I'm not sure I can get behind this. Let me take you on point by point:
+ Tries to be funny and deep
TRIES! There's nothing worse than trying and failing at being quirky, funny and deep. This + is actually a -.
+ has good art direction
Taking into account that this is subjective, I have to disagree. Both games have their own styles and pull them off well. Unfortunately, Earthbound's style was dated before it even came out. Shenmue was at least forward-looking.
+ has a good soundtrack
I actually don't recall it, so it couldn't have been that great. That said, I don't recall Shenmue's either.
Shenmue is a shitty, shitty game, but I can at least understand a little bit why people may have bought into the hype. Earthbound is just an awful game in every regard. Dated graphics, dated gameplay, a failure at writing, despite what you say.
