The power of four continues in these early Final Fantasy games and our coverage of Pixel Remaster progresses.

And the most interesting thing I found about Final Fantasy 3 is how the changes remain subtle but still noticeable. The biggest difference being, of course, the jobs system.

As we know, that’s a massive part of Final Fantasy 14 and has been an iconic part in other games within the series, but FF3 is the first time this was properly implemented into the series and allowed the player so much flexibility.

You start out with four onion knights but pretty soon you’ll be able to select a different job for your character, between likes of mages, warriors and monks, and level each up, changing between them to your hearts content. And later into the game, once you absorb more crystals, you’ll get even more jobs like Dragoon, Viking, Scholar and more.

Much as its predecessors have been, this was massively ahead of its time and is further evidence as to why the Final Fantasy series has been at the forefront of the genre for so many years. Particularly with how differently jobs can play out and how you can influence the game in so many different ways.

For example, if you have a thief class they can now steal from enemies, or if you have a Dragoon they leap into the air and descend down with an almighty attack. Thieves can even open up secret passageways and entrances, which can really change up playthroughs.

Another big implementation here is summoning, which is another huge halmark of the series, seeing oversized creatures coming in to do your bidding, easily overpowering enemies. One of my favourite parts of the series, you can really see this series taking shape in 3.

Characters also feel a lot more expressive in 3, with mini cutscenes of dancers moving about the room, people jumping around in surprise when you talk to them and even piano solos. They’re not of the level Square is producing now, of course, but these minor cut scenes certainly set the tone for what’s to come. Environments have a more 3D, late-era SNES feel to them as well, which shows how comfortable the devs became using the engine.

Semi new here is well is the use of pools to heal your allies and even revive them if they’ve been KO’ed, so you can just visit them in between battles so you’re not burning through potions or living on the edge of a knife.

This feeds into the map layout as well which feels much improved and spaces locations out better so you’re not traipsing through vast areas before reaching a town or a specific landmark relevant to your quest.

Enemy types feel much more expressive now, with some really unusual breeds popping up and tackling our heroes head on.

The best part for me, though, is the music. This is easily my favourite of the three so far for its soundtrack. There’s some truly lovely pieces in Final Fantasy 3 outside of the familiar jingle and beats that just catch and play on loop on my brain ad-infinitum.

Verdict

Final Fantasy 3 is a fantastic amalgamation of all that’s come before it, streamlined in a way that sets the path for the future of the series. Players have freedom and choice with the jobs system and the benefits that come with each selection. But despite some important, marked differences to make the game more accessible, enticing, and player-friendly, this tale has started to feel overly familiar. 

Pros

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Code kindly received from Square Enix for purposes of review

Stay tuned for the full overview of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster