Final Fantasy 3 - Pixel Remaster Review (NEW 2021 Version) 

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I remember being crushed when the Wonderswan Color remake was cancelled. I enjoyed the DS version we eventually got, but I still wanted a chance to play a “pure” 2D version of the game. So glad it’s finally here!

This is probably my favorite Pixel Remaster of the three released so far. It's just really fun, and not only that but it has the best pixel art in my opinion. The story is also pretty cool, too, at least to me. And tbh, I like the characters being blank slates, because then I can name them after me and my homies 😎

This is still a worthy purchase in my opinion. This version is the most comfortable to play, considering how punishing the other two versions are, and it also comes with rebalance that doesn't actually gimp any class.

I actually found that I didn’t need to do any grinding (expect for 2 levels at the end of the game to get the lvl 50 achievement). As long as you’re exploring and doing the optional content, I think the difficulty has some good pacing.

While this new version does revert back to the old style where the characters are all blank slates, I actually kind of like that because we now have a legal way to play it in that original form, and the 3D remaster is still available on Steam so you can have both versions in one place if you'd like. I'm personally playing through both together to really compare the differences.

Unless I’m mistaken, the only “bonus dungeon” this one would be missing is the Iron Giant’s cave, which can barely be called additional content. As someone who lost his DS cartridge at the last dungeon, only to buy the game again and 100% it, I think this is the one remake in this series that I’m definitely buying.

I've already played the 3D Remake some years ago, and I'm enjoying going through this one a lot. I'm about halfway through now. What caused me to have a huge interest in this FF3 remake is the remastered soundtrack. Also, since the story is simplistic and the pacing is so fast, especially with the auto-battle, it's just fun and comfortable to play and progress in.

I'm excited to watch that video essay. In the meantime, I'm gonna watch your other essays. Great content

I can say it was worth my money. I love the psp/steam version, but I must say the quality of life changes this game brings is such a relief. I cried of happiness just being able to buy phoenix downs. The music is amazing and it's got some beautiful sprite work.

3 and 4 were probably always going to be the hardest sells of the set just because their 3D versions are as good as they are, but having access to a 2D version of 3 in any form internationally is appreciated. And the audio direction is certainly tempting. Kinda wish they could have had some kind of nod to Luneth and the gang though, even something simple like giving the 4 WoL's their respective hair colors to differentiate 'em a bit.

I'm just glad to be able to experience the original games in an updated way despite the fact that emulation exists now I can buy and support the creators and after all I play 14 so why not look at the inspirations for some of the games dungeons I may just emulate the 3D version later on since I don't know anyone with a PSP and I don't feel like getting one just for a game or 2

I've seen conflicting reviews on the pixel remaster series so far, but for someone just now finally getting into the series after a long time of wanting to but not really gelling with it until recently, they have been a great way to experience the games without worrying about which versions have the best script or mechanics. At the very least, they're a good starting point to familiarise myself with the games before finding a prefered version. At the moment, I'm playing through IV on GBA and loving it. I prefer the sprites to the SNES versions and I'm using a patch to have the SNES music, yet I have faith that the release of IV for this remaster will be a good accessible way to play the game.

I enjoyed your other Pixel Remaster reviews, but I was waiting for this one and it delivered. Good coverage on what to expect from the game, very clear and concise.

Thanks for the video. I'd been trying to decide which version of III to go with. Your blunt 'the 3D remake has a story' has swung it for me.

Great review! Thanks for comparing with the 3D remaster and deep diving into the story

This is the review I was looking for. I played FF1 long ago on the NES and love the old school aesthetic. I dinked around on the 3D remasters of a couple games but this is how I want my Final Fantasy and your videos are how I want to find out about the features. Thank youm

I'm not surprised additional content was cut if they're based on the vanilla versions. It's cool to see the NES version of FF3 finally get a release outside of JP

Thanks for the review, I might pick it up someday especially if it comes to consoles or goes on an at least 50% sale

Was waiting for this ever since i subscribed! Thanks

As always, your videos are wonderful. Gonna wait until the pixel remasters HOPEFULLY come to console. Looking forward to the next video essay. Keep killing it, man!!!

Thanks for the info

Nice reviews of these three remasters. On the fence about the first two, but I think I'd get this third one for sure if I started picking these up. Sometimes I want an RPG without too much of the extra talk and I can just concentrate on my quests.

I personally don’t mind the lack of different job sprites since this was originally a 8 bit NES game. And I actually rather enjoyed the simple story and how it’s much more focused on you exploring the world and saving the towns which was pretty common for most RPGs back then. And for me FF3 is easily the best out of the 3 NES games for it’s job classes and scope as I rather liked the world building in this game such as the floating continent and the world submerged in water. A really underrated FF game.

This is the only version of the pixel remasters initial trio that I may consider getting/playing. Looking forward for the mods that the community will provide because Square is weird with their fonts and seriously only one character sprite per job? lol. Yeah mods it is.

Full pixel remaster of 1 to 6 is just now available on play-asia though its over 70 quid. I really want to play ff3 and think this looks fantastic. Much more done to this remaster than I thought. Im looking forward to jumping in. ty for review man.

