Games worth discovering
42 View2024-08-24
Today, ive finished the last Final Fantasy from the NES era for the first time. I had played the 3D remake on my Nintendo DS before, and got pretty far, but ultimately, the combination of a cruel difficulty, unmapped dugeons and random encounters was more, than i coul bear...
The Pixel Remaster however, did, once again, an adorable job in porting a relic from a distant past into a state, where i consider it playable by today's standards, and, for the first half of the game, really enjoyable.
The most noticeable change from Final Fantasy II is the introduction of many more classes, between which the player can freely switch. Each class is leveled separately, though, so you will play most of the game with the same constellation.
Of course, the game will still force you into situations, where you need to switch into certain classes, for example with bosses, that are immune to magic or weapon damage. Which is an refreshing idea, becomes annoying, though, since it forces you to develop classes, that you wont be using afterwards.
And yet, i really had a blast with FF III for some time.
The world building is pretty strict, and there are enough hints, that you always know, what to do. Additionally, the random stat-upgrades from Final Fantasy I are gone, so you can really focus on discovering the world, learn new classes and spells, experiment with different combinations and grow stronger...
Then, the setting switches, and the experience is artificially stretched:
No more handholding, no more hints, just you and an open world. It went so far, that i had to use a walkthrough, to find out what i was supposed to do. I hate when a game forces me to "cheat" like that, but as soon, as playing a video-game begins to feel like work, i just want to finish it.
And, looking back, im glad that i did. I dont want to spoil, so i will just say, that even with mapped dungeons, disabled random encounters and full information, i wasnt enjoying the experience anymore. And, i do not intend to play Final Fantasy III again.
Do i recommend it?
Yes, i do! It belongs to the root of one of the best rpg-series of all time, is professionally translated, and polished to perfection. But, and its a big but: the game itself remains unchanged, and all the flaws of the original design still remain.
So, i really do recommend it from a historic perspective. If you haven played the origins of the series, there has never been a better time, and have never been better versions.
From an objective videogame-perspective, i rate Final Fantasy III PR with 6 out of 10 points...
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