As we enter the top five we're going to take a look at RPGs, one of my favorite genres of gaming. I think playing RPGs cemented me as a person willing to take their time with a game. I am one of those gamers who talk to every single person, in every city, to make sure I am not missing anything. Number 5 is about one of my favorite games ever, and how I nearly gave up on it.

5. Earthbound and Putting Time into Games

Earthbound may be my favorite video game of all time. It's one of three RPGs, along with Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, that I can play through without having to look up where anything is. It's full of bizarre and surreal humor that as I continue to grow older I continue to laugh at. In all honesty, I wish more RPGs were like it. The animations are simple, the weapons are awesome, the characters varied and interesting making the player come to appreciate them more and more through each play through, and the story is taking place all in modern times.


Mr. Saturn, you sir or ma'am are awesome.

I've got no problem with the far off fantasy settings of most RPGs, but how many Medieval times with magic can there be. Ness is just a normal kid, thrust into an adventure that he didn't plan to be a part of. Yes, a giant sword is cool, but wielding bottle rockets, baseball bats, and frying pans, much cooler. To this day, I'm looking out for a Holy Frying Pan to use in my kitchen. I'm pretty sure I had rented RPGs before Earthbound, though I don't remember any in depth, and thus was never into them. Hell I had no clue what RPG meant. I had seen ads in magazines for Earthbound, and the grade school humor of them amused me.


And now I don't know why I found them funny

I wanted to know what the game was about. I went to blockbuster, rented it, and was ready for anything. The cart I rented had a file saved already on it, but I wanted my own game. I clicked new game, named the characters after my friends and I, and was ready to have an adventure. I started playing, and got confused very quickly. I could make it to the meteor and back, beat the Starman Jr. but after that I had no clue. I should have been prepped after my Maniac Mansion experience for non linear paths, but I wasn't. I got frustrated, saved my data, and was ready to call it a wasted rental. However I decided to check out the other save file, and I was controlling four robots. I wanted to get there on my own and see how this happened.


Hell, lets be honest, the thought of playing as robots is Badass.

I continued to play through, started to work my way through Onett, but I would get stuck at times. The good news was when I couldn't reason things out, I had help from Nintendo. Aside from their 1-900 tip line, they had an answering service that would give you a menu of games, and then selections for each portion of it. Thankfully Earthbound was one of them, and I made continual long distance calls to Washington when I got stuck. After three straight weekends of renting the same game, my mom told me, “If you're going to keep doing that, why don't we just buy it.” Thus I got my very own copy to play, and a strategy guide so I didn't have rack up the phone bill.


This book saved my ass in Earthbound on a daily basis.

I was dedicated in my quest to beat Earthbound. It gave me the feeling like I was truly on a mission to save the world. I poured hour after hour into it. Realizing the importance to magic attacks compared to solely using a weapon. Realizing that when a store offered to sell you a weapon, it was a good idea to do so, because it would increase the damage you caused. I met all the strange characters, Everdred, Apple Kid, Mr. Saturn, Dr. Andonuts, and The Runaway Five. I began to see the change of Pokey, from next door neighbor, to evil bastard. Slowly and slowly, I became attached to everyone in the world of Eagleland. Finally I got to that point where my party became robots, and I had reached my goal. I beat Giygas, and saved the world. Until I got that letter from Pokey, knowing that he was still out there, I couldn't wait to stop him again.


POKEY, YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.

Unfortunately, since Mother 3 never got a US release, I never got the chance (I know there's a fan translation, I just haven't gotten to playing it yet). Nintendo's lack of respect for the best RPG they ever created didn't stop me from playing through Earthbound a dozen more times. The game is just too fun, and from there I got interested in RPGs, getting Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger. I obsessed over both, but I never forgot what broke my cherry. Earthbound could be the game I've put the most total hours into, being that every year or so I break it out, and play through. Plus, it rekindled my love of reading, which is a passion to this day, simply because I had to read what everyone in this world had to say to further progress in the game.



Damn do I love this game, and am thankful I held onto my copy.




Once again, comments and feedback are always appreciated. I am very glad to see that people are reading and enjoying my blog. And as long as people continue to read, I will continue to post. Next time, a look at my Nintendo 64.