SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. Final Fantasy III (Nintendo DS)

Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS is a remake of the Famicom version back in 1990, and is the only version of FFIII to be released in the West.

Game Plot

The game's plot involves four orphaned youths who come across a crystal, which grants them a portion of its power, then instructs them to go forth and restore balance to the world. Shocked but heartened, the four set out to explore and bring back balance to the world.

Game Play

The game play remains mostly the same as the original with changes being made to some of the outdated and unbalanced game play elements, such as upgrading the turn-based battle system and tweaking the job system to make them more balanced.

Job Classes

There are 23 job classes (24 if you count the Onion Knight, which is hidden in the game).

• Freelancer: Default class. Unlike the Onion Knight in the Famicom version, they are able to use a wider array of weapons and can use black and white magic from the first level.
• Warrior: A general purpose fighter, specializing in attack power.
• Monk: A barehanded fighter who grows in power extremely fast.
• White Mage: A novice white magic user. Cannot use level 8 spells.
• Black Mage: A novice black magic user. Cannot use level 8 spells.
• Red Mage: A novice mage that can use both black and white magic, as well as an impressive arsenal of weapons.
• Thief: An extremely fast warrior that can raise the defense of himself and his allies while running, open locked doors, and steal treasure from his enemies.
• Ranger: A warrior proficient in the use of bows.
• Knight: A general purpose fighter, specializing in defense. They are also capable of using level 1 white magic.
• Scholar: An extremely bright warrior who is able to determine the weak points of their enemies. They are also able to use the first three levels of white and black magic. They also double the effect of items used.
• Geomancer: A warrior that is able to channel magic power from their surroundings to attack their enemies.
• Viking: A slow-growing warrior that is proficient in the use of heavy weapons such as axes and hammers.
• Dragoon: A special type of soldier that fights with spears and is able to leap high into the air.
• Black Belt: The stronger version of the Monk, capable of concentrating their attack power to make double-strength attacks.
• Dark Knight: A warrior that is proficient in the use of Dark Swords, which causes enhanced damage to replicating enemies. Also have the "souleater" ability, similar to Cecil's "dark" ability from FF4A.
• Evoker: A novice user of summoning magic. Randomly selects one of the two weaker effects whenever a spell is cast.
• Bard: Warriors who can achieve magical effects through the use of a harp and their voice.
• Magus: An expert black magic user. They are able to use the higher level spells more often, and are able to use level 8 magic.
• Devout: An expert white magic user. They are able to use the higher level spells more often, and are able to use level 8 magic.
• Summoner: An expert user of summoning magic. When they summon a creature they will always use the most powerful attack available.
• Sage: A warrior that is capable of using every white, black, and summoning spell available. They have relatively low MP for the higher levels, but more MP in the lower levels than the Devout, Summoner, or Magus. They are unable to use the Summon magic effects, and randomly decided between the white and black magic effects, similar to Evokers.
• Ninja: The ninja is capable of using nearly all weapons and armor and also has the unique ability to use thrown weapons, such as shurikens.
• Onion Knight: Hidden in the DS version. The Onion Knight is the only class that can use the Onion equipment, and their attributes experience explosive growth between the 93rd and 99th level. They also can use any magic spells or equipment normally reserved for other classes.

Graphics and Controls

The Graphics are a mixture of both 2-D elements and 3-D rendering and are similar to a toned down version of Final Fantasy IX. The two screens of the DS are used in the game, although not that often. You can use the touch screen to issue commands, move characters, but it is somewhat clumsy and not that accurate as using the controls and buttons.

Music

The music, as always with Final Fantasy games, is top notch, considering the limits of the DS platform. Like the scores of earlier 8-bit Final Fantasy games that had been remade, the Final Fantasy III DS remake features a faithfully rearranged version of the original score by Nobuo Uematsu. The score was arranged for the remake by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Keiji Kawamori, under Uematsu's supervision. A remix of "This is the Final Battle" by Uematsu's rock group, The Black Mages, as well as a techno version of "Eternal Wind" by muZik, appeared on the DS game's soundtrack, which was released in Japan on September 20.

Likes

The graphics are great for the DS, and are quite pleasing, along with the music.

Beefs

I constantly hit the start or select buttons, only to realize that they aren't used in this game (The R shoulder button is used for menu access).

This game is ***king hard. Be prepared to spend ALOT of time on the world map near an Inn, cause alot of leveling up is needed.