EarthBound: The Ultimate Retrospective Analysis

[@autismandgaming4532]

Obligatory comment about l being used to talk/interact

[@RyuseiiTheCrimsonKing]

The L button is what you use to talk to people without having to open the menu that would solve the problem that you have with interactions since it also counts as checking too

[@SketchaV]

Yeah that part was a mistake on my end. I actually discovered that while playing but somehow managed to forget by the time I was writing the script lol

[@ImmacHn]

10:41, Well, to be fair in the context of this battle, the Starman Jr. Only uses PSI abilities and Buzz Buzz's shield negates those, so if he is a glass cannon then that a surprise attack by Pokey's mom can kill him is not out of the question.

[@lorenzodavila8261]

I can tell this was really thought out and I feel like you've caught on to a lot of small details that not everyone would notice. Well done again Sketch!

[@theretroverse3317]

As somebody who loves earthbound and considers it one of my favorite games of all time, I appriciate you being able to look at its shortcomings as well. Most retrospectives or analysis videos say nothing but nice things about this game but its also important to talk about where it needs work. Eb is amazing but i definitely STRUGGLED my first playthrough

[@MartyrLoserKing]

First 5 seconds in and I’m convinced this is the video I need to listen to while I try to fall asleep at 6:40am

[@GrapplingIgnorance]

There is a button specifically for talking to people and reading signs. It's the shoulder button, which the game calls the "check" button. The better criticism is that without a game manual there's not much in game to tell you that. I do think there might be a sign somewhere that does it, but I'm not certain. Remember though, this was a game from an era where all games came with manuals and kids would read the game manuals with great excitement while we weren't able to play our video games because someone else was using the TV.

[@SketchaV]

Yeah Ive been rightfully called out by a couple others for getting that wrong. I found the check button at one point and somehow completely forgot it existed haha. I tried to be more considerate of the existence of manuals for this video, cause I honestly didn't factor that in when critiquing Mother 1 for not explaining what each of the PSI abilities did

[@lodestar_raf521]

another really well made retrospective! eb has charm but i definitely agree that in terms of story, it feels like a bit of step back from 1. i look forward to whatever you put out next!

[@SketchaV]

Thanks! I was surprised by how often I found myself hyping up Mother 1 for doing something better in this video. I definitely enjoyed EarthBound more overall but it was cool to see that despite EB essentially being an upgraded version of Mother, the original still has a few things it does better than its sequel

[@jaji666]

"But at this stage of the game you are conditioned to not read the description of most items" - Nah bro, I beg to differ. Not paying attention to what you're doing and not reading item descriptions seems to be more of a you thing. By the way, there IS an interact button, the L button, it switches between the "Check" and "Talk" options depending on what you have in front of you.

[@jaji666]

Or maybe reading everything and being extra cautious is more of a me thing lol

[@SketchaV]

Yeah I flat out got the Check/Talk thing wrong. I discovered that on my first playthrough but completely forgot about it on my second one lmao (there was a few months in between playthroughs and that second run was the one where I was taking notes for the video). So that's on me for sure. As far as reading everything, I don't know. I think I'm more explorative than the average person when I play games. I usually try to do everything I can and talk to everyone. But I really do think that in the case of weapons in this game, most of them being just power increases was all I needed to know. I actually did usually read the description of items, just not weapons. So I probably could've phrased that better for clarification. Anyway thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@lawrencemcstephens308]

Dude, to address your nitpick at about 1:01:00, there IS a button to talk or check without needing to go into the menu screen. The L Button serves as both, so you can play one handed while exploring.

[@SketchaV]

Yeah this is 100% valid. I think I discovered that on my first playthrough and completely forgot about it for my second (there was a good amount of time between them). And that second playthrough was the one where I was forming notes for my script, so that's on me. I rediscovered that feature a few days ago and realized that was probably an unfair nitpick lol.

[@lawrencemcstephens308]

​@@SketchaV No heat on ya, dude! I just wanted to point it out in case you weren't aware of it :) I've been playing this game since it came out in 1995, when I was 12. Perfect age to be introduced to it! I enjoyed your objectivity and take on it, and I agree with a lot of the criticisms/nitpicks. It is a tedious game in certain ways, especially Escargo Express, geographical oddities, etc., but I always come back to it and have an enjoyable time whenever I finally take the time to invest in a playthrough. I just replaced the battery in my cartridge recently, since save files were starting to disappear, including my 13-year-old son's playthrough, which he beat for the first time last year!

