A fairy tale of other times
The splendid introduction in computer graphics reminds us how Square Enix is still an undisputed master of storytelling, and in a few minutes of FMV introduces us to the four protagonists of the adventure: Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus. Gathered almost by chance by the will of the Crystal, our young heroes must embark on a journey to locate and thwart the threat that threatens to destroy their world. Both the plot and the characterization of the various protagonists is rather light, entrusted mainly to the dialogues and supporting actors: Final Fantasy III maintains the feeling of a fairytale without too many pretensions, without space-time cataclysms or frustrated and complex heroes, presenting all those clichets that have become such over the years and that have made us dream from chapter to chapter. Princesses to be saved, flying ships that sail the clouds, mountains guarded by deadly dragons, caves full of monsters, rivers to navigate ... Even in the simplicity of an old-fashioned product, Final Fantasy III it is a fairy tale, light but captivating. The playful structure follows this lightness, but does not forgive mistakes: the remake par excellence by Square Enix is one of the most difficult RPGs ever made, especially due to some truly old-fashioned elements absent in the most recent video games, despite the linearity of the adventure and the simplicity of the various tasks that we will have to carry out to proceed in the story. From dungeon to dungeon, exploring mines and caves, crossing the colorful map aboard an airship, a canoe or a ship, careful planning of the growth of our four heroes must never be missing, under penalty of Game Over or obsolete and boring. "grind" sessions of experience points and money.
Despite the simplicity of an old-fashioned product, Final Fantasy III it is a fairy tale, light but captivating.
The new Job System
Well, it's not exactly new, if anything revised and re-proposed. It is not very different from what we saw in Final Fantasy Tactics, among other things, the concept is always the same: as you progress through the story, new Jobs will become available to select for each of our protagonists, and the combinations are practically unlimited. In addition to truly classic and well-known Jobs such as Black Mage, White Mage or Monk, here are new more refined professions such as the Magus, the Scholar or the Devout, for a total of about twenty Jobs, each with different skills: while the Soldier, for example , is an ace in the use of heavy weapons and physical attack, the Evoker is able to recall the arcane deities and unleash one of their spells at random ... Knowing and knowing how to use each Job is the key to success in Final Fantasy III, especially considering that often the game requires the use of a Job or a certain skill in order to continue: just think of one of the initial phases, in which the Mini magic of the White Mage or Red Mage is necessary to reduce the party size to introduce it in some microscopic locations. This structuring of the game therefore requires careful management of the party, also considering that the level of experience of a character and his Jobs does not coincide: that is to say that Luneth can be level 18, with the Black Belt profession at level 9 and the profession Dragoon at level 5. Plan the growth of our heroes to avoid brutal game sessions dedicated to upgrading Jobs, or unbridled "grind" of monsters to have all the Jobs for all characters always ready for any eventuality? It is up to the player to decide.
A fairytale programming
Praise and congratulations to Square Enix for the work done with this revival of an 8-bit classic, which on DS has earned the gift of the third dimension along with a careful restyling of environments, characters and creatures. It goes without saying that we have in our hands a little programming jewel and undoubtedly the best product made so far for DS, from a graphic and sound point of view. Very fluid, full of details, colorful, artistically flawless ... Final Fantasy III strikes - and does it with class - in every respect, from the exquisite stylization of the new character design (reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, and not surprisingly) to the attention to detail of environments, spells, contour elements such as the zoom that highlights the quality of texture and modeling, as well as secret passages and items to collect. Go-go touches of class, such as the costumes of the Jobs that change according to the character, perfectly in style with him and his character, or the supporting characters who enter the scene during a fight and help the party by healing him or attacking enemies. One little surprise after another, which will perhaps make more modern players turn up their noses in some cases, while purists and long-time fans will be moved by some naivety that came stealthily in 2007. To accompany the graphic orgy that is Final Fantasy III there is an extraordinary soundtrack, which enhances the already excellent technical sector thanks to the variety and quality of the many songs in the background to wanderings, battles and cutscenes.
A fairytale programming
So succulent and perfect donut? Unfortunately not, as Square Enix underestimated a crucial element in the making of this remake: the console on which it was developing it. Nintendo DS makes us think of two things, first of all: touch-screen and dual-screen. The first feature has been properly considered: Final Fantasy III you can play both the old way and with the stylus, fully supported, and which allows you to select the various options, navigate the menus and move in the environments in a quick, intuitive and painless way. The choice is up to the player, and the two control modes are perfectly complementary and can be alternated at any time. Unfortunately, however, the Dual Screen has not been used practically for nothing, if not for a director's choice inherent in some cutscenes or the world map when traveling outside villages or dungeons. For the rest, during battles or explorations of labyrinths or closed rooms, the upper screen of the DS remains completely black, empty, dead. It therefore disappoints the lack of ideas or will to exploit a key feature of the Nintendo handheld, perhaps isolated for haste or laziness.
Failure to take advantage of the top screen is simply a drop in the high quality ocean that it is Final Fantasy III. The remake of Square Enix succeeds in the very difficult task of maintaining a very classic feeling, fitting it into a modern product from a technical point of view, which on a laptop like the DS seems almost miraculous. Technically exceptional and flawless, with splendid music and a light and captivating plot, Final Fantasy III it's a dream for longtime JRPG fans, while still presenting a decent wall for new players accustomed to more recent products of the same genre. The Job System, deep and varied, is still a few inches below the one already admired in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but it is perfectly and coherently intertwined with the old-style playful structure of this JRPG. Complete the picture a wireless option that allows you to exchange letters with other players, unlocking small secret goodies: quite useless, but pleasant.
For
- Technically enchanting
- Simple and rewarding old-style gameplay
- Long-lived and exciting
- Unused top screen
- A little too old-fashioned by modern standards
Perhaps it will be a stalemate, or the lack of ideas in this period in which the consoles show their teeth and their revolutionary abilities, but it seems that now the way of the past is the one to follow, for the software houses, in the moments in which in playrooms there are holes to fill. In truth, the ports of Final Fantasy date back to the golden era of PlayStation One, when Square Enix produced small compilations with the historical episodes of the saga, thanks to the success of the most recent chapters in the West: until then, Final Fantasy he had had a very complicated history of translations. Also on the Game Boy Advance all the historical episodes of the series were reproduced, even those for NES never dragged out of Japan almost twenty years ago, but for the first time it is with Final Fantasy III, on DS, that Square Enix decides to make more than a simple port. Attention: Final Fantasy III it is not the Final Fantasy III released in America in 1994, that was actually Final Fantasy VI in Japan, and it is in fact with this name that the port for Game Boy Advance will be released in the coming months. The Final Fantasy III that we are going to review is the original, released in 1990 for Famicom, in Japan, with the small difference that we are in 2007, which runs on the Nintendo DS and which, to begin with, is in three dimensions.
