Yesterday, a slew of new, first party support was announced for the 3DS and the Wii U. Among the exciting announcements of a new Zelda and Pikmin was the news that Earthbound would be available for the Wii U virtual console.
As a die-hard fan of old school RPGs like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger (both of which made our list of 25 best games ever), I’m ashamed to say I never gave Earthbound a shot when I was young. It always looked pretty silly and never really interested me all that much, but since then, I’ve heard from different sources that it’s one of the better RPG’s of all time. My question to the internet is, should I try it out now, or did I miss the boat? How well has it aged? Your feedback is appreciated!
Gray Areas 
IMO, it has aged very poorly. The battle system is archaic, the story is almost nonexistent, and the graphics are pretty terrible for a SNES game released in the golden age of JRPGs. All that remains is the quirkiness, so if you feel it’s worth playing a severely outdated game just for its weirdness, then go for it.
If you want a much better alternative with the same general concept, try Mother 3 instead. It has a lot of the modern trappings you’ve come to expect from games released in the 2000s, not to mention a battle system that’s slightly tweaked for the better and a much more detailed (albeit darker) story. Overall, it’s a deeper experience, and it feels like the game Earthbound tried to be.
Interesting, thanks for your input! Isn’t Mother 3 Japan exclusive though?
Not if you’re willing to swashbuckle on the high seas. 😉 A very excellent fan translation was completed a few years back.
Hmmm….interesting….