Jump to content

[1/17/07] Final Fantasy III


Recommended Posts

Game: Final Fantasy III

System: Nintendo DS

Emulators: None will run it as far as I know

 

final-fantasy-iii-box-art.jpg

 

--------------------------------------------

 

The long awaited piece of the Final Fantasy collection final hit the U.S. in mid November last year. I haven't gotten too far in it but I decided to write a review because I'm sure someone is curious about this if they haven't tried it out yet. The story of the game is still very similar to the original Final Fantasy III so don't worry those who have played the original, many of the aspects are still there. Anyways, on with the review.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Final Fantasy III stays close to its Final Fantasy ties and continues with the storyline regarding the crystals that control the elements of nature. It is your job as the "Warrior of the Light" to journey forward and find the missing crystal shards and by doing so, averting natural disasters that are occurring due to the misplacement of the shards. As the story begins, a mysterious earthquake has opened up a hole in a cavern known as Altar Cave in which the protagonist finds the first crystal he will come across. After receiving the crystal's "blessing," it becomes the protagonist's job to find the other "Warriors of the Light" and locate the missing shards.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

final-fantasy-iii-5.jpg

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Controls - 7.5/10

 

Although there is nothing particularly wrong with the control style in FF3, it must be taken into consideration how it is a DS game and the stylus should be in use. The bottom screen of the DS is the one in most use as it is where the actual gameplay is displayed. You can either use the D-Pad or the stylus to control the movements and actions of your characters. I found the stylus control style to be somewhat awkward though. Using the wristband thumbpad attachment to be even worse off. I found it best to just stick with the standard D-Pad and there should be minimal problems. The controls do seem slightly clunky around corners.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

final-fantasy-iii-2.jpg

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Gameplay - 8/10

 

The gameplay in FF3 is pretty straightforward. You move along completing quest after quest along your way to find each shard. Needless to say, this leads to linear gameplay, but not in a bad way. This is rather character of classic Final Fantasy games. Regardless, as you progress along with the game, you meet various people who join your team for certain amounts of time as "reserve" characters. Basically, there is a chance that they will attack or help you out in battles.

 

Speaking of which, the battle system in FF3 is similar to that of most FF games. There is your basic attack, guard, run, item, row chance, and of course the job ability that you have (I will get to this soon). Unfortunately, random battles occur randomly but at somewhat high rates. The problem with this is the only place in the game you can save your file is on the world map. Fighting through some of the dungeons can be tough since you cannot save and it is easy to get marooned in a cave with no healing abilities left.

 

The job system is what makes this game (or the original) a pioneer of the FF game franchise. The job system is a set of over 20 jobs which you acquire throughout the game that give your characters different abilities. For example, if you assign your character as a fighter, he or she will be your basic attacker in battles. On the other hand, if you assign someone as a white mage, he or she will not be fighting much in battle but rather casting support magic and healing. The leveling system is the same as the original, get EXP, level up, repeat. Besides EXP though, you receive job points at the end of each battle which after a certain amount, your job level levels up increasing the strength of that job. Each job has specific equipment that it can use although some are shared. Of course you would not want to equip someone with the viking job class a bow rather than a large battleaxe as it eliminates the purpose of the job. As for magic, instead of mana, you will receive a specific amount of uses of each spell until you rest at an inn. This is also character of classic FF games.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

final-fantasy-iii-1.jpg

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Graphics - 9/10

 

This game shows what a DS game can be made of graphically. Although it is not like having a PS2 in your pocket, this game pushes the DS to its limits and comes out pretty well done. The whole entire game is displayed in 3D which I suppose is the main difference between the DS and NES versions. The enemies of the game are just about as detailed as the characters. The most amazing graphics though are displayed during the FMV sequence at the beginning of the game.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

final-fantasy-iii-6.jpg

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Sound - 9/10

 

For me, it was great to hear all the old FF3 music redone and played through the new version. The music is the typical Final Fantasy style: light-hearted throughout towns, light on the world map, intense in battle, and silly/goofy in strange places. The sounds of the game are also well done. There is the usual casting sound (charging up), the slashing of the swords, and the plucking of the bow. The sound/music ratio is also well done as you can hear both very well rather than one overcoming the other.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

final-fantasy-iii-4.jpg

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Controls - 7/10

Gameplay - 8/10

Graphics - 8.5/10

Sound - 9/10

 

Overall Score - 8.1

Grade - B

 

Overall this game gets a :thumbsup1: from me, happy gaming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed, but I find using the stylus more convinent. Espeically in battle situations where it's just move, point and touch. But IMO they could of done more with the graphics, it doesn't really push the DS pre-se, so far the only game to do that has been Metroid Prime: Hunters. The extra CGs are hot and so if Refia.

 

And as you said, gameplay is practically vanilla FF and I also agree that the main part of the game that is made of win is the sound, in particular the music. Music is epic win.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

One of the big things I notice with the game is the graphics are awsome. TOO awsome. The DS's hardware cannot support the amount of things and effects sometimes, and there is noticible slowdown during attacks and ESPECIALLY big spells and such.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

i can't stand this remake of it.... it would of been better to make ff3 just add a few things to it not change it completely and say ff3 there trying to replace the originals AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...