Ness, the seemingly all-too-young hero of the adventure, is awoken one night by the sound of a meteor crash-landing near his house. The meteor, you see, is the traveling vehicle of Buzz Buzz, a super-powerful bee from the future who has come to warn Ness of the impending doom at the hands of the universal destroyer, Giygas, and to instruct him on what he must do to prevent it. At the same time, a shady treasure hunter has unearthed a mysterious statue buried deep beneath his house. The statue, called the Mani Mani, is an evil device that spreads chaos and dements the minds of those who come into its possession, and its discovery sets Giygas's terrible plans into motion.

You begin the game as just Ness, but eventually you will team up with three other characters: a girl with amazing psychic powers named Paula, an inventive young scholar named Jeff, and the wise master of martial arts, Poo. You'll fight against some of the strangest foes found in RPGs, including UFO's, aliens, zombies, sentient piles of puke, and even hippies (yes, hippies). The battle system is very much like those of the Dragon Warrior series: you fight enemies in first-person view by selecting commands from a menu of options. The wrench that EarthBound throws into the works is the addition of a rolldown HP meter. When a character has taken damage, his/her HP meter literally begins to "roll down". If a character has taken so much damage that his/her HP meter will hit 0, you have a chance to save him/her if you can heal before it runs out. Although the battles are not active-time, like in Final Fantasy 4, the rolldown meter essentially causes the same level of excitement; thinking and acting quickly will be necessary to save yourself in a pinch.

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EarthBound's dungeons are maze-like and full of enemies, but generally aren't too complicated. Occasionally, a new twist is thrown in, such as one where getting through it is achieved by trading items with monkeys that block the doors. Just as important is how bizarre and memorable many of EarthBound's locations are. My favorites are Moonside and Magicant. Moonside is a warped reflection of Fourside City, where people speak nonsense, and the buildings are made out of flashing neon lights. The town looks and feels like the manifestation of an unfinished nightmare; like some evil science project that was brought to life and suddenly abandoned, and perhaps the only thing scarier than the town itself is the secret behind what it really is.

Magicant is a place that exists only in Ness's mind and contains his fondest memories and worst fears, his doubts about the morality of his mission and chances of success, his hope and his courage. It's an allegory for how the entire game of EarthBound allows us to see into Shigesato Itoi's mind, and how parts of it are his own memories (the Gold Mine, for example, was based on an unsuccessful gold-hunting expedition he went on). Moonside and Magicant are also two of the most challenging areas of the game, due to the strength of the enemies and the limited number of party members (and items) you have with you.

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Along with its compelling gameplay and story, EarthBound has excellent dialogue that's often funny, sometimes disturbing, and always entertaining. The game even parodies the RPG genre in the form of a living "Dungeon Man", who has placed signs throughout his body that bluntly explain RPG fundamentals. The music is this area is blatantly horrible, so it's easy to laugh upon discovering a sign that proclaims it's the Dungeon Man's greatest creation.

EarthBound, like Alundra 2, is a videogame comedy that works on every level. But unlike Alundra 2, the darker side of EarthBound's plot is more of a psychological than a villainous one. Even the final boss fight, which borrows heavily from Final Fantasy 4 and Stephen King's It, does not play out in a normal fashion. The main characters do not interact that much with each other for most of the game, and Ness would appear to be another "mute" hero, but it creates a much greater effect when suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Ness's thoughts are being spelled out on a wall in front of him. It surprises him as much as it does us, and leaves us wondering how on earth will that be resolved?

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EarthBound requires some use of strategy to be successful, as your inventory is very limited. You can't stock up on healing items and cheese your way to victory. Items that restore magic points are particularly rare, so victory in boss fights will be a matter of choosing when to use powerful attack spells and when to conserve magic for healing. Jeff is a particularly unique character; his attack is weak and he completely lacks magic, but only he can create and operate some of the game's most devastating weapons. Poo, on the other hand, is just an extra set of magic points. Ness and Paula will do the lion's share of fighting.

The graphic style of EarthBound is a bit under-detailed, and not particularly impressive, but it exudes the exact atmosphere that Shigesato Itoi wanted: An innocent, 1960's-ish America. The special effects in Moonside and Magicant may not have worked as well with more complex graphics. I was concerned that I wouldn't like the vibrating battle backgrounds, but the effect is actually quite mesmerizing. As they vibrate in tune with the thumping battle themes, I am ever-so-slightly reminded of the warping sequence near the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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