X
- E10+
- Square Enix
- E10+
- Square Enix
- E10+
- Square Enix
- E10+
- Square Enix
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster
Released On: Jul 28, 2021
79
5.6
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
79
70% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
30% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
79
70% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
30% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The biggest impediment to recommending these games to others is just the fact that, well… in many ways they are slight things. None of these games are terribly long if you know what you’re doing, nor are they tremendously difficult. The stories are not super compelling on their own. They are little games in a way, and they are definitely aged. But if you loved these games before, these remasters are perfect for what they’re trying to do. They’re charming. They feel like a sudden rush of nostalgia not because they’re exactly the games you remember, but the rare form of remaster that does add some stuff on top while still preserving all of the spirit and intent perfectly. And if you’ve never played these games but want to understand why people loved them so much, these are the perfect way to try them out.
While the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters aren’t perfect, they’re certainly the best and most convenient ways to play these classic games. The soundtracks are lovingly orchestrated and the pixel art is gorgeous, though the latter does lose some detail in the translation. Each game feels great to play, but I do wish extra content from previous releases or remakes had been included.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 48 User Ratings
5.6
48% Positive
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
17% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
35% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 48 User Ratings
5.6
48% Positive
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
17% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
35% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
So what we're left with is a slightly uneven collection. The core material is still brilliant, made exponentially more so with the stellar soundtracks and built-in music player, but you'll be a bit disappointed if you were hoping for anything other than the core material.
Ultimately, if I was going to recommend one NES-era Final Fantasy to anyone, it would be Final Fantasy III. You can feel the sheer genre-pushing joy on screen as you play. This version of Final Fantasy III removes many of the original’s frustrating elements, but it still feels like an RPG of its era, for good or ill. The job system might not be that complex, the story might not be that engaging, and the exploration might be frustrating. But without this game bridging the gap between the early era and the SNES, we wouldn’t have gotten to Square’s golden age. It’s worth playing for that reason alone.
The improved approach to storytelling and world building that gave the world a personality in Final Fantasy II continues with this entry as well. Final Fantasy III is where the series seems to have become established in its identity. One of the most notable recurring observations while playing Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster is the early signs of what we would see after Final Fantasy transitions to the 16-bit generations, but comparisons to its successors aside, Final Fantasy III exemplifies what a great RPG looked like thirty years ago.
I come away from Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3 looking forward to the remaining games more than I did before. I appreciate the new features like the enhanced bestiary, the auto-combat feature, making grinding friendlier, and I LOVE the new soundtracks. But I hope they manage to address issues like the screen tearing and especially the font before the last three games release.
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster is an opportunity to play through a missing piece of the series’ history. Some of its concepts might be a bit antiquated, but it’s amazing to essentially have a prettier version of a video game time capsule to finally peruse and learn from. While the UI has some issues, Square Enix did a great job of restoring and bringing this game to audiences that have spent a long time waiting for it.
A very good remaster of Final Fantasy 3, yes it does have some minor flaws but I would still argue that this is the definitive version since it adds some much needed quality of life changes that make the experience much more enjoyable that it was before.
There are a few changes to gameplay the most obvious being the auto battle feature which makes the encounter rate much less of a pain, there's now a run function when not in the overworld, omni directional movement, phoenix downs are much more common, secret passages now have subtle visual clues, and the dungeons now have an optional map you can use.
The visuals are very well done, I know many enjoyed the DS version but I think this pixel remaster is a much more elegant solution than the ds versions big ugly polygons. The sprites, levels, and attack effects have all been remade from the ground up but surprisingly it all meshes together evenly, nothing feels out of place..............well except for one incredibly obvious flaw. The text format. As many others have said the text that is used for dialogue looks horrible compared to everything else and what's worse is that they already use a better text format for damage calculation so there's literally no reason for it to look this bad.
I think it goes without saying that the re orchestrated music sounds fantastic and was my primary reason for buying this game. Nobuo Uematsu oversaw the music and it shows, every track has the level of quality you would expect from his work and in my opinion elevates the atmosphere of FF3 much higher than it was. This is also highly subjective but I think eternal wind is the standout track and possibly the best overworld theme in the entire series.
The story and characters wont blow you away, its a very basic light vs dark story with all the fantasy tropes you would expect **** from the famicom era. That being said the plot gets the job done, it never draws anything out more than it needs to so the pacing is relatively quick in that regard but this has the drawback of never allowing you to get attached to the characters you meet since they pop in and out of the adventure so quickly.
Pros:
+remastered music sounds amazing
+pixelated visuals pays homage to original style but isnt afraid to improve things like the water effects
+auto battle and other QOL changes make playing the game a breeze
Cons:
-terrible looking font looks terrible
-game is incredibly easy with exception of a few bosses
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PC
Final Fantasy III is a product of its time but still stands up surprisingly well. The music is gorgeous, the pixel graphics are wonderful, and the gameplay is engaging.
The addition of auto fighting is great, but it would have been nice to have some more quality-of-life features, like a quest pointer, so you don't get lost and wander aimlessly around the map for an hour.
The job system was excellent but poorly explained, and I'm still not sure I knew what I was doing when I saw the credits roll. Overall, it is a fun game that is surprisingly deep, to say where it originally came from. It is well worth a look if you have the time.
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PC
I never played the original or the mobile game remaster.
I think the music was good since it is all new. But understanding its a old game and just pixel remastered I think some QOL issues could have been done better. There are too many hidden points of no return (enemy spawning wise) for completionists that want to platinum that you don't realize until after you beat the game. Your monster log will remain incomplete unless you luckliy run into every enemy type before you clear certain dungeons. This was very dissapointing.
I think the boosting is a good thing, you can change the settings so you can get 4x the EXP and 4x the GIL (money) from defeating enemies. In this way you can just simply enjoy the game without "grinding" and I just wanted to play this game since i never played it before to kill a couple days of time.
Job/Class balance could have been better - some were just pointless and gimmicky that provided no real merits that you need to change to for certain fights. Also gaining job experience points (not character experience points) is painfully slow in that you need to fight for over 3 turns to gain any decent amount of points. (so you would basically do regular attack with one character and block with the other 3, which i thought was silly)
Story is decent for its time and limitations. Combat is good, standard turn based RPG which was standard at the time.
Job system was just meh for the number of useless jobs and how easy it is to get to level 99 (max level) and you dont earn anywhere close to enough job points in relation to experience points.
And at the end its going to be meta based with 2 jobs basically.
It's a good time killer and decent game.
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PC
Summary When darkness falls and the land is robbed of light, four young heroes are chosen by the crystals to head off an exciting journey across a vast and hostile land. This critically-acclaimed entry in the series innovated with a flexible job system, which lets characters change their roles in combat at any time. Many of the most famous elem...
Rated E +10
for Everyone +10
Platforms:
- iOS (iPhone/iPad)
- PC
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 4
Initial Release Date: Jul 28, 2021
Developer:
- TOSE
Publisher: Square Enix
Genres:
