The best of the Pixel Remasters thus far, only dragged down in my eyes by its final dungeon and boss gauntlet.
The pacing of Final Fantasy III was noticeably better than its other NES counterparts, aforementioned grindy final dungeon aside. The progression and job systems were neat, although I do feel the job system left a little to be desired, with some jobs being almost required to beat bosses and others being next to useless.
The story didn’t feel quite as focused as the second game, and in some ways it’s more generic, but it was expansive and featured more memorable characters. It definitely helps that said characters are recurring and don’t all drag down your party in combat until they die in the narrative.
A small thing that I adored about Final Fantasy III was the focus on the airships. The Invincible in particular acting as a mobile home base was just what the doctor ordered. I love that crap. The increased map size (or at least perceived size) combined with the different airships made it more of an adventure for me. In a similar vein, I liked the gimmicky dungeons with different minor mechanics like shrinking or turning into frogs. They didn’t overstay their welcome.
A real shame the original NES/Famicom version didn’t make it to the States, because it’s solid, and I think better than the first two games.
The pacing of Final Fantasy III was noticeably better than its other NES counterparts, aforementioned grindy final dungeon aside. The progression and job systems were neat, although I do feel the job system left a little to be desired, with some jobs being almost required to beat bosses and others being next to useless.
The story didn’t feel quite as focused as the second game, and in some ways it’s more generic, but it was expansive and featured more memorable characters. It definitely helps that said characters are recurring and don’t all drag down your party in combat until they die in the narrative.
A small thing that I adored about Final Fantasy III was the focus on the airships. The Invincible in particular acting as a mobile home base was just what the doctor ordered. I love that crap. The increased map size (or at least perceived size) combined with the different airships made it more of an adventure for me. In a similar vein, I liked the gimmicky dungeons with different minor mechanics like shrinking or turning into frogs. They didn’t overstay their welcome.
A real shame the original NES/Famicom version didn’t make it to the States, because it’s solid, and I think better than the first two games.