Final Fantasy III for the Super Nintendo is a very significant game in my history. I didn’t know that we (the North American market) had missed out on three releases in this franchise at this point, and so when I saw this one on store shelves I assumed that it was the direct follow up to part four. I rented it once and absolutely fell in love. The problem was I was ten years old, and the seventy dollar asking price was extremely high for someone my age. Somehow I was able to gather the money together. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to purchase any more video games for a year after this one, but I didn’t care. That’s how good Final Fantasy VI is. Unfortunately I eventually wore myself out on this title, and for the last ten or so years I wasn’t singing praises; quite the opposite. When one game is all you have to play it’s sure to wear on even the most devout fan. I gave it some time and finally returned to my original copy of the game. I’m glad I gave it some time because I was able to rediscover how incredible this game really is.
The story here takes place in a uniquely crafted fantasy world. This planet was ravaged a thousand years ago by the war of the magi where humans had magic, and used powerful creatures called espers to wreak havoc. The landscape was left ravaged and barely suitable for life. Civilization has since rebuilt itself as magic has all but disappeared replaced instead with steam and coal energy. This story begins with the discovery of an esper frozen deep within the mines of a city called Narshe. A power hungry empire sends a team of solders riding inside mechanized magitek armor led by a mysterious girl named Terra who can inexplicably use magic at will. A chain reaction between her and the esper reveals that she has been under the control of the empire. She has no memories of the past or present, and is soon swept up in a war against the empire led by an underground resistance called the Returners. The emperor himself seeks to unleash magic once more unto the world, and this threatens to start the war of the magi anew.
Final Fantasy III is unique in several ways from a scenario standpoint. First off while Terra may seem like the main character the writers actually focus on the party as a whole. While you’re forced to use her in specific sections of the game when you can actually choose your own party you can completely forego using Terra most of the time. This is a very cool concept in my opinion, and the cast is extremely large and quite interesting. While I don’t want to spoil too much the second half of the game is structured very differently. It’s extremely non-linear at this point with a series of dungeons that you can tackle in any order, and most can even be skipped. You’re tasked with tracking down scattered characters that had once joined you, but you can forego this by simply heading straight to the final dungeon should you so choose. The story suffers a little in this portion of the game due to the emphasis changing to each member of the cast with character driven vignettes with a lack of emphasis on the overarching story, but it all comes together at the end. This is a bold and unusual move for a traditional RPG but it works astoundingly well in Final Fantasy III.
This game uses the same basic gameplay system as the previous Final Fantasy games on the Super Nintendo. The world is explored via a world map wherein you have basic terrain such as grassy plains, forests, deserts, as well as impassable mountains and oceans. This is your basic means of traveling between towns, caves, and dungeons. The plot progresses in a linear fashion and the in-game dialogue always does a nice job of illustrating your next goal. Battles occur at random both inside dungeons/caves and while wandering around on the world map. Rather than being strictly turn based this title makes use of an enhanced version of the ATB system introduced in FFIV. This means that each character has a bar that fills at different rates in real-time depending on their speed statistic, and when it’s full you select a command from the menu which include attack, magic, item, and a character specific special skill. Referring to the latter each member of the cast has their own and they offer different effects. For example, Locke can steal items from the opponents, Edgar can use acquired tools during combat, Sabin can perform martial arts techniques called blitzes that require different button inputs, and more. Some are more useful than others, and special characters (such as Gau and Umaro) cannot attack normally and instead rely exclusively on their skills. The fact that everyone has a unique special move is mostly what differentiates them because almost everyone can learn magic after a specific story event via the use of items called magicite.
The developers didn’t include a job system of any kind here, and each character is instead locked into one by default. As I mentioned earlier you can however teach most of the cast magic, and this is done by equipping specific magicite (which represents the crystallized form of espers). Most of these are gained as the plot progresses, but in some cases are hidden away and must be tracked down off the beaten path. What’s interesting is the fact that each magicite gives your characters stat bonuses as you level them up by gaining experience points from battle. This is integral to gameplay because by default every member of the cast only gains hit points, and to make them stronger in other areas you need to equip them with magicite. This allows for significant character customization. For example, Terra begins a little on the weak side but with strong magic stats. With clever planning you can shape her into a formidable front line fighter. Further customization is allowed by relics of which each character can equip two. These offer various bonuses such as counter attacking, equipping specific items, allowing use of two weapons at once, blocking certain status ailments, and enhancing the stats of any member of the cast. There’s more, but it would take all day to describe them all. With this system the possibilities are almost endless, and with a little effort you can plan some intricate effects. Magicite and relics more than make up for the lack of a proper job system.
I do have a few complaints about this game however. For starters, the fact that you can only use four characters in your party at once is a little disappointing. Being able to pick and choose your line-up makes up for this a bit, but with such a unique cast I wanted to use more of them. Furthermore there’s no summoning magic in this title like there was in the past three franchise installments. The developers tried to account for this and make up for it by allowing you to call the esper corresponding to your equipped magicite into battle which leads to various effects, but this can only be used once per battle. The biggest issue however is the fact that Final Fantasy III does not offer players a significant challenge. This game is entirely too easy even should you fail to make intricate use of magicite bonuses and relic combinations. Even when I was a kid I thought so, and only struggled with some of the side quests. Enemies simply do not put up much of a struggle, and their weaknesses are easily located. Furthermore some of the special skills are overpowered. Edgar’s tools for example can be used infinitely with no penalty. Sabin’s blitzes are the same way, but these at least require button inputs. For most of the game these, and many of the other special moves, are more powerful than simply attacking or even magic. This is a little unbalanced.
Final Fantasy III is one of the most technically impressive Super Nintendo games ever released. The sprite work is among the most detailed you’ll find, and the style is impressive and charming. I particularly enjoy all of the backgrounds that use a wide range of different tiles with huge amounts of detail. The world map is astounding with its use of mode 7 graphics, and although everything looks a little flat the planet’s surface is great looking. What’s even moreso is that, while flying in your airship or riding on the back of a chocobo, the camera moves behind the player for a very impressive 3D effect. This blew my mind back when I first played it, and is still a marvel to look at even today. The characters are significantly more impressive than in any other RPG of its era. Each has several animated mannerisms that make them much more expressive. In addition the enemy designs are a huge upgrade from FFV and look great even in modern times. The soundtrack is equally as impressive with great compositions that sound like actual instruments. The world map themes are my most favorite. The third one is particularly well done and transcends the chip tune hardware of the console. The soundtrack is one of the absolute best of all time.
Fortunately for those late to the party Final Fantasy VI is available in several different formats. This original Super Nintendo release is my favorite, and can be purchased from Nintendo’s virtual console service on the Wii if the asking price for a real cartridge is too steep. This is one of the most iconic RPGs of all time, and despite the fact that I was tired of it for a long while I’ve since re-discovered the magic. This is Squaresoft at their best, and though it’s not my favorite RPG of all time it’s definitely one of them.
