I just want to say that even though Mother 3 has very quickly become one of my favorite games of all time, I get what you mean here about Duster and Kumatora being disconnected. Even though I think both characters were still well developed on their own, they just didn’t have a strong enough relationship with Lucas for the party to feel as cohesive.

I think it’s partly because they’re older than Lucas. In EB, I’m pretty sure Paula and Jeff and Poo didn’t get any more characterization than Duster and Kumatora, but since they were all nearly the same age, my theory is it felt easier to just accept them as “fast friends.”

As for Boney though, I loved that they finally let you bring the dog with as a permanent party member, instead of tagging along for just a few battles in the beginning.