The Force From Within
I discovered Earthbound in Spring of 96, and was instantly captivated by its charm, like many of you out there. Right away, while I was still in Twoson, I introduced this wonderful game to my best friend Dan. He as well was instantly taken in, and before long, the both of us were narrating to each other stories of how we nailed the Kraken or beat the living daylights out of Electro Specter.
However, there was always something fundamentally different in our stories. While Dan was telling me about how he nailed a shining spot guardian in one decisive blow, I was describing fantastic stories of survival against unbeatable odds. This was entirely a result of the practice he used known as "running around gaining levels." Before moving on to a new stage in the game, he would always have spent a great deal of time literally walking in circles encountering enemies until he was so strong that there was no contest in the next major confrontation. Those guys never even had a chance before they were staring down the barrel of Jeff's Multi-Bottle Rocket Launcher.
The point is, anybody playing that way misses out on a huge part of the fun of the game. By using the method of just barely being strong enough to advance, I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat, praying to the maker that I'd live to see another battle. I once used the bicycle to escape a battle I knew I couldn't win, using resourcefulness instead of relying on brawn and Horns of Life and Starstorm Omega.
Most people I see play never even use the Hand-Aid, as if it had some sort of sentimental value. Paula's mother gave it to you so that it may someday save your life! I say use the Hand-Aid! Take a chance and cast PSI Thunder when you're in a crunch for Psychic Points! Keep plowing ahead in a dungeon after multiple party members have fallen! This is the stuff real adventures are made of, and even if you lose consciousness, you'll come back stronger than ever!
Dan, if you're reading this (and I know you are), write a rebuttal and present to us whatever advantages there might be to uneventfully dispatching every enemy in the game. As for the rest of you, I ask: Who among you has the courage to experience Earthbound to its fullest and flirt with the brink of failure? Who among you has the conviction to fight a losing battle and surprise yourself by thinking of a way to win? Most of all, who among you has the confidence to rely on ingenuity instead of brute force to resolve the conflict inside your own mind, and to rid the Giygas scourge once and for all?
I discovered Earthbound in Spring of 96, and was instantly captivated by its charm, like many of you out there. Right away, while I was still in Twoson, I introduced this wonderful game to my best friend Dan. He as well was instantly taken in, and before long, the both of us were narrating to each other stories of how we nailed the Kraken or beat the living daylights out of Electro Specter.
However, there was always something fundamentally different in our stories. While Dan was telling me about how he nailed a shining spot guardian in one decisive blow, I was describing fantastic stories of survival against unbeatable odds. This was entirely a result of the practice he used known as "running around gaining levels." Before moving on to a new stage in the game, he would always have spent a great deal of time literally walking in circles encountering enemies until he was so strong that there was no contest in the next major confrontation. Those guys never even had a chance before they were staring down the barrel of Jeff's Multi-Bottle Rocket Launcher.
The point is, anybody playing that way misses out on a huge part of the fun of the game. By using the method of just barely being strong enough to advance, I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat, praying to the maker that I'd live to see another battle. I once used the bicycle to escape a battle I knew I couldn't win, using resourcefulness instead of relying on brawn and Horns of Life and Starstorm Omega.
Most people I see play never even use the Hand-Aid, as if it had some sort of sentimental value. Paula's mother gave it to you so that it may someday save your life! I say use the Hand-Aid! Take a chance and cast PSI Thunder when you're in a crunch for Psychic Points! Keep plowing ahead in a dungeon after multiple party members have fallen! This is the stuff real adventures are made of, and even if you lose consciousness, you'll come back stronger than ever!
Dan, if you're reading this (and I know you are), write a rebuttal and present to us whatever advantages there might be to uneventfully dispatching every enemy in the game. As for the rest of you, I ask: Who among you has the courage to experience Earthbound to its fullest and flirt with the brink of failure? Who among you has the conviction to fight a losing battle and surprise yourself by thinking of a way to win? Most of all, who among you has the confidence to rely on ingenuity instead of brute force to resolve the conflict inside your own mind, and to rid the Giygas scourge once and for all?
