First things first. I know that this game is not really that new; we're almost 2 full years passed its release date. But give me some credit, because I like to write about whatever game I'm playing presently for the first time, and this game just happens to be it. But enough about my justification, (which is mainly for my benefit). Let's get down the core of this review: Final Fantasy III.
Final Fantasy III actually has an interesting back story to it. It was originally released in 1990, but like most games in the FF series, it was never released in America for its original system. So back in circa 2004-2005, they decided to bring this lost game back in a totally new fashion. The developers decided they were going to redo this game completely and make it a brand new phenomenon for this generation of gaming. Yet, it some ways, this game just misses that bar.
STORYLINE:
Here's the problem with a lot of the early FF games: they are all plot-driven, not character driven as the games more recent in the series. While there is nothing wrong with a plot-driven story, it only really gets pulled off if there a really awesome story. The early FF games pretty much lack in that department.
In Final Fantasy III, the main character awakens to find himself on the floor of a dark and gloomy cave. It is learned that a great earthquake opened a hole in the ground and your main character fell through. Not that exciting huh? Later on, however, you learn that the "earthquake was only the beginning." The world is going to hell in a hand basket; the light of the crystals is fading! You and three people you meet in the first half hour of the game are the "WARRIORS OF THE LIGHT." You have been sworn to defend the world from perishing and to restore light to the coming "world of darkness."
I mean, that’s an okay storyline; I’m sure that back in 1990, it was fresh and mind-blowing. But by today’s standards, it’s really weak and overdone. It’s not something that is really going to make your jaw drop, but it is still enjoyable. The plot is simple enough that you can keep everything that’s going on in line. There is not too much room for confusion, and that makes the gameplay and mechanics so much easier to focus on.
GAMEPLAY / MECHANICS:
This game follows the style of the conventional FF games in the series, which is the turn-based, random battling, and the exploration of world maps, towns and dungeons. The gameplay is very simplistic and very easy to learn. By moving around on the world map, you find towns and other enterable areas (such as Chocobo Woods: secret forest village where you can catch and ride a chocobo on the world map). You must go from town to town, mainly in the order you can find them, and find clues to what destruction is going on in the world. Your characters then set out to right wrongs, and restore that good ol’ light of the crystals.
The towns are very beneficial as that is where you buy your equipment. You can purchase weapons, armor, items and even magic in almost every town, so make sure to save up your gil. The newer towns you find, the newest magic and weapons will be available at their shops. So you get very interested in finding new places, because you want new stuff!
Final Fantasy IIIalso has a “job system”, as many games after it do. By restoring light to the crystals and saving parts of the world from evil, you can unlock jobs for your characters to be. What I mean is, you can choose for any character to be a white mage, a black mage, a monk, a knight, etc. It’s very nice that you don’t have to fill any pre-requisites in order to become a new class.
As nice as this sort of system sounds, there are a few drawbacks. For starters, every time you change jobs, there is a buffer period where your stats will be lower, allowing time for your character to get used to his or her new job. This gets to be a very big pain in the butt because the more you change job, the more battles you have to fight as a buffer. Also, there are times in the game when you wish that you were another job, and you find out that job will be the easiest way to complete the task, but there is no way of knowing that beforehand. Therefore your job level (which directly correlates to what abilities you can do, etc.) will be low if your job is changed now. Again, this gets very irritating. But the different jobs’ outfits and abilities look very cool in the remake.
GRAPHICS:
I’m actually very impressed with the graphics of FFIII. The developers wanted to do much more than just an updated “port.” They completely reinvented the core of this game and it is visible through the graphics. First off, most of the game is in 3D, which really pushes the DS’s capabilities, but in a non-strenuous way. The animation for the spells looks great, as do the abilities the bosses use. The polygons for the characters are a little sharp: they seem to be pointy wherever two line meet. But other than that I think the game’s graphics are really impressing for a DS game.
To make the graphics look this way, they also changed some of the angles from the original during cut scenes. It is no longer a birds-eye view when an event takes place with the characters. They are interactive and fully zoomed in, as if you were watching movies, not just reading text.
MUSIC & SFX:
Pretty simple here. The music is that of good ol’ Nobou Uematsu, therefore, FF fans know that the music has pretty much nothing wrong with it. The sound effects are simple too: swords clangs, claws scrape, rods bonk. A pretty well designed sound section. It is not great, but there is nothing lacking.
ANALYSIS:
The first time I bought this game in 2006, I turned around and sold it back to the store. But a few weeks ago I decided that I judged it too unfairly, and wanted to give it another shot. I’m really not disappointed. Nor am I swept off my feet. It’s a good game, and I’m really enjoying it (I only have a little bit more to go), but there’s no doubt I’ve played better, even in this series alone.
This game is very simple, especially if you’ve ever played any of the early Final Fantasy games. I recommend it to anyone who like a fantasy-based storyline and simplistic as hell plots. It’s a nice break from all the new intricate RPGs of today. So if you have twenty extra bucks, I say go pick this up and give it a try. You may end up losing yourself in the gameplay even. It’s really enjoyable and the gameplay gets you very hooked. In fact, I’m going to go sit down and play it.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10
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