Final Fantasy III Review

By Simon Parkin Published 14 December, 2006

Moogle dressed as lamb.

Version tested: DS

Excuse the unpleasant analogy but Final Fantasy III DS, which has never previously been released outside Japan, is your grandmother in the aftermath of a miracle TV-makeover. She's had her face sculpted back to 18-year-old porcelain perfection, skin ironed so as to wipe away the wrinkled scrawl of merciless, advancing years. Her tweed, sensible trousers have been tailored down to rude mini-skirt; granny stockings swapped for provocative fishnets and that blue rinse bob repainted blonde, flowing and coyly curled. The transformation is terribly impressive for the cameras and, y'know, you kinda fancy her for it, but still... something is definitely Not. Quite. Right.

Similarly, Final Fantasy III DS might always be pretty, but it's rarely beautiful - the potential pitfall being that, if we're honest, boys like us always have a tough time distinguishing the two at first.

Initially, you'll be wondering who upgraded your DS with the ability to display PS2-quality full motion video and perform soaring (if tinny) orchestral soundtracks. The game's astonishing introduction sequence is the sweetest of eye candy and you'll gawp as it hopskotches between the DS's top and bottom screens with showboating flair. Then, as the game plonks your character, the orphaned lead, Luneth, deep in the armpit of a cavernous maze you'll marvel at how remarkably close in quality the character models, textures and environments are to Final Fantasy VII. Indeed, the graphical overhaul of this ancient RPG is consistently arresting and, while it might not rival the slick curves of the top level PSP output, it's the prettiest and most technically impressive title we've yet played on Nintendo's handheld.

'Final Fantasy III' Screenshot subchar

A few sub-characters join your team occasionally (usually in order to be escorted) but they are always uncontrollable and pitch in to help your team out randomly.

All of which can seduce you into thinking this is a fresher game than it really is. But play for a few hours and the make-up cracks, unable to conceal the antiquated mechanisms and functions it so thickly covers. Criticising the game for it's hackneyed storyline (four orphans, four crystals, an airship and mission to save the world) or it's clichéd mechanics (explore the world, fight monsters in random battles, find and upgrade armour and weapons and explore towns and dungeons) is obviously unfair as, when this game was first released in 1990, its storyline was fresh and its gameplay formative. But, although obviously unfair, you can't escape the fact that the plot is hackneyed and the gameplay formative. In spending all of their time updating the game's looks, Square have neglected to tweak, balance or update any of these other primitive sins.

Random battles in late eighties/early nineties RPGs were far more capricious and frequent than the genre's younger fans will be used to. In fact, the game's difficulty is a big problem even for veterans. Wander even slightly off the narrative path (something easy to do as the game's progression is remarkably poorly sign-posted) and the game will punish you mercilessly with powerful enemies far beyond your team's current capacity. This is disingenuous as it forces the player to stay within small areas to level up rather than encouraging gently curved exploration. Boss fights are generally over-tough and you will need to spend much time simply walking up and down areas fighting identikit battles to upgrade you team's core stats - something which always feels like poor or negligent pacing rather than a conscious and reasonable design decision.

'Final Fantasy III' Screenshot yoshida

Character redesigns were handled by Akihiko Yoshida before names (originally the four leads were nameless) and back stories were added to each.

Internally the battles are simple affairs - this game was created before Square's trademark Active-Battle system and so is turn-based in the most orthodox sense of the phrase. The frustration of frequent, necessary but ultimately shallow battles is exacerbated by the game's technical demands: these graphical fireworks come with a heavy loading price which, when set against the lightning quick load times of the GBA's recent Final Fantasy V seem terribly clumsy. Waiting for the game to load your team's victory pose after each fight quickly becomes a bore. Bore turns to chore outside of battles where the game demonstrates no small amount of design clumsiness - especially with regard to its menus. For example, equipping your characters with new items is a convoluted procedure requiring trawling backwards and forwards and in and out menus just to buy and equip a new sword. The swift and useful 'best equipment' option in FFV is missing - something the game could absolutely have done with on a handheld where most players want brevity and elegance on their bus-journey; not wrestling with an unintuitive and vindictive GUI.

Likewise game saving is handled atrociously - the game providing no save points anywhere leaving the player to work out that they have to save via the main menu when on the world map. By not including save points before key boss fights you'll frequently have battled your way through a long and meandering dungeon only to be finished off at the final hurdle. Losing 45 minutes of playtime to such a rudimentary design oversight was unforgivable in 1990, let alone in a gleaming update for a modern audience.

'Final Fantasy III' Screenshot wifi

Some basic wi-fi functionality is included in the form of a simple mail system whereby you can send letters to in-game NPC characters as well as friends who own the game.

