The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

I’m up to the Five Mole bosses, all of which are Number Three, which is still a fantastic gag. Earthbound is still a great game.

While I’ve been playing through, though, I’ve really been wondering about the level ups in this game. They seem randomized, something I never really paid much attention to, but it’s coming out now because goodness, Jeff has been getting terrible fucking level ups this time around. I think I had two separate levels where all he got was +1 Max HP. No stat increases, nothing but an extra hit point. He was constantly getting one-hit-killed for quite awhile with updated gear and everything. Paula was a little better, but not by much. I know Ness has always been way more survivable than the other party members, but I just didn’t remember them being such glass cannons. Maybe I did even more grinding in my youth? Who knows!

One thing I know I didn’t use in my youth were Jeff’s gadgets. Last time I played through the game, I discovered the Slime Generator, and how it breaks the combat wide open with how obscenely useful it is. This time around, I decided that I might be missing other things just as awesome, so while I’ve been using the Slime Generator a ton since I got it again (because seriously, it is that good) I’ve been trying to remember to try all of Jeff’s other unique items that kind of stand in for him not having spells. So today I used the HP-Sucker. Uh, it’s no Slime Generator, to be sure. It’s pretty well completely garbage. Very low chance of hitting, and when it does you get like 10 HP. What a waste of a turn. Maybe it’s not surprising that I didn’t discover the Slime Generator so long ago. I seem to recall there’s an gadget that removes enemy shields, though. That one might prove as useful. I’ll try to find it. (I’m not using any walkthroughs or anything for this playthrough. Just pure memory.)

Really, though, Earthbound does have its flaws. The inventory system, while neat, is just so broken. Ness’s inventory ends up filled with so many stupid key items, like the ATM card and Receiver Phone, that you’re essentially unable to actually store anything on him. Still, it creates so many dumb little touches and cute things around it. For example, the For Sale sign. I love this item for no reason. In a game with such a small, shitty inventory, it just feels so powerful to be able to clear room by selling things, instead of dropping them. Find better gear? Sell the old gear immediately! It feels like I’m breaking something, though in reality, I’m actually letting my inventory be cluttered up with another item in the For Sale sign. Still, I always carry it with me. I can’t help myself. Using it to make a little room feels better to me than randomly eating a food item or something.

Anyway, my emulator keeps crashing on me for some reason, which slowed my progress today. Still, I’m going to keep playing. I still really enjoy the game, and if I can push past Fourside, I can finish. I always find that to be the sticking point. Once I get to Summers, it seems like the end of the game rushes to me.