I am a lifelong Star Wars fan, and, like many other fans, I believe that the themes and storylines advanced by the Old Republic era are some of the most engrossing that the series has ever had. Every now and then, the “I should replay KotOR” bug hits me, and this time around, I decided to check out the iOS version.

There’s a lot to love here - memorable companions, extensive character progression, and an iconic storyline that has been burned into the minds of fans for almost 20 years. However, this type of game lives and dies by its writing, and this is where the original KotOR falls flat. Bioware doesn’t fully understand the dichotomy between the Jedi/Sith religions, as the writers elect to paint with noticeably broad strokes. In Bioware’s world, the Jedi as infallible heroes and their Sith counterparts are sinister, meritless psychopaths, other than in a couple of key instances. For example, in Bastila’s vaguely compelling, late-game turn to the dark side, she may as well be a different character entirely. I played as a Sith this time, and the game approaches this version of Revan as though he sacrifices children to unwind. This would later be remedied by Obsidian in KotOR 2, which heavily delves into the “grey area” and understands that a Jedi/Sith’s ideology should be shaped by their experiences. Its worth mentioning that Bioware’s broad approach significantly affected my immersion this time around.

Yes, the combat is simple, the planets are pretty rote, and the writing can leave a lot to be desired. With Aspyr’s KotOR remake on the horizon, a lot of people are going to have their eyes on this one, so let me quickly say: KotOR remains a must-play game in spite of its many flaws, and I’m confident that I’ll keep coming back to it anyway.

It's difficult to summarize my feelings on this one. I played Earthbound for the first time last year, and it quickly shot itself into my top 5 favorite games of all time. I feel that Earthbound contains a few of the most memorable sequences in games—Moonside, Saturn Valley, Magicant, and the final battle against Giygas, to name a few. Playing Earthbound with the Player's Guide was as close to an otherworldly experience as I've ever had with a video game. As a result, I was always going to go into Mother 3 with unbelievable expectations.

In a lot of ways, Mother 3 meets those expectations. First off, it's extraordinarily well-written, with Itoi's trademark sense of humor (tinged with a measure of dread) shining throughout. It has a very engaging battle system which, when paired with the "rhythm battle" mechanic, makes for some of the most fun I've had playing a JRPG. Finally, the game moves with a sense of urgency—something I appreciated after the occasionally plodding pace of Earthbound. I could go on and on and on about what Mother 3 does well.

All of that said, Mother 3 isn't perfect. Most of the time, I felt that the game involved a few great moments wrapped around a series of McGuffins (more on this later, don't kill me). For example, the game continually asks you to recover the Egg of Light or pull the Needles, but you're given no indication as to why any of this matters until Leder's explanation in the climax, whether through worldbuilding or dialogue. While a lot of the lore is interesting, this "lore dump" approach to storytelling almost always feels lazy and unearned. A large portion of this game involves trudging ahead through unimaginative environments because the game tells you to, but, in my opinion, not because you care.

However, nearly all of my complaints melted away by the time I got to New Pork City. The game is batting on all cylinders there. Rather than giving you a true final boss, Mother 3 uses the final "battle" against Claus as a narrative device that I assume most players, myself included, will never forget. Like I said before, I don't think that Mother 3 is a perfect game, and I still prefer Earthbound in most regards. That said, in light of everything that it does so extraordinarily well, Mother 3 is a game that everyone should play.