[@SketchaV]

Oh man I would love to get my hands on an actual cartridge of the game! That's super valuable these days haha. I think experiencing this game back in the 90s would've been amazing for sure. Also it's really cool that both you and your son played the game when you were around the same age haha. Very full circle moment there

[@lawrencemcstephens308]

@@SketchaV I used to rent it from the local video store, first because the giant box on the shelf piqued my interest. They even rented out the player's guide with it for another fee. LOVED IT! I just missed out by a few minutes in scooping it up years later when they sold it for probably $15-$20, but I found a copy on eBay in the year 2000 for $30, with Player's Guide. I still have both, though I gave it to my friend in 2009 for a few months with the caveat that I wouldn't ask for any other game back that I gave him except that one. He was a smoker, and so the cartridge is now a dingy gray-yellow-brown color, but it's still my original purchase from 23+ years ago!

[@cody-m]

I watched this, then went back and watched your Mother retrospective. I enjoyed both, despite the fact that Mother is my favorite in the series (probably a top 10 of all time for me despite the massive flaws) and I bumped the OST of Earthbound almost every day in my last two years of high school 😁 your objective criticisms of both games are very valid, and even if our opinions differ somewhat on the subjective qualities of the games, I appreciate the amount of time and attention that you put into both videos. Good content, thanks for creating!

[@DonaldMitchell-l5g]

Porky's mom obviously walks around hurting snakes dogs and crows and is just OP

[@underkoverist5254]

just rewatched this video after finishing earthbound for the first time and damn im coming to the realization analyzing shit like this or media in general is really an art. great video . earthbounds a masterpiece

[@SomeRando92]

No joke, I'm doing another run of earthbound, this time with the knowledge of the game. My first blind run was hard as hell, because I was super under leveled early game, and didn't realize it until I got to threed. Then I power leveled to recommended level and it got a lot easier.

[@MyNameIsMcBad]

I rarely comment, but this entire video was amazing and just wanted to send some praise your way!

[@SketchaV]

Big thanks! Positive comments from people who don't comment often is the ultimate compliment haha

[@kl271]

I like how you have a much more critical take on this series I want to know what you think of Mother Encore/earthbound encore its a remake that puts mother 25 anniversary addition to shame however it seems to change the tone of the game

[@SketchaV]

I haven't played Mother Encore but I'd be interested to play it sometime. In my Mother video, I made the claim that a remake that successfully corrects all of Mother's problems would no longer be Mother and would instead be a new game altogether because the game's flaws are interwoven into the game's fabric. So checking out Mother Encore and seeing how that take aged would be interesting haha. Could be a potential future video idea 🤔 Anyway thanks so much for watching!

[@SegaMJ-ve1pi]

How does it put the 25th anniversary edition to shame when they have entirely different goals

[@ethanm1574]

I appreciate the attention to detail you took on this game and giving it your honest opinion. Its refreshing.

[@SketchaV]

Thanks! I really appreciate it

[@bryangillis1362]

Well done on this video! I can see you have skill with it, and you deserve more subscribers than you have. You've definitely earned my subscription - good luck on the push to 1,000!

[@SketchaV]

Thanks so much for the support!

[@hobmoglin]

one thing that helped me with enemy spawns was the fact you can reload them by walking them off the screen a short distance. then walk back for less or 0 of them. also, when it comes to status effect spam. prioritizing something like the mushroom helped me with that. as for the massive explosion types. I just always killed them last.

[@m4g0rtz]

Another absolutely fantastic video! I was so excited when I saw you had posted this. I played Earthbound for the first time a couple years ago and it was one of the most unique and fun experiences I've ever had playing a jrpg. That said I completely agree with all of your criticisms of the game, I was just too busy constantly laughing at all of the ridiculous dialogue and events to notice. Except for inventory management. The inventory management in this game is the WORST. I think my favorite moment in the game was buying the house in Onett just to realize it's a piece of junk and then having the man take your picture. I couldn't stop laughing. Did you feel like playing this game made you appreciate Smash Bros Ness any more or less? Congrats on another great video. Thank you for making it.

