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The Earthbound And Bravely Default: Flying Fairy Victory
I woke up this morning to exciting news that turned my whole day around. RPG Fans, rejoice! We're finally getting our wishes for two highly-demanded games.
First off, let's talk about Earthbound. Earthbound will always hold a special place in my heart. I spent a summer beating it with my cousin. We were pretty serious because we even called the Nintendo help line to figure out that we had to stand under that damn waterfall. After my victory over it, I joined an AOL fan club for it. Yes, Earthbound was that serious to me. I also had a hard time recruiting friends to play games with me, but I got all my best girlfriends hooked. Earthbound is connected with my childhood, but nostalgia isn't the only reason I hold it in such high regard. Earthbound was humorous and different, taking real life and taking it in wacky directions with aliens. Psychics, child prodigies, martial artists were your party members. Something about Ness and his first interaction with Buzz Buzz pulled me in. I knew the adventure would take me to unique places, but I didn't realize the scope of it. The Mr. Saturn species, anyone?
Anyway, the reason why I'm writing this blog is a way to celebrate. For years now, I've been waiting for people to have access Earthbound's amazing mysteries. Not everyone had the opportunity that I did, and when the virtual console came into play during the Wii, I really thought this was the time. I looked forward to every update, but unfortunately, Earthbound was never there. Apparently, Nintendo had licensing issues that it couldn't get around. Earthbound has become such a collector's game that fetching it for a reasonable price is tough, and I always felt bad for RPG fans who longed to play it. But today's announcement lifted me, somehow Nintendo is making a virtual console release happen, and that's fantastic. Even just hearing about the game again has sparked all these nostalgic memories in me. The impression this game has left on me is everlasting.
I thought it would be fun to blog about some of our favorite Earthbound memories. So feel free to leave in the comments what made you fall in love with Ness' story.
Of course, Earthbound coming to the VC wasn't the only big news, today was another great moment for RPG fans with the announcement of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy coming to North America. Every Nintendo Direct fans sit anxiously hoping that this will be the moment Nintendo finally gives North America the green light. Some lost hope, others speculated it was still coming based on tweets on the official Twitter account that acknowledged hearing fans yearning for it. Today was finally the confirmation that many have been waiting for: a 2014 release window.
For those who know virtually nothing about Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, it has some exciting names behind it. The developer is Silicon Studio, who previously made 3D Dot Game Heroes, the producer is Tomoyo Asano, who worked Final Fantasy III, IV, and The 4 Heroes of Light for the Nintendo DS, and the scenario writer Naotaka Hayashi, earned acclaim for his visual novels such as Steins;Gate. The goal was to embrace a nostalgic feel, but still make it feel exciting and new for RPG fans. Time will tell how it all plays out, but I'm excited.
So, RPG fans, I raise my virtual cup to you and toast over today's news. Dance party time!
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