Final Fantasy III

About Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy III is a 2006 Nintendo DS remake developed by Matrix Software and published by Square Enix. It serves as the first official Western localization of the 1990 original title. The game transforms the classic top-down perspective into a full 3D environment while retaining the core story structure. Four young men find their lives changed when they discover the powers of four elemental crystals. They must journey to restore balance after an ancient civilization failed to control light and dark forces. This version allows modern players to access a pivotal entry in the series that was previously unavailable outside Japan. The remake includes updated mechanics alongside the original narrative about the floating continent and the Circle of Gulgans.

Gameplay

You control a party of four characters who switch between jobs at will. This job system lets you change roles like Black Mage, Monk, or Thief to adapt to different challenges. Combat happens in turn-based battles where you issue commands for attacks, magic, or items. The game features a robust progression system where you unlock new classes as you advance. You explore dungeons on the DS touch screen and manage inventory between towns. A multiplayer mode allows two DS systems to connect for cooperative play or trading items. Sessions involve grinding through random encounters to gain experience points and leveling up your characters. Managing resources like Elixirs becomes crucial during long dungeon crawls before facing major bosses.

What Players Think

Critics and players on PlayPile have mixed feelings about this title. The IGDB rating sits at 66.1 out of 100 based on 130 user ratings. Average playtime clocks in around 25 hours for a standard run, with completion rates hovering near 40 percent for full story finishes. Community moods range from nostalgic appreciation for the job system to frustration over difficulty spikes in the late game. Review snippets often mention the remake graphics as an improvement over the SNES version but note that the pacing can feel sluggish. Some users rate it highly for its historical significance while others find the DS controls less responsive than traditional button layouts. The multiplayer feature sees very low usage compared to the single-player campaign.

PlayPile's Take

This game is worth buying if you want to play a classic RPG on portable hardware without emulators. The price remains reasonable at under 20 dollars for the digital version. There are no notable achievement systems attached to this release, so completionists should look elsewhere. The job system offers deep customization that justifies the replay value despite some dated design choices. Do not expect modern quality-of-life features or tight combat mechanics. You will spend significant time grinding enemies to survive the later stages. Pick this up only if you are interested in the history of the franchise or need a solid single-player RPG for your DS library.

Storyline

One thousand years before the events in the game, on a floating continent hovering high above the surface of an unnamed planet, a technologically advanced civilization sought to harness the power of the four elemental crystals of light. They did not realize that they could not control such fundamental forces of nature. This power of light would have consumed the world itself had the light crystals not had their natural counterparts: the four dark elemental crystals. Disturbed by the sudden interruption of the careful balance between light and dark, four warriors were granted the power of the dark crystals to recapture the power of the light crystals. These so-called Dark Warriors succeeded in their quest, and restored harmony to the world. But their victory came too late to save the doomed civilization, whose culture was reduced to ruin, though their floating continent remained. On that continent, the circle of Gulgans, a race of blind soothsayers and fortune-tellers, predicted that these events will ultimately repeat.