Final Fantasy III

Most helpful review Final Fantasy III

• A Fantastic Journey

   

  By Vivacia (28 reviews) from London , 22 Apr 2008

  [Highly rated reviewer]

  Final Fantasy III gets a much deserved revamp in this DS remake of the classic Japanese only NES game, with new characters and new graphics to make it more palatable to the modern gamer. But the important stuff has stayed, including the standard turn-based gameplay, leveling up and of course the sweeping story.
  
  When an earthquake rips through the land our main protaganist (you get to choose the name as always) finds himself stuck in a cavern. Battling all manner of beasties he eventually makes his way out and discovers a Crystal. A Crystal that can talk. It says that a great darkness is sweeping the land, and only the four chosen ones can bring balance back to the world and defeat the darkness. Instructing you to go forth and find the other three you quickly find yourself on the world map with your adventure waiting before you.
  
  It's worthwhile to try to not read too much about the story of this game prior to playing as there are some nice twists in the tale as you progress. Most of the time it will be pretty clear what's expected of you and where to go, though there are times when you may accidentally wander into an area you are nowhere near ready for. And this leads onto one of the better and worse aspects of Final Fantasy III - leveling up. Anyone familiar with the FF franchise knows it's a chore at times and this game is no exception, though this reviewer found it was better than the others as the enemies' experience points goes up substantially the further you progress, unlike some other entries in the series. But if you've never liked the whole 'leveling up' and 'grinding' thing than be warned that FFIII still requires you to do this to survive.
  
  There is also the option in the game to use the stylus for moving around, equipping armour and weapons, as well as to use items. Three words - don't do this! The stylus is fiddly and completely redundant as the directional pad and buttons do the job just fine. It was clearly just added to the game so it could be advertised as a 'touch' game when it's nothing of the sort. If you should try to use the stylus you will in all likelyhood end up equipping the wrong stuff and using the wrong items - inevitably at the very moment when you really needed that Phoenix Down to work. Aside from that the controls are great and no different to the others, and there is even a camera zoom with the left bumper, which allows you to find hidden items and switches in dungeons and houses.
  
  Another aspect of FFIII that must be mentioned is the Job system. Unlike later games in the series, you are free to be whatever you want to be (though more options are unlocked as you go). So if you want four Black Mages go for it. Four Summoners? No problem. But the key to this game is creating a balance of abilities and this gives a great replay value, as you're unlikely to see all the Jobs in action the first time you play and the desire to see a fully levelled up Dragoon, or a highly experienced Geomancer is sure to make you want to pick up the game again in the future.
  
  RPG fans should be very satisfied with this handheld addition to the FF catalogue, and at well over 30 hours (assuming you don't try to find everything!) this is more than worth a buy and certainly worth a rental. Just remember to tell your friends you might not be seeing them for a while...

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