What started as just poking around at the beginning of one of my beloved classics kinda spiraled into an all-day cleanup, and it's all thanks to the recent Pixel Remaster console releases. Boosts in particular are a godsend; grinding in games like FFIII has never been difficult, so the ability to jack up exp rates and gain a crucial level or two on the fly is a very welcome addition to an already-snappy Pixel Remaster flow.
Mechanically, I think FFIII PR is the easiest pick of the FFIII litter; a lot of the difficulty of both the NES and DS versions has been scaled back, an observation that seems to be pretty common across every FF Pixel Remaster (even without boosts). Simply keeping pace with gear and random battles (i.e. not running in circles) means most bosses won't be especially threatening outside of the final gauntlet, although the optional bosses still have some bite with powerful full-party attacks. Overall III is a bit more complex in encounter design than its predecessors, featuring some bosses and even random encounters with unique mechanics (Hein and Amon, enemies in the Cave of Shadows), but the wide majority of battles are trivialized by towing a healer along for the ride.
I think ultimately that's where FF III (and the NES era in general) falls a bit short for me; even if I have an unreasonable love of this game that hasn't been whittled down by rereleases, I can still see the forest for the trees. That said, it helps that the trees this time look and sound pretty damn nice! The console PR's option to toggle between a couple of font styles, classic chiptune soundtracks and new arrangements allows for a little bit more of a tailored experience than its forebears without invalidating their presence.
There is no one "definitive" version of Final Fantasy III to play, and I think that's for the best, but for nostalgia's sake or to get a quick rundown of what you may have missed in the past, FFIII PR is great and very easy on your time to boot.
Mechanically, I think FFIII PR is the easiest pick of the FFIII litter; a lot of the difficulty of both the NES and DS versions has been scaled back, an observation that seems to be pretty common across every FF Pixel Remaster (even without boosts). Simply keeping pace with gear and random battles (i.e. not running in circles) means most bosses won't be especially threatening outside of the final gauntlet, although the optional bosses still have some bite with powerful full-party attacks. Overall III is a bit more complex in encounter design than its predecessors, featuring some bosses and even random encounters with unique mechanics (Hein and Amon, enemies in the Cave of Shadows), but the wide majority of battles are trivialized by towing a healer along for the ride.
I think ultimately that's where FF III (and the NES era in general) falls a bit short for me; even if I have an unreasonable love of this game that hasn't been whittled down by rereleases, I can still see the forest for the trees. That said, it helps that the trees this time look and sound pretty damn nice! The console PR's option to toggle between a couple of font styles, classic chiptune soundtracks and new arrangements allows for a little bit more of a tailored experience than its forebears without invalidating their presence.
There is no one "definitive" version of Final Fantasy III to play, and I think that's for the best, but for nostalgia's sake or to get a quick rundown of what you may have missed in the past, FFIII PR is great and very easy on your time to boot.