You're not alone, I also got stuck in that opening sequence as a child - thankfully the game was just a rental. Honestly at that stage in my life I didn't understand what was going on in the battle sequences since they were so text heavy. RPGs were too foreign of a concept at the time. Couple years later went on to enjoy the crap out of FF6, Chrono Trigger, and SMRPG, so I really should revisit Earthbound.