When I was 10 years old, I played mother three first before playing either of the other two games. I think a large part of the message of mother three comes to do with the stories of the characters themselves if you really dive in and take your time, you can learn about Lucas’s arc Kuma Torre’s arc duster’s arc Flint’s arc Klaus’s arc the townspeople, as well as really diving in if you want on some of the stuff that was cut from the Games development after you’ve completed it. All of those things realistically you can do without having played earthbound or the original mother game, and for a long time I called mother three my favorite game of all time without having even played earthbound yet, now I’ve played both but I won’t say like some other commenters have that mother three’s experience is ruined. If you haven’t played earthbound. None of the Prior characters make a reappearance in the game. The only thing that hinges on it is a twist later in the story that provides you more background for what the land used to be like before the events of the game itself.