playing Smash instead of GG. That fits your checkers analogy better, as playing Smash instead of GG is more like playing cards instead of Chess. Looking forward to Mother 3 in English. Having taken 3 semesters of Japanese, I don't know enough to play through it without consulting a dictionary every couple sentences, and for an RPG, story is very important. I can't just skip most of the dialog in Japanese like I did with the imported Rockman ZX. I really liked Earthbound and having its sequel readily available is a huge boon. Can't wait to spend some time playing through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar of Justice Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Really..? I thought it wasn't as popular because many could not find the actual game.. I sure as hell couldn't find it when it came out... Kinda like how I couldn't find a copy of Digital Devil Saga 1 or even two back when they came out. So very few copies... There's probably not really a whole lot of demand for it which is why they don't provide much supply. The only places I know to carry it are dedicated game stores and online retailers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-n-j-i-n Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 What part of Earthbound, specifically, suggests that it is all a fictional child's fantasy, aside from the fact that it actually is a video game and is a real person's fantasy? I think one has to really play the game critically to really come to the feeling that the story they're putting out definitely isn't the only facet to the story. I don't think there's really that 'one' aspect that makes you realize it's a fantasy (not like in Star Ocean 3 where they give you a slap to your face yelling "IT'S NOT REAL" to make the point). Also, I think this site shows one of the ways players own imaginations and preconceptions basically shape Earthbound. The general ways the Mother games have been made is just pure genius. I mean, if you want to play RPGs for their gameplay, there's always Star Ocean and Tales games.. But the exotic, quirky and the surreal always tends to belong in the Mother series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar of Justice Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I think one has to really play the game critically to really come to the feeling that the story they're putting out definitely isn't the only facet to the story. I don't think there's really that 'one' aspect that makes you realize it's a fantasy (not like in Star Ocean 3 where they give you a slap to your face yelling "IT'S NOT REAL" to make the point).Also, I think this site shows one of the ways players own imaginations and preconceptions basically shape Earthbound. The general ways the Mother games have been made is just pure genius. I mean, if you want to play RPGs for their gameplay, there's always Star Ocean and Tales games.. But the exotic, quirky and the surreal always tends to belong in the Mother series. Since you can't point out anything specific, I'm of the opinion you might be overcomplicating something you really like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-n-j-i-n Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I wouldn't even say I'm a real Mother fan because I only played the SNES one and appreciated it to death. But I think I sort of speak for the more hardcore Earthbound/Mother fans on that. Strip away that quirkiness and postmodernism or whatever fancy word you can use to describe its JRPG parody aspect, then all you have is a middling Dragon Quest ripoff.. I think even Itoi (the games' director) admitted as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargem Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Perhaps, but Dragon Quest always felt...unfriendly, to me. I guess Earthbound just feels much more appealing than Dragon Quest. Just the difference in atmosphere can really change how a game communicates with the player, which should never be discounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadofsky Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I've been waiting for almost a year for this project to be completed, I can't wait to get it. Only a few days then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nohbody Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 so glad its being released at the end of the week. That way I dont fail school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollgagh Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 so glad its being released at the end of the week. That way I dont fail school how exactly does that work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Somewhat off topic; Oh shit found Guilty Gear for $14, ordering it now. Can't wait for the translation to come out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio fidelity Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 http://www.insertcredit.com/features/fukubukuro/2006/04.html longest review ever - but i read the beginning - seems clear that this one goes beyond mother 2 i didn't know the battle system was changed...sounds interesting That doesn't happen in Mother 3 because Mother 3, as a videogame, is many fives of inches closer to perfection than Mother 2. In Mother 3, you can win battles with actual skill and reflexes. The battles are rhythm-based. Hit the attack button on-time to chain together hits. You can score up to sixteen hits in a sequence -- a perfect number for combo hits in a game with a rhythm-based system, if you stop to think about it. The first hit is the strongest; each successive hint ranges from laughable to ineffective to moderate. Toward the middle of the game you might score 100 damage with the first hit, and then eight with the second hit. Keep hitting, though, and a 20 or a 25 might pop up here and there. It adds up in the end. Sticking with a combo to the sixteenth hit will see you scoring about triple the damage of a normal attack -- that is, about the same amount of damage as three attacks, one from each party member.and i think most players know how incredible the battle music is for earthbound - i like this idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nohbody Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 how exactly does that work I would probably let it get in the way of schoolwork, but during the weekend thats not a problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollgagh Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 oh, so you're going to beat it over the weekend, ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scufo Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 So I finally beat Earthbound! Only 13 years late for the party. You guys weren't kidding, game's awesome. I am more than ready for Mother 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarvi Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 So I finally beat Earthbound! Only 13 years late for the party. You guys weren't kidding, game's awesome.I am more than ready for Mother 3. you better be ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Shadow Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Hey kids the patch is up for download GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarvi Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 patched and started, woot. Who needs to pay attention in chemistry and learn what a De Broglie Wavelength. I have more important things to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar of Justice Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Fuck, I'm out of town this weekend and now I really wish I could play Mother 3. Oh well, gives 'em time to make a v 1.1 to fix some inevitable bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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