I wonder if everyone here howling about a 'dumbed-down release for the US' realizes that this is the same FFIII Japan is getting on the DS as well, albeit in a different language? Personally, I think those screens looks great, especially for a handheld like the DS! This is going to be one sexy-looking game when it's released. Of any of them, Final Fantasy 3 lends itself the most to the Crystal Chronicles graphics stylings. If you actually play through the game - be it in the native Japanese or through one of the translated ROMS, you'll get the feeling that if this game were in 3D, it would look like Crystal Chronicals. I mean, your characters start out as 'Onion Kids' for crying out loud. It looks like Square's putting a lot of time and effort into remaking this game for a new generation, both of hardware and gamers. While I'm a sucker for classic collections such as Final Fantasies Collection, Anthology, and Dawn Of Souls, it's always nice to see this sort of work going towards a rerelease.
I have every collection that Square made for the PS1. I was a little upset that the whole series wasnt going to be on the PS1, but I got over it. A few weeks ago I found out it had 3d battles, and I was very dissapointed, and today I find out that the whole game is 3d. Now I'm mad. I was expecting a 2d title, and this one doesnt match my collection set, and jumping from 2d to 3d is a massive jump between these two titles. The main reason Im a little ticked is that the US never got the real 2d version of the game that has eluded us for so long. The 3d version is fine and dandy and all, but I wish the real one would come out here as well. I guess I could appreciate this remake MORE if I played the real FF3, first. Thats what Im getting at. Plus I would have the whole set of all the original 2d FFs! I put off emulating the NES version of this game, eagerly awaiting its release, and to be hit with this, and blast my hopes of ever seeing the real 1989-1990 FF3 come stateside. Dont get me wrong, I am still going to get this game, but I wont play it until after I emulate the real version. Lets just wait and see if Square puts the real FF3 on this game, too. They have put two or more games in most of their other compilations and a classic FF3 game in this game would be awesome and I hope they do the smart thing and try to appeal to both types of gamers.
So, they had money for programmers to make the game 3D and for artists to make a new style, but not for writers? That's what I'm seeing here. For God's sakes, Squenix should just make a brand new game if they're going to this much trouble. I'm not knocking FF3, mind you. I just feel that the originality has been sucked out of the gaming industry as we see tons of "remakes." You know, not really the original but not enough to be a new game.
I totally agree. What's the point of making nearly an entirely new game, then reusing a 10/15yr old plot? SquEnix could have easily come up with a new plot for this and brought us FF: DS, or even carried on the Crystal Chronicles series (never played it, no idea of plot continuebility). Seems very much like a lack of imagination on SquEnix's part. I really hate it when they do 'remakes' in this way. This isn't FF3, it's the FF3 plot but in 3D clothes. Give people the real FF3. If you want to make a DS FF game, give us something new.
Other then FF6 (which is my fav 2D rpg of all time) I never realy liked any of the 2D FF games, so this is a good thing in my book. Plus being in 3D im sure it'll sell alot more which might encourage square to do more remakes instead of updates.
I agree with the others asking why they didn't just bother making an entirely new game instead of tacking on FFIII onto a fancy new graphics engine. I played the original fan translation, and though I did really enjoy the game it was quite old-fashioned plot-wise and was very frustrating if you did something wrong or went to the wrong place - I got stuck somewhere and ended up never playing the game again because I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do.
Who says the original FF3 wont be included as an extra for beating the game? Seems to be something no one is thinking of
I thought about that, but I highly doubt square would bother. It would certanly be a nice bonus but I don't have enough faith in them to do something that generous.
I have you to thank for the next couple of months' worth of wet dreams. Back on topic - I'm all about 2D gaming and all, but I don't see how this FF3 thing is that bad. Sure, it's 3D, and all... but I think if the gameplay is worth playing, it'll be a great game, like most FF games. It will need some re-tooling to make it controllable in today's gaming scenario, moreso with the DS's deviant form of control. Colour me interested.
Sadly my sarcasm was not conveyed properly. :-( The problem is that we still feel cheated from the fact that we have never been allowed to play the original FF3 in English. They can remake it all they want, just release the original too. It is like Original Star Wars versus Star Wars: Special Edition on DVD...
