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> Results: Final Fantasy III
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What GamerDad says about the ESRB Content Descriptors:
Fantasy Violence: the game is full of random battles and boss battles against all kinds of creatures. Mild Blood: during the turn based battles and some of the exploration there is blood shown on bodies and walls. Suggestive Themes: GamerDad saw that girls and boys recognized each other as such ﾖ usually in a very ﾑcutesy' way. The Final Fantasy series of games is very confusing for those who didn't keep track, but fortunately Square Enix seems intent on correcting that ﾖ the first two games were released as an awesome package for the GBA in 2004, the fourth in 2005 and the fifth within a week of Final Fantasy III in 2006. But all of those games have been direct translations of the NES and SNES releases, albeit with some tremendous extensions and added dungeons. For the first DS entry they took a new route ﾖ pure 3D. Final Fantasy III is a gorgeous game that is somewhat of an dichotomy ﾖ it is one of the best looking games available for the DS and feels thoroughly modern, yet it plays like a 15 year old early console role-playing game. Oh, and it is a truly excellent game. Similar to the GBA games, you roam the world looking for cities and dungeons, advancing the plot little by little as you trudge through endless random battles. But the game looks so much better and the music sounds fantastic ﾖ and there is the addition of a WiFi mail system that allows you to unlock some of the most powerful parts of the game. What seems at first as a gratuitous use of the wireless mode is in fact a massive mini-game that allows you to discover secret jobs, items and ultimately a dungeon beyond the final boss. There are some things lacking in the DS version ﾖ the top screen is under-utilized (a dungeon map would have been nice), the save system could have been updated to allow at least a single in-dungeon save, and you will spend the game wishing for more scenes as gorgeous as the opening movie. But those are small things, really nothing compared to what you do get ﾖ a massive quest filled with interesting characters and areas, a classic turn-based combat system, and tons of great jobs to open up the gameplay. The random battles will dampen the excitement for some, but if you can accept that as the price of entry then you are on your way to one of the best role-playing adventures of the year.  
Because of the juxtaposition of modern graphics and old-school gameplay, judging whether kids will like this game is tougher than with many others. There is a depth to the characters and relationships that wasn't there in the first couple of games, especially within the party ﾖ these are no longer just one or two characters with occasional add-ons following around for a while, every character is integral and special. You will get upset when they fall in battle, even if they are just a Phoenix Down away from rejoining you.
Unlike the visceral action-based combat more common in modern games, Final Fantasy III features a fully turn-based system that focuses more on strategy, tactics and using your character's strengths than on the quick reactions of the player. For many, that is what distinguishes a ﾑreal' role-playing game from an action game. Whatever your opinion, combat is more temporal than visceral ﾖ and that will play a part in determining whether your kids want to play ... and whether you want them playing. Having my kids describe battles in the GBA Final Fantasy games is very different than the ﾑtrigger happy blowing stuff up' I hear about from many of their games. They are just starting to play Final Fantasy III now ﾖ and at 8.5 and 10 think that everyone with a DS should get this game. For my opinion, I think that kids should try Final Fantasy I & II first ﾖ you can get it very cheap now and it represents the basis of the series. You can be assured that if they like that than they will love this one even more. Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Final Fantasy III |
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