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[RNG]

Earthbound Beginnings is a terrible game to start off with. Most JRPGs in that era are grindy and have not aged very well. I'd highly recommend starting with Earthbound.

 

[Georges Chiellins]

That's up to you. All I can say is that if you haven't played the sequel, on SNES, it's an absolute joy. No random encounters, charming characters and dialogue, challenging but fun battle system and interesting locales that keep you looking forward to what's coming next. One of my favorite rpgs ever.

Earthbound Beginnings/EB0 is a game that I can only recommend to people who have already played EarthBound and Mother 3 and loved them so much that they just want more. It's not fun to play but the story is interesting and worth experiencing if you're already deeply invested.

I assume Nintendo has left the gameplay untouched. There exists a fan-made patch that adds an equipable "Easy Ring" which cuts the encounter rate in half while doubling exp received. That's going to be the more bearable gameplay experience for most people.

Ok then, thanks guys. I'll just move on to Earthbound proper, and read up on the story for the NES one.

 

[AV]

It's an easy game and not super long. It's worth sticking with. The dialog is the best part. If that's not doing anything for you, the game probably won't be worthwhile seeing through the end. There's a strategy guide that came with the OG cart. It's available online if you're not already using it. I recommend it to help streamline things.

I powered through and the game picked up a lot after I got Paula and then Jeff. It's still super basic JRPG combat but having something to do that isn't just hitting auto battle is more than enough to carry that aspect of the game through what I'm actually playing for, which is the world. It's bonkers, it's as if they stuck in anything that came to mind with no "no"s and no filter, I love it.

Great game, I must be nearly done with it now, recorded 7 sounds. I do think the beginning is shit and there's no way round it, but it's worth pushing through. Will definitely pick up that Mother 3 fan translation at some point.

This goes for G Georges Chiellins too if you're feeling like I did at the start of Earthbound. Just push through the first few hours and it gets way better.

 

[Georges Chiellins]

I powered through and the game picked up a lot after I got Paula and then Jeff. It's still super basic JRPG combat but having something to do that isn't just hitting auto battle is more than enough to carry that aspect of the game through what I'm actually playing for, which is the world. It's bonkers, it's as if they stuck in anything that came to mind with no "no"s and no filter, I love it.

Great game, I must be nearly done with it now, recorded 7 sounds. I do think the beginning is shit and there's no way round it, but it's worth pushing through. Will definitely pick up that Mother 3 fan translation at some point.

This goes for G Georges Chiellins too if you're feeling like I did at the start of Earthbound. Just push through the first few hours and it gets way better.

The NES one I had trouble with.

I've been playing Earthbound for a few days now, got to the part where I'm playing as Jeff.

 

[fart town usa]

Started playing the first one yesterday.
Random encounters every two steps, what the hell?

Also, very, very difficult it seems. Although I can now buy a proper baseball bat, let's see if that'll help.

Yea dude, people love to hype Earthbound but don't really mention how archaic and brutal it is, lol.

 

[SpiceRacz]

If you're really interested in Earthbound Beginnings, play the translated rom on an NES emulator with hacks. You can lower the encounter rate and raise the experience gained from enemies. Makes the game way more bearable.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Stereotype played for laughs is generally sufficient to offend.

Eh, The Ambiguously Gay Duo was some of the the funniest content in SNL's history back when it was entertaining.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Eh, The Ambiguously Gay Duo was some of the the funniest content in SNL's history back when it was entertaining.

But I don't think the joke there was ever just that they were gay or that gayness was funny, the whole point is that they would go up to the line but never cross it, and parodying the obvious but never explicit homoerotic overtones in superhero cartoons/comics.

That said, you probably wouldn't get away with that one today either.