Editing EarthBound (section)

===Acclaim and influence===
''EarthBound'' was listed in ''[[1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die]]'', where Christian Donlan wrote that the game is "name-checked by the video gaming cognoscenti more often than it's actually been played". He called the game "utterly brilliant" and praised its overworld and battle system.{{r|1001 Must Play}} Similarly, ''Eurogamer''{{'s}} Simon Parkin described it as a "sacred cow amongst gaming's cognoscenti".{{r|Eurogamer: M3 review}} Game journalists have ranked ''EarthBound'' among the best Super NES games{{r|IGN: top SNES}} and most essential Japanese role-playing games,{{r|Gamasutra: essential}}{{r|TimeExtension}} and at least three reader polls ranked the game among the best of all time.{{r|Edge: Famitsu|IGN: top 2005|IGN: top 2006}} For a piece about the "top worlds" in video games, ''IGN'' rated ''EarthBound''{{'s}} setting among the best, indelible between its unconventional environments, 1960s music, and portrayal of Americanism.{{r|IGN: top worlds}}

''Kotaku'' described the game "as one of the weirdest, most surreal role-playing games in RPG history".{{r|Kotaku: Trippiest}} Examples include using items such as the Pencil Eraser to remove pencil statues, experiencing in-game hallucinations, meeting "a man who turned himself into a dungeon", and battling piles of vomit,{{r|Kotaku: Trippiest}} taxi cabs, and walking nooses.{{r|IGN: Retro Remix}} David Sanchez of ''GameZone'' wrote that ''EarthBound'' "went places no other game would" in the 1990s or even in the present day, including "trolling" the player "before trolling was cool".{{r|GameZone review}} Localization reviewer Clyde Mandelin described the Japanese-to-English conversion as "top-notch for its time".{{r|Kotaku: Man Who Wrote}} ''1UP.com'' said it was "unusually excellent" for the time.{{r|1UP: Posthumous p1}} ''IGN'' wrote that Nintendo was "dead wrong" for believing that Americans would not be interested in "such a chaotic and satirical world".{{r|IGN: top worlds}} [[Complex Networks|Complex]] included ''EarthBound'' as one of the "Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time", saying the game is "definitely the craziest and one of the most fun RPGs the SNES had to offer.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Knight|first=Rich|date=April 30, 2018|title=The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-100-best-super-nintendo-games/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=Complex|language=en|archive-date=January 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109005057/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-100-best-super-nintendo-games/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Jeremy Parish of ''[[USgamer]]'' called ''EarthBound'' "the all-time champion" of self-aware games that "warp ... perceptions and boundaries" and break the [[fourth wall]], citing its frequent internal commentary about the medium and the final scenes where the player is directly addressed by the game.{{r|USgamer: metatext}}{{refn|group=nb|He thought the final scene was "perhaps the most clever and powerful moment in a clever and powerful game".{{r|USgamer: metatext}}}} ''GamesTM'' said the game felt fresh because of its reliance on "personal experiences" made it "exactly the sort of title that would thrive today as an [[indie games|indie]] hit".{{r|GamesTM review}} He called this accomplishment "remarkable" and credited Nintendo's commitment to the "voices of creators".{{r|GamesTM review}} IGN's Nadia Oxford said that nearly two decades since the release, its final [[Boss (video gaming)|boss]] fight against Giygas continues to be "one of the most epic video game standoffs of all time" and noted its emotional impact.{{r|IGN: 10 MMM}} ''Kotaku'' wrote that the game was content to make the player "feel lonely", and, overall, was special not for any individual aspect but for its method of using the video game medium to explore ideas impossible to explore in  media.{{r|Kotaku: Trippiest}}

The few role-playing games set in real-world settings, ''PC Gamer'' has written, are often and accurately described as having been influenced by ''EarthBound''.{{r|PC Gamer: YIIK}} It was cited as an influence on video games including ''[[Costume Quest]]'';{{r|Gamasutra: CQ|PS Blog: CQ}} ''[[South Park: The Stick of Truth]]'' (via ''[[South Park]]'' creator [[Trey Parker]]);{{r|Polygon: South Park|GamesRadar: South Park}} ''[[Undertale]]'';{{r|PCG Undertale}}<ref name="GameRev cult">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto/you-should-play-undertale-34989 |title=You Should Play Undertale |last=LaBella |first=Anthony |website=[[Game Revolution]] |publisher=[[CraveOnline]] |date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=January 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20151213171935/http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto/you-should-play-undertale-34989 |archive-date=December 13, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[Contact (video game)|Contact]];''{{r|USgamer: metatext|1UP: Contact}} ''[[Omori (video game)|Omori]]'';{{r|Nintendo Life: Omori}} ''[[Lisa (video game)|Lisa]]'';{{r|RPS: LISA}} ''[[Citizens of Earth]]'';{{r|NWR: Citizens of Earth}} ''[[YIIK: A Postmodern RPG]]'';<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/29/12699654/yiik-a-postmodern-rpg-demo-release-date-free-download |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211111/http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/29/12699654/yiik-a-postmodern-rpg-demo-release-date-free-download| archive-date=2021-11-11|title=Try Y2K: A Postmodern RPG for free next week|first=Allegra|last=Frank|work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|date=August 29, 2016|access-date=January 1, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="PC Gamer: YIIK">{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/yikk-a-postmodern-rpg-is-a-psychadelic-indie-earthbound/| url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224115749/http://www.pcgamer.com/yikk-a-postmodern-rpg-is-a-psychadelic-indie-earthbound| archive-date=2015-02-24 |title=YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a psychedelic indie Earthbound|first=Tom|last=Sykes|date=February 22, 2015|work=[[PC Gamer]]|access-date=January 1, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> the [[webcomic]] [[Homestuck]];<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-17 |title=What exactly is Homestuck? |url=https://www.resetera.com/threads/what-exactly-is-homestuck.141496/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=ResetEra |language=en-US}}</ref>  and ''Kyoto Wild''.{{r|Gamasutra: Kyoto Wild}} Japanese writer [[Hiromi Kawakami]] told Itoi that she had played ''EarthBound'' "about 80 times".{{r|1101: cancel}}