Final Fantasy III [DS]

You're a Final Fantasy fan, right? You wept at the opera scene on SNES, shared Cloud's strife, and played a few games of Blitzball, haven't you? Well, unless you're fluent in Japanese and own a Famicom, there's one Final Fantasy you've never played. And even if you've done that, you've never played Final Fantasy III like this. Square Enix finally releases the missing FF piece in North America, and it's a whole new RPG.

In many ways, you can see the remnants of Final Fantasy III's 8-bit roots. The story is a snoozer with elements like omnipotent crystals, amnesia, and character shrinkage that were almost cliched back in 1990. Like other role-playing games of its time, you're often left clueless as to what to do next, and can easily walk into a section full of amazingly difficult and sometimes unbeatable monsters. We've come a long way, baby, and Final Fantasy III demonstrates that -- but not always in a good way.

However, a lot has been done to modernize this title. Immediately noticeable are the polygonal graphics. Having 3D worlds and characters really brings the game to life, and recalls Final Fantasy VII just a little bit -- though the models look more like 3D versions of Final Fantasy Tactics. Monster designs and especially bosses are impressive, but main characters Luneth and Arc may be the girliest looking males in RPG history. That's really saying something, considering, but these guys look like they'd get their butts kicked by Mary-Kate and Ashley.

Aside from the times when you feel lost, Final Fantasy III plays quite well. Combat is typical turn-based fare, made compelling thanks to the job system. You can switch between being a black mage, monk, or warrior basically at will, and each has its own characteristics. Monsters are nicely balanced to be susceptible to specific jobs, though magic-users seem to be the strongest in battle. In total, you'll unlock over 20 job types.

Final Fantasy III mercifully tosses several means of conveyance at you in short order. You'll be riding in airships, sailing in big boats, and going on cross-country safari while on Chocobo-back. At least when you're clueless where to go, you can cover ground quickly. Having tagalongs is also a neat addition. Aside from providing you with some conversation, they sometimes pitch in during battles.

You might not think a DS RPG would use the stylus all that much, but it's a handy device here. You can navigate all menus, traverse the world, and make battle commands completely with the touch-screen. Or, if you'd rather, do things the old-fashioned way. Menus aren't optimized for touch-screen usage, and sometimes the key areas are a little small. At the same time, the stylus is best for running around since you don't have to hold a sprint button. As such, you'll probably find yourself alternating between the two options.

The game even utilizes wireless networking, believe it or not. While this has exciting potential, it's not really worth doing. The functionality is actually relatively minor, as it's basically for exchanging letters with your friends over Mognet. Animal Crossing: Wild World beat Final Fantasy III by almost a year, and its online functions make much more sense in the context of the game.

With most remakes or re-releases, the game benefits from a nostalgia boost due to our fond memories of its previous iterations. Final Fantasy III doesn't get that, as basically nobody in the U.S. had ever played it before. Square Enix's attempts to modernize the title go a long way towards making it more enjoyable on the Nintendo DS, and it's a good game overall, but you'll still find that it lags behind more recent RPGs in some respects. If you're a die-hard Final Fantasy fan, the purchase is a no-brainer. Those who are just looking for a great role-playing journey may want to tread a little more cautiously.