What are you playing? c'mon, tell me punk!

[NICKtendo DS]

So I have a question ...

I finally got around to playing EarthBound (blind playthrough) and just recently completed it. I really enjoyed it, and at the time I thought that its only real major flaw was that it didn't really explain who or what Giygas was, beyond just a general evil entity. So I ended up looking up his bio to learn that, okay, the reason they didn't go into details was because his backstory was explained in Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings.

Now I really want to play Mother 3, because I really want to know where the Porky cliffhanger is headed. So my question is, should I go back and play EarthBound Beginnings first? I mean I already ended up looking up Giygas' bio and learning his whole deal; is there any other information that the first game offers that makes playing it worth it? Or should I just go ahead and move on to Mother 3. I ask because I had heard that EarthBound Beginnings is kind of a generic RPG compared to the others.

Beginnings didn't age as well as EarthBound. While I fell in love with EarthBound and beat Giygas (save states helped, because old RPGs tend to get slow and tedious sometimes), I gave up at the Zoo in Beginnings. This could just be me, but Beginnings is rough.

To my knowledge, other than Giygas and his alien invasion, there's not much else that ties EarthBound and Beginnings together.

So yeah, I don't think you'll miss out on much by skipping to Mother 3. I have yet to play Mother 3 myself, I'm waiting for the game to get the same treatment as Beginnings, but if I were in your position, I'd definitely play Mother 3.