Why I Love Earthbound (Mother 2)

For those that know what Earthbound is, you may have noticed that it has quite the following online. ‘Following’ doesn’t fully explain it – mentioning the series awakens a feverish and almost cult-like devotion amongst the legions of fans that can be found on the internet. I have always been fond of the game myself and always list it as one of my all-time favourites, but how has the game become a cult classic when it sold so poorly when it was released?