5. It Has Intermissions
When your Dads not suggesting you put the SNES away and go outside for a bit, nature itself gets on in the act at a hot spring, Ness is given a chance to take what the game calls a coffee break. What follows is a slow text crawl thats half inner monologue and half directors commentary, recapping everything youve done in the adventure and praising your spirit and bravery, all to the accompaniment of some soothing music and kaleidoscope visuals. Earthbound understands the importance of the journey, and goes out of its way to replace the traditional overworld map with extensive travelling sequences and moments of reflection. Itois efforts to bring pacing to his game, to have the player as well as the characters take stock and regroup after a particularly tricky boss battle, feel remarkably refreshing in a genre where cutscenes generally existed to showcase only gloom and failure. Eventually, Ness and his chums will learn to teleport back to previously-visited areas, assuming theres enough space for a run-up, and the world will feel smaller as a result. Until that point, home feels a long way away, with Mum just an ever-patient voice on the other end of a phone line, and coffee beaks are very welcome indeed.