|
Yeah I just don't see how it shows "how old the game is" when all modern rpgs do the same poo poo. Just look at FFXII and the zodiac spear or whatever
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 18:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 07:58 |
|
|
I feel like the grind in Earthbound is pretty much perfect. VERY few games balance it right so you end up either just steamrolling everything without effort or having to grind too much. But Earthbound, I never really felt like I was JUST walking around grinding but at the same time didn't find it too easy.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 18:25
|
|
|
Technically you do need to grind at the start a bit since you're usually pretty underleveled when you hit Frank/The Sharks. I mean, you don't have to, but it's the difference between a balls-hard fight and something manageable.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 18:28
|
|
|
Frank and Frankenstein can potentially be an issue, but a hamburger or two will handle it fine. The only major experience gate can think of is the Titanic Ant and knowing Favorite Alpha. If you are lacking that by the time you get to the Ant, which is entirely possible if you slugged it out early with Frank, that boss will turn you inside out. Beyond that it is more a question of items and gear. Peaceful Rest Valley is more dependent on stat healing items and good armor than levels, and Threed as a whole is trivialized by bottle rockets after Jeff arrives on the scene. You needn't even kill Trillionage Sprout if you don't want to, and indeed, there is basically no reason to do so. The Sanctuary location gives you nothing to mention and the path to him is annoying because of the mushrooms. You're better off just leaving after killing Belch and coming back when Poo's teleport makes it simple to do so. Literally the only dicey spot I can remember after that is the Spook and the Department Store, and again, bottle rockets. What I am saying is that Earthbound's balance is Good.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 21:37
|
|
|
I abused the gently caress out of Bottle Rockets when I played the game and I regret nothing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 21:54
|
|
|
Jeff is functionally worthless without them until he can fix the bazooka so I have no shame about using them early and often.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 21:58
|
|
|
g0lbez posted:Yeah I just don't see how it shows "how old the game is" when all modern rpgs do the same poo poo. Just look at FFXII and the zodiac spear or whatever It also goes to show that the genre as a whole has stagnated so much. I should have referred to games as a whole instead of just RPGs in that sense. 1/128 drops are Bad Things™.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 22:58
|
|
|
Coolguye posted:Jeff is functionally worthless without them until he can fix the bazooka so I have no shame about using them early and often. Oh, that reminds me! Can the bazooka run out of ammo? I also abused the gently caress out of that thing when I wasn't gleefully slinging multi-Bottle Rockets, and I had a sudden horrifying thought that I would eventually run out of explosions...
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 23:01
|
|
|
Nope. The heavy bazooka functionally replaces Jeff's basic attack for most of the game because of that.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2015 23:08
|
|
|
When I play Earthbound I just level Ness up to like level 10 before I even fight Frank and then have no real problems the rest of the game unless I get into a bad situation money/item wise right before the Department Store happens.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 01:24
|
|
|
The only time I don't use Jeff's heavy bazooka is when I need mash the A button, and get to the combat round in order to heal a mortal wound before a party member dies. The rolling HP meter really adds a cycle of tension and release that makes Earthbound stand out from other JRPGs of the time (not to mention those of today).
