ShareThis
I have no right to be nostalgic for EarthBound. I never played the game as a kid; in fact, the closest I ever got was seeing the game on a shelf while playing SNES with a neighbor kid. (When I asked about it, he said we couldn’t play his brother’s games.) I didn’t get the chance to play the game in its entirety till earlier this year when my roommate bought a cartridge copy of the game on eBay (for $200!). When it arrived, he wasn’t pleased with the condition and made plans to send it back after the weekend, and I saw my chance. I asked if he would let me borrow and beat it over the weekend before he sent it back. He agreed, and I jumped in immediately.
After the slow opening sequence my confidence that I would complete this 25 hour RPG in only two days was dwindling fast. However, as soon as I made my way into Onett I was reinvigorated by the town’s liveliness. I visited the convenience store and bought a new Tee Ball Bat, then called my dad on the pay phone. I wandered the streets and talked to the many townspeople. I visited a wonderful fourth wall shattering library chock full of information about a game called “EarthBound.” I knocked on a random door and was answered with a Beatles quiz question. I walked into the local arcade and battled some skater punks, then took down their leader. I did all of this while listening to one of gaming’s catchiest jingles, the Onett theme. Give it a listen and you will undoubtedly find yourself bobbing your head to the tune.
Even though I had just beaten it, when EarthBound finally came to the Wii U Virtual Console a few months ago I bought it without any hesitation. It’s a little too soon to start it again, but when I do I know Onett and its theme will be waiting to kick my adventure off all over again.
What’s your favorite EarthBound track? The Bike theme? Maybe Saturn Village? Let us know in the comments below!
