Mother 3 review!

06-15-13 07:52 PM

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patar4097

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Before I start, if people like Mother3fan5 see this, and see that I didn’t rate this 10/10, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to offend you.

Well, anyways, on to the review.

   Mother 3, the sequel to Mother 2, or better known as Earthbound in the States, was released on the GBA in 2006, but like the first in the series, it was only released in Japan. However, it was originally going to be called Earthbound 64, and, as the name would suggest, it was going to be released on the N64. But even BEFORE that, it was going to also be on the SNES, since production started in 1994, like Mother 2. But it was delayed, was scheduled for the failed N64DD, then for the normal N64, before it was finally moved to the GBA.

   But luckily, a patch for the original Japanese ROM was released for an English translation, so we could enjoy this game. Just like Earthbound, it is a turn-by-turn RPG adventure game. Using your PSI powers, you will fight a bunch of wacky enemies, including snake-cow fusions, possessed guitars, and many others. But this improves some mechanics that were lacking in Earthbound. For instance, you can now run, making the world much easier to get around in.

   Gameplay: 9 – The game plays really well. To get into a battle, you run around the world. When you see enemies, you must touch them to battle them. But you can get an advantage or disadvantage depending on how you touch them. If you run into them from behind, you will get a quick attack off. Conversely, if the enemy hits you from behind, they get the first strike. I really like how they do this, because it means trying to run away could cost you.

One of the best things about this game is that you get to take control of a total of six different people. Some are used throughout almost the whole game, like Lucas and Boney, and some are used very little, like Flint, Lucas’s father. All have different traits, like better HP, attack, speed, and some have PSI moves, which can either be attacks, defenses, or healing moves.

   And occasionally some other assisting characters that play a very minor role, doing little in the battle besides making the player crack a smile with a witty little move. One example is when Fassad talks to a banana. It has no effect in battle, but it is funny to see it.

   These same things can also happen against enemies. Like how the crow in Earthbound will only smile after stealing a cookie, the Navy Squeals can randomly go off on a paid vacation…..alright…...But it is this sort of charm that is spread out throughout the entire game. Useless enemies, item boxes that have no effects, and the non helpful characters make this one of the most unique games I’ve ever played.

   Graphics: 9 – The graphics in Mother 3 are one of the best I’ve seen in a GBA game. The characters all have good personality shown through the graphics, which is hard to do with small sprites. They really blend in well with the lively world as well. They don’t seem to be living creatures among a flat world. All of the PSI moves that make the screen shake with weird colors and effects look great. They give you a feel for what those moves actually do.

   Although I’m not too fond of the enemy designs, they are still done with good detail, and unlike some GBA games, a perfect balance of color. Most of them are lively and everything, but personally, I just think that some of them have bad design. :/ Now, here’s a picture of the tree enemy. This is the kind of thing I’m talking about.

   The world design is done in a really nice way. The world blends together pretty with the surrounding areas as well. I felt that some places had a sudden change in terrain. The main place I’m talking about is by the desert area by the factory. It seemed to be a little out of place.

   Now I’m going to talk a bit more about the in battle mode. First off, they still have those weird backgrounds that seem to have nothing to do with the terrain itself. To be honest, I don’t really like it. For boss battles, it’s kind of a cool feature to have, but I would like it as well if they made the backgrounds look like the area you are in. But the backgrounds that you do have look good, and don’t look pixilated like I was expecting them to be.

   Sound: 8.5 – There is some absolutely some terrific music in Mother 3. From the battle music against the guitars, to New Pork City, to Saturn Valley, there are some great tunes. They get stuck in your head, and you sing along with them. I don’t normally do this, but I actually go onto YouTube just to listen to a Mother 3 track sometimes.

   Well, that was the good of Mother 3’s music. But I think there are some that aren’t so good as well. First one is the music that plays in most of the caves. It isn’t really a song though. To me, it just sounds like some random eerie sounds that replay over and over again. Now, the first time it isn’t really bad, but its repetitiveness is too much.