Best review series of the Pixel Remasters I've found so far!

Thanks for these reviews because i will start the 2D Final Fantasy era for the first time and was kinda lost.

I wasn't sure about getting this, but those qol changes make it hard to resist. The no-cost switching sounds amazing, not that I hate making tough decisions, but it seems so stress-free. I'll have to look more into the 3D remake as well.

Thank you for the information

I played the NES version first, I never really cared for the 4 kids getting their own stories in the DS version. This remaster is what I wanted, it's like FF3 finally got that Wonderswan remake and it got ported to the PS1, then to PC.

Nice video! This is the only pixel remaster that I will be picking up at the moment. Mainly because it is the first time being released in 2D in the west. I have played the 3D version and I am currently playing the Famicom fan translation. Looking forward to your retrospective:)

I actually really appreciate these reviews. Ive played the PSP remakes and 3D remake of these games and loved the additional content and better developed stories and I was honestly wondering if these are even worth the buy. I can see where people might want to experience the NES nostalgia, but for me its all about the lore and the story and Id rather play the games that have more of that. So I'll definitely just stick with those versions and not waste my money.

Just beat it a few days ago and yes unequivocally this is the best version.

Nice video and str8 to the point keep it up

I guess I would rather play the 3D FF3 for the story, but I like the pixel art presentation more.

Amazing Information

I didn't play much of original FF3, but I did like DS remake. From what I've played of pixel remaster, I'd say 3D version still a better choice, but this version is good as well.

Well done!

I been playing the Pixel remasters and they're my first time playing the original games. I'm loving them and im on FF2 at the moment and plan to play the 3d remake after it and then maybe the pixel remaster after

@Altercate, great work on this review, I'm contemplating picking up FFIV 3D on Steam since I'm thinking FFIV pixel remaster will be the same as this and not include bonus content. Appreciate the insight and looking forward to videos on FF4 and FF6!

Im gonna be honest, i loved the old original one more because i could play with my own sort of characters instead of an already defined character (aka DS vers.), so to be honest i love it! Hoping to get it later on with a bit of a discount tho.

Maybe for dlc, iron giant boss and onion warrior job and a brand new dungeon not featured in the original.

This might be the only remaster I end up buying. I have the superior PSP versions of 1, 2, and 4, and without the extra content, I'll stick to the steam or GBA versions of 5 and 6. It'll be nice to have a legit way to play the 2d version of 3 though

The crystal tower wasn’t bad it took me at most an hour but it didn’t drag which I was happy to see. First time I beat final fantasy 3 too.

Came here after finishing the famicom version. It was a wild ride!

FF 6 is what I will be most curious about once it’s released, great review!

Final Fantasy 1 Final Fantasy 2 Final Fantasy 3 Final Fantasy 4 Final Fantasy 5 Final Fantasy 6 is the best final fantasy game in all time , I wish that square enix remake them like Zelda link’s awakening in Nintendo Switch.

On one hand I want to say grinding is unnecessary since I beat the game without grinding, on the other hand, I excessively used a viking once I got one, that draw attacks ability they added is op.

I really don’t like how they don’t have followers attack, it was really neat and made sense. But having Phoenix downs is the best thing ever plus not getting punished for swapping jobs is the best. I played the original as my first final fantasy and have a little nostalgia, so I might get the game but I’ll probably just re-play the DS remake

How is $18 a bit "much"? I think people need to stop demanding remasters of they favourite games and then complain that the developers are trying to profit from them - because yeah that's what businesses have to do! Be glad they even remastered it, and from this description it looks like they did a good job. I'll pay for a good remaster will attention to quality. Just because it's 2D and an old game doesn't mean it should be cheaper than your Macdonalds meal! If they remastered (not remake) the original FF7 for PC with this level of quality and such improvements, I'll gladly pay $50 for it even though I already own the existing PC version.

It is one of my favorite things ever.

I'm around 75% through this and I rather like it. It's such a monumental leap from Final Fantasy 2 to this that it's still rather fun to play. You can see the progression in game design between this one and the previous (bad) Final Fantasy 2, and the epic and great next game after this that was Final Fantasy 4. In many ways lots of what we see in this game directly influenced Final Fantasy 5. Out of the first 6, my ranking list would go something like: Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 4, Final Fantasy 5, Final Fantasy 3, Final Fantasy 1, Final Fantasy 2. -- but I could easily see swapping this and 5 depending on which job system you prefer.

It’s on sale in the NA region on steam

I'm just going to stick with the 3D version. BTW my theory is that the crystal tower in FF14 is the same one from FF3. I think FF3 takes place in the First after the events of FF14 Shadowbringers and the warriors of darkness at the end of FF3 are maybe Alphinaud, Thancred, Urianger, and Alisaie (or maybe the FF14 protagonist) and the flood of light they were referring to was the events in Shadowbringers. Plus the Shadowbringers expansion has some remixes of FF3 songs. I'm also just trying to come up with a big theory on how all the games take place in the same universe so that's just my headcanon.