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 02:47
|
|
|
Do any other RPGs have something like the rolling meter? Other then Mother 3 obviously.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 03:23
|
|
|
Mother 4
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 03:32
|
|
|
The rolling meter seriously rules. Oh a fatal attack? too bad, I healed in time. Or you can try and rush the rolling damage vs remaining enemy HP. So cool.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 03:38
|
|
|
Coolguye posted:Frank and Frankenstein can potentially be an issue, but a hamburger or two will handle it fine. The only major experience gate can think of is the Titanic Ant and knowing Favorite Alpha. If you are lacking that by the time you get to the Ant, which is entirely possible if you slugged it out early with Frank, that boss will turn you inside out.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 06:08
|
|
|
I wonder what's more likely at this point, Earthbound 2 on the Wii U VC or an Earthbound collection for the 3DS.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 19:03
|
|
|
I just remembered Wii U does have the GBA virtual console, so that's a more likely choice at the moment. But considering how much of E3 this year was monopolized by good decisions all around, I am willing to bet that we have a massive wave of stupidity coming around to compensate. So no Mother 3/Earthbound 2. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 21:44
|
|
|
Spacebump posted:I wonder what's more likely at this point, Earthbound 2 on the Wii U VC or an Earthbound collection for the 3DS. I hope for VC, simply because I use my Wii U more and don't want to buy 1 and 2 again, unless they add something (which they won't). But no matter where it'll be, I still can't believe that MOTHER 3's hypothetical release went from "possibly, some day" to "this can't not happen, guys!" so quickly.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 22:28
|
|
|
umalt posted:
The 3DS also has GBA Virtual Console, so they could still release the individual titles on that platform.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 23:02
|
|
|
Coolguye posted:
Ehh, honestly I think Jeff's too strong. The game's basically over when you get him.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 00:34
|
|
|
Yeah Earthbound is a cool game but its balance is really poor. Ness is a better healer, mage, and physical fighter (all three) than the rest of the party with the sole exception that Jeff's Bottle Rockets do completely ridiculous amounts of damage. There's basically no reason to ever use any of the characters' personal special commands. Paula in particular is prone to being randomly oneshot by poo poo, and the rolling HP meter does basically nothing to ameliorate this until 2/3rds of the way through the game when you actually have time to get through the death turn and land a healing effect before she dies. It's not a dealbreaker and the game owns but well-balanced gameplay and encounters isn't one of its strengths.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 00:40
|
|
|
Mother 3 really refined that balance into a way such that everyone is pretty useful. Even though Boney is the weak link in the party, being the fastest character still has its uses with healing items and the shield snatcher.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 01:35
|
|
|
Zombies' Downfall posted:Yeah Earthbound is a cool game but its balance is really poor. Ness is a better healer, mage, and physical fighter (all three) than the rest of the party with the sole exception that Jeff's Bottle Rockets do completely ridiculous amounts of damage. There's basically no reason to ever use any of the characters' personal special commands. Paula in particular is prone to being randomly oneshot by poo poo, and the rolling HP meter does basically nothing to ameliorate this until 2/3rds of the way through the game when you actually have time to get through the death turn and land a healing effect before she dies.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 01:55
|
|
|
Paula can wreck poo poo pretty hard with ice and fire, too. And you could always give her the Franklin Badge for a little more survivability, and yeah, teddy bears.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 01:58
|
|
|
She can hit harder than Ness for a large chunk of the game if you consider Freeze as her default attack. Costs trivial amounts of PP and wrecks almost any single enemy. And she learns Magnet almost immediately, so
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 03:15
|
|
|
Magnet really sucks for recovering PP, though. There aren't many non-bosses in the game that require Paula's services to quickly kill, and most of the ones that do (such luminaries as Zombie Dog, Plain and Hard Crocodiles, Armored Frogs, Bad Buffalo, Thirsty Coil Snake/Gigantic Ant come to mind) are vulnerable to Freeze. And Paula is of course almost always useful against bosses. I always give Paula the Franklin Badge* as soon as she joins and keep it on her the whole way. Ness can tank the damage from a Thunder hit or two, Paula can't. I do agree in that I've regarded Jeff as... if you're not using his bottle rockets as an Easy Mode button then he's just kinda there. He's occasionally useful, though; highlights include using the Neutralizer against enemies (usually bosses) that start with shields, and in the gold mine a decently leveled Jeff is usually faster than the poisonous enemies and can Slime them while Ness and Paula put them down without them getting a turn. I think the game could have benefited from Jeff being tweaked a little bit more into a "can't deal much damage but can dole out status effects and other Good Things with his gizmos" character (they did this better with Duster). *And usually get pissed off at myself when I realize I forgot to switch it to Jeff before she gets kidnapped Eric the Mauve fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jul 1, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 03:28
|
|
|
Jeff also has the Spy ability which is handy for hunting rare items and such!
