Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Memorable Melodies: Eight Melodies from Earthbound


Song: Eight Melodies 
Game: Earthbound (Earthbound 0 as well, and I guess Mother 3)
Composers: Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, and Hiroshi Kanazu


One of the earliest video gaming memories I have is playing Earthbound before I could read. I remember being super frustrated, because I wanted to know what was going on in the game world. It's crazy, because I felt the same way about Super Mario RPG and together the two games propelled my interest in reading, which then spawned my interest in writing. Both games now stand firmly as some of my all time favorite video games.

Now that I'm 25 I sometimes feel a deep sense of shame when I think about Earthbound. It's my own fault really, but I've never actually beaten the game. I've gotten pretty close on multiple occasions, but can't ever go the distance. Hell, I even got the game for Christmas a couple years ago and the cartridge goes for like $250! I'll beat it someday, but right now is a time to remember the Eight Melodies. 

The Eight Melodies is made up of eight different sounds Ness, the main character of Earthbound records in his Sound Stone. There are specific areas at the end of dungeons known as sanctuaries where Ness sees various formations and things that inspire him. Ness uses these "sanctuaries" to understand himself and unleash his true potential. It sounds really corny, but Earthbound makes me feel the same way. Even though I haven't finished it, it's one of the games that has defined who I am and my tastes in gaming. I think about Earthbound a lot and feel a deep sense of nostalgia, that makes me all warm and fuzzy. Under the right circumstances I think it would be possible for me to tear up while listening to this song.


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