Editing EarthBound (section)

===Contemporary===
{{Video game reviews
| title=Contemporary reception
| Fam=34/40<ref>{{cite journal | title = New Games Cross Review | journal = [[Weekly Famitsu]] | publisher = [[Enterbrain]] | date = September 23, 1994}}</ref>
| GameFan=267/300<ref name="DHGF: Viewpoint"/>
| GI = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/jun95/earth.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971120013515/http://www.gameinformer.com/jun95/earth.html|title=EarthBound- Super NES|magazine=[[Game Informer]]|archive-date=November 20, 1997|url-status=dead|access-date=March 12, 2016}}</ref>
| SGP = 3.5/5<ref name="SGP review"/>
| award1Pub = [[GameFan|''GameFan'' Megawards]]
| award1 = [[List of Game of the Year awards|RPG of the Year]]<ref>''GameFan'', volume 4, issue 1, pages 104-106</ref>
}}
''EarthBound'' originally received little critical praise from the American press,<ref name="Kotaku: Man Who Wrote" /><ref name="1UP: Vapor" /> and sold poorly in the US:<ref name="IGN: top SNES" /><ref name="Wired: Lindblom" /><ref name="1UP: Vapor" /> around 140,000 copies, as compared to twice as many in Japan.<ref name="Shacknews: EarthBotched" /> ''[[Kotaku]]'' described ''EarthBound''{{'s}} 1995 American release as "a dud" and blamed the low sales on "a bizarre marketing campaign" and graphics "cartoonish" beyond the average taste of players.<ref name="Kotaku: Man Who Wrote" /> The game was released when RPGs were not popular in the US,<ref name="Wired: Lindblom" /><ref name="1UP: Posthumous p1" /> and visual taste in RPGs was closer to ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]''.<ref name="Wired: Lindblom" /> The game piggybacked on Itoi's celebrity in Japan.<ref name="ONM review" />

Most journalists attributed the game's poor sales in the US to its simple graphics, atypical marketing campaign, and disinterest in the genre. Of the original reviewers, Nicholas Dean Des Barres of ''[[DieHard GameFan]]'' wrote that ''EarthBound'' was not as impressive as ''[[Final Fantasy VI|Final Fantasy III]]'', although just as fun.<ref name="DHGF: Review"/> He praised the game's humor<ref name="DHGF: Viewpoint"/> and wrote that the game completely defied his first impressions. Des Barres wrote that "past the graphics", which were purposefully [[8-bit era|8-bit]] for nostalgia, the game is not an "entry-level" or a "child's" RPG, but "highly intelligent" and "captivating".<ref name="DHGF: Review"/> The Brazilian ''Super GamePower'' explained that those expecting a ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''-style RPG will be disappointed by the childish visuals, which were unlike other 16-bit games. They wrote that the American humor was too mature and that the gameplay was too immature, as if for beginners.<ref name="SGP review"/> ''[[GamePro]]'' was critical to the game's storyline and graphics, but praised the music and the humor. They concluded that the game is inappropriate for children due to its adult humor, but would not appeal to more mature gamers due to its simplistic gameplay and poorly illustrated graphics.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Sir Scary Larry|title=EarthBound |magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=82 |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]] |date=July 1995|pages=74–75}}</ref>

Lindblom and his team were devastated by the release's poor critical response and sales. He recalled that the game was hurt by the reception of its graphics as "simplistic" at a time when critics placed high importance on graphics quality.{{refn|group=nb|Lindblom thought reviewers viewed the game's visuals as "enhanced [[8-bit era|8-bit]] graphics", which, he added, would "ironically" fit 2013's [[retrogaming]] aesthetic.<ref name="Wired: Lindblom"/>}} Lindblom felt that the game's changes to the RPG formula (e.g., the rolling HP meter and fleeing enemies) were ignored in the following years,<ref name="Kotaku: Man Who Wrote"/> though he thought the game had aged well at the time of its [[Virtual Console]] rerelease in 2013.<ref name="Wired: Lindblom"/>