Final Fantasy III (Nintendo DS)

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Final Fantasy III

Developer(s)	Square Enix Matrix Software
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Hironobu Sakaguchi (original concept, original game director) Masafumi Miyamoto (original game producer) Hiromichi Tanaka (original game designer, executive producer, game director) Tomoya Asano (game producer) Kenji Terada (original scenario writer) Yoshitaka Amano (original character designer, title logo designer) Akihiko Yoshida (character designer) Kazuhiko Aoki (original game designer, battle supervisor) Nobuo Uematsu (composer)
Release date(s)	^JPN August 24, 2006 ^NA November 24, 2006 ^EUR May 4, 2007.^[1]
Genre(s)	Console role-playing
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: A (All ages) ESRB: E10+ (Everyone 10 and up)
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Media	128 MB Cartridge

Final Fantasy III is an enhanced remake of the 1990 Japan-only console role-playing game of the same name originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. This is the first and only version of Final Fantasy III to have been officially released outside of Japan.

1 Development
2 Gameplay
3 Changes and additions
4 Musical score
5 Reception
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Development

The remake of Final Fantasy III was already in development when it was decided, after considering the PlayStation 2 and other consoles, to bring the game to the Nintendo DS, a decision that would later be positively reinforced by the commercial success of the Nintendo DS.^[2]

The Final Fantasy III remake was first announced to be in development on October 7 2004, but detailed information did not emerge until a year later. Hiromichi Tanaka (one of the main designers of the Nintendo Famicom version) headed the project as both the executive producer and game director. His guidance and supervision were needed because the remake was not a mere graphical update as Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II's remakes were, but a total overhaul using the Nintendo DS's 3D capabilities; however, the layout of the dungeons and towns closely matches the original. Along with 3D graphics, a full motion video opening scene has been made for the game, similar to those found in the ports of the 2D Final Fantasy games ported by TOSE for the PlayStation remakes.

The game was produced by Tomoya Asano and co-developed by Matrix Software and Square Enix Co., Ltd. In addition, Ryosuke Aiba (who was the art director of Final Fantasy XI) was the art director.

Akihiko Yoshida (who was the character designer of Final Fantasy XII) redesigned the original characters for use in 3D, and designed the looks of the new playable characters. The formerly generic and nameless party characters were given new default names: Luneth (Runesu), Arc (Arukū), Refia (Refia) and Ingus (Inguzu); one party member (Refia) is now female and three (Luneth, Arc and Ingus) are male. They were given new personalities and background stories, and additional scenes were added to develop their individuality; however, the main storyline was not changed significantly. Along with these four, additional characters (called sub-characters) also join the party temporarily, like in the original. Unlike the original however, these characters may randomly participate in battle.

[edit] Gameplay

The DS version of Final Fantasy III retains the gameplay of the original Famicom version, and tries to keep true to the original game while still addressing some of the more outdated and unbalanced elements. Like the original Final Fantasy III, this game features the upgraded turn-based combat system that was also seen in the first two Final Fantasy games. The experience point system featured in Final Fantasy remains in the game, unlike in Final Fantasy II and its remakes. The job system also remains, mostly identical to its original form. Like the original, jobs are interchangeable classes. However, in the original version, all four characters start out as "Onion Knights," but for the remake the characters start out as Freelancers. Final Fantasy III is the first game in the series to feature special battle commands such as "Steal" or "Jump," each of which is associated with a particular job ("Steal" being the Thief's specialty, while "Jump" is the Dragoon's forte). In the remake, these commands have been rebalanced, and certain classes now have new commands to utilize.

Additionally, the player is now free to switch the characters' jobs as often as they want (between combats), but there is a small penalty associated with doing so. Every time the characters switch their jobs, they incur decreased statistics for the next 2 to 10 battles, based on "job compatibility" and the difference in levels between the new job and old job.

[edit] Changes and additions

Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS features overhauls to the job system, including the rebalancing of the classes, the addition of new abilities, a new "Freelancer" class that becomes the default job for the characters at the beginning of the game (the Onion Knight is now a secret class), new events, a new crystal and dungeon, and the removal of capacity points. Unlike the original Famicom version, most of the jobs remain useful for the entire game; the ultimate jobs, the Ninja and the Sage, were redesigned so they have the same level of abilities as the Warrior and others. The battle system was overhauled by Kazuhiko Aoki. The remake takes advantage of the Wi-Fi hardware of the Nintendo DS in the form of a Mail/Mognet system similar to what was in Final Fantasy IX. Various moogles in the game allow the player to send mail to others. Players are also able to send mail to various characters in the game, as well as to other players. Sidequests can also be unlocked using this system, such as the quest to unlock the Onion Knight.^[3] A quick save option was also included with the game, similar to those from other 2D Final Fantasy remakes (except Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls). However, like in the original, there are no save points in the game's numerous dungeons.

[edit] Musical score

Main article: Final Fantasy III: Original Soundtrack

Like the scores of earlier 8-bit Final Fantasy games that had been remade, the Final Fantasy III DS remake features a faithfully rearranged version of the original score by Nobuo Uematsu. The score was arranged for the remake by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Keiji Kawamori, under Uematsu's supervision. ^[4] A remix of "This is the Final Battle" by Uematsu's rock group, The Black Mages, as well as a techno version of "Eternal Wind" by muZik, appeared on the DS game's soundtrack, which was released in Japan on September 20.^[5]

[edit] Reception

Final Fantasy III's reception has been mostly positive with high sales and fair reviews from video game critics. IGN states that "[i]nterest in FFIII should come as no surprise given...the popularity of the DS".^[6] The game sold 500,000 units within the first week in Japan, beating Square-Enix's original prediction that they would only sell 350,000.^[7] The success of this game on the Nintendo DS as well as the success of other recent Final Fantasy remakes such as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls and Final Fantasy IV and V have led Square Enix to consider remaking other old Final Fantasy games as well as doing much to repair the relationship between them and Nintendo.^[8] A spin-off to the PlayStation 2 game Final Fantasy XII called Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings has been announced for the DS ^[9]as well as many other games that have been announced for Nintendo consoles.