I say this not because I'm disappointed, but more of a "what could they have done with more" thought. That said, making the best with what they had here is still interesting in itself!

Also, perhaps an intent to save on space, some sounds (like hitting enemies or being hit) are lifted from the Mother 1 half.

Almost makes me wish this port came out later to take advantage of larger cart sizes that would drop in the GBA's later years just to see Earthbound with fewer compromises.

I also think the mechanical changes are neat.

- Enemy spawns are handled differently so you see enemy placements you wouldn't see in SNES Earthbound
- Critical hits seem to hit more often in this port
- Screen transitions are MUCH faster
- Mushroom RNG is ruder! May just be me though

Feels like busy work for the sake of it, sadly. There's mon locked behind this and I honestly don't feel like engaging with this right now if I'm being honest.

Definitely going to be a "throw a vid on and do some stuff" type of play when I return to it at a later date.