Essay Thing
Once upon a time (I guess I must have been about eight or nine at the time) I spent a long while convincing my parents to shuttle me to the local Blockbuster so I could rent something for my Super NES. I hadn't been in the store for more than a minute before the giant green and purple and gold box caught my eye and snared my full attention. I was thinking, "Wow--what a strange game this must be to require such a box. And what the heck is that spikey thing?" So of course, being a nine-year-old boy absorbed with the strange and shiny, my decision was fast and easy. I took it.
So once upon a time I was an idiot when it came to RPGs. You know you were, too, shut up. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to advance in Onett. I couldn't figure out that I needed to beat up Frank and thwart the Sharks to get into the shack. ...for about a month. Then I stopped playng, it made me real mad. But I never stopped thinking about it. "ANY video game where you run around as a teenage boy with a red cap, yellow backpack and a baseball bat fighting an intergallactic evil from the future can't be all bad." So that christmas, it made my wishlist, and made it under my tree. I flipped my wig, and proceeded to spend the remainder of the break from school in my bedroom with my new game.
I finally figured out what I was doing, and the rush it gave me was even better. Remember how when you first got to Twoson, it was really just like the season of fall? I love fall, it's my favorite season. I began to adjust to the game and figure out the path, what I needed to do to progress. Threed was even better, the desert and Fourside were both a thrill (don't ever get me started on the dreams I used to have from playing too much EarthBound), and in about a month, I was at the end. Missing a lot, but at the end. And I couldn't beat Gyigas. 100 times I must have tried, but couldn't figure it out.
So another year passed without EarthBound. And then it dawned upon me that I had a player's guide. I uased it as far as I felt the need (any point where I was stuck for more than an hour), found some truffles, got some better gear and a couple of the Kings pieces, and got back to the end. and AGAIN I got stuck. But this time I didn't wait another year. I just started again and went straight through, and ended at about level 85 which was a first. And I finally tried Paula's prayer, felt dumb for a second, and then beat the game. Throughout the Gyigas fight, I was pretty much slackjawed. I was more thrilled by that video game, at that moment, than I have ever been thrilled by any singular piece of media in my life. By the end, I was applauding.
A few months passed, I turned 12, tripped over earthbound.net several times, was in temprary shock from the baffling awe of the almighty fansite, and started my own site on Angelfire (which may still be standing actually). For a site being built by a 12 year old, I'd say it was decent. the player's guide I wrote was shakey, but I wrote it as I rushed back through EarthBound once again. I collected sprites (I love sprites), I collected music, I toyed around with a few ideas, and got swept up in school. My site froze. But at least once a week I could be found floating somewhere around earthbound.net, listening to remixes they had, reading fanfics, enjoying flukes...
earthbound.net vanished, and I was a little scared until I discovered it had gone back to it's roots of starmen.net, which almost immediately inspired me to play it again. I rambled on about this game every chance I got-in school, at home, at parties-I was probably talking about EarthBound every 90 seconds for at least 10 minutes. I forced my best friends to play it with me. But I never found another flesh-and-blood person who shared as much love for it as I did. Actually, I never met another person to play it and recall it(save those who were forced)... but anyway.
EarthBound is more than just a video game to me, it's a muse. I try to write RPG storylines in my spare time and bring them to life via the RPG Maker series, and every time I get serious writer's block, I find myself on my couch playing EarthBound for a few days before it finally clears up. It showed me that any game can be good, just as long as it's got the story to back it all the way. EarthBound is original in the sense that no one has ever written an RPG even close to the workings of Shigesato Itoi's Mother series before or since. It's shown me that creativity and inspiration can go a long way, and be phenomenal and impactful, even with 16-bit graphics. Whenever anyone has asked me what my favorite video game is, I say without hesistation "EarthBound, the greatest RPG of all time".
Sorry about the lengthliness of this, but hey, you got me started.
Once upon a time (I guess I must have been about eight or nine at the time) I spent a long while convincing my parents to shuttle me to the local Blockbuster so I could rent something for my Super NES. I hadn't been in the store for more than a minute before the giant green and purple and gold box caught my eye and snared my full attention. I was thinking, "Wow--what a strange game this must be to require such a box. And what the heck is that spikey thing?" So of course, being a nine-year-old boy absorbed with the strange and shiny, my decision was fast and easy. I took it.
So once upon a time I was an idiot when it came to RPGs. You know you were, too, shut up. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to advance in Onett. I couldn't figure out that I needed to beat up Frank and thwart the Sharks to get into the shack. ...for about a month. Then I stopped playng, it made me real mad. But I never stopped thinking about it. "ANY video game where you run around as a teenage boy with a red cap, yellow backpack and a baseball bat fighting an intergallactic evil from the future can't be all bad." So that christmas, it made my wishlist, and made it under my tree. I flipped my wig, and proceeded to spend the remainder of the break from school in my bedroom with my new game.
I finally figured out what I was doing, and the rush it gave me was even better. Remember how when you first got to Twoson, it was really just like the season of fall? I love fall, it's my favorite season. I began to adjust to the game and figure out the path, what I needed to do to progress. Threed was even better, the desert and Fourside were both a thrill (don't ever get me started on the dreams I used to have from playing too much EarthBound), and in about a month, I was at the end. Missing a lot, but at the end. And I couldn't beat Gyigas. 100 times I must have tried, but couldn't figure it out.
So another year passed without EarthBound. And then it dawned upon me that I had a player's guide. I uased it as far as I felt the need (any point where I was stuck for more than an hour), found some truffles, got some better gear and a couple of the Kings pieces, and got back to the end. and AGAIN I got stuck. But this time I didn't wait another year. I just started again and went straight through, and ended at about level 85 which was a first. And I finally tried Paula's prayer, felt dumb for a second, and then beat the game. Throughout the Gyigas fight, I was pretty much slackjawed. I was more thrilled by that video game, at that moment, than I have ever been thrilled by any singular piece of media in my life. By the end, I was applauding.
A few months passed, I turned 12, tripped over earthbound.net several times, was in temprary shock from the baffling awe of the almighty fansite, and started my own site on Angelfire (which may still be standing actually). For a site being built by a 12 year old, I'd say it was decent. the player's guide I wrote was shakey, but I wrote it as I rushed back through EarthBound once again. I collected sprites (I love sprites), I collected music, I toyed around with a few ideas, and got swept up in school. My site froze. But at least once a week I could be found floating somewhere around earthbound.net, listening to remixes they had, reading fanfics, enjoying flukes...
earthbound.net vanished, and I was a little scared until I discovered it had gone back to it's roots of starmen.net, which almost immediately inspired me to play it again. I rambled on about this game every chance I got-in school, at home, at parties-I was probably talking about EarthBound every 90 seconds for at least 10 minutes. I forced my best friends to play it with me. But I never found another flesh-and-blood person who shared as much love for it as I did. Actually, I never met another person to play it and recall it(save those who were forced)... but anyway.
EarthBound is more than just a video game to me, it's a muse. I try to write RPG storylines in my spare time and bring them to life via the RPG Maker series, and every time I get serious writer's block, I find myself on my couch playing EarthBound for a few days before it finally clears up. It showed me that any game can be good, just as long as it's got the story to back it all the way. EarthBound is original in the sense that no one has ever written an RPG even close to the workings of Shigesato Itoi's Mother series before or since. It's shown me that creativity and inspiration can go a long way, and be phenomenal and impactful, even with 16-bit graphics. Whenever anyone has asked me what my favorite video game is, I say without hesistation "EarthBound, the greatest RPG of all time".
Sorry about the lengthliness of this, but hey, you got me started.
