I posted this on Nintendo forums before so it might seem kind of weird, but here goes.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Developer: Square Enix and Matrix Software
Genre: Role-playing Game
Release Date: November 24, 2006
Final Fantasy is one of the most renowned series in the entirety of gaming history. With countless games under its belt, this series has managed to snare many in it's addicting grasp. In its humble American beginnings, the development company of its success, Square Enix, released a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System simply called Final Fantasy, and another titled Final Fantasy II. After that, Square Enix released their sixth game, Final Fantasy IV, in America but renamed it as Final Fantasy III. The true Final Fantasy III seemed to deviate from the series and therefore was lost. However, Square got wise and planned a remake for the game. And here we are, roughly two and half years later with a solid game that will stand the test of time.
The early Final Fantasy games were not known for their plots, mostly corresponding to the first one. In fact, Final Fantasy III seems to merely rip the storyline of Final Fantasy I and add in a few more characters and more of a plot and call it a day. That's not a bad thing, though - in fact, since Square left this storyline intact the "retro" feel is greatly enhanced.
Sticking to the original material, the basic story itself is drawn out early in the game. As usual, four chosen warriors of light were told by the Wind Crystal to seek out the other crystals and protect them from an unnamed evil. This time, though you can name these warriors, although their canon names are Luneth, Refia, Ingus, and Arc. Again, this plays out a lot like the original. You meet a wide array of characters along the way, most of which accompany you for a period of time in the game to aid you in battles and for plot development. Going hand-in-hand with the character accompanying, the earlier parts of the game revolve around getting items, and finding ways to unlock other areas eventually leading up to a dungeon with the Crystal in it. For example, to get to the first dungeon where the first boss lies, you need an Airship which a helpful character, Cid, will lend to you if you promise to break the curse the boss holds over everyone in the area. Sometimes, though, things pile up too much and you can easily forget what you are even planning to do. The lack of character development as well is a sad misfortune that could have been added while keeping the plot intact.
There are some very interesting story points in the game that will always keep you guessing and will generally give you a lot to keep you playing. Let's face it; the plot is pure old school. Some love it for its nostalgia, some hate it just because it's not as shallow as other RPGs. It's not Final Fantasy VI, but it works well for the game.
As I said before, the early game revolves around item collecting and dungeon crawling. The only way to unlock more areas is by doing something at the end of one area, or completing a plot event that garners you a special item. For example, you have to save a Viking Cove from a rampaging sea deity by venturing into an ancient temple. In the temple you must find a ruby eye that goes on a statue of the ocean deity, and when that occurs the monster will calm itself down. As a reward from the vikings, you get a ship. This is primarily what happens early in the game, and is in fact a major play device throughout the game.
Final Fantasy is often credited as the series that pioneered turn based battling, since it makes radical changes to the battling system in each new title. For the third entry? Jobs. Yes, this was the first game to bring out the revolutionary job system. It has held up ridiculously well for today, and is a very helpful addition for a players who wants to do things themselves. The premise of jobs is like this: as you "save" another of the four crystals of light, you will unlock a plethora of new jobs. Each job does something unique. A Knight has staggering defensive characteristics, while a Warrior is more trigger happy and is an all out offensive class. When you switch a job, you'll have something called the Job Adjustment Phase. In this phase your stats will be halved, until the set amount of battles have been fought. When you have battled the number of encounters that was told, your stats will be set back to normal and you will have that job. Don't be fooled by the name job, though. You're not going to be working for a living in Final Fantasy III; jobs are just a way to create your team the way you want for battles.
Each job boasts unique equipment, stats, and a special ability. Dragoons, for example, use spears and lances as their primary weapon and have an ability called Jump, which has them jumping into the air for one turn and then crashing down on the enemy the next, doing massive damage. With jobs comes job points, and as you win battles you get these job points, eventually leveling up for your job. With the higher level you have, the more times you will hit when you attack, the maximum hit count being 32. Jobs are the way to make your own unique team, and with so many of them, that just makes it more fun.
So now we know about jobs, but what about the actual battling portion of the game? It's the same old turn based stuff, nothing new. You have an absolute gargantuan amount of enemies to fight throughout the game, and with that many enemies you'll need to level up. Yes, as with many other RPGs you're going to be going through tedious turn based battles getting experience. It may be the same thing you've done for years now, but for some odd reason it still seems fresh and exciting, especially with jobs and the aforementioned special abilities they possess. But then again, it gets repetitive fast and is one of those things that bore you quickly.
Items are a huge factor in the game. There are just so many of them that you will need to utilize a certain system in the game to store them. There are basic items, such as Potions, Antidotes and Eye Drops to handle the overflow of status conditions, but then you get to ones that do nearly everything imaginable. This overabundance of items is, basically, a confusing blessing.
The difficulty in Final Fantasy III can easily be described as hard. Tons of level grinding is necessary to actually do well in the game, and unfortunately Phoenix Downs (an item that revives your characters when they are "dead" are nowhere in sight, and can only be found in secret areas. With such little amounts of restoratives you will constantly find yourself saving before any major area, and even having difficulty against overworld enemies.
Nintendo's WiFi connection has had massive success for Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime Hunters, but what about Final Fantasy III? All you can really do is send mail to fellow players to help unlock a side quest leading to incredibly powerful items and a hidden job. Let's face it, WiFi wasn't utilized fully in this title. Item trading? Co-op play? They were sadly not realized here, but fortunately that doesn't deteriorate the gameplay at all.
What you first notice about Final Fantasy III are the superb graphics. Textures are smooth for the most part, polygon count is high and the frame-rate is strong. Gorgeous 3D visuals and environments are one of the major reasons that keep you hooked to the game. Enemy art is astounding, unique models for each weapon and class were added and perfect... I could ramble on and on about how Square is pushing the boundaries for the Nintendo DS technology, and it's true. Final Fantasy III is a cinematic masterpiece as well, if you take the time to watch the entire CGI introduction. Just don't let your jaw break the DS when it drops.
Music is perhaps the pinnacle in Final Fantasy success, and I stand by that statement with strong regard as I listen to the haunting score of the Temple of Time (in no relation to Zelda). Nobuo Uematsu composed the music for the title, and it's no less than epic. Each tune is unique and fitting for the atmosphere, and fleshes out each location flawlessly. Some of the tracks are even worthy of being hummed to. Although the music isn't the most memorable compared to other Final Fantasy games, by itself it is outstanding.
Overall, Final Fantasy III is a must have for anyone who enjoys RPGs and wants a unique challenge. It's driven by emotional music and fantastic visuals, but the gameplay itself is just so nostalgic and addicting you can't help but think this game is def. The only extreme negative I can think of is that if you think of this title as a modern day video game, you will be a little disappointed by how little depth it contains compared to things like Elder Scrolls or later Final Fantasy games.
Overall: 8.25/10
Platform: Nintendo DS
Developer: Square Enix and Matrix Software
Genre: Role-playing Game
Release Date: November 24, 2006
Final Fantasy is one of the most renowned series in the entirety of gaming history. With countless games under its belt, this series has managed to snare many in it's addicting grasp. In its humble American beginnings, the development company of its success, Square Enix, released a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System simply called Final Fantasy, and another titled Final Fantasy II. After that, Square Enix released their sixth game, Final Fantasy IV, in America but renamed it as Final Fantasy III. The true Final Fantasy III seemed to deviate from the series and therefore was lost. However, Square got wise and planned a remake for the game. And here we are, roughly two and half years later with a solid game that will stand the test of time.
The early Final Fantasy games were not known for their plots, mostly corresponding to the first one. In fact, Final Fantasy III seems to merely rip the storyline of Final Fantasy I and add in a few more characters and more of a plot and call it a day. That's not a bad thing, though - in fact, since Square left this storyline intact the "retro" feel is greatly enhanced.
Sticking to the original material, the basic story itself is drawn out early in the game. As usual, four chosen warriors of light were told by the Wind Crystal to seek out the other crystals and protect them from an unnamed evil. This time, though you can name these warriors, although their canon names are Luneth, Refia, Ingus, and Arc. Again, this plays out a lot like the original. You meet a wide array of characters along the way, most of which accompany you for a period of time in the game to aid you in battles and for plot development. Going hand-in-hand with the character accompanying, the earlier parts of the game revolve around getting items, and finding ways to unlock other areas eventually leading up to a dungeon with the Crystal in it. For example, to get to the first dungeon where the first boss lies, you need an Airship which a helpful character, Cid, will lend to you if you promise to break the curse the boss holds over everyone in the area. Sometimes, though, things pile up too much and you can easily forget what you are even planning to do. The lack of character development as well is a sad misfortune that could have been added while keeping the plot intact.
There are some very interesting story points in the game that will always keep you guessing and will generally give you a lot to keep you playing. Let's face it; the plot is pure old school. Some love it for its nostalgia, some hate it just because it's not as shallow as other RPGs. It's not Final Fantasy VI, but it works well for the game.