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 03:38
|
|
|
Srice posted:Mother 3 really refined that balance into a way such that everyone is pretty useful. Even though Boney is the weak link in the party, being the fastest character still has its uses with healing items and the shield snatcher. Duster's thief tools only worked like a third of the time, so I ended up having him and Boney just throw items every turn. Really though, Mother 3 was the Kumatora show since she did both attacking and healing better than everyone else.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 04:31
|
|
|
Jeff could have had more things to put together, but he still needs a good bit of levels to get his IQ high enough for them. When eggs got too boring, I always got him to make defense sprays for the cash. I miss the flamer from the first game, but secondary effects from fire were not considered for some reason. Not like poison is at all useful against enemies.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 04:33
|
|
|
I don't really think that the game not having a ton of challenge means that its balance is bad. Balance being bad means that it's childishly easy one moment, and punishingly hard the next. True, any half-competent rear end in a top hat will basically tour through the game after getting Paula, but you can still get someone's poo poo wrecked pretty easily at a number of points if you're careless. And besides, a game being easy really, really is not a mark against it, especially in the case of a JRPG where, let's face it, you're mostly there to be told a story to begin with. Also, it's funny that we're saying Jeff is overpowered since most people playing the first time won't spam the gently caress out of Bottle Rockets, and therefore he ends up as by far the weakest.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 04:46
|
|
|
Balance means that you are capable of going through the area without having to spend hours to advance or fight five minute battles against trash mobs. You have to buy bottle rockets to make Jeff a killing machine and who the hell pays for consumables? Normal people never use attack items.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 05:06
|
|
|
In Earthbound rom hacking news, a new version of Earthbound Deluxe is out. Fixes a lot of issues that plagued earlier releases. Basically if you're in the mood for a more challenging replay of Earthbound with a bunch of new bells and whistles, give this hack a try. Over with the Mother Remake, they're working on hypnotic PK and PSI animations.  PSI Darkness  PK Freeze Omega  PK Beam Gamma  4th D. Slip
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 06:58
|
|
|
Earthbound teaches you good lessons like "if you feel weak, buy weapons from shady arms dealers and you won't feel weak anymore".
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 07:03
|
|
|
Light Gun Man posted:Earthbound teaches you good lessons like "if you feel weak, buy weapons from shady arms dealers and you won't feel weak anymore". that is poo poo to live by. what the gently caress is with bolt and why doesn't it ever hit anything? is it completely worthless?
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 07:30
|
|
|
In fact in Mother 1 Loid is such a weakling that his DAD is in a fuckin trash can, but then he gets a motherfuckin tank.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 07:35
|
|
|
Momomo posted:Duster's thief tools only worked like a third of the time, so I ended up having him and Boney just throw items every turn. Really though, Mother 3 was the Kumatora show since she did both attacking and healing better than everyone else. I found Duster's stat down debuffs to work fairly often, and his other tools require some experimentation since some status effects work better on certain enemies. It's certainly not required, but it's neat to mess around with them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 12:57
|
|
|
Philosopher King posted:that is poo poo to live by.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 15:05
|
|
|
Am I the only one who loses steam with Earthbound around the time you hit Scarabia?
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 16:52
|
|
|
triplexpac posted:Am I the only one who loses steam with Earthbound around the time you hit Scarabia? Dungeon Man is maybe my favourite bit in the whole game, but yeah the rest of that area isn't too exciting.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 17:22
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 07:58 |
|
|
For me it's when I hit Deep Darkness. Sloshing around in the swamps isn't fun at all and the Tenda Village is sort of obnoxious. Also the dungeon just beyond said village is a pain.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 17:42
|
|