So, I’m a big JPRG fan and just playing through Mother 3. I love Mother 2 (aka Earthbound) as well. I love the music, quirkiness, style, pacing, simple yet rewarding tactics in boss battles.
So, I would appreciate any game recommendations you have for a similar game or game series.
If it helps, my other favorite JRPGs are: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, 9, and 10.
Thinking about it, the recommendations are all over the place. It’s probably because the Mother franchise resonates with so many people, but for completely different reasons.
So since you said your favourite parts were…
I’m going to recommend the Mario RPGs.
The Super Mario RPG remake is very friendly, and the original was commonly up there with FF6, Chrono Trigger and Earthbound as the best RPGs on the SNES.
The Mario & Luigi games are a lot of fun, and the battle system is really involved.
Paper Mario is another quirky series, but only the original and TTYD (getting a remake on the Switch soon) are truly great imo.
Or if you want something non-Mario…
Bug Fables!
It’s a sort of spiritual successor to the Paper Mario franchise (before it strayed from its RPG roots), and it actually has the emotional impact of the Mother games. (I think it’s up there with Mother 3…just don’t skip out on the side quests!)
I forget when I played it, but it was the game of the year for me!