You explore from an overhead perspective, but switch to a first-person view for the menu-driven, turn-based battles. You gradually build a party, visit towns to shop or talk to non-playable characters and gain experience points by fighting bad guys in fields and caves. Mechanically, “EarthBound” is a traditional RPG. “EarthBound” feels like a “Final Fantasy” game based on a weird Japanese version of “The Simpsons.” It’s a charming oddity, mocking role-playing game conventions with absurd non-playable characters, party members that don’t do anything and status messages that are often just non sequiturs or arch one-liners. Nintendo’s struggling console is definitely easier to find than an SNES copy of “EarthBound,” and it might even be cheaper. Now all you have to do is buy a Wii U and download “Earthbound” for $10 through the Wii U’s eShop.

Critics loved it, rabid fans called it one of the best games Nintendo ever made, but to play it legally here, you had to spend hundreds for the original SNES cartridge. Characters and levels from “EarthBound” have popped up in the “Super Smash Bros.” franchise, but otherwise, “EarthBound” itself has been invisible.

This beloved Super Nintendo role-playing game was the second of a three-game series, but neither of the other games was ever released here. For some reason, though, one of its most acclaimed games has been unavailable in America for almost 20 years.ĭespite the company’s constant stream of sequels, reissues and remakes, Nintendo has never revisited “EarthBound,” at least in this country. Now available as a digital download, the original guide is the perfect companion booklet for the game that essentially offers the most robust walkthrough and reference you’ll find anywhere. It rarely lets a popular or successful franchise die. Nobody loves Nintendo’s history more than Nintendo.

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