I’d strongly recommend Final Fantasy III to those who can play through any JRPG regardless of some repetitive elements. Of course, if you like the JRPG genre you’ve probably played this game already. If you’re on the fence about it, watching a playthrough might actually be the most enjoyable route. It’s a game I’m glad I experienced even though playing through it wasn’t the most entertaining time.
From a story perspective, Final Fantasy III is a wonderful at creating a unique world and balancing a huge cast of characters. Celes and Cyan in particularly became immediate favorites and any plots involving them directly were highlights of the game for me. As an antagonist, Kefka is one of the best in video games as a whole, posing a consistent threat throughout. On top of it all, every event in the game is elevated by the beautiful soundtrack. I’ve probably spent just as much time listening to the music outside of the game as during my actual playthrough.
The big factor that really held back this game for me though was much of the moment-to-moment gameplay. Final Fantasy III has a very prevalent encounter rate, to the point that I felt discouraged from exploring much of the world. One benefit from this is that additional grinding is never necessary with how many battles you’ll come across from just traveling to your main destinations. If the battle system was a bit more engaging I wouldn’t have any issue with how much of the gameplay it takes up. However, Sabin’s Blitz ability was the only one in the party that made it feel particularly satisfying to pull off attacks.
Even though games like Earthbound and Undertale are some of my all-time favorites, I wouldn’t typically consider myself an RPG fan. Final Fantasy III is one of the prime cases of why I appreciate the genre but don’t play too much from it.
Part of the Glitchwave Top 100 Project (#41/100)
From a story perspective, Final Fantasy III is a wonderful at creating a unique world and balancing a huge cast of characters. Celes and Cyan in particularly became immediate favorites and any plots involving them directly were highlights of the game for me. As an antagonist, Kefka is one of the best in video games as a whole, posing a consistent threat throughout. On top of it all, every event in the game is elevated by the beautiful soundtrack. I’ve probably spent just as much time listening to the music outside of the game as during my actual playthrough.
The big factor that really held back this game for me though was much of the moment-to-moment gameplay. Final Fantasy III has a very prevalent encounter rate, to the point that I felt discouraged from exploring much of the world. One benefit from this is that additional grinding is never necessary with how many battles you’ll come across from just traveling to your main destinations. If the battle system was a bit more engaging I wouldn’t have any issue with how much of the gameplay it takes up. However, Sabin’s Blitz ability was the only one in the party that made it feel particularly satisfying to pull off attacks.
Even though games like Earthbound and Undertale are some of my all-time favorites, I wouldn’t typically consider myself an RPG fan. Final Fantasy III is one of the prime cases of why I appreciate the genre but don’t play too much from it.
Part of the Glitchwave Top 100 Project (#41/100)