Mother 3

From Before I Play
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  • Offense Up + Defense Up are really good PSI powers to use in all bosses.
  • Likewise, Offense Down + Defense Down are both excellent PSI powers to cut down on Boss difficulty.
  • For the above two points, Keep in mind that often times, you can use each PSI multiple times to keep raising/cutting offense/defense. It never hurts to see if the stat can go higher/lower.
  • The scroll-down speed for character HP is slower than that of EarthBound, which allows a lot more balls-to-the-wall attacks, even when you know a character's mortally wounded.
  • You don't have to hoard healing items in this game, as its NPCs will remind you. If you just use them as you go, you should be more than fine.
  • There's no penalty for dying and respawning for the first four chapters, but there is in Chapter 5 on. It's the same penalty as in Breath of Fire I, but in this game you can counteract that by putting all your money in the bank, where it will be unaffected by a Game Over.
  • Don't forget about the rhythm battle system. If you tap the A (or L) button in time to the music (which varies from enemy to enemy) while performing a normal attack, you can rack up extra hits, up to a maximum of 16 hits total. You can hear the beat you need to match better by putting the enemy to sleep, which lets you hear its "heartbeat", as the game calls it.
  • The rhythm battle system isn't necessary to use, but a full combo does 2-3x as much damage as a single hit, and it's quite useful earlier in the game, even before the game tells you about it. (It's useful later as well, but the beats are harder to match.)
  • Go back to Osohe Castle at the beginning of Chapter 5 and go as far as you can go. There is a secret boss there that will get you some helpful swag.
  • Don't underestimate the usefulness of Duster's Wall Staples (stun) and Hypno-pendulum (sleep). If the staples hit, the enemy will lose at least one round of action, and that can be incredibly useful in boss fights. Boney's Sniff ability is useful too, as it shows you the enemy type and weaknesses.
  • Defending makes the HP meter roll even slower, so if you have someone near death, defending helps keep them alive long enough for a heal.