Earthbound's Back

[sin2beta]

I bought it brand new, way back in the day for like $30.00 on clearance.  I don't understand how this game got to be so rare.  There are other games that are rarer than Earthbound, but don't command the same kind of prices.  I hope the prices go down, so that everyone can experience this great game.

I don't know when it shot up in price either. It used to be a game you would see around a lot in stores. I remember them being on clearance as well. And back during the late 90s to early 2000s the Final Fantasy games commanded a much higher price it seemed. Then I came back to collecting and Earthbound is sky high.

I know Mother 3 happened in the interim of my game collecting, but I wan't paying attention at the time to see if that was the case.

[jcalder8]

I bought it brand new, way back in the day for like $30.00 on clearance.  I don't understand how this game got to be so rare.  There are other games that are rarer than Earthbound, but don't command the same kind of prices.  I hope the prices go down, so that everyone can experience this great game.

I think the game is semi rare but it is the fact that it is a good game that drives the price up. Like Final Fantasy 7, it's not rare but everyone wants it.

Fun N Games on the other hand is actually a rare game but no one wants it so it aint worth shit.

[soera]

I put about an hour into this game and really couldnt get into it. Did I cut it short too fast or is it really just as bland and generic as it looked?

[turf]

I put about an hour into this game and really couldnt get into it. Did I cut it short too fast or is it really just as bland and generic as it looked?

You never played Earthbound?  I don't really like RPGs and this was a good one.  I can't believe a RPG guy like you didn't ever play it.  You NEED to give it a go.

[soera]

When it first came out, it looked super childish. I was already engrossed in CT and the FF games that I just totally ignored it after seeing the pics in Nintendo Power. Now that Im older, I did give it a little bit of a try on a friend's SNES powerpak but it felt generic. I dont want to buy it to play it cause its just too damned costly. I could be wrong however on my assessment. I prejudged SMRPG but once I actually put a little time into it, I enjoyed it. Its a pretty unique system and fun.

[soera]

After a quick search, it doesnt appear there is a shortage of this game available. Maybe Ill scoop one up for cheap someday.

[scott]

After a quick search, it doesnt appear there is a shortage of this game available. Maybe Ill scoop one up for cheap someday.

Ya it's not hard to find copies of it. Just everyone charges a crap ton for it.

[8bitmenace]

I bought it brand new, way back in the day for like $30.00 on clearance.  I don't understand how this game got to be so rare.  There are other games that are rarer than Earthbound, but don't command the same kind of prices.  I hope the prices go down, so that everyone can experience this great game.

Like myself. I don't feel like paying a new console price for an old game.

[sin2beta]

I put about an hour into this game and really couldnt get into it. Did I cut it short too fast or is it really just as bland and generic as it looked?

You never played Earthbound?  I don't really like RPGs and this was a good one.  I can't believe a RPG guy like you didn't ever play it.  You NEED to give it a go.

Part of me wonders if the game is an RPG for nonRPG fans. Earthbound is one of my favorites. And I honestly like the idea of RPGs more than I actually like them. So far, I have really enjoyed Pokemon, Earthbound, and Phantasy Star. These are some of my favorite games period. But I never really liked the Final Fantasy games (the original NES game I liked) or even Chrono Trigger. Don't get me wrong, I know by playing these games that they are amazing games. I just put between 2 and 5 hours into them and move on. Or maybe I just like future/sci-fi settings more. I don't know.

But I do know that I have heard "I like earthbound and I am not a huge RPG fan" a few times.

[kingrat101]

I was also a person who got it new back it the day, my aunt gave it to me. To be honest though I'm getting sick of all the earthbound crap going around. I think at the time of it's release it was underrated but part of that was due to nintendo, they didnt market Earthbound at all, and nowadays I dont feel as though it's "underrated" anymore.
To me the more you talk about how "underrated" something is, the more overrated it becomes. I'm not saying the game is bad by any means, it's great, but in all honesty the fact that cart only is over $100 for a pretty common game is ridiculous.
It's the demand that raises value and that proves my point that it's not underrated anymore.

[jobocan]

I think at the time of it's release it was underrated but part of that was due to nintendo, they didnt market Earthbound at all

Actually Nintendo marketed it a lot in magazines and even on TVs in game stores, they spent a lot on marketing and production. However it was all gross-out advertising, with a theme of bad smalls and such which is very unlike what the actual game is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWh3BUyHrLU

The game still failed, maybe because of the marketing being weird, or because it came in a super expensive giant box... and since then Nintendo has remained mad that it failed and refuses to do anything Mother related anymore in America.

[soera]

I think the reason it failed is the same reason I never really played it. To an "RPGer" during that time, we had awesome choices that fit our play style. Chrono Trigger, FF 1-3, Dragon Warrior 1-4 and other stuff. Earthbound and SMRPG just seemed to try to target a different crowd which already had their own games out there to play. It missed the mark on most of the rpg'ers and it was late to catch on with the casual gamers. Now that a lot more gamers are more rounded and versed in other genres, they picked up on popularity. EB and SMRPG were more popular with the casual gamers cause they are easier to play and understand. But they also became popular with some of the rpg'ers cause of a fun factor and a break of pace. I would like to give EB another shot if I could ever find a copy in the wild.

[scott]

I would love to get my hands on a physical copy of Earthbound. I don't even care if it has the guide or not. But I know, they would be getting my money for sure if they released it on VC. AND they would be totally getting it if they made a SNES VC for 3DS and put it there.

[ko1ru]

I'd like to own a physical copy - not to sell, but just to play it.  I have yet to play it or the Mother titles.

[sin2beta]

I was also a person who got it new back it the day, my aunt gave it to me. To be honest though I'm getting sick of all the earthbound crap going around. I think at the time of it's release it was underrated but part of that was due to nintendo, they didnt market Earthbound at all, and nowadays I dont feel as though it's "underrated" anymore.
To me the more you talk about how "underrated" something is, the more overrated it becomes. I'm not saying the game is bad by any means, it's great, but in all honesty the fact that cart only is over $100 for a pretty common game is ridiculous.
It's the demand that raises value and that proves my point that it's not underrated anymore.

I am not fond of it as well. It is artificially overpriced. And I agree that the game quality does not demand that price. Granted I can't think of a single game that would demand those prices.

The other part of me that hates the earthbound fandom might be the hipster part of me. I liked Earthbound back in the day. I remember when starmen.net was a smallish fan site with a ghost town of a forum. And I remember excitedly watching the progress of the translation of mother/Earthbound 0 and all of the updates for it. But I don't think it is just that the community got bigger. For me, it was Earthbound and Fire Emblem that were the best of Nintendo. Now these franchises have both become much bigger. For Fire Emblem... I love it. We finally get the games and it gets the respect it deserves. But there is something about what the Earthbound fandom has become that irks me the wrong way. But the bottom line, it is fun to be a fire emblem fan right now. It is really difficult to put up with being an Earthbound fan.

Most of this is not necessarily what you said... but I do agree that no one can call Earthbound underrated anymore.