Mother 3
Review
Eleven years in the making. Was it worth the wait?
by JSnake
reviewed on NDS
Gaming away
Gameplay in Mother 3 is standard RPG fare. Players explore the world, fight monsters, grow stronger, and repeat until the end of the game. Most RPGs have relatively boring battles, so they have an epic story to keep the players going. While Mother 3 does have a great story, the battles and other game mechanics are far from boring. When players engage in battle, they become a tad more involved than in most RPGs. When players attack, they are able to hit multiple times (up to sixteen times) if they tap the attack button in tune with the beat of the background music. Battles also go by much quicker than in your average RPG (although boss battles can be quite time consuming). This is mostly in part to that everyone takes their turns at once, and enemies don't have a large amount of health. This makes battles quicker, and it makes it easier to grow stronger.
Exploring can be quite fun. Mother 3's world is absolutely huge, and players will be traversing every inch of it during their journey. The game doesn't hold your hand either (at least, not most of the time). You're given vague hints, but you're mostly left to figure out where to go on your own. This can be annoying to some, but players who love to explore will be thrilled to roam around and take everything in.
One fault of the game is that it can be quite tough. Normally this would be welcomed, but when you have to spend several hours fighting monsters and gaining power just to defeat a single boss, it can get quite bothersome. Another thing is that bosses don't have that much of a unique strategy. Some bosses have their own quirks such as being mostly invulnerable to melee attacks, but most are easily taken down with a strategy of "attack and heal". These are minor faults, however, and they don't do much to detract from the overall picture.
Overall the gameplay in Mother 3 is superb. Battles can get dull if you do too much of them, but times are rare when it's needed. The game has a lot of exploration to it, and it has a gigantic world. Action fans, adventure fans, and RPG fans will love the gameplay that Mother 3 offers.
Musical Salad
If just one word was needed to describe the music of Mother 3, it would be this: perfect. The music in the game is extremely varied and it's all very good. Jazz, Techno, 80s Rock, Blues, Ska, it's all here. While most RPGs have two or three battle tunes, Mother 3 has twelve. Each tune fits the kind of enemy you are fighting and each melody is composed perfectly. The Mother series' greatest attribute is its music, and Mother 3 is no stranger to that. The music will induce several emotions on you. Some of the tunes will calm you, others will get your blood pumping, and still others will make your skin crawl.
Sound effects are great, too. One notable feature is that whenever a character attacks during battle, the hit of their weapon will produce a musical riff. One character's attacks produce a high-pitched guitar sound, and another's creates a low bass sound. The sound effects are varied just like the music, and they do their job of creating a more immersive experience quite well.
Changing your life
Replay value is good too. While there are tons of secrets and little nods to previous games, players will go through several playthroughs just because the game is that good. The locations are memorable, and so are the characters. The pull of visiting these places and talking to these people again is too much to resist.
Overall, Mother 3 is the finest game ever made. Yes, that is a bold claim, but the game combines everything that makes a good game and meshes them perfectly together. Humor, a great story, charming and addictive gameplay, and memorable places and scenes. Never before has a game been able to change someone's life for the better. Mother 3 has done just that.
9.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
