Hannah Friedman - Week 1 HW

Earthbound, released in 1994 for the SNES, starts the player off as a young boy named Ness who lives in what appears to be a small American town. He travels the world fighting strange enemies, making new friends, and ultimately working to defeat Giygas, an alien who has used his incredible hatred to maliciously transform animals and humans to do his bidding. While it sounds like a standard RPG, there are many unique elements that make Earthbound one-of-a-kind. The whole game is quirky on the surface level, filled with non-sequitur humor, bizarre enemies (abstract art, big pile of puke, manly fish, new-age retro hippie, over zealous cop, scalding coffee cup, unassuming local guy, etc.), pop culture references, and an amazing soundtrack. Earthbound destroys the notion of traditional RPG settings, forgoing a medieval, fantasy setting or sci-fi for one of contemporary America. It has unique combat mechanics, including low-level battle relief in where enemies the player can beat in one turn will avoid the party and spare the player the headache. The writing itself has a whimsical yet deadpan quality, replacing generic NPC dialogue with strange, quirky interactions. Playing it as a young child inspired my imagination, and I still have a great sentimental attachment to it.