   The next two aren’t really bad songs, but they are used a lot. The menu music has a nice, soothing sound, but if you are like me, and open up the menu a lot to look at what’s going on, it might get on your nerves. The other is the Pigmask theme. It’s a great song, and goes perfectly with what is going on. The song represents mayhem, which is basically what the Pigmasks do. But like the menu, it seems to come up a lot. It would have been cool if they had a different track for when you see a higher up leveled Pigmask, like a captain.

   Addictiveness: 9 / depth: 9 – There are so many things you can do in this game. The main story as it is will take you about a month with average gameplay every day. However, the fact that there isn’t an after game story is disappointing. But after you finish the final boss, you can still go back to an earlier point in the game to level up, collect the tons of Easter eggs there are in the game, etc. Really, there is so much to do in this game.

   One of the Easter eggs is unlocked by seeing every enemy from the normal front position, and also the position from when you run into them from the back. I haven’t gotten this, and I don’t know what it is, but it is there for you to accomplish. And there are tons more out there for you to collect.

   This game is also very addictive. I’ve gone almost four straight hours of playing it, without realizing I was even playing it for even one hour. While as with most RPGs, there are parts where you have to level grind, this game seems to have less of it than most, giving you more time progressing through the story instead of having to battle the same enemies over and over again to get to a good level.

   Story: 9 – The story is probably one of the best I’ve seen in any game I’ve ever played. It could perfectly transition from a serious or sad moment, and instantly throw in a funny line. This game has sad moments, but it is so filled with humor, you will sometimes forget about how sad it is. The dialogue is amazing with how they did these transitions. And the fact that all the dialogue was written by one guy makes it seem even better.

   Now, I don’t really want to have to repeat the story, because you can easily find it somewhere, or even better, find out by playing the game. But anyways, back to the story. Not only is it filled with humor and tragedy, but you also get to see the story from multiple perspectives. It has many twists you may have not known (unless you read Lucas’ Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy. : P), and the plot is very interesting, and will keep you playing for more.

   But there’s one last thing I need to say about the story in spoiler form:

Spoiler:
although I loved the story, I have to say the ending in general was unfulfilling. First, the final boss is not like a normal battle. You just keep yourself alive practically. And the fact that in the end, your Claus was alive all this time, but at the end pretty much kills himself is pretty disappointing as well. Although it might be a good storyline, I personally didn’t like it. It had too much depression for me, especially for coming at the end of the game like that.

Spoiler:
And one more quick thing; the “End?” screen, although it made me upset that it doesn’t tell you exactly what happened after the supposed apocalypse, I like that it lets you think for yourself what happened at the end. I’m guessing there’s some “official” ending to it, but you are free to think that the dragon destroyed the world, or think that a new world was created. Any way you want to think it is fine, which is a pretty cool I think.

Difficulty: 6.5 – As most RPGs like this, it isn’t really all that hard. Although it takes skill to get off the combo attacks, still, if you level up high enough, you can beat pretty much any enemy. In fact, I went through about half the game without even knowing about the combo moves.

There are some bosses that you will need to level up for though, or may take some 8-10 combo hits in order to beat. This does get annoying at times, but if you are using the speed up button, it’s much better.

But the part where it can get difficult is with the puzzles you need to solve.

Now, I don’t know how others think about this, but I think it’s the worst where you are in an RPG, and you feel that you need to look up a walkthrough, but fortunately, it doesn’t really get to that level. I did have to figure out the map of the mole cricket cave though.

It keeps it at a level where you might have to take a step back, and look at it again, but not to the point of needing a walkthrough.

Overall: 9.1 – Mother 3 is a truly unique game. With all its quirky dialogue, amazing story, and terrific gameplay, this is a must-play for RPG fans. Its interesting enemy designs, and great characters make it a charming game to play, but seeing all the tragedy and evil in the game, and the fact that it all balances out in a way few others can. If you have not tried this game, I’d definitely recommend it.

Thanks for reading my review! I really appreciate any feedback, good or bad, and don't forget to rate the review as well.