EarthBound cover art

Game entry

EarthBound

1994 · JRPG, Action RPG, Action-adventure, Strategy · Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U · Nintendo

After 399 duels settled by the community, EarthBound stands no. 357 among the best video games of all time on GameForever, with 1,736 ELO points and 66% of wins. Of the 5 duels that pitted it against Red Dead Redemption 2, it has won 4 and lost 1. Its best rank by family puts it at no. 4 out of 69 (1994).

World rank

no. 357

ELO score

1,736

Wins

66%

Duels played

399

Join the debate · 39

About EarthBound

A turn-based JRPG and sequel to the then-Japan-only Earthbound Beginnings (1989) in which Ness, a young boy living in a land based on the USA, leaves home to go on an adventure through strange locations, get to know quirky characters, and defeat an unknowable alien threat called Giygas while facing up to the realities of growing up and becoming familiar with the real world.

The community says

It wins way more duels than its rank suggests it should, which tells me the ranking system undervalues older turn-based games against newer open-world stuff

ELO progression

Score moved from 1,500 to 1,736 ELO points over the last 170 days.

Head-to-head

Direct record on the most played match-ups.

In the same genre

All JRPG games →
  1. 11 Pokémon Platinum Version2008 · JRPG 1,929
  2. 15 Final Fantasy IX2000 · JRPG 1,910
  3. 18 Clair Obscur: Expedition 332025 · JRPG 1,907
  4. 22 Persona 5 Royal2019 · JRPG 1,895
  5. 43 Final Fantasy X2001 · JRPG 1,874

Keep exploring

Best JRPG games All-time best Nintendo games Best games on Super Nintendo Top games on Game Boy Advance Ranking of Nintendo 3DS games Best games on Wii U The best 1990s games Ranking of 1994 games EarthBound series ranking

Around this spot

The games EarthBound sits between in the world ranking.

  1. 354 Mirror's Edge 1,737
  2. 355 Risk of Rain 2 1,737
  3. 356 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords 1,736
  4. 357 EarthBound 1,736
  5. 358 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom 1,736
  6. 359 Fable III 1,736
  7. 360 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 1,736

More games from Nintendo

Released in 1994

The standing

Where EarthBound ranks

The world rank mixes every family of games. Here is where EarthBound stands in each of the ones it belongs to. Its best standing, all families considered: 4 out of 69 (1994).

Where EarthBound ranks
Ranking Position Games competing
World ranking 357 5,035
JRPG 30 228
1990s 70 659
1994 4 69

The community

The debate

39 comments

Posting requires an account: log in or sign up.

  1. SilentHunter2

    It wins way more duels than its rank suggests it should, which tells me the ranking system undervalues older turn-based games against newer open-world stuff

    Élodie_44

    Je comprends l'argument sur le rythme, mais réduire tout l'intérêt du jeu à sa vitesse me semble un peu court quand même

    bdickinson

    my brother rage quit twice against Skyrim fans, wins argument itself

  2. TurboSamurai2007

    I've only put in maybe eight or nine hours total, spread out over a long time, and I get why people love the tone but is the combat system actually good or are we all just forgiving it because the writing is charming? genuinely asking

    NeonDragon

    genuinely asking is fair, but genuine answer, the combat is basic and that's fine by me

    GarlandWolf

    Similar hours here, though I'd call it closer to ten. Does the tone hold up more for you now than it did back then?

    Elmer_2002

    Replying to NeonDragon

    And that's exactly why it works, basic combat with great writing beats flashy combat with nothing to say

  3. VinylByte

    Borrowed a friend's copy for a summer and never touched Skyrim until years later, and the jump in scale still didn't erase how much I remembered every little town from this one (still remember the pizza guy, no idea why)

  4. barton_alaina

    What gets me is how it never takes itself seriously and then hits you with something genuinely unsettling out of nowhere, it's a weird balance and I still think about it years later

    frida_sawayn

    (kids didn't even laugh at the jokes everyone praises, honestly)

    Save_Waters

    It does that shift out of nowhere, deffinitely, though not every joke lands as hard now

  5. CoopRider

    The battle system is really just basic turn-based menus dressed up with personality, and once the novelty of the dialogue wears off there's not much mechanical depth keeping you engaged for the whole runtime

See the whole EarthBound debate →

Vote on a duel