The narrative and story is predictably thin for such an old game - even if it has been padded out from the original here. However, less forgivable is the translation of the game, sixteen years in the making and a huge disappointment. Yes it's technically and grammatically correct and there are no clumsy spelling mistakes or localisation disasters. But it's relentlessly average, displaying none of the flair or artistic license that Square's Ted Woolsey used in FFVI or Alexander O. Smith in FFXII to such great effect. It reads just like you'd expect an early nineties videogame to read - without a trace of irony - and just a few sprinkles of the flavouring seen in, say, Dragon Quest VIII or Phoenix Wright would have gone a long way to modernising these less visual building blocks.

Positively, the game cradles a simple job system at its managerial heart. Although beautifully expanded upon in FFV, even in its more simple form here it works well and is generally fun to use as you assign your four team members specific roles and seek to balance their abilities in complimentary ways. On the downside you can't mix and match job abilities and when switching jobs it takes a few fights before you start to earn experience in the new one - something which discourages experimentation and causes constriction where there should have been variation.

Of course, many of these flaws and weaknesses were acknowledged by their removal or evolution at Square's own behest in subsequent FF games. So you could argue that, had they changed them here, the game would have ceased to be Final Fantasy 3. It's a reasonable argument to make but does nothing to counter the point that these emergent and superseded mechanics just aren't that much fun to wrestle with these days. Not all things that flutter wide, pretty eyes and flash impressive curves are necessarily beautiful. In a sense then, this is a game for the RPG fan willing to overlook intolerable weaknesses of character just to have a desirable looking girl on their arm. If that's you, add, say, 2 to the score but know that these looks will fade and age soon enough and then you'll see what they mask for what is really is.

6 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A regular contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, his work has also appeared in Edge, The Telegraph, Gamasutra and Boing Boing.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (60) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • #1 5 years ago

    Nice graphics!

  • JediMasterMalik #2 5 years ago

    It's the first proper JRPG for the DS FFS.

    And that automatically makes it worth more than a 6?

  • absolutezero #3 5 years ago

    Cry more, the first proper JRPG for the DS happens to be a bit shit. Its not like FF3 was all that fantastic in the first place.

  • Gamblers_Luck #4 5 years ago

    6/10 huh. awwww was hoping this was the reason to get a DS :-(
    Guess not.

  • UncleLou #5 5 years ago

    Hm, almost glad I didn't order this yet.

    And what's it with the "Barbie Horse Adventure" pic on the frontpage for this article? :)

  • Steroyd #6 5 years ago

    :o

    Well that's a shocker.

    But I'm not going to let something trivial as me not owning a DS stop me from collecting all the Final Fantasy's.

  • kincaide #7 5 years ago

    I am playing this and loving every minute. Yes random battles, etc, but it's exactly what I was after. It is a 15 year old game with a bit of polish, so from that point of view the review is fair, but I would give it a seven (or an eight with my Rose tinted glasses on)

  • neilka #8 5 years ago

    Is it meant to say "you can't escape the fact that the plot is hackneyed and the gameplay formative"...?

  • Daikon #9 5 years ago

    Fair score. Still worth getting if you're into old-school RPGs though.
    I just wish Square-Enix had invested their time into a DS version of FF7 instead of FF3 (seriously, who really cared about getting to play FF3).

  • spongebob #10 5 years ago

    Goddammit. DS really needs proper RPGs.

  • djchump #11 5 years ago

    Well, if you've ever enjoyed an old Final Fantasy game, I'd say you'd like this.
    It's a bit of an eye-opener after how much I enjoyed the streamlining and new battle system in FFXII, but for a portable fix of FF I'd say it's a good little game.

    I mean, if you've played the old FF SNES/GBA games etc., you pretty much know what you're getting here and I'd say you wouldn't be disappointed ;-)

  • Kon #12 5 years ago

    OMG... That first paragraph was just awful...

    /takes courage to read rest of review

  • spongebob #13 5 years ago

    By the way, why Golden Sun saga ended suddenly? If there was a Golden Sun game on DS and/or Wii, I'd buy them both immediately. Like now.

  • motslaps #14 5 years ago

    I have played this and it's hard, damn hard. I don't consider myself to be a hardcore gamer but I can hold my own in something like Devil May Cry 3 (granted it a different genre but it's a difficult game). Random battles p*ss me off, and your characters die constantly. With no healers to revive characters and only a few items in the game to resurrect it really doesnt help. I didnt even make it to the job system where I hear the game improves, but it doesnt make it any easier. No saves, in this day and age? I don't care if it's a remake, people expect a lot more these days.

