They wrote that the American humor was too mature and that the gameplay was too immature, as if for beginners. "GamePro" gave the game a mixed review, commenting that "[T]he lack of a convincing story line and the dull NES-clone graphics ... will make serious RPG fans a little cautious about approaching "EarthBound"". They said the "saving graces are the fairly good music" and "hilarious adult humor" but added that "the humor is too mature for little kids, and the gameplay is too immature for older gamers". Lindblom and his team were devastated by the release's poor critical response and sales. He recalled that the game was hurt by reception of its graphics as "simplistic" at a time when critics placed high importance on graphics quality. 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, though he thought the game had aged well at the time of its Virtual Console rerelease in 2013. Reviewing the game years after its release, at least four writers described the game as "original" or "unique", at least two praised its script's range of emotions, and at least four praised its humor. IGN's Scott Thompson said the game teetered between solemn and audacious in its dialogue and gameplay, and noted its deviance from RPG tropes in aspects such as choice of attacks in battle. He found the game both "bizarre and memorable". "Official Nintendo Magazine" Simon Parkin thought the game's script was its best asset, as "one of the medium's strongest and idiosyncratic storylines" that fluctuated "between humorous and poignant". "GameZone" David Sanchez thought its script was "clever" and "sharp", as it displayed a wide range of emotions that made him want to talk to all non-player characters. "GamesTM" wrote that the game designers spoke with their players through the non-playable characters, and noted how Itoi's interests shaped the script, its allusions to popular culture, and its "strangely existential narrative framework". At least three critics praised its "real world" setting, which was seen as an uncommon choice. Thompson noted its 1990s homage as "a love letter to 20th-century Americana", with a payphone as a save point, ATMs to transfer money, yo-yos as weapons, skateboarders and hippies as enemies, and references to classic rock bands. "Official Nintendo Magazine" Parkin noted the theme's distance from the "knights and dragons" common to the Japanese role-playing game genre.