As I said before, the early game revolves around item collecting and dungeon crawling. The only way to unlock more areas is by doing something at the end of one area, or completing a plot event that garners you a special item. For example, you have to save a Viking Cove from a rampaging sea deity by venturing into an ancient temple. In the temple you must find a ruby eye that goes on a statue of the ocean deity, and when that occurs the monster will calm itself down. As a reward from the vikings, you get a ship. This is primarily what happens early in the game, and is in fact a major play device throughout the game.
Final Fantasy is often credited as the series that pioneered turn based battling, since it makes radical changes to the battling system in each new title. For the third entry? Jobs. Yes, this was the first game to bring out the revolutionary job system. It has held up ridiculously well for today, and is a very helpful addition for a players who wants to do things themselves. The premise of jobs is like this: as you "save" another of the four crystals of light, you will unlock a plethora of new jobs. Each job does something unique. A Knight has staggering defensive characteristics, while a Warrior is more trigger happy and is an all out offensive class. When you switch a job, you'll have something called the Job Adjustment Phase. In this phase your stats will be halved, until the set amount of battles have been fought. When you have battled the number of encounters that was told, your stats will be set back to normal and you will have that job. Don't be fooled by the name job, though. You're not going to be working for a living in Final Fantasy III; jobs are just a way to create your team the way you want for battles.
Each job boasts unique equipment, stats, and a special ability. Dragoons, for example, use spears and lances as their primary weapon and have an ability called Jump, which has them jumping into the air for one turn and then crashing down on the enemy the next, doing massive damage. With jobs comes job points, and as you win battles you get these job points, eventually leveling up for your job. With the higher level you have, the more times you will hit when you attack, the maximum hit count being 32. Jobs are the way to make your own unique team, and with so many of them, that just makes it more fun.
So now we know about jobs, but what about the actual battling portion of the game? It's the same old turn based stuff, nothing new. You have an absolute gargantuan amount of enemies to fight throughout the game, and with that many enemies you'll need to level up. Yes, as with many other RPGs you're going to be going through tedious turn based battles getting experience. It may be the same thing you've done for years now, but for some odd reason it still seems fresh and exciting, especially with jobs and the aforementioned special abilities they possess. But then again, it gets repetitive fast and is one of those things that bore you quickly.
Items are a huge factor in the game. There are just so many of them that you will need to utilize a certain system in the game to store them. There are basic items, such as Potions, Antidotes and Eye Drops to handle the overflow of status conditions, but then you get to ones that do nearly everything imaginable. This overabundance of items is, basically, a confusing blessing.
The difficulty in Final Fantasy III can easily be described as hard. Tons of level grinding is necessary to actually do well in the game, and unfortunately Phoenix Downs (an item that revives your characters when they are "dead" are nowhere in sight, and can only be found in secret areas. With such little amounts of restoratives you will constantly find yourself saving before any major area, and even having difficulty against overworld enemies.
Nintendo's WiFi connection has had massive success for Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime Hunters, but what about Final Fantasy III? All you can really do is send mail to fellow players to help unlock a side quest leading to incredibly powerful items and a hidden job. Let's face it, WiFi wasn't utilized fully in this title. Item trading? Co-op play? They were sadly not realized here, but fortunately that doesn't deteriorate the gameplay at all.
What you first notice about Final Fantasy III are the superb graphics. Textures are smooth for the most part, polygon count is high and the frame-rate is strong. Gorgeous 3D visuals and environments are one of the major reasons that keep you hooked to the game. Enemy art is astounding, unique models for each weapon and class were added and perfect... I could ramble on and on about how Square is pushing the boundaries for the Nintendo DS technology, and it's true. Final Fantasy III is a cinematic masterpiece as well, if you take the time to watch the entire CGI introduction. Just don't let your jaw break the DS when it drops.
Music is perhaps the pinnacle in Final Fantasy success, and I stand by that statement with strong regard as I listen to the haunting score of the Temple of Time (in no relation to Zelda). Nobuo Uematsu composed the music for the title, and it's no less than epic. Each tune is unique and fitting for the atmosphere, and fleshes out each location flawlessly. Some of the tracks are even worthy of being hummed to. Although the music isn't the most memorable compared to other Final Fantasy games, by itself it is outstanding.
Overall, Final Fantasy III is a must have for anyone who enjoys RPGs and wants a unique challenge. It's driven by emotional music and fantastic visuals, but the gameplay itself is just so nostalgic and addicting you can't help but think this game is def. The only extreme negative I can think of is that if you think of this title as a modern day video game, you will be a little disappointed by how little depth it contains compared to things like Elder Scrolls or later Final Fantasy games.
Overall: 8.25/10
