i have a lot of conflicting feelings on mother 3. theres no denying its a masterpiece of a game with a heartwrenching story, loads of good characters, incredibly written dialog, beautiful sprite work, an insane soundtrack for the gameboy advance, but like... i dunno, this isn't really what i come to the mother series for? not in terms of all the stuff i just listed, moreso in atmosphere and setting. my favorite part of the mother series is its primarily modern setting, taking place in mostly normal towns and cities, and it kinda feels like mother 3 throws that out for something more fantastical. that isn't to say this setting doesnt work in the context of mother 3, it absolutely does, it's just very different from the first two games. in the end, i can say i definitely like mother 3 on its own, but in comparison to the other two games, i think i might take mother 1 and 2