    Otherwise, great graphics, great intro.

  • doctor__no #15 5 years ago

    Incredibly flawed review, missing the point in many areas:

    >>On the downside you can't mix and match job abilities and when switching jobs it takes a few fights before you start to earn experience in the new one - something which discourages experimentation and causes constriction where there should have been variation.

    The point of doing this is so that you build up your jobs instead of being a knight, for instance, and switching to a white mage casting spells and switching back to knight.


    As far as carry over abilities its part of the gameplay, also, there are parts of the story that you have use certain spells w/ certain jobs like Toad and Mini, and there are parts where certain jobs are useful to beat the boss, like Dragon Knight later, its entirely how you build a party, and the sacrifices/benefit of choosing a specific job. Doesn't make the game incredibly easy like some of the newer FF, but you have to actually think about the job instead of having every character have the ability of every job.

  • Mint #16 5 years ago

    "Moogle dressed as lamb"
    *Snigger*
    That's quite good, actually...

  • gallow #17 5 years ago

    I did not expect to read that. Still there is nothing I can do about it as the game is sat under my christmas tree. Sounds like a game not to be played around a new born baby then (well it will be come Febuary) as I can see myself venting lots of anger at the crap save system.

  • TakeTheVeil #18 5 years ago

    yeah after playing the best Final Fantasy, (XII for whoever cares).. its a bit annoying going back to the old slow style.. the game is a bit annoying.. characters are never really developed.. and either is the story but the job system is the only saving grace. It adds that bit of addictiveness that i often fall for.. and id say 6 is right.. but for those people who think 6 is a terrible score (i take 6 as being average) id say the game is 7-8..

    its still the only 'real' game i own for the DS, all the others ones i own are 'party' type games or mario kart ya know.. needed a lengthy game for it
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/06 @ 15:30

  • Psi #19 5 years ago

    so better than red steel?

  • simiankid #20 5 years ago

    "Her tweed, sensible trousers have been tailored down to rude mini-skirt; granny stockings swapped for provocative fishnets and that blue rinse bob repainted blonde, flowing and coyly curled."

    MOST. DISTURBING. INTRO. EVER.
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/06 @ 15:41

  • Hughes. #21 5 years ago

    HoLy ShIzZlE!1!1!

    The effect sounds similar to my feeling playing MGS Twin Snakes on the Cube, it should have been better, but something was eerily missing, like if someone made an android of you, and you met it, and it crushed your trachea with its powerful cyber-hands while smiling and looking at you with cold, dead eyes.

    Something like that anyway.

  • Muddtallica #22 5 years ago

    Yeah, this sounds to be in line with all the other reviews (except that hideous opening...o_O)...oh well. This looks gorgeous, and I considering picking it up to give Final Fantasy another chance, but it sounds like the older ones are even more focussed on the things I never liked about the series, like the random battles etc. Maybe XII might be worth a shot...

    Well, at least this shows the DS is capable of running this type of game, and running it well. Can we have some better ones now, though - like a Chrono Trigger remake? *Enters pie-in-the-sky dreamland...*

    PS - Oh, and Hughes - damn right about Twin Snakes. That seemed such a shoo-in, why wasn't it better? It's the reason why I never bothered to play the much-ballyhooed Eternal Darkness, either - I don't trust any developer who could have blown such a sure thing...
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/06 @ 15:50

  • cyber_nicco #23 5 years ago

    What? A six? Did the same person that wrote the review score it as well?

    I mean, reading the review I was expecting a lower score - I was a bit surprised by the 6 at the end...
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/06 @ 16:07

  • LeD #24 5 years ago

    Shit. I SO wanted this to be good. On the upside, it means my whole life wont get sucked into that cartridge.

  • Steroyd #25 5 years ago

    Hughes you make total sense to me. o_O

    While MGS TS kept it to what I loved about MGS1 it felt like The Terminator going back in time to fight a superior version of himself.

    FFI is the hardest of all FF's to play because the game is so dated in every area it's not even funny.

  • Durandle #26 5 years ago

    I think the review is a little harsh... if you have played all the FF games ever then yes this may seem old, been there done that, whatever. If however, like me, you've maybe played one or two - then this is actually a lot of fun. So far (not that far) I've not found many things wrong with the gameplay (apart from one instance of getting wiped out by going somewhere when I should not). I'd give this an easy 7 or an 8 if feeling in a good mood - a 6 implies that too much is wrong, and its simply not.

  • ArcMonkey #27 5 years ago

    Goddammit. DS really needs proper RPGs.

    Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time

  • Mr_Brown #28 5 years ago

    RPG's on the Ds seemed to be cursed. However this looks good, the score seems fair. Will scare away casual players, which is about right...this seems suited mainly to hardcore RPG fans!

  • Prehensile_Plant #29 5 years ago

    I actually agree with pretty much everything this article says. Bloody good review, Mr Parkin.

    I imported it excitedly when it first came out, and wanted to cry with disapointment. It's a step on the evolutionary ladder of RPGs (maybe even videogames), but I don't think it's one that was worth revisiting.

  • Ryu #30 5 years ago

    I can see the points that the reviewer is making. The lack of save points in dungeons, the load screen after every battle, the regularity of random encounters, the punishing bosses and difficulty curve, and relatively linear game play are some of the negative things about the game that I agree with.

    Add to that the below-par summon animations, the small restrictive towns, and lack of enough sub quests, I found the game quite disappointing which is a shame as I'm a great fan of FF games and was anticipating the release this one. I also noticed that there were similarities with Golden Sun in terms of the towns, the world map, and general gameplay.

    would give it 6 or 7

  • PinkSpider #31 5 years ago

    Imported this back in November and it's probably my faveourite Jap RPG on a handheld. Good game, a few weak points but not as 'old school' as I thought it might be.

    Anyways, roll on FFVI advance!

  • Muddtallica #32 5 years ago

    ArcMonkey: Gosh, how did I forget about that? Good call: I kind of feel that owning a copy of both Mario and Luigi titles should be a legal obligation. Check it out if you like your RPGs fun, witty and full of pure joy.

  • Shrike #33 5 years ago

    Gah.. was looking forward to this. Loading times & awkward mechanics are instant no-buy flags for me, though - they're the reason I sold my PSP to get a DS in the first place..

  • Tomo #34 5 years ago

    Seems very harsh to me, but I haven't had a chance to read the actually review - just going by score.

    From my time spent with it so far (~7 hours) it's going the way of a good 8 for me, possibly 9 depending how badly I get my arse whooped later on. I'm really, really enjoying it. So much so that Phoenix Wright 2 is being left out of the slot. If it wasn't for my Wii, I'd be much farther in. I love the presentation of it and it really does feel like an epic game to have on a handheld. It's almost as good as its console brethren from what I've played.

    Basically, I'm trying to say: buy it if you've enjoyed FFVII onwards (that's where I started).

  • Tomo #35 5 years ago

    Hmm... now having actually read the review, the points are certainly all fair criticisms. I'm just not so put off by them it seems. I haven't played the GBA conversions of the older FF games, so I can't compare, but I think this is a lovely game nevertheless and very enjoyable.

    Fair enough then, but please don't write this game off your want-lists because of this review :[

  • CitizenGeek #36 5 years ago

    Meh, I;m still gonna buy it. It's Final Fantasy and it's on DS afterall......

  • Dirtie #37 5 years ago

    6 is low, those thinking about purchasing don't be put off - if you like Final Fantasy, you'll like this.

  • vegard #38 5 years ago

    i'm still rock-hard after that opening paragraph! thanks EG

  • yagisencho #39 5 years ago

    I bought a Japanese PS2 specifically to play the remake of the original Phantasy Star game. In other words, I'm just the sort of freak who would buy this game, as well. Bonus: Already have a DS.

  • jonchoo #40 5 years ago

    I didn't find the lack of save points in dungeon and 'difficulty' to be a problem. Fans of old school Final Fantasy will love this.

  • ilmaestro #41 5 years ago

    I'm not going to comment on the review (I'll let Simon have this as a muligan after his excellent treatment of VP2), but I'm disappointed to hear about the average localization job, Squenix has been exceptional in that area recently.

  • chupachups #42 5 years ago

    If they hadn't released this though, there would have been loads of fans demanding to see it because it hadn't been released in the West before.

  • Munin #43 5 years ago

    If you want an old school RPG done right, check out Magical Starsign.

  • Aretak #44 5 years ago

    "It's the first proper JRPG for the DS FFS."

    Lunar: Dragon Song?

  • biru #45 5 years ago

    "It's a reasonable argument to make but does nothing to counter the point that these emergent and superseded mechanics just aren't that much fun to wrestle with these days."

    Pssh. I had a lot more fun with it than FFXII, truth be told.

    It's a simple, charming, traditional RPG. Expect nothing more than that, and it's difficult to see how you could be disappointed.

  • RedPanda #46 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • J_C_X #47 5 years ago

    Suprise nobodies metioned the DQXI thing on Eurogamer. Is this me or does anyone think this is the Sony/Nintendo Final Fantasy thing all over again.