[@SketchaV]

You're too kind! EarthBound really was one of the most unique games I've ever played. Even while working on the video, I kept remembering more funny moments that I wanted to include but decided not to because the video was already so long haha. I would say playing the game definitely made me appreciate all the references in Smash Bros more. Growing up, I was already familiar with locations like Onett and Fourside since they're stages you can play on. I had heard some of the music and met characters like Mr. Saturn. But I never really understood them in their proper context. I remember hearing a while back that most of the moves Ness uses in Smash, he's not actually able to use in EarthBound (i.e. PK Fire, Thunder, and Starstorm) which I find really interesting. But in a way, it's cool to think that maybe he learned it from his friends after the events of the game. Plus it probably would've been hard to design a fun moveset around support PSI abilities anyway haha. Thanks so much for your continued support!

[@The_Loaf_]

During my first playthrough I misread Eagleland as England. I went the rest of the game thinking it was England

[@NineteeN9D]

Definitely looking forward to your Mother 3 video. I was a late bloomer in regards to the Mother franchise, but after playing EarthBound for the first time when it was re-released on the Wii U, I have a deep appreciation for this series. So I love that people like you are out there to do deep diving retrospectives like this. In regards to the game’s artificial difficulty, there’s one way I justify it all…and it’s going to sound like an insanely lame justification, but hear me out…the way EarthBound is structured and designed; it gives off a “let’s hope for the best” type of motif/mentality…I, myself, have had that type of mentality towards many things in my life. Plus, my life has certainly not been normal. Many difficult, ridiculous challenges have come my way throughout my 33 years that I wasn’t prepared for. But I’d often catch myself hoping for the best, and doing whatever I had to do to overcome the challenge. As wacky and outlandish as EarthBound is, part of it is still rooted in realism. From the way the NPCs talk, the items you get, the types of places you go to, even the ridiculous journey itself. As Forrest Gump said, “life is like a box of chocolates…you ever know what you’re gonna get.” That’s a true statement, and EarthBound encapsulates that entirely. It’s relatable. Am I saying that the artificial difficulty is completely okay to deal with? No. But to this day, I wonder if most of the flaws you mentioned were truly intentional choices by the designers and developers…meaning that they may have recognized how inconvenient some of those choices could be, simply because real life can be inconvenient as hell for all of us at one point or another. And yeah, I know how far I’m reaching right now lol…but considering the overall nature of the Mother series, I can’t help but view this as a possibility.

[@SketchaV]

Maybe it is reaching. Maybe not. Either way, I like the idea of it. Life isn't always fair, and sometimes game design can serve as a reminder of that too haha. But like you said, that's when you gotta hope for the best. I think if that's your takeaway when playing, that's super valid. Thanks for the support on the video!

[@NineteeN9D]

@@SketchaV no problem! You deserve the support!

[@DarianTrinity]

Bruh you only have 500 subs? You deserve at least 500k with the quality I've seen just in the first few minutes of this

[@SketchaV]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the support

[@Niiue]

Okay, on the section about attacks missing, that was because of you using a slingshot / yoyo rather than a bat in the demonstrative video, which has vastly reduced accuracy in comparison to a bat. However, the fact that you neglected to mention that means that the weapon's increased miss rate wasn't made properly apparent in the first place, lol. So far though, I've been agreeing with or atleast understanding your critiques of the game, and this was a *really* well put together video to begin with. Hearing what you like about the game too was a joy as well, especially that segment about NPC dialogues always feeling either important or entertaining enough to be worth your time. Keep up the good work!

[@SketchaV]

Yeah I probably should've mentioned the difference in accuracy. I was actually aware of that, although I don't remember if I learned that in game or by looking it up. Admittedly though, my gameplan was always just locking in on the most powerful weapon I had available to me without thinking much about the accuracy (hence the Casey Bat issue lmao). So there were probably ways I could've made the accuracy issue more tolerable. Thanks so much for the support! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for my thoughts on Mother 3 (and other games of course!)

[@GalacticAnderson]

Good stuff man! Great video

[@SketchaV]

Big thanks!

[@RedHatGuyYT]

didn't expect a manga based off the game's development

[@lordbash11]

THE GOAT IS BACK!!

