"Final nail in the coffin"

Final Fantasy 3 is a RPG game developed by SquareSoft. It's the last installment in the NES FF trilogy and never reached the US shores. As with all FF games some hate it and some love it. The ones that love it talk about its innovative Job system and various, (now popular), stuff that were introduced in this game like chocobos and so on. The ones that hate it, say that its innovation can't save the game from being too swallow and repetitive.

Story: 4/10
Presentation: 2/10

By now the plot should have been improved, but no they haven't. Once again the plot revolves around some crystals that keep the world in balance, an unnamed evil wants them and you must stop him to saaaaaave the world. There is more variety when it comes to places and faces compared to the previous FF games but don't expect a story driven game.

Gameplay: 5.8/10
Replay Value: 2/10

Final Fantasy plays like any other generic NES RPG game. You'll have to wander around a vast world, search dungeons, kill enemies and find items in order to become stronger. What makes the whole thing different than most games of the genre is the introduction of the job system, which basically means that you can change between various classes throughout the course of the game. This is what made this title famous… and I simply can't understand why. First of all the game not only is extremely linear but it also forces you to change into certain classes in many points throughout the game. There are many times for example, that you'll have to turn your whole party into midgets in order to enter certain areas but by doing this you will only be able to use magic attacks… and that is just an example. Secondly most classes aren't that exciting. Most become obsolete the moment you find some new ones, which in most cases are actually upgrades of the older ones. The flawed Job System combined with the overall boring design of the game makes up for a really lame experience. If you want a good FF game with a job system play FF5.

Graphics & Design: 7.5/10
Sound & Music: 6/10

Without a doubt this FF is the best NES FF when it comes to Audiovisuals… however nothing really breathtakingly different. FF2 was one step better than FF1 and FF3 is just one step better than FF3. There is more variety in available sprites and not just a bunch of differently colored clones and we have a lot of different areas, quite detailed for an NES game and with some near the end of the game quite otherworldly. The same goes for the sound effects. We have more SFX and with a very nice quality I must say. The music though… while good is still far below the masterpieces of later FF games and since you'll fight with a LOT of enemies the battle theme will become extremely repetitive.

[+]:
-The best looking Final Fantasy on the NES

[-]:
-The flawed job system
-Boring and linear
-Once again a lame excuse of a plot

Also Play:
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Final Fantasy 5 & 6 (SNES)
Final Fantasy 7 (Playstation, PC)

Overall: 4.5/10

For other FF3 is the greatest NES FF games, for me it's the final nail on the coffin of a very bad trilogy that somehow managed to become very famous…

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/11

Game Release: Final Fantasy III (JP, 04/27/90)