It's crazy and a little frustrating to me that this gem remained unlocalized for this long, ignoring the heavily altered DS remake.

Final Fantasy III is an expertly guided, breezy and charming adventure that takes elements from both of its predecessors to further solidify the foundation that would characterize later games.

One very impressive feat is that despite being a relatively short experience, its scope and ambition are nothing to sneeze at. There are moments that shocked me with how boldly it expanded its world, and the themes about growing up and the hardships and uncertainty that come with the process of finding oneself are cleverly represented in the job system, requiring you to adopt different roles depending on the situation and sometimes straight up forcing you to do so.

The overworld theme, Eternal Wind, really sets the sort of melancholic and uncertain tone of the heroes' adventure, but the game isn't shy to have some fun with some goofy scenarios that would become a staple of the series in the future. The fake warriors of light specifically had me in tears with how immediately funny they were. Final Fantasy III is daunting in its scope but still whimsical and strange, and it's all the better for it.