Top 20 Best RPG Series of All Time

#3. – Mother

# of Good Games in the Franchise: 3

Active: No

Mother was one of the first RPG series Nintendo invested in. Shigesato Itoi sought to create a role playing game based on 1960s United States, but in a very weird way. Common enemies include random animals and things like lamps. It’s very bizarre on the surface but the story is very unique, haunting, and memorable. Mother 2 came out for the Super Famicom and was even more strange. Here you play as a young man name Ness who sets out to stop an alien from the future. The sequel, which was originally hyped as Nintendo 64 release, was released for the Game Boy Advance and is the culmination of everything the developers learned from the previous iterations.

This is another franchise on this list that has only a few games in it. The thing is that each installment in the Mother franchise is a genre defining release. In this case there’s nothing at all even vaguely similar to these games. This is a rare case where the first installment is the weakest. Earthbound (as it’s known to North American audiences) is even better. This title has such amazing world building and a style that hasn’t been matched anywhere else. Mother 3 on the Game Boy Advance however pushes this even further. It has what I would consider one of the best storylines anywhere. The battle system is also one of the most strategic with characters that play specific roles which require experimentation to figure out their best use. It’s simply incredible.

The Best Way to Play:

Mother has been finally released in English for both the Wii U and the Switch. These are exact ports, and the game hasn’t been remade so either option is just as good as playing the translated rom for the Famicom. Earthbound was localized by Nintendo but is super expensive. This too can be played on these platforms via the virtual console. Mother 3 however is still locked on the Game Boy Advance, but it features a very polished fan translation that is better than most professional localizations.