What are some of the elements that make an RPG?  There’s a medieval setting with swords, sorcery and dragons.  They seem to be the basic conception of most RPGs.  However, not all RPGs fall to the basic concept of fantasy.  There are some that take place in the future, and even some that take place....in the present.  EarthBound happens to be one of them, and it proves that an RPG doesn’t have to be medieval to kick some major butt.

            EarthBound is one of the most interesting RPGs I’ve played period.  Yes it doesn’t have the awesome SNES graphics of, say, Chrono Trigger, but it’s still a fun game to play.  Taking place in 199X (insert number) you take control of Ness.  One night, a meteor falls down nearby his home in Onett (I believe that is pronounced One-Et).  After investigating it, you meet Buzz Buzz, a talking beetle from the future who tells you of a prophecy about an ancient evil named Giygas that is trying to take over the Earth.  He believes that you, along with two other boys and a girl, are the ones who stop him.  Thus starts the battle between Good and Evil, as Ness , and his allies Paula, Jeff, and Poo band together to put a stop to Giygas once and for all.

       The game play in Earthbound is a bit confusing at first, but it’s unique none the less.  Mainly, I found some confusion with the controls.  For example, to talk to people you either open the menu and hit talk, or hit the L shoulder button, which is a universal check and talk button.  It’s a bit odd having L as a examine button, but you get used to it after a while.  Like many other RPGs, once enough experience is gained, you’ll gain a level, get stronger, learn different magic, and all that jazz, but a unique factor in this is you don’t receive money after battles.  Instead, your father deposits it into your banking account, and you withdraw it from an ATM machine, and yes, you do need an ATM card to get money.  To save a game, you make a call via Telephone and call your dad to save it.  It may seem a bit complicated, but, once you get used to it, you’ll love it!                       

                      
               One of the many interesting beings you encounter.

          Traveling is a bit unique in this game.  Enemies are seen on screen, and they can be avoided all together.  If you do however decide to battle, you have to encounter the enemy.  If Ness and the enemy are both facing each other, it will be a normal battle (the screen will swirl blue).  If Ness happens to surprise the enemy and it's back is turned to him, he’ll receive the initiative (The screen will swirl green).    And if the enemy surprises Ness, the enemy will have the initiative (screen will turn red).  Also, when you gain levels, enemies may start to avoid Ness, giving you an easier opportunity for a surprise attack.  If your characters are strong enough, you’ll receive an instant victory where you don’t have to fight, and you’ll get free experience!  It's a different take on RPG fighting, and the odd thing is, it works quite well.

            The Battle system reminds me of Dragon Warrior/Quest.  Basically during each turn, you select from a menu of commands, those being Bash/Shoot, PSI (Magic), Goods (Items), and Defend.  If you don’t want to pick out the attacks yourself, you can just choose Auto Battle (and be a lazy bum).  Also, depending on which character you use, you can use a special skill that’s exclusive to each character.  For example, Paula can use the Pray command, which does random stuff in the battle like heal your party, revive fallen allies (and fallen foes), and cause status effects to both groups.  Jeff can use the spy command which checks the enemy’s stats and weaknesses.  Sometimes this can get you an item as well.  Poo can use the mirror command, which when successful, will turn him into the enemy.  You gain that enemies stats, and lose control of Poo.  Ness, being the main hero, doesn't get any special command, but then again he's awesome, so he doesn't need one.

                           
                    Too much music can be hazardous to your health.

            With such a basic concept for an RPG, it’s easy to overlook it as just that, another RPG but if you dive deeper into Earthbound, you’ll find a lot of good things about it.  For one, it has a pretty good story.  While it lacks character development, it makes up for it in its sense of humor, and all around zaniness.  I mean, who doesn’t love fighting Retro Hippies, Starmen, or insane cultists with an obsession with the color purple?   There are also a lot of pop culture references, like Mr. T (yes, from the A-Team) and even The Beatles.  The game has very catchy music like the Fourside theme (which is re-mixed in the Gamecube game Super Smash Bros. Melee).  The weapons aren’t swords either (with the exception of the ultra rare Sword of Kings).  Ness uses a bat as a weapon (as well as a slingshot or Yo-Yo) Paula uses a frying pan, and Jeff uses an air gun.  Also, there are some pretty weird status ailments that you can receive, like catching a cold, getting nausea, and even getting homesickness (which can be cured by calling your mom…yes, I’m serious).  There are plenty of interesting places to travel to as well, from Stonehenge , to the pyramids.  You can even order pizza and have it delivered to you (even though it takes three minutes)!

                                
                                         Moonside, you gotta love it.