[@brandondarnell1150]

hope you didn’t overwork yourself too much! much luck on the channel i definitely subscribed!

[@xenxander]

Nes is Gygas but he stops that future as he defeats the evil before he's born as he goes back in time. doesn't kill himself, just the evil inside

[@krownoce0313]

Great video felt very genuine I feel like a lot of other mother/earthbound videos can be very biased but I felt this one was not great video and really hoping to see a mother 3 video as that one is my favorite out of the 3

[@SketchaV]

Thank you! Life has had me pretty busy recently but I am in the process of making the Mother 3 video!

[@bojordan64]

Only a couple minutes in, but I see you haven't uploaded in a minute, so just a reminder not to give up on the KZbin dream.

[@andrewnichols8277]

after playing earthbound and then watching this video, I realized i avoided a lot of the cheese from this game since i was playing on NSO (save states and instant rewind), I ended up loving the game but i definitely agree with all of your criticisms about the combat and would have probably felt much differently had I played it the intended way

[@cartooonman8626]

Bruh i finished the game the day you publish this

[@SketchaV]

Yooo perfect timing haha

[@DJ-et9ew]

Welcome back, sir. 😉

[@IbrahimAmer-rq6mv]

58:01 paula and ness "dating" is supposed to be a joke because they arent silly! Its supposed to be joke about how when you're a kid snd you hang out with a girl basically everyone will say that you guys sre dating. Its honestly kinda crazy and very funny how you missed the joke.

[@SketchaV]

Yeah I think that makes sense. I think given all the parallels to Mother, where Ninten and Ana do have a romance, it sorta seemed like they were alluding to that being the case here too but without taking the steps to really develop that. But observed on its own, I agree that it is mostly just the commonplace teasing sort of thing. I have a tendency to overthink things if you couldn't tell 😅 Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@IbrahimAmer-rq6mv]

​@@SketchaVOh, I guess if I played mother 1 I'd say the same thing too😂

[@AidanDrotzur-uz5sz]

Can't wait for that mother 3 video, i already subscribed to make syre I'm notified

[@kellycunnelli2890]

Your voice is the perfect narrator’s voice

[@SketchaV]

Haha thanks! I do my best

[@chips-a-hoy7612]

1:01:04 there is a button for it, it’s the left trigger idk if you’re playing on an emulator or something so you didn’t know that but there is a button for automatic interactions

[@SketchaV]

Yeah, I'm not sure how I messed that up haha. I literally discovered that on my first playthrough but I guess I forgot when I was writing the script

[@ericbeck6486]

My question is where is the earthbound/mother movie

[@SketchaV]

That would be amazing! I also feel like an earthbound cartoon would've been fire

[@mentrocentro5443]

Hope you do mother 3, it really is the peak of the series

[@SketchaV]

@@mentrocentro5443 The mother 3 video is on the way!

[@the9thinning1]

excellent vid

[@SketchaV]

Thank you!

[@Bluegirl12345]

I rarely had Paula die during my playtrhough and at one point, I got Ness and Jeff killed while Paula is still alive

[@SketchaV]

Haha that's interesting but I guess everyone has their own unique EarthBound experience

[@Ibrahim-xq4up]

earthbound was great but i feel like people act like its a flawless game, earth Bound's battle system was kind of frustrating to say the least i feel like if i could change it id increase the quantity of items and psi points but tone the damage and balance the game out to really draw battles out so you can actually feel scared in boss fights without clicking on "goods" and "multi bottle rocket"

[@ndudgang9075]

51:18 RIP ANDREW 💔

[@mage1over137]

So the Casey bat only now seems like a cruel joke, but honestly it was a common trope back in the day to give an overpowered weapon that has some other very bad weaknesses, usually in its hit rate. So like getting a random bat with such high stats is a hint there is something wrong with the bat.

[@SketchaV]

That makes sense. In my experience I feel like weaknesses for overpowered items are usually signposted a little better but I could definitely see how the high power should've been a sign that something was off. That's part of how I started to realize the problem because I hadn't bought a new bat in like 3 or 4 new stores lmao

[@stevenking4617]

My friend loves the cave of the past and the Giygas fight, it's her favorite part of the game. I played a fun joke on her and told her I got to the end and wanted her to finish it, but I dropped ALL items from every party member 😂 STILL perfectly in range to finish the area. I'm unsympathetic to most complaints in this video.

