Final Fantasy 3 (DS) Reviewed

With the increasing amount of Final Fantasy ports and remakes being flung onto the market, it may have been quite easy to let this little gem on the Nintendo DS slip under your RPG Radar. Final Fantasy 3 on the DS is not to be confused with the Final Fantasy 3 that was released on the Super NES in 1994. The DS version is actually a "from-the-ground-up" remake of the original Final Fantasy 3 as it was released in Japan in 1990 for the Famicom. It has never been officially released in North America until now. (The game was officially released in North America November 14th, 2006)

Apart from the game's title and the overall storyline, it has been completely overhauled in almost every other way. From the graphics, to the battle system, there have been significant changes and tweaks to breathe a new life into this classic of RPG's past. Along with the updates to the game's core structure, new dungeons, side quests, and storyline events have all been added. The game also takes advantage of the DS Wi-Fi abilities to allow players to send mail via the Mognet to other players worldwide. Mail can also be exchanged with in-game characters. There are a number of side quests which are opened up this way. The DS handles the game admirably in every area. The sound is crisp and clean. The music is sadly not as inspirational and epic as other numbers in the series; however the classic Crystal Prelude is there as well as a few other familiar themes. The graphics are stunning on the handheld system, with CG effects that rival those of games on the Plastaytion 2. The controls are surprisingly polished, and I was both surprised and pleased to find that the entire game can be played using only the touch screen. Menus, battle orders, conversations, shopping, all of it can be handled with just a touch of the stylus.

The game's story focuses on four orphaned youths who are destined to become the Light Warriors and save the world from a growing darkness. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Although the story has been done many times over, it still manages to hold some nostalgic appeal in its simplicity. Final Fantasy 3 may be a remake, but it remains, at its core, a true old school RPG. It is made apparent, very early on in the game, that this is no easy adventure. Random encounters are as tough as they are numerous, and some can be just as fatal as bosses. The turn based battle system returns to its roots in the series by having you give all of your battle commands to your party before the combat round begins. The magic system also goes back to its original form, using spells per level instead of magic points. Much of your time will be spent grinding levels in order to survive the progressively more dangerous dungeons you will encounter. After the first two hours of the game, your four main characters will be given the ability to change their Job class at will. The Job system is your primary form of character development and allows for an amazing level of customization for your party members. Many improvements have been made from the original version of the game; each job has been substantially tweaked to allow for more balanced game play.

Final Fantasy 3 for the DS is by no means a revolution in RPGs. Even with all of its updates and graphic enhancements, it is still just a remake of an RPG that has been around for almost 20 years. But then again maybe that's what makes it so great. This may not be the best game for newcomers to the genre, but for RPG veterans looking for an old school experience sprinkled with some new age upgrades there is no reason not to add this to your collection.