How to put this lightly... you're up in arms because you're not getting the same version of a Japanese-only release from nearly 20 years ago that you've never played? I'm not trying to sound like a dick, but it's sortof like the anime fans who howl about English localizations being untrue to the Japanese original and then admitting they don't speak a word of the language. It's all very - and I hesitate to use this term - fanboyish. Have you ever PLAYED Final Fantasy III? Go ahead - fire the translated ROM up in your favorite emulator, and give it a whirl. It's NOT the gem that you imagine it is. It's freaking hard - mercilessly so, even from the beginning. And it RAMBLES. The story could stand to be a lot more cohesive than it really is. I could understand your outrage if, say, they decided to rewrite the entire script of Final Fantasy VI and change all the graphics to the (*shudder*) Wind Waker-style, but you're getting upset over a mediocre game you've never played getting a makeover into stunning 3D for a handheld. Doesn't that sound a bit silly? As much as I love them, Square are masters of the rehash. Final Fantasy I & II on the GBA, Playstation, and Wonderswan Color, Final Fantasy IV on WSC, GBA, and PSX, Final Fantasies V & VI on PSX and GBA - Square practically wrote the book on the repackaged classic. Arguably, none of the additional touches transformed the rereleases into stunning new games, nor were they particularly difficult for Square to pull off. The fact that they are COMPLETELY remaking Final Fantasy III, and not just throwing out another rehash, should say something. It might as well be a new game, as all they are really able to use are the script and general design from the Famicom original - and there's got to be a very good reason to do this. If Square were really just trying to satiate the 'casual gamer's' palate, I really doubt they'd try to do it with the most obscure of all the Final Fantasy series. You should have faith that this extra effort is going to result in something greater than the original - and you should also PLAY that original. If you beat it and still absolutely hate it, hey, that's alright. At least then you can go frothing at the mouth about changes and really KNOW what you're railing against.
Sorry, this line stood out the most for me. Unfortunately, it means that the game industry is becoming even more like the movie industry and is just churning out remakes of old games instead of creating new ones. I understand, and agree with, both sides of the argument. On one side, you have those who still want to play FF3, regardless of the content, in its original form in English. They finally released FF2, arguably the least FF-ish of the series, in a purely translated form. There is no reason from a marketing standpoint (and we all know that marketing determines the market) that the original form of FF3 could not simply be translated and released in the US or even rereleased in Japan. People do love, and will buy rereleases. On the other side, you have those who will be happy to play FF3 in English in any form. No, it will not even be remotely the same experience (and you know they are going to screw with the plot), but at least it will finally be in English. Sadly, I do believe the argument about the "casual" gamer being more likely to buy the shinier version to hold true. I am just afraid of what is going to change in order to use the bottom screen of the DS.
I have in fact played the real FF3 on my computer, and I beat the Land Turtle boss and went through the first town, just to see what the game was like, and I liked it. Then I deleted the file. This was about 2 or 3 years ago. Im not trying to be fanboyish, I just would like to see the original released here, so the US could say that they finally have all the original FFs. I really like FFs 1,2,4,5, and 6, and I dont see how FF3 is any different. Thats just my tastes, though, and Im sure many people will disagree with me. I dont know whether its nostalgia or what, but I love the classic 2d stylings. I know, I already said Im going to emulate the real FF3 before I play the remake, but Im just upset I have to resort to emulation for a game I already thought was coming out here. Since they are rereleasing FFIV, FFV and FFVI on the gba, they might release the real FF3 on the GBA, too. That sounds like something they might do on the side for added profit. And knowing Sqaure, they might do it, too, since they are masters of the rehash. EDIT: Ok, just got the translated ROM a few hours ago and Im about a few hours into the game. Im liking what Im playing so far. As soon as I beat it, I'll get the 3d version of it. I dont have a DS, but I have a bad habit of taking forever to beat game, so by the time I beat it, I might already have a DS. :smt082 Too bad I had to resort to stealing something I was ready to pay for, though...
Sad indeed, you know when I was 14 and playing every RPG I could, it really annoyed me that I would never be able to play every console RPG because there were so many that got left back in Japan. And that is why I started learning Japanese, trust me it makes things easier in the long run. You can learn Katakana in a week and then you can play most action games, you will pick up menu kanji soon enough. Before I came to uni all my Japanese came from games, manga and anime, I had never had a fromal lesson, and I was as good as those who had studied it at school for 4 years. Still, thinking of the Japanese market they would have little use for the original on the cart, and it would take S-E ages to sync the translation to the original cart. Becasue they will probably change a lot of the game for the re-make, so there will be a lot of work in transferring that dialogue to the original. So I'm thinking again - unlikely, maybe for the Japanese market, as it is easy to just stick the game on. See the reason you have to emulate is that S-E's main concern is not the US, its obviously Japan. It's where they come from and where a couple of their games will stay, its been like this for ages and why I deceided to do something about it.
Well, there are always things like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/FINAL-FANTASY-3-FAMICOM_W0QQitemZ8225716448QQcategoryZ62053QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Damn fine artwork on that box, wonder if they will re-use it for the re-release. I say bring back yoshitaka amano on the boxes. Oh and FF3 only costs about 1000 yen in box, the one above is ultra minty though, so no-excuses really!