Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster (Nintendo Switch) – The test

Warning: We are going to approach this test as a discovery… Go on this reading bearing in mind that the writer of these lines has experience of Final Fantasy with a little trip to the 7, a bit of the 8 and also Crisis Core on PSP…

Crystals!

Let’s start with a little history of Final Fantasy III (not of the saga obviously), because even if we hadn’t had the opportunity to put the controller on it before, we took the time to take an interest in this title! It is true that before the release of Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation in 1997 (even if the first incursion of the saga in Europe was made via a Spin-Off – Mystic Quest Legend released in 1994 here), Final Fantasy n never crossed the borders of Europe, remaining (at best) stuck in North America… But let’s go back to Final Fantasy III, originally released in 1990 in Japan and which was unreleased in Europe until 2021 ( with an output on PC/iOS/Android)! It will therefore have been necessary to wait until 2023 to enjoy this FF on Nintendo Switch, in its “Pixel Remaster” version!

So yes, in the meantime, there was a Final Fantasy III that was released in the United States, but it actually corresponds to Final Fantasy VI. As for the FFIII released on Nintendo DS in 2007, it is a fully 3D remake, with some differences in the story… That’s it, that’s the end of the story sequence, you’re ready to have something to tell at the next family meal!

So let’s move on to the story of this original FFIII… As in any good self-respecting Final Fantasy, it’s about crystals and magic… A terrible earthquake shook the world, meaning a bad omen for the world… darkness threatens the planet, but there is still hope in the person of four orphans who meet the spirit of the crystal of the wind… This one will grant them powers to fight against evil by making the power of the knights of light shine! Then begins a quest that will make them leave the borders of their village and even the floating continent on which they lived to discover and explore a vast world of which they did not know the existence. The opportunity to meet a whole host of characters, but also powerful enemies… The adventure aimed at bringing light back to their world will be epic and punctuated with twists and turns…!

Chocobos!

Final Fantasy III is therefore a J-RPG, to understand a role-playing game of Japanese origin (ok, you already knew that). So you direct your characters with a top view on a map and the clashes are random. When you come across an opponent, the confrontation takes place on a turn-by-turn basis, understand that for each of your characters you choose the actions to take and these will follow one after the other… The same is true for your enemies that attack you when it’s their turn, classic but with some peculiarities anyway!

Indeed, from the start of the game, our four heroes are given the opportunity to choose a “job”. Five in number to begin with, new jobs will unlock as you progress and free crystals, eventually reaching twenty-two different jobs!

That’s a lot and we tell ourselves that they are not necessarily all very useful (and it’s true – hello bard!), others will prove to be formidable (the most interesting and powerful will be unlocked at the very end of the game), thus obliging us to practice the other trades which are offered to us. We must admit that on this, the game is rather clever, forcing us to change jobs and in fact to start partially from scratch, at least at the job level. Indeed, our characters maintain an overall level. But we still appreciate this obligation to test other jobs to advance in the game. Obviously, as we said in the introduction, Final Fantasy rhymes with magic and attacks of black or white magic are in the game! But of course, only certain jobs are able to use black magic at a high level (and vice versa for white magic). Some jobs are multi-tasking, but do not allow you to use the full potential of certain magic attacks, so you will have to compose your team accordingly.

As your adventure progresses, you can also “recruit” some tougher enemies to summon them during battles (with the character or characters who have the ability of course).

Where the game is also very strong is in the dialogues and the fortuitous advice given to the player, we are always guided a little without necessarily realizing it right away… So when a character recommends that we flee to escaping a fight against a fearsome dragon, it’s best to… follow his advice. Ditto for some NPCs who will give you valuable information on jobs to master or weapons to possess to defeat certain enemies. The kind of mechanics that we now find in games like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom.

Speaking of which, we also find an open world where we can evolve freely (subject to having the right means of transport) and even if there remains a certain linearity to progress (access to these new means of transport is unlocked by the progress in the scenario), there is nevertheless a certain freedom in the possible movements, first on foot (or on the back of Chocobos), then in the air and even under water… The playground is indeed on three levels (like a title released recently and even if the comparison may seem laughable, the fact remains that at the time, it must have been rather impressive)!

As you will have understood, the game shows a richness that will keep you busy for a few hours, as long as you have a bit of an adventurous streak and the desire to progress in the different jobs!

Pixels!

Let’s talk a little about the overall look of the title… Well it’s true that visually this Pixel Remaster may not be as impressive as the HD-2D, but the game has still undergone a nice facelift. At the level of the color palette to start (necessarily much wider than that of the NES), but also decorations which are slightly more detailed. However, the prize goes to certain mist effects and of course to magic attacks and invocations which benefit from a beautiful 3-dimensional transparency effect and allow you to send Mega-Fissions that depress!

On the other hand, we are not going to lie to each other, if in portable mode, whether on Switch Lite or OLED, the game goes perfectly well, once docked, it stings a little on a television screen (and unfortunately the filters available in the options do not necessarily improve the rendering). But never mind, you can perfectly enjoy the game in the palm of your hands and that’s also the strength of the Nintendo Switch!

In terms of music, it’s flawless too, the entire soundtrack has been rearranged in an orchestral way producing a real sound delight for the ears. We let ourselves be carried away by the melodies which always fit perfectly with the atmosphere and the situation.

But if you wish, you can switch to the “original” music, which remains of very good quality (especially given in the context of the time), but our preference is still for the rearranged themes.

Moreover, this Pixel Remaster version brings other configuration options allowing players to enjoy this experience in the conditions they prefer, while leaving the possibility of modifying the chosen parameters at will and this is also what is one of the very big positive points of the title: its adaptability to today’s players / consumers. So at the level of the options, you can choose to multiply the gains of exp and gil (the currency of the game). You also have the option of deactivating random combat, which can be lifesaving when you have just come out of a somewhat trying dungeon and want to rest to replenish your life and magic. in a village, without having to come across monsters on the way. A simple press of the right stick activates or deactivates random combat.

The same is true for the fights that you can automate (but that would be a shame) and the character’s movement speed that can be accelerated (which is not bad for the impatient). The game also offers a save system that allows you to resume a game just before your last lost fight. So yes, it is true that these various additions clearly simplify the experience compared to the original version, but they are, in our opinion, essential to appeal to today’s players who are no longer (necessarily) used to failure. . For information, with the multipliers at the maximum, it still took us a good dozen hours of play to overcome the adventure, by completing side quests (and the last battles were not necessarily easier) .

But that’s not all, because completists will be able to embark on the quest for the 225 monsters in the game… Indeed, each creature or boss defeated completes the bestiary which will give us additional information about them, such as their hit points. , strength and the places where we met them (much like in Pokémon). In terms of bonuses, the game also offers a jukebox to listen to the different tracks of the soundtrack, as well as a magnificent gallery of illustrations. Cherry on the elixir, for its first time with us, the title is fully translated into French! The translation is of high quality (apart from the resuscitation, which we did not find in our Larousse).

Similar items