Final Fantasy III

• Release Date: 1990
• Genre: Role-Playing
• Style: Third-Person 2D RPG
• Similar Games: Final Fantasy (Nintendo Entertainment System), Dragon Warrior (Nintendo Entertainment System)

Game Description

Final Fantasy III is a role-playing game released in Japan in 1990, and it was the last Final Fantasy game to be released for the Famicom. In this game, you play the role of four teenagers, chosen by fate to be the legendary Light Warriors.

The party starts the journey wandering from town to town, performing several acts of heroism and becoming stronger. During their travels, they learn of the four crystals of earth, wind, water, and fire, and are told by ancient sages to visit these crystals to fulfill their destiny. From here, the quest leads to many far away places, including two different worlds, as the Light Warriors seek out an evil sorceror corrupted by power.

Like its predecessor Final Fantasy, travel on the world map and inside dungeons is done on a two-dimensional overhead map. The party will get various vehicles such as the submarine, canoe, and three unique airships. Combat consists of the party to one side, and the monsters to the other, with background scenery reflecting the terrain. Combat is turn-based, and characters choose from actions such as run, fight, magic, and jump.

As the story progresses, characters acquire "job classes." Characters obtain "capacity" points in battle, which allow them to change jobs at will. Like Final Fantasy Tactics, much strategy in this game comes from the selection of jobs your characters have. Some jobs include the Red Wizard, who can cast a little magic and fight well also, the Knight, who can cast no spells but can use heavy armor and weapons, or the Sage, who can cast all spells of any type.

Final Fantasy III will take most players around 10-15 hours to finish, which is a good amount for a Nintendo role-playing game. Fans of the series will notice that it mixes elements from the first Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy II for the Super NES, along with a few unique qualities of its own.

Roots & Influences

The Bard's Tale

Dragon Warrior

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy 2 (Japanese)

Review: Overall

Final Fantasy 3, released only in Japan, was the direct predecessor to Final Fantasy 2 for Super NES. This game was a roleplaying game ahead of its time, that pushed the system to its limits as far as space and complexity. The story, while linear, has a few unexpected twists and turns especially near the end, which keep the plot interesting.

The world of Final Fantasy 3 is very detailed and complex for a Nintendo game. There are some areas which you need certain vehicles such as the airship or submarine to access, just as in other console roleplaying games. This game introduced areas which require changes to the characters themselves to enter, also. A party shrunk by a "Mini" spell can fit into some places that a normal one cannot, and a party changed into frogs can swim into areas which are normally not passable. This also adds a degree of challenge to the game, since the party may be miniaturized, but often times the monsters are not.

This game really stands out when it comes to gameplay. The job system, similar to the ones in Final Fantasy Tactics or Final Fantasy 5, allows for constant variation in the party which keeps things interesting. If you are going to an area where you need magic, you can make four Red Wizards, or in an area with lots of large creatures you may want more Knights, for example. Certain equipment can only be used with certain job classes, so this is often taken into account also.

Of course, last but not least, fans of the series would be glad to know that characters such as Cid and the chocobos, as well as the Meteo spell, appear for the first time in this game.

Review: Enjoyment

Fans of other Final Fantasy games, and roleplaying in general, will find this just as enjoyable as other games of the genre, even some released years after this one.

Review: Graphics

Graphically, the game is well done. Each spell has its own distinct look in battle, and most of the spells are short two-dimensional animations. The backgrounds and world graphics are good considering the fact that it is a Nintendo game.

Review: Sound

The sound is of very good quality. The music is much better than almost anything on the NES, and the sounds are excellent, especially the battle sounds of weapons and spells.

Review: Replay Value

This game is long enough to be worthwhile, yet short enough that it is fun to play a few times through. Replaying the game offers, more than anything, a chance to try out new items and job classes, that the player did not get a chance to try out the first time through the game. There are a small handful of areas which are "optional" also, and these can be played over if one missed them the first time through.

Review: Documentation

Documentation on the web can be found with a bit of searching and not too much difficulty, since the series is popular in all countries, despite the exclusively Japanese release of this particular game.

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