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DS

North America

Final Fantasy III

by Daniel Bloodworth - May 13, 2006, 12:49 pm EDT
Total comments: 5

The last NES Final Fantasy comes to DS with upgraded graphics, sound, and controls.

Never before released outside of Japan, Final Fantasy III (originally released on the Famicom) is coming to the Nintendo DS with a major overhaul. The game is being entirely rebuilt in 3D with colorful graphics and a visual style similar to FF IX. The music has been reworked to feature the instrumental depth that fans have come to expect of the series since the SNES days. Plus, from trailers on the floor, it seems that the game may even have some occasional pre-rendered cut-scenes.

Control can be handled traditionally with the cross pad and buttons or you can opt to use the stylus. Like Animal Crossing, players may find it easier to perform some actions with the buttons and others with the stylus. Since FF III is completely turn based, there are no quick actions to be concerned with, and the stylus control makes menu navigation much quicker. In battles, you don't even need to press the attack command; you can simply tap the enemy you want the current character to attack. Tapping the background in battle allows you to cancel which can be frustrating because it seems that the points you need to touch are rather small – however that perception may simply be due to the fact that the DS I was using was bolted in at thigh level.

The content of the demo is fairly slim, showing only basic Final Fantasy mechanics without getting into FF III's job system. There is a small town; an overworld section in which a hand-drawn map is shown on the upper screen; a castle with a closed gate; and a small dungeon. You find a couple of chests and fight some enemies before you get to the boss. Weapons and shields are equipped in the left and right hands, so it is possible to equip a character with two swords to give added damage. I also came across some items that cast ice spells which were more effective against the giant turtle than the fire spell the characters know by default.

It looks like Square-Enix is putting a lot of work into bringing Final Fantasy III to 3D. While the features that make it unique weren't shown in the demo at E3, players can probably find more information on the original Famicom game before the DS version releases this September.

Talkback

TMWMay 13, 2006

Sweet. Dual weilding? Was that in the original?

BloodworthDaniel Bloodworth, Staff AlumnusMay 13, 2006

I think it probably was. I seem to remember other FF games allowing for that too.

Requiem of DarcnessMay 13, 2006

Quote

Originally posted by: TMW
Sweet. Dual weilding? Was that in the original?


Yes it was. In fact, I didn't really see the point of having a shield at all. The extra damage seemed to be more beneficial than the add evasion provided by having a shield in the off hand. I actually have played the game extensively on emulator. I can't wait to get my hands on the DS version. From the impressions, it sounds like the E3 demo was of the very beginning of the game. I remember fighting the initial giant turtle boss.

LouieturkeyMay 13, 2006

I know characters like Edge in FF4 could wield two swords at a time. This sounds like a good amount of fun. Now I just need a DSL and the game to be released. face-icon-small-smile.gif

ruby_onixMay 13, 2006

In FF4 characters were left and right handed, so if you equipped their weapons to the wrong hands, the attack power would be reduced. I remember Rosa and bows always meesed me up. Which hand uses the bow, and which one uses the arrows? I think Yang (Monk class) and Edge (Ninja class) were both ambidextrous, so it didn't matter what hand you used, and they were also capable of dual wielding. Although I don't think Yang was even capable of equipping a shield, and his claw weapons basically just added elemental power to his attacks.

In FF5, all Ninjas naturally had the ability to dual wield, and after you learned a special Ninja ability you could use that talent in any form (also it was automatically added to your basic form). I don't think Monks could equip anything on their hands without a special ability.

In FF6, Shadow (the Ninja) was probably able to dual weild. And I think Sabin (a Monk) was only able to equip claws on one hand. But anyone in the game was able to dual wield, provided they had the "Genji Glove" relic equipped.

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Final Fantasy III Box Art

Genre RPG
Developer Square Enix

Worldwide Releases

na: Final Fantasy III
Release Nov 14, 2006
PublisherSquare Enix
RatingEveryone 10+
jpn: Final Fantasy III
Release Aug 24, 2006
PublisherSquare Enix
eu: Final Fantasy III
Release May 04, 2007
PublisherSquare Enix
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