Box Art
Game: Final Fantasy III
First Released: April 27, 1990, Famicom
Developers: Square
Platforms: Famicom, mobile phones, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console, PlayStation Network, iOS, Android, Ouya
Rated: E-10, for Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, and Suggestive Themes
First Released: April 27, 1990, Famicom
Developers: Square
Platforms: Famicom, mobile phones, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console, PlayStation Network, iOS, Android, Ouya
Rated: E-10, for Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, and Suggestive Themes
How I Came To Play This Game
Castle Sasune
While I was playing Final Fantasy II, I looked into what consoles Final Fantasy III was released for. It ends up that for a long time, Final Fantasy III was never rereleased in the USA, not even on the Gameboy Advance. Luckily, a Nintendo DS remake was released worldwide. I rushed out to get the game and started it as soon as i finished Final Fantasy II.
Story
Goldor's Manor
One thousand years before the events in the game, on a floating continent hovering high above the surface of an unnamed planet, a technologically advanced civilization sought to harness the power of the four elemental crystals of light. They did not realize that they could not control such fundamental forces of nature. This power of light would have consumed the world itself had the light crystals not had their natural counterparts: the four dark elemental crystals. Disturbed by the sudden interruption of the careful balance between light and dark, four warriors were granted the power of the dark crystals to recapture the power of the light crystals. These so-called Dark Warriors succeeded in their quest, and restored harmony to the world. But their victory came too late to save the doomed civilization, whose culture was reduced to ruin, though their floating continent remained. On that continent, the circle of Gulgans, a race of blind soothsayers and fortune-tellers predicted that these events will ultimately repeat. An earthquake opens up a previously hidden cavern in Altar Cave near the village of Ur on the floating continent. Four young orphans under the care of Topapa, the village elder, explore the earthquake's impact and come across a crystal of light. The crystal grants them a portion of its power, and instructs them to go forth and restore balance to the world. Not knowing what to make of the crystal's pronouncements, but nonetheless recognizing the importance of its words, the four inform their adoptive family of their mission and set out to explore an overworld outside the area in which they were brought up, in order to bring balance back to the world. Their adventures lead them to discover that there lies a whole world beyond the boundaries of the floating continent upon which they were living. In the world below, they discover a warlock named Xande, one of three apprentices to the legendary Archmage Noah, is trying to possess the crystals of light, so as to bring forth chaos and disorder. The four warriors eventually arrive at the Crystal Tower where they discover that the Cloud of Darkness is the source of the recent events. The Cloud attempts to create a similar situation to the Flood of Light a millennia earlier so that the world is pulled into the void. The Light Warriors traverse into the domain of the dark crystals to free the imprisoned Dark Warriors and defeat the Cloud of Darkness, thereby restoring the crystals and balance to the world.
Pros And Cons
Story
FMV Characters
This game had the best story so far. Final Fantasy II's story was focused on alittle too much. This game had the perfect balance between story and gameplay.
Characters
Warriors of Light
I liked the characters in this game better than the ones in Final Fantasy II because they were teens like me. I like it that the remake had the characters properly named, unlike the original that just started you off with four Onion Knights. Each character has his/her own distinct personality. This game is also the first game to include Moogles. They are little white creatures with bat wings and large red noses.
Gameplay
Overworld
The gameplay remains largely unchanged from the original Final Fantasy. The only difference being that you can only fight three enemies at a time because of the Nintendo DS's limits. This game was the first to implement the new Job Class System. For every crystal you find, you are given a set of jobs you can become that give characters special abilities. The game includes the original six from the first Final Fantasy as well as many others. My version includes these Job Classes: Freelancer, Warrior, Monk, White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, Thief, Ranger, Knight, Scholar, Geomancer, Dragoon, Viking, Dark Knight, Evoker, Bard, Black Belt, Devout, Magus, Summoner, Sage, Ninja, and Onion Knight. That is a lot to choose from. This is also the first game in the series to have job exclusive moves they can perform in battle. The Bards for instance can Sing, and the Ninja's can throw weapons such as shurikens. So the gameplay actually is an improvement over the first two.
Graphics
Nepto Dragon Statue
The Nintendo DS remake had a complete revision of the graphics. Instead of the 8-bit graphics of the original Famicom version, the game has a new 3D graphics engine similar to the Nintendo 64. It's kind of neat because you can zoom the camera in to get a close up shot of the overworld.
Music
The music was much better than the Gameboy Advance games I played before since this one was for the Nintendo DS, which had better sound capabilities. It had remixed versions of the original music from the old Final Fantasy III. I especially like the Overworld, Wild Battle, Victory, and Chocobo musics.
Releases
Shot from the cancelled Wonderswan Color port
The game was originally released in Japan in 1990 for the Famicom. It was never released in America for the NES. There was an attempt to release an enhanced remake for the Wonderswan Color like 1, 2, and 4 but it was cancelled. It was never released again until it was remade and released worldwide for the Nintendo DS in 2006. It then made it onto the Japanese Wii Virtual Console in 2009. Then it was put onto iOS in 2011 and Android in 2012. An updated release of the Nintendo DS remake was released for the PSP in 2012.
My Version's Extras
In the Nintendo DS version, you start as the Freelancer job. The old starting job, the Onion Knight, is now unlockable. There is a secret boss called the Iron Giant located in a secret underwater dungeon. He is the hardest boss in the game. I have never beat him because he can attack four times in one turn. There is also a new character Master Smith who will make the strongest weapons for you when you max out a Job Class.
My Rating
I give this game an 8/10. It still wasn't as good as the original Final Fantasy, but with the return of the Job Class System, it made the game really fun.