Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy III is a treasure of a game. Although it wasn't released out of Japan until 2006, it still garnered popularity in Japan. In my honest opinion, this third installment of the Final Fantasy series is by far the best.

Granted, the plot isn't the best I've seen (Final Fantasy X holds that honor), but everything else more than makes up for it. The gameplay is typical for an RPG, yet I find it more gripping than most other RPGs. The difficulty is just right; it's not too easy nor is it too hard. But the game's most outstanding quality is undoubtedly its music. The music in Final Fantasy III is the best I've ever heard. The Final Fantasy series is well-known for its music, but Final Fantasy III is the crown jewel in this category.

I wholeheartedly recommend this game. Will you enjoy it as much as I did? Possibly, but at the very least, Final Fantasy III is an enjoyable game for RPG players.

Finally managed to play through this Final Fantasy game on the DS. It took a good deal of time, but I finally managed to play my way through it and conquer yet another FF game. The only Final Fantasy I have not won now that is part of the main series is part XV and the two online ones that I really do not think should be a part of the main series. I have also managed to play through part X-2 and XIII-2, but I could not stomach XIII: Lightening Returns so I never played through it either. This one felt a bit like a chore at times to play through and part of me thinks that perhaps that has more to do with the fact it is a remake on the DS rather than the actual game. Part II was also upped in the graphic department, but was still essentially the same game. Here they give it a 3D makeover and they may have also upped the difficulty. FFIV was also given this treatment and it was more difficult than the original SNES version so that may be why this one felt so hard compared to other FF games. The 3D effect also makes dungeons a bit more difficult to traverse as you can miss a few paths here and there. Overall, I thought it was okay, but I have to say, I enjoyed the second game a bit more.

The story has two youths going into a cave and discovering a crystal and soon they learn they are two of the warriors of light. They meet up with the other two and soon must try and stop darkness from taking over the land. They explore their world and soon learn that their world is an island in the sky and that the world below is one that is frozen in time. The writer of the synopsis says that the world is submerged by the ocean, but that was not the case for the game I played. Perhaps it is different in the original version? Soon they venture to this world and restore time and learn of a terrible force that threatens to destroy not only the light, but the darkness as well!

The world is rather big as you start off on a floating continent and then you venture to the world below that is even larger. In that way it was better than the second game which was kind of small by comparison. However, the story to that one just flowed better and you know who the villain was. Here it is just random people trying to do this and that and then the villain emerges and then dies and then another emerges! Then you proceed to a dungeon and here is the main problem with the game, there are no save points in the dungeons and during the final one you have to fight multiple bosses before confronting the final boss. It is rather insane! You would think that they would have added saves in the DS version, but all they added was a quick save that is completely useless! You save, the game ends and you restart where you left off. You die, after that you don't restart where you quick saved, but rather where you performed your normal save! This FF game also features the class change thing that was featured in FF V and also X-2 and I am just not a fan. You just do not know if you should change or stay with what you are. I also did not like the fact the spells did not use magic points, but were limited to a set number of uses and they also did not have a place I could find that sold phoenix downs!

So, this game had some interesting aspects too it. The story was okay, but I would have rather had a more visible villain and I loved the fact there were pretty much two different worlds to go through. You also get like four airships in this one and two of them crash! The difficulty really bogs the game down a bit, but once you start getting better weaponry and armor it becomes a bit easier, though I suggest being level 60 before hitting the final dungeon. You could probably win before that, but there is just too much chance for a blast from the final boss knocking someone in your party off. So I have to say that this Final Fantasy game did some cool things, but just not as good as the previous game or the next one.

This is probably the most unknown sequel in Final Fantasy series since it wasn't released outside of Japan until 2006. This comment is based on a NES emulator translation of the original.

Story tells about four unnamed orphans who are sent to protect Elemental Crystals and the world from Xande's clutches. The structure of the plot is in like in first Final Fantasy, especially in the beginning it feels like pointless wandering in huge, maze-like, non-save point dungeons. From the middle game it's coming clear what is supposed to do to prevent world from destruction. Dialogue is often childish as are some events (adventure begins when the four orphans accidentally falls in some pit in a cave). Characters are distant since they are not met very often.

Other parts in Final Fantasy III work well. Monster design is unique and colorful. Music has it's moments, especially in the final place before fighting the last boss. Class system is interesting with classes that can be changed. Combat is simple and smooth. Most of the game player can go calmly to the destination, only in the very end is annoying "you must wander pointlessly so that you loser characters would have some chances to survive"-thing.

Overall Final Fantasy III is surprisingly smooth considering that is one of the NES Final Fantasies.