Final Fantasy III

I finally finished Final Fantasy III for the DS. I had been putting it off for a long time. The last available save point is right outside the Crystal Castle. Which means that a Game Over at any point after that would mean restarting from that point. And there are 6 bosses between there and the end. Not to mention the boss-caliber random encounters. I knew if I made it to the final area and got wiped out, I would be so discouraged that I wouldn't be able to play the game for a month or more. But, I steeled my nerve and went for it. My final party setup was: two devouts, a monk, and a knight, all at level 50. By the time I made it to the final boss, the party was level 53. I had very little problem with the last boss. I came close to losing a member a couple times, but for the most part I didn't have much trouble. Final play time: 26:41:42. I missed some of the side quests though. I found Leviathan, but didn't beat him. Never found the other two big summons, or any of the extra classes.

This game was difficult. It was probably the most difficult of the remakes so far (excluding FF1 on original settings). I played this mainly for completionist purposes. It was one of the two Final Fantasy games I had never played. Also, I am determined to support all the re-issues in the hope that Square-Enix will continue to remake their older games. Specifically, I want a re-issue of Chrono Trigger and a remake of FF7. I also wanted to support the graphical remake. I really liked the way it was done, and hope for more of the same from Square-Enix.

I had fun playing this one, but the more difficult sections and bosses really started to grate on me by the end. Perhaps I had a bad party make-up, or needed to do a little more grinding in between sections. But, I finished it and, for the most part, had fun doing it. Next up is Final Fantasy V.