Here's a
spoiler-free Mother 3 review because why not.
EarthBound has already become one of my favorite games of all time, and I admit I found it difficult to believe that Mother 3 would be a worthy followup. On the contrary, Mother 3 did the impossible and managed to be even stronger than its predecessor.
The gameplay is substantially the same as EarthBound's, with a few additions, most notably the combo system. Pressing the button to the beat of the music to unleash a string of attacks is right at home with the series' general tone, and keeps the player engaged with even the simplest of battles. The Auto Battle function has been removed, but the game seems to be designed to prevent you from missing it. Rather than going Leeroy Jenkins on enemies and doing the same to bosses with maybe a status effect thrown in (but probably not), you have to really think about your approach when fighting bosses, particularly in the game's latter half.
Despite these gameplay improvements, where the game most drastically outclasses EarthBound is its story. It really takes advantage of the JRPG format to create a masterful, twisting and turning tale from start to finish. It's difficult to elaborate without spoilers, but suffice it to say that this is one of the heaviest games ever made, almost to the point of tragic literature. Also, it continues the series tradition of having an incredibly intense final battle, and it's even more emotional than Giygas' fights.
(I think I'm going to tag @
aldelaro5
now.)