While my review of this game isn't unique by any means, it should still be contributed to your ending opinion of this game.

Mother 3 was never released in the United States. Nintendo just never decided to give us this amazing, yet underrated game. It is the third in the weirdly named Mother series and the sequel to Earthbound or Mother 2 (whichever you prefer) but unrelated other than a villain that appears. Sorry I won't spoil who, but meh, I am sure you can figure it out.

I won't lie, this game isn't for everyone. If it was released in these parts, it would probably get many censors. There are references to transgender people (best moments in the entire game )sexual innuendo, violence, death, all that happy stuff. The story is heavily mature but the ESRB doesn't rate on heavy emotional themes. It rates according to violence, language, sex, and drugs (you know the fun stuff)

It was thanks to a dedicated group of fans that those of us who don't understand Japanese can play it. These were amazing people in my humble opinion and I am hugely grateful for these people.

Now, unless you have super special powers or something, playing this game outside an emulator for the English version is downright impossible (as far as I am aware) and you will probably need emulators for it.

But I rambled enough about this game. The big question here that I want you to understand is should you consider this game? That is to be debatable. Did you adore Earthbound? If you haven't played Earthbound, I suggest you stop reading my review of it's sequel and play it. It is a great game that I consider essential gaming material.

If you loved Earthbound however, then you are going to like Mother 3. Especially this English translation (as if a person who can't read/understand Japanese can understand the original version) of what is perhaps one of the best GBA games you can possibly play.

But maybe you don't want me to just ramble on and on for eternity on how great this game is and want to hear my review. I am not the greatest reviewer by any means as I like everything I play that captures my attention. This is a game that does so.

But maybe you dear reviewer who decided to read my opinions (as if they mean a lot) on this game are a lot pickier than I am.

First off, this game came out in 2006 toward the end of the lifespan on the GBA. However, due to the already mentioned fact of a non-USA release, the fan reviewer decided to translate it around 2007 and it took about two or so years for it to be readable and all that stuff.

I am not here for all that info and I don't even know if I am being a million percent accurate about all that. You decided to click on me for a review not my little knowledge about this game.

For a GBA game, this has incredible graphics and boasts a fantastic soundtrack. It has the same amount of quirky sound effects that Earthbound had. Which, I think makes a ton of sense considering it is a sequel to Earthbound.

But, this game is extremely upsetting and contains a lot of tragic elements and situations. If you don't like tragicomedies, you probably won't like it too much. Well let me let you in on a little secret.... I don't like them either. Seriously I tear up easily. However, don't let that stop you. This is just as essential as Earthbound is.

The story starts off a little slow. It takes awhile for anything to get exciting or anything. I would say that the truly horrible stuff happens after the first chapter.... actually, that isn't very far into the game now that I think about it. However, this game isn't pure tragedy by any means. The same humor and quirky nature is still in this game. In fact, this game has made me laugh my butt off from the silly situations. Then five seconds later, I would cry that laughter out.

So if you like games with a stellar story, then that is a point for this game. So how is your opinion of this game now? Are you eager to start the game? I think you should take a bit to reflect on your likes and dislikes a minute. The game is an RPG, and you might be wondering how difficult this game is.

Like Earthbound, this game has it's enemies in real time so there are no random encounters. Did you like this about Mothers 1 and Earthbound? (Mother 1 as far as I am aware has also got a Japan only release. But that is a completely different review and situation altogether. I haven't played the full Mother game yet) so if you enjoyed seeing your enemies in real time, you might like this game too. Points?

I am unaware if the same little trick of using the screen to dwindle the enemies works in this game, but the game isn't that hard. Just use discretion on who or what you fight and things will work out for you.

The game is pretty long, boasting 8 chapters and however many long hours of gameplay. If you aren't the kind of gamer to take ages fighting and leveling up and nothing is too difficult for you, then it won't be a huge amount of time. Maybe we are talking 25-30 hours of gameplay give or take a little bit.

Like I said before, this is an essential game to play before you kick the ol' bucket. It is also the 2nd saddest game I have played and boasts an emotional story line. Even if you aren't the kind to cry tears of sadness, you might find your heart breaking a little. A little sadness and comedy in equal or fair amounts, never hurt anyone. If you are sensitive to emotional situations, then evaluate where you are and what you can handle.

I too am sensitive and I turned out alright.... mostly. My final recommendation for this game is 10/10! But I just like everything and consider what I want to play before playing it. I have had pretty good luck in this regard. I hope my review helped in your decision and it wasn't too lengthy or repetitive.