I'm gonna keep it a fat stack I've always thought the other two games in the series were way better. I think this game can be really fucking good at times, genuinely at some points it amazes me. But I've got a lot of issues with it. I've never really been fond of the chapter based structure of this game. It makes it feel like the pacing is all over the damn place. Chapter 3 has also always just felt like that one chapter that doesn't really have much rhyme or reason to exist other than to set up Fassad, which I think just could've been done with just npc dialogue like some moments in Chapter 2. The game really doesn't start to pick up til Chapter 4. Once it starts to actually focus on Lucas, the game starts to get pretty dang sweet. I'm not really huge on the bosses in this game. I found a lot of them a surprise spike in difficulty instead of feeling more natural like the bosses in Mother 2. The needle thing also kinda sorta feels like it comes outta nowhere too. Like in the other two games it's established right off the bat that the melodies are the objective. I get it was focused less on for story, but i dunno. It just always kinda bothered me a little.

I think maybe my biggest disappointment though is the tonal shift. Mother 1 & 2 always felt like road trip sort of games. You travel across America (or Eagleland) and see all the different things & whatnot. Mother 3 always alienated me in that sense. I feel like the big appeal of Mother to me was the post modern setting, and with that setting changed, it always kinda bummed me out a bit.

Gameplay wise? Meh. It's certainly a lot easier than Mother 1, but I've always thought Mother 2's combat was better. The rhythm system is neat on paper, but the fact that it takes multiple playthroughs to get a good grasp at is puzzling.

The soundtrack is great. Compared to Mother 1 & 2? Not even close. Some of the battle themes in this game are great. Pure joy to listen to. Mr. Batty Twist & Rock and Roll being up there as one of my favorite RPG battle themes. Porky's theme is also pretty damn memorable & catchy. Here's the thing though. I think since the soundtrack wasn't done by Hip Tanaka & Keiichi Suzuki, it doesn't have the same warm nostalgia vibes that 1 & 2 hit. The love theme is a great song, yeah, but I wish the love theme had more relevance. Not saying it should be a song you build like the eight melodies in the other games, but I think it needed something more.

At the end of the day, I still think this is a game that a lot of people SHOULD play, but I think as a Mother game it leaves me a little disappointed.