Published by Square Enix
Developed by Matrix Software/ Square Enix
By Diana Paulson
After so many years, and so many prayers, Final Fantasy III has finally been released in North America. Revamped and updated, this adventure does not disappoint. The opening cinematics are impressive for a hand held console and rival the graphics of early PS2 games. Throughout the rest of the game, the graphics remain at a high quality and are stylized to suit the FF world adding a certain level of “cuteness.” I am fond of the bright colours, and, as games become graphically sophisticated and “realistic”, I often find that the use of bright colours is becoming more scarce.
In comparison to the graphics, the narrative is, sadly, not as impressive. It’s very typical RPG tripe with chosen warriors, multiple worlds, and saving those multiple worlds. I can’t even remember the names of the characters. That’s how little they are developed, and what little significance they have to me. I simply call them by the job class I have given them (Geomancer, Dark Knight, Scholar, and White Mage). I am aware that this is one of the first RPGs to have a sophisticated narrative, so it is historically significant, but what can say? Final Fantasy XII and Baten Kaitos have spoiled me with intricate plots.
FF III keeps the good ol’ FF battle system which we know and love. The game also adds guest characters that can follow you around and occasionally help out in battle. It’s not much, but it’s something to ease the loneliness of group travel. The DS’s touch screen is barely used in the game; you can use it to walk and select things, which is fine, but not innovative for a DS game. Despite this, the fighting is overall satisfying and obtaining new job classes and watching them grow more powerful is delightful, rather than tedious. The game is in constant motion, helped also by a wide variety of ships, ranging from a canoe, to submarine, to a very large airship, to name a few. Of course, Chocobos make their appearance. In a narrative sense, the game is constantly on the move as there is always a task to be completed and each task builds to the salvation of the world, and unfolding the story.
FF III’s main draw is the use of job classes and, like in real life, as you progress you attain more job choices. The job classes make the gameplay shine; they allow players to customize their teams to suit their playing style. If you like mages, you can have an all-mage party. However, certain job classes are superior to others. For instance, I was ecstatic about the Bard job. Seriously. Edward back in FF IV rocked my world. Sadly, I was crushed to discover that you could not learn new songs; it was harps that provided different effects, meaning you have to purchase a butt load of harps to cause various effects, which is also very physically uncomfortable. On the other hand, I was really impressed with the Geomancer job class. The character uses the surrounding environment to attack the enemy. It’s easily the strongest job class. In water areas, the Geomancer will keep using Whirlpool, which causes instant death. In summary, instant death + Geomancers = kick ass.
