>>712792190
>it's hard to explain
earthbound is "genuine" and by that I mean, it's not interested in selling itself to you. it has a message, and something to say, but it doesn't try to emotionally manipulate you into consuming it. it's first and foremost a game, but you can tell the designers worked hard to develop mechanics for the various feelings and messages they wanted to convey. everything from how combat functions, to status effects, to each element of the overworld feels deliberate and unique, and it lends itself well to the whole of the presentation.
there are happy times, sad times, weird times, scary times, and uncertain times in this game, and they're all communicated very well, considering that the game is intended for children, the protagonist is a young man himself, and thus these very heavy emotional beats have to be handled delicately enough for a child to understand them. the subject matter itself is going to hit hard no matter what, because we're talking about something near and dear to just about every person - the process of changing from a child into an adult.
on top of this, the game features very light commentary on american society specifically, but in an endearing way that could only come from the mind of someone who only knows about it by proxy.
the magic comes from how on point everything is in orchestra with one another. for a 16 bit game it's very atmospheric, moreso than a lot of modern games. not to get too pretentious but earthbound is one of the few games I'd actually consider to be art.
