Maybe my favorite Mother game? The beginning of the game has such solid inventory management gameplay. Once you get to Magicant, you don't have to worry about dying anymore really if you play it a certain way. You don't have to grind if you play it this way, but it will add maybe 2 hours to your gameplay of just... walking back to where you were. I don't think that is that bad.
I love the story and how it progresses. It's really something you have to see for yourself. I recommend a hack called "Mother Restored" that gives the game the much better translation from Tomato's 1+2 hack, uncensors sprites, while still allowing for use of the NES soundtrack.