[@SketchaV]

Lmao that is a pretty funny joke to play. I actually like the atmosphere of the cave of the past a lot and really enjoyed the Giygas fight. As I mentioned in the good things section of the video, I felt like it was a big step up from Mother 1 and was handled nicely. So it's not like I hate that part entirely. I just think there was a flaw in the design. I understand that it's doable with no items. In fact, I'm sure the entire game is doable without items. I just think there should be been a way to replenish the items you use in that area for the players who aren't interested in doing an itemless challenge run, especially since there's no leaving. I am willing to admit that it's an avoidable issue though since you can just reset your save lol. Anyway, sorry you didn't find yourself agreeing with most of the points but everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Thanks for watching!

[@allworksnew]

Best taunt is actually marth. Minna, miteite kure is literally the best

[@hergzcool]

All I can say is cool

[@SketchaV]

😎

[@StinzandL]

Camera Guy (Photographer) is annoying. the game is riddled with interruptions. but I love this game. I've been playing it since it came out (I got two games) and at 57 I'm still playing it. Says something for the game, as I'm really not a game player. PS: I don't use the talk option. I just push the B button or the Left button (atop the controller)

[@Morgil27]

Protip: the main villain's name in Japanese is pronounced "geeg" (with hard Gs), so the head of the localization team on the second game has gone on record as saying that he pronounces Giygas in a similar manner, like "gee-gas"(again, with hard Gs).

[@ayuphreek]

Great video and this one releasing is probably why your mother 1 video was recommended to me first, do you plan to continue on to mother 3?

[@SketchaV]

Thanks for watching! Yes I absolutely plan on making a Mother 3 video so stay tuned for that

[@ayuphreek]

It absolutely broke me on my first playthrough, I'm looking forward to it!

[@Weg002]

51:17 I feel attacked ;-;

[@SketchaV]

Sorry Andrew ;-;

[@brians7843]

Pretty sure u can press L1 to interact with ppl/objects on the snes version of the game. Hope this helps 😅

[@SketchaV]

Yeah you definitely can haha. I just forgot somehow when I was making the script. That was my bad

[@zaidhernandez4601]

Good video

[@SketchaV]

Thank you!

[@FennekinFox326]

As someone who grew up with Earthbound, I give this video my stamp of approval. Even if I disagree with a few of the nitpicks. This is easily the best video I've seen on the game, and I re-watch it every few months. You're definitely doing this series justice, and I'm very exited for the Mother 3 video. Whenever it'll be released.

[@SketchaV]

Thank you so much! I'm honored to not only have you watch once but to rewatch occasionally. The Mother 3 video is in development so stay tuned!

[@anegginthesetryingtimes7636]

I was with you 100% until you started saying the music put you out of immersion. You kept bringing up example after example of, "and this song here, doesnt sound soothing. And what about battle against a machine?" And every single track was a bop. I know that I have rose glasses, and I respect that if I had to listen to these earthbound tracks for a long period of time, like 30 minutes or more on a track, my immediate opinion of some of the EB soundtrack may falter But in my first, and subsequent playthroughs, the music has always been a plus, even the weird ones. Even the technovomit you have to listen to to farm sword of kings -- its not a chore just because it sounds a little odd. Earthbound taught me that noisecore can be cool too -- and this lead me to enjoying the soundtracks of other eclectic titles, music wise, such as OFF or LISA. The Music can bop, without being, "good". The 20-30% of EB tracks that we're talking about when we're talking about the, "bad", songs have always felt in theme, and to the extend that they are jarring or revolting, its minor enough that its kind of works towards a stage effect. I.E. The swamp sounds disgusting, I want to leave the swamp. I'm sick of being in the valley with the loud repetitive waterfall, lets fight this crocodile and gtfo of here.

[@SketchaV]

Totally fair take on this! To clarify, I think it's not so much that the songs don't sound good and more that they don't really work for me as battle themes specifically. If I remember correctly, I think I say something similar in that section, that I at least enjoy elements of each song I brought up. For a few of them, I actually enjoy the entire song but feel like they were misplaced and would've worked better either as a one time battle theme to drive home the weirdness of the encounter or in some other setting altogether. Overall, I do really like a lot of the songs in the game. I usually find town themes, area themes, etc to be really solid!

