Final Fantasy III

Genre: Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1

.

Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster Collection, along with Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI)

Final Fantasy III, originally released in Japan in 1990 on the Famicom console, was the second of three games in the series that were never originally released outside of Japan. As I mentioned in my review of Final Fantasy II, at the time, text-heavy RPGs were undoubtedly one of the more difficult and time-consuming types of games to translate to a different language, and by the time this game was released the Super Nintendo was a mere few months away in Japan, and Square (later Square Enix) decided to abandon the localization of this game and instead work on localizing the first Super Nintendo game in the series, Final Fantasy IV.

Famously, in an attempt to avoid confusing Western players with a sudden jump to number four in the series, Square opted to rename Final Fantasy IV to Final Fantasy II for the game’s Western release, and subsequently when they released Final Fantasy VI, they renamed it to Final Fantasy III in the West. So now, whenever you talk about Final Fantasy III, particularly with those who played the series back in the Super Nintendo era, you need to specify whether you’re talking about the American Final Fantasy III or the Japanese Final Fantasy III, which some called Final Fantasy IIIj. These days, Square Enix refers to all games in the series by their original Japanese numbering, but this remains one of those odd quirks of the time, much like we saw with Super Mario Bros. 2.

Unlike other Final Fantasy games of the NES/Famicom and Super NES/Super Famicom eras, Final Fantasy III has not seen much in the way of ports and remakes on more modern platforms. In fact, apart from a fully 3D remake of the game on Nintendo DS, I believe that this release is the first time Western audiences have been able to play an official release of the game. You could view this as a good thing, since this is the first time Western players have the opportunity to play the game in a largely faithful 1:1 remake… but you could also argue that because of this, this release of the game lacks many of the improvements made to the 2006 Nintendo DS version.

This release, the “Pixel Remaster” version of the game, originally released on PC and mobile platforms in 2021, with a port to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch with a few extra features in 2023. While not as extensive an overhaul of the game as the Nintendo DS version, this version nevertheless upgrades the simple 8-bit visuals of the original to something resembling 16-bit visuals, with some nice added effects like lighting highlights on the ocean, and a really nice flowing water effect in streams, and the overworld map even uses faux “Mode 7”-style visuals like the SNES games in the series did. For players who complained about the modernized text in PC and mobile release of the Pixel Remasters, this version has added options to return the text to the pixelated original look.

Another major change here has to be this version’s newly-remade soundtrack using a combination of orchestrated, instrumental, and synthesized themes. Much as with Final Fantasy II’s soundtrack, I had no opinion at all of Final Fantasy III’s soundtrack, as it never struck me as terribly memorable. And, truth be told, I still feel that way, even after listening to this game’s wonderfully-orchestrated version of the original game’s soundtrack. Still, for those who enjoyed the original soundtrack, you’ll surely be delighted with this new take on that soundtrack, and for those who really liked the original soundtrack, you can even opt to play with the original chiptune music instead if you prefer.

Beyond the presentation, there are also content and gameplay improvements here too. One of the most noteworthy improvements has to be the new Auto-Battle system, which can really cut down on the grinding this game puts players through. Want to cut down it even more? The PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch release include menu options to boost the amount of gold and experience you get from battles, allowing you to severely cut down on the grinding. If you prefer, you can even eliminate random encounters completely, though of course this could lead to being severely under-leveled when encountering scripted battles like bosses.

This release also removes the ability to save wherever you want, limiting it to the map screen, although you can still quick save in a town or dungeon. Speaking of the map, this version also adds a new map system. You can also change the button layout to suit your preferences. Finally, the game’s main menu includes a gallery where you can listen to the entire soundtrack and look at concept and publicity art for the game.

Okay, so now that we’ve talked about all the changes made to this release of the game, what about the game itself? How well has it aged?

Honestly, in some ways, this feels like a step backwards from Final Fantasy II. While this game’s story features a new (and decent) localization, we are once again back to having a cast of four generic characters with no unique personalities, a chosen one narrative, a kidnapped princess to kick off the plot… while some of the details have changed, in many ways this feels like a retread of the story of the first Final Fantasy. This is particularly unfortunate when the Nintendo DS release of the game actually attempted to give the four main characters their own identities and personalities.

Meanwhile, the gameplay suffers from one of the major problems of Final Fantasy II – the characters in this game are all completely indistinct and interchangeable. While Final Fantasy III would give us the first early look at a job class system that would be further fleshed-out in Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy Tactics, that system doesn’t seem fully-formed here – there’s little reason to have characters learn a variety of classes, as they’ll only ever be using the talents of one.

I do have to give this game credit for being the start of some important gameplay elements that have continued through the series, like non-magical abilities and summon monsters. And this game does a better job ensuring that players can’t wander into areas that will immediately kill them. This also marks the first appearance of moogles, a race of winged white teddy bear-like creatures that have become a series mainstay. However, I don’t feel like these contributions make up for this game’s flaws.

Then we have to look at this game’s price. Once again, I thoroughly appreciate all of the improvements and enhancements that this version of the game received, and the argument that “this is the first time the original version* of the game is available in the West” (*not actually the original version), but $18 for this game is just insulting, especially when it pales in comparison to its Nintendo DS remake, and it’s particularly egregious when you consider that this is an NES/Famicom game being pedaled to us at the same price as the SNES/Super Famicom games. Even with all of the work that was put into this release, this price tag just does not seem at all justified.

In the end, this is a good port of a mediocre JRPG that already received a much better port two decades ago on the Nintendo DS. Players who want to play a game that’s like this but much better should check out Final Fantasy V – that game has a much better version of this game’s job class system, and players will be able to play the game as actual characters rather than a team of interchangeable blank slates. And since both games cost the same price… why would you even bother with this one, unless you’re a Final Fantasy diehard and a completionist?

tl;dr – Final Fantasy III is a Turn-Based JRPG that introduced a few important elements to the franchise, and this is an absolutely outstanding remake that gives the game a gorgeous new presentation with absolutely beautiful remastered music and some excellent new gameplay features that help to cut down on the original game’s flaws… but those flaws are still there, from the terrible story to the shallow gameplay that was much greatly improved upon in later games in the series. This game may be one of the more obscure titles in the mainline Final Fantasy franchise, but it is simply not worth the absurd $18 price tag.

Grade: C-

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}