And can I play it somehow without having to buy a Wii?

Thanks

No, but yes you can play it with a SNES emulator like snes9x.

EDIT : or maybe you talked about the first episode on the NES (Earth Bound and not Earthbound) ? Then, you need a NES emulator. There are tons available.

I've played it, and here are a few other (legal) ways to get it:
* Get a SNES and a copy of the game.
* Get the Mini SNES Classic; Earthbound is one of the games on it. (Unfurtunately, the Mini NES doesn't have its predecessor, which is a shame.)
* Get a GBA and import the Japanese version of Mother 1 + 2. The game is on there, but it will be in Japanese if you go this route.

Awesome series, played Zero probably 2 times through, Earthbound a ton of times, have never finished 3.

Easiest is definitely through internet means. Mother 1+2 is pricey and hard to find an actual copy of.
Unless you're in the Tokyo area.

Forewarning, Earthbound Zero has a fairly big difficulty spike near the end. Nothing a bit of grinding won't fix though.

I am sorry for your lack of Wii.
I guess your in the same position as Eoin McLove from Father Ted.

Yeah... talk about humor that was ahead of it's time! Definitely one of best JRPGs. The first one, EarthBound Beginnings, is entirely skippable as EarthBound is more remake than sequel (IMHO).

I'm someone who is REALLY not a fan of JRPGs... but I have three exceptions; Chrono Trigger, EarthBound & Anachronox (yeah, I know made in America but inspired by JRPGs and Chrono Trigger in particular). I guess I love the sense of humor and levity these games have.

I think it's also available on the 3ds Virtual Console, if you have a new 3ds or new 2ds.

Out of curiosity, how does it compare, rarity and price wise, to:
* Finding the original Japanese FC/SFC versions of the games, or to
* Finding a Japanese GBA copy of Mother 3

It's also available on the 3DS and the SNES Classic Mini or basically any other platform capable of running a SNES emulator.

To answer the thread title, yes! It's one of my favourite games even though the gameplay is pretty bland. I love it for its music (especially its music), art and writing as well as its general weirdness. I'd honestly recommend using some manner of cheats so you don't have to do any grinding.

EarthBound doesn't require any grinding (I just finished a replay of it a few weeks ago). It's prequel and sequel on the other hand...

The sound quality for Mother 2 is also heavily compromised in this version, as it is for all SNES to GBA ports. This doesn't bother me in most cases, but in a game where the music is one of its strongest points it's a shame.
I found it to be something of a grindfest, but it's a subjective thing.

It's one of the least grindy JRPGs I've ever played... part of the reason I consider it one of the best. Also love that when you reach a high enough level enemies lower than you actually run away and are immediately defeated if you engage them in battle.

The original was pretty painful. Had some huge labyrinthine sections with constant enemy bombardment. EarthBound... you see enemies... you can sometimes avoid them if the path is wide enough. EarthBound Beginnings... it's classic Final Fantasy where you get random battles every couple of steps. The third game is actually a mix of the first and second. They upped the challenge and grind requirement while still keeping the enemies visible and giving you maps you can find.

That was a nice touch but I still found it grindy to get to that point most of the time. I never felt like I needed to seek out battles to the same extent in Chrono Trigger (I use this example because you mention having played it). We're going to have to agree to disagree, it's an entirely subjective thing as I said before.

You're right that Mother 1 is 10 times worse, although I haven't played Mother 3 so I can't compare there.

In fairness I did immediately go from EarthBound Beginnings into EarthBound and the improvements are... massive.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of…SNES classic should have the title on it.