After waiting years for a new Final Fantasy adventure, we get 2 within a few months. Final Fantasy XII again pushed the series to new heights. Now, FF III shows itself over here in the U.S. for the first time, and it’s pretty much a success. Anyone who’s never played a pre-VII FF will probably hate it, but with all the other recent FF reincarnations, you know that by now.
FFIII was originally released in Japan at the end of the Famicom’s life, and with the SNES hitting the US soon, Square opted to bring over IV instead. This was probably a good idea. FFIII doesn’t differ a whole lot from FFII, which was a lot like FFI, but with a job system.
Personally, I’ve always found the job systems to be lacking in some quality, except in the case of FF Tactics. The main problem with it in FFIII is that each job only has one special ability, and most classes have an incredibly worthless ability. What it boils the game down to is which equipment the classes can equip. Since the magic is still based on a per-use system rather than magic points, you’ll find yourself loading the party with heavy-hitters. However, you will notice the game given you a hint to try out certain classes, and at one point, you’re pretty much forced to use four dragoons.
What I enjoyed about the game was that despite some of these flaws, I kept picking it up and playing along. It’s on the DS, so it’s easy to fight monsters and leveling up while watching TV or a movie. If it required my full attention, I would have gone crazy, but the slower pace was perfect for relaxing.
What irked me the most was the constant good-feelings that emanated from every single character. Even the villains seemed to want the heroes to succeed, and it really highlighted the lack of challenge in the game. This eliminates the depth of feelings for the characters, and since you seem destined for success, it’s not all that exciting when you finish the game. Later FF games would solve this problem and really launch the series, but FFIII DS finally fills that hole Final Fantasy fans have been hoping to have filled.
-mlbradley
durden26@comcast.net