You're going to save the world? Did you get hit on the head or something?
You know, I don’t have a lot to say about Final Fantasy III. I can’t wax nostalgic about it because I didn’t even beat it for the first time until 2013. With its completion, though, it marked a milestone in my life: I’d beaten all of the main-line Final Fantasy games.
I’d played around on a rom of the Famicom’s unofficial English translation, but like a lot of people, I was finally able to play this game when it was released on the Nintendo DS. I bought it used.
TRACIE, the previous owner of the game, had no clue what to do, because all the party members were level 10 and still Freelancers, even though the file was a pretty decent ways into the game. I’m assuming he/she didn't understand the RPG mechanics. Which is ok. That’s why there’s genres for everyone out there.
Anyway, since I can’t say much about myself when it comes to this game, I might as well review it. This game is great. The job system is always enjoyable-my introduction to the mechanic was through Final Fantasy Tactics-but this proto leveling engine presented in FF3 is just as much fun. It just lacks in its diversity of customization (which Final Fantasy V and Tactics make up for in spades). But hey, you've got to start somewhere.
The characters are great. Refia has quickly shot through the ranks as one of my favorite female Final Fantasy characters. I absolutely love her naivete and self consciousness, but willingness to continue just to feel like she's accomplishing something in her life other than metallurgy and smithery. Arc is also something unique to the series, as he can clearly be seen as one of the series’ few homosexual heroes (other than the obvious Vanille/Fang relationship apparent in Final Fantasy XIII and Larsa from Final Fantasy XII). Luneth and Ingus are clearly typical RPG archetype hero characters, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Xande, as a villain, is pretty clear cut. It isn’t until near the end you find out that while his motivations were clearly his own at the outset, but even the evil are corruptible by the truly maleficent. I love how Cloud of Darkness comes out of left field near the end in one of the best reveals the series has to offer. Necron, take notes. If you're going to shadow puppet a story's main villain, Cloud of Darkness is how you do it.
One of the beauties of the DS remake of the game is how it expands on the original Famicom story, but retains enough of its original distinctive, eccentric vagaries when it comes to storytelling. Basically, if you can get there, you can experience that part of the story-even if it isn’t in the “proper” order. Though many events are required breadcrumb quests that lead you into the next breadcrumb in the tale.
Like I said earlier, I really enjoy this game, even if I don’t have much to say about it. I recommend it to anyone. It’s a solid title with a solid job mechanic that continues to satisfy fans of Tactics, the MMOs or FF5 alike. I think I like the PSP version of the game slightly more because of the single screen. To me, this made it feel, I dunno, less choppy than the DS counterpart, I guess.
Breakdown:
- Order played: 11 of 12
- Order completed: 12 of 12
- Place among my favorites: 9 of 12
- Number of times completed: 2
- Versions completed: DS, PSP
- Versions attempted: Famicom, DS, PSP
- Definitive version: PSP
- Favorite track: Doga’s Pavilion
Click to view