  • RedPanda #48 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Inquisitor #49 5 years ago

    That monster that the girl is touching really freaks me out. I can't wait till this review gets bumped off the first page.

  • Daikon #50 5 years ago

    That monster that the girl is touching really freaks me out.

    People who don't even know what a chocobo is shouldn't be allowed to leave comments on Eurogamer.

  • Agent_Llama #51 5 years ago

    A shame the review will put people off, as I think FFIII is bloody good fun. Yes it's tougher than some recent FF's, but that's rather nice, given that some, esp. FFVII, weren't remotely difficult.

  • aabyssx #52 5 years ago

    Basically I bought the DS because I thought it will be a great platform for JRPGs.
    Well I was wrong. :(

    / wishes for nice adventurous 2D Golden Sun like games

  • Shadar #53 5 years ago

    ... and then you'll see what they mask for what is really is.

    Uh, what? Lots of spelling mistakes in there. Someone ought to be spanked. Either way, good review. Saved me the bother of even trying it, as I don't particularly like JRPGs in the first place, and being forced to play a really old one might just be a little too much for me.

  • akellard #54 5 years ago

    The review seems to miss the point of this being a remake in the truest sense of the word. Squenix made no claims that it would be trying modernise the game; if anything they wanted to keep it as true to its root as possible.

    Still, I'd agree it's antiquated in a rather grating way, but the point is people shouldn't buy Final Fantasy *3* if they're looking for innovation in the series. All the subsequent criticisms that stem from this just seem a bit obvious. I think the moderate facelift mislead people to think that other aspects would be modernised, but if you approach the game knowing you're basically playing a NES game it's just as charming and addictive as any other FF.

    I dunno, this review rubbed me the wrong way. The underlying points have merit and people need to be alerted to the ancient gameplay (though the difficulty alleviates when you adjust to accommodate it), but the whole thing smacked of 'no shit, sherlock'. I'd agree with a 6 if it was expressed in a slightly more informed/understanding way, but really it read more like an extended whinge.
    Edited by 1 at 15/12/06 @ 20:32

  • CivilD #55 5 years ago

    The save system moan is just silly. You can save anywhere on the world map, and the dungeons aren't so big that you can't get to the boss in 3-4 fights when you know the route.

    My main gripe is the lack of Phoenix Downs - you can't buy them, and there's no 'Life' magic in the early game. That means if you use all your Downs, you need to retreat to a pool that revives dead characters.

  • earl_roberts #56 5 years ago

    No decent RPG's coming? Jesus crist have you looked at any release schedule's? Check this thread for a couple but there are more too:

    http://ww w.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.p...

  • AFX #57 5 years ago

    I've not played an FF since FFVIII (which I didn't bother playing through to completion like I did with FFVII), and I am quite enjoying FFIII since I got it at the weekend. Maybe I'm just not familliar with all the new mechanisms which are in the recent games which allegedly make it more fun.

  • #58 5 years ago

    I completely disagree. If you're looking for a 'fresh' experience then please don't rate such a brilliant game with such a crappy score. Playing Final Fantasy, every one of them have the same characteristics - every one of them. What's different? The storyline, some battle enhancements but at its core - the storyline is what makes Final Fantasy. That is why Final Fantasy VII is so popular and spawned other games within its series - including a movie.

    When you understand those concepts, play Final Fantasy III and rewrite your review.

  • spookyzombie #59 5 years ago

    I think FF3 is a great title. In my opinion there's nothing else as good on the DS (RPG wise). It's simply a must purchase for all FF fans, and easily an 8 out of 10. It's certainly better than the other GBA FF's.

  • pancho #60 5 years ago

    There is absolutely no way you can argue that this game is better than FFV and FFVI on the GBA.

  • Ilroy #61 5 years ago

    Simon Parkin commenting on the lack of pacing is something I take issue with. Final Fantasy games have always been a challenge. Even in FFXII, there was a great deal of level grinding required to beat the bosses. Games I have completed of late are way too easy because of the very pacing that he bemoans the lack of in FFIII. Particularly the endings in such games are a complete walkover.

    A prime example of such a game is Kingdom Hearts, where the lack of any real challenge was made made up for by tough side-bosses. The main narrative was simple to progress through. It left a bitter taste in my mouth; playing a game that was interesting, yet essentially had been dumbed-down for modern gamers.

    There is admittedly a balance in avoiding both this trend and the extreme found in Korean MMORPGs like RF Online; where the level grind is obscene. Investing the time in developing characters to be powerful enough to fight tough bosses, that force you to think tactically, is rewarding when you eventually defeat them. Pacing leads to such bosses being mere obstacles in continuing the narrative that are unworthy of remembrance.