A Game for Two
Earthbound, as like most RPGs, is a one player game. Oh, I know that you CAN use both controllers, so theoretically you can play with two people, but EB is still basically a one player game.
I think that Earthbound is a game best played in pairs. I have played Earthbound a grand total of four times. Twice were just for fun, once was for the starmen.net Funktastic Summer Gameplay dealie and my initial Earthbound experience was with my sister. Guess which one was my favorite? That's right, the time I played with my sister.
My sister Karen had just gotten a serious boyfriend when we started playing Nintendo together at night time. It was a little ritual, to make up for the time we didn't spend together since she was so busy with her Boyfriend. We instantly enjoyed Earthbound and had a number of inside jokes about it over the three months we played it (it takes that long when you are only playing a half hour to an hour a night). Humming the Mr. Saturn theme and then giggling uncontrollably because nobody else knew what we were doing was just one of them.
It's nice to have someone else's opinion on what you are doing. Me and my sister argued for a good ten minutes about whether or not I should answer yes when the shark asks you if you'd like to join the gang. I wanted to answer yes, for humor's sake but she thought that it would ruin the game if I answered yes. Finally, I just hit yes (I was in the drivers seat) in spite of her. We had the same argument over the whole Poo-Mu spirit dude thing, while we were in the mole caves ("Go that way. No left! Your OTHER left!" "SEE! I've already been down there!"), over whether we should use or save the monkey love (apparently it's just too cute to be used), and we even argued over which guy would be cuter in real life. (I said Jeff, she said Poo.)
Of course, there is the emotional value of it. You feel a lot less embarrassed getting choked up over a video game when someone is sniffling beside you. Everything seems funnier when someone is laughing with you. You laugh so hard that your sides hurt rather then just chuckling if you were by yourself. My sis and I put off fighting Giygus for about a week because we were afraid of it all coming to an end. When I did beat him, we were both cheering and high fiving each other. We bonded over Earthbound. I became so close to my sister.
Everyone is always saying how they try to get their friends to play Earthbound. Well, next time you are trying to convert a comrade, ask them over to play WITH you. Don't just chuck the cartridge at them and tell them to have a good time. Play, argue, discuss, laugh, cry, and experience Earthbound with them. It'll be something you can share. Then you can be as dorky as my sister and I and wink and say "Do you think he's spiteful?" every time you see a crow.
Earthbound, as like most RPGs, is a one player game. Oh, I know that you CAN use both controllers, so theoretically you can play with two people, but EB is still basically a one player game.
I think that Earthbound is a game best played in pairs. I have played Earthbound a grand total of four times. Twice were just for fun, once was for the starmen.net Funktastic Summer Gameplay dealie and my initial Earthbound experience was with my sister. Guess which one was my favorite? That's right, the time I played with my sister.
My sister Karen had just gotten a serious boyfriend when we started playing Nintendo together at night time. It was a little ritual, to make up for the time we didn't spend together since she was so busy with her Boyfriend. We instantly enjoyed Earthbound and had a number of inside jokes about it over the three months we played it (it takes that long when you are only playing a half hour to an hour a night). Humming the Mr. Saturn theme and then giggling uncontrollably because nobody else knew what we were doing was just one of them.
It's nice to have someone else's opinion on what you are doing. Me and my sister argued for a good ten minutes about whether or not I should answer yes when the shark asks you if you'd like to join the gang. I wanted to answer yes, for humor's sake but she thought that it would ruin the game if I answered yes. Finally, I just hit yes (I was in the drivers seat) in spite of her. We had the same argument over the whole Poo-Mu spirit dude thing, while we were in the mole caves ("Go that way. No left! Your OTHER left!" "SEE! I've already been down there!"), over whether we should use or save the monkey love (apparently it's just too cute to be used), and we even argued over which guy would be cuter in real life. (I said Jeff, she said Poo.)
Of course, there is the emotional value of it. You feel a lot less embarrassed getting choked up over a video game when someone is sniffling beside you. Everything seems funnier when someone is laughing with you. You laugh so hard that your sides hurt rather then just chuckling if you were by yourself. My sis and I put off fighting Giygus for about a week because we were afraid of it all coming to an end. When I did beat him, we were both cheering and high fiving each other. We bonded over Earthbound. I became so close to my sister.
Everyone is always saying how they try to get their friends to play Earthbound. Well, next time you are trying to convert a comrade, ask them over to play WITH you. Don't just chuck the cartridge at them and tell them to have a good time. Play, argue, discuss, laugh, cry, and experience Earthbound with them. It'll be something you can share. Then you can be as dorky as my sister and I and wink and say "Do you think he's spiteful?" every time you see a crow.
