I honestly think most people look at Earthbound through rose-colored nostalgia glasses. The combat is reminiscent of early Dragon Quest games, and the story and direction just kind of gets lost after the first half of the game. The final battle was a truly unique experience, as was the rest of the game, it's just it wasn't really as good as people make it out to be.
I enjoyed it enough last year and I am 27. Nostalgia wasn't a factor for me, as all I recall from my childhood was a grim memory of not being able to get past the boss in the arcade of the first town-LoL
Playing it again later in life, I sort of went into it half hearted.... I was expecting anything incredible but was pleasantly surprised. It is the mood of the game, not so much the quality I applaud. Its fun and quirky enough with its own weirdness to enter a almost playful realm of disturbing at times. It reminded of playing an adult cartoon made by some real creeps and censored for younger audiences. I can't really say I can think of any other game that has ever left me feeling similarly.
The music had a great deal to do with the aformentioned mood/atmosphere. I left my system on all day so as I did crap around my house I heard it going in the background.
Combat drove me out of my mind (reeeeal dated gameplay that became as brutally unfair as I remembered from the brief blockbuster rental in my youth) but I sort of expected that. I think so long as people go into Earthbound without expecting to play Xenoblade Chronicles or Mass Effect they will find it pretty easy to digest despite its age and be happy with the experience.
Regardless, I think its in the same league as chrono trigger, ff4 and few other titans of yesteryear that have certainly become far more accessible than earthbound has. In that respect alone I'm happy to hear it having the potential to reach new audiences even if it doesn't really matter much to me at this point.
