Review: Final Fantasy III (DS)

Graphics- 8.5/10
Sound- 10/10
Gameplay- 9/10
Replay Value- 8.5/10
Overall- 9/10

I've long been a fan of the Final Fantasy series, but since I missed out on some of the oldies, I've been picking up the newer remakes. And I must tell you, Final Fantasy III on the DS is the best of the remakes and already one of my favorite Final Fantasy games.

Recently, with the rise in new Final Fantasy releases, the market has seen a rise, as well, in remakes of the older, classic Final Fantasies. Final Fantasy III on the DS is one of the newer remakes and easily the most updated, as the graphics have been changed from 2D to 3D. Although it is obvious that the graphics are certainly not the best on a portable system, they give the game a certain charm that makes the visuals very appealing. One of the main things that adds to this is the wonderful use of color in the designs and environments. The picture is very crisp, appealing, and fun to watch due to the use of color and detail. With all these properties working together, the visuals prove to be very attractive. Working with the visuals, the sound, namely the music, really raises the game to another level of entertainment. The soundtrack, specifically the theme song, is breath taking at numerous moments. The music is perfectly composed, with the ability to affect your emotions drastically.

The game play is truly what gives the game it's classic feeling. Just like Final Fantasy games of old, the game takes place on a large over world, covered by green fields, dense forests, and rugged mountains; as well, the other part of the adventure is when you enter the numerous, detailed dungeons, towns, and castles for quests that range from treasure hunting to saving the world. There is plenty of room in the game which supports the free form questing style of the game. As you travel through the more detailed places of the world, such as caves and dungeons, the feeling is truly adventurous with the threat of monsters and the reward of treasure being real. As well, there is a nice feature to the game; as it's name, zoom, implies, you zoom in the camera to find needed items and buttons for secret passage ways. The game really uses the feature in the game play and it is often needed for advancement. This zoom feature adds a feeling of light puzzle solving to the adventure. The battles themselves are true to the classic, turn based style of older Final Fantasy games. Fighting is simple, quick, and often fun and satisfying, with some key battles being more epic in scale, giving the game a nice range of action.

These are all the elements that make the game what it is; fun, adventurous, and pretty free, but the main feature is the job system. The job system allows you to choose what type of adventurers your characters are at almost any moment. The choices range from warrior to red mage and thief to monk. Even more options become available as you advance through the game, such as dragoon and ninja. The game play really changes depending on the classes chosen, making it easy to make the game fun for any ones' taste. In the end, the choice of classes throughout the game, along with it's semi-free form nature really gives the game a nice amount of replay value. Over all, Final Fantasy III is a wonderful addition to the DS, and a great remake. The visuals are appealing, the game play is very fun and adventurous, and the music is truly stunning. As well, even with out replaying the game, you can have tons of time of fun and adventure with this one.


Pros: Very appealing design, great adventure, wonderful music. Job system is fun
Cons: Graphics aren't quite as good as they could be.

Review: Vedran