[@theonlybilge]

ATTENTION ALL EARTHBOUND GAMERS! NESS NEEDS YOUR HDLP TO DEFEAT THE EVIL GIGA GAS! TO HELP, YOU NEED TO SEND HIM THE NUMBERS ON YOUR PARENTS' CREDIT CARD! DON'T FORGET THOSE THREE WACKY NUMBERS ON THE BACK!

[@muensterwasnttaken]

alright buddy dont be dissing the battle themes

[@SketchaV]

@@muensterwasnttaken Sorry 😭

[@grantsheep2774]

idk why but i always get crit to death by the first boss so i always have to grind sadly

[@lp0pic]

Hope mother 3 is coming up soon

[@SketchaV]

My timeline got kinda thrown off from what I said in this video 😅 I have a different video in the works that's almost ready to upload and Mother 3 will be the next one I work on! My goal for the new year is to improve my process when it comes to making videos so it doesn't take me as long to release them. So if all goes well, it shouldn't be too far away

[@isaacanderson8013]

I always grind until max level before leaving onett

[@isaacanderson8013]

And then I grind every other character as soon as I get them before I progress.

[@SketchaV]

Until max level??? How do you have the patience to do that haha

[@NamelessRumia]

Honestly, I think your pronunciation of Giygas is closest to its intended pronunciation.

[@Tsumamii]

Mother 3 best game

[@SketchaV]

I'll be the judge of that 👀

[@k_klaw2097]

I feel like the ness/paula dating complaint is kinda taking the text too literally, it always came off as your mom (and to a lesser extent jeff) teasing if anything

[@SketchaV]

That's fair and to a certain extent, that's how I understood it too. But I do think if they were trying to allude to something happening there (even as a joke), they could've done more to develop that aspect of their dynamic. Thanks for watching!

[@Amibingus]

there is one slight problem with the video beacuse you seem to find easy ring as an actual feature of mother... but thats an fan thing so it couldnt be in earthbound beacuse there wasnt an idea of it in a first place!

[@SketchaV]

Thanks for watching! Correct me if I'm wrong here but I don't remember talking about the Easy Ring in this video. I mention the Repel Ring which is, to my knowledge, an actual feature. Maybe I did mention it though. It's been a while haha

[@SketchaV]

I looked further into this and saw that the Repel Ring was only in the US fan version of the game and not the original, so that's a fair point! I might be wrong but I think I saw the official US release also has the Repel Ring now but since it came out later than EarthBound, it wouldn't be fair to hold that standard to EB. I think the only thing I'd change about what I said is that I still think EB would greatly benefit from featuring an item similar to the Repel Ring (even if it wasn't cut between games like I initially thought)

[@Amibingus]

@@SketchaV sorry I've ment repel ring that one that disables encounters

[@kennethmabalay2167]

the kawhi leonard of youtube, his load management is atrocious but you know when he hits the court hes going for 30!!!

[@arabmunny]

wanted to let u know that the L button serves as a check/talk button loll

[@GrapplingIgnorance]

I can't believe he complained about earthbound for nearly an hour and never brought up the monkey cave. To me it's far and away the worst part of the game.

[@SketchaV]

Lmao that part was pretty annoying for sure. At first I thought you were talking about the cave you travel through with the bubble monkey and was confused as to why it was so bad. But yeah, after googling to refresh my memory, the monkey cave wasn't a great experience

[@Wapcvm]

Your criticisms are valid but do not diss the battle songs they are peak

[@SketchaV]

I'll give you Kraken of the Sea 🐙

[@SiliconSlyWolf]

Don't know where you're at yet on Mother 3, if at all, but if you're wondering why the anti-capitalist statements are in this game, well, half of Mother 3 is just that, whether you agree with it or not.

[@SketchaV]

@@SiliconSlyWolf I've finished two playthrough of Mother 3 now and yeah, you're 100% correct haha

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

Flawed and overrated, not a bad game though

[@Toast-com]

This vid couldn't popped into my recommended sooner. I'm playing Earthbound for a second time (my first time was on an emulator).