I have been playing ff2 UPM and the autobattle function is worth the money alone. It makes the gameplay so much less tedious.

i think the PR version of FF3 is pretty great, as its the first time the game's been release din the west and you get to play as 4 onion knights which is great another thing of note, the bottomless bog and statues of the quest, which killed you in the og/FF3 3d remake when you don't have the right item? they don't kill you in FF3PR. its a cutscene that pushes you back after. the bog not killing is.. very silly because you're literally warned about it. but the statues i can give it to as thats a bit obscure until you get one of the elemental fangs. I think FF3PR is the most accessible version and has an amazing soundtrack, but i think 3d remake is only a tad bit better because: 1. its.. more challenging as it gave the FF3 bosses the unique ability to attack twice per round(unfair yes but its deff what made the game more challenging and i believe its what makes the FF3 bosses stand out from all other FF games.) the bossess in FF3PR obviously will not have this as its based on the nes, where they only attack once, thus its more fair. 2. Cloud of darkness is a bit lame in FF3PR cuz it only has one move it spams over and over, whilst FF3d remake its tentacles actually attack you and it uses its hands for a physical attack when not using particle beam. 3. has a super boss known as iron giant. but its more-so the first point, as that superboss is just a very.. minor advantage the 3d remake has 4. i think it has a better paced plot to an extent over the FF3PR as due to FF3 PR starting you out with the 4 onion kids already.. the story may be a bit fast, but 3d remake's events likely have better pacing in the beginning as you're introduced to the party members through the story events. that aside i think both of the FF3s are great, and FF3PR is the best one accesibility wise due to no stat penalty and great qol like being able to have phoenix downs instead of having to steal them all the time. but 3d remake also has an edge and is best for challenge due to more challenging bosses and some normal battles(where specific enemies can attack twice) overall.

i really enjoyed this one a lot.

This is automatically the best version simply becausr it includes a quick save you can use anywhere.

its baffling to me that they wouldn't use the remakes new script since it gives more depth to the game. The only reson I can think of for them to do so is to not alienate the japanese market since this is a nostalgia buy for most, but why not give them an extra reason to pick up the game.

Compared to the original nes versions, yes, but we have a previous 3d remake. Gba/psp if you want a more complete version. Holding back on 4, 5 and 6 while charging for them, and keeping back console release unless sales do well is kind of a jerk move. 🙄 Font style is also an issue for many, and while pc has fixes, mobile is stuck with scan line style if they want it fixed.

Really hope there is a mod for the Pixel OST in the 3D pc version soon. The pixel remaster was really fun to play, but it is way to expensive imo. Also its disgusting these games are not on consoles yet. The whole mobile game market excuse they used is garbage as the Switch exists and does exceptionelly well everywhere including japan. I'll buy them once they all come to the Playstation, at a discounted price, because what they are asking is ludicrous. I also wouldn't say the story is a weak point, considering it is a NES story, which is way above the average of what was on that system. 3 is quickly becoming one of my favorites of the 2D era of Final Fantasy. Can't wait for the 4 remaster. Still 18 bucks for that version is also wait too overpriced.

Good video

I actually thought the 3D version had character stat progression based on the job you’re playing, didn’t it? That doesn’t seem to be the case in PR anymore though

Good Stuff

it doesn't have the bonus content from the 3d remake, yet is still called "ultimate edition". . .

I’ve probably played all of the games in the series but I never played the original or the 3d remake, so going into this game I had pretty low expectations and the pixel remaster quickly grew on me. I honestly had more fun with this than ff4 and even ff5. It’s not by any means the best final fantasy, but a very solid and fun game if you go with the remastered route

I don't even know why are these aren't on the switch yet. They would probably make more of a killing in sales. maybe later I guess 🤷🏽‍♂️

Through emulation all these things are available also. Over 5 dollars for this is pushing it. I paid 20 for a package of all three games in a bundle

are you gonna make final fantasy 4 5 and 6 videos

I haven't gotten to this one yet, but I started it and I was happy to see that it starts you with four characters and you get the first jobs really quick, as in the original. For some reason the other version on Steam starts you alone and keeps you an Onion Knight until somewhat later. I hated that.

I’ll stick with the 3D versions of 3 and 4

Altercate "the pixel remaster retains the punishing difficulty of the original game" Also altercate "Automatic grinding, fast forward, save everywhere, cheaper items, phoenix down on shops, item drop rate raised, treasures and traps on maps, infinite inventory, no drawbacks to changing classes." Honestly with that many changes, whoever is looking for the original experience won't get it, and whoever is looking for the best experience can find it in the 3d version.

This is honestly the only FF that needed a 2D remaster. Not mad at it at all.

My verdict: This is the best version of FF III ever. Hands down!. FF III was the first game in the series I played when it first came out; it's the first JRPG I played, even. While I loved the original to death, the game has quite a lots of flaws; especially the job system where some jobs are practically useless. For example, Geomancer's "Terrain" command had very low success rate. Arrows are limited and that makes Hunter practically useless. I played original more than 4 times and I always ended up playing the same party setup over and over. The 3D remaster, on the other hands, toned down the difficulty level too much. It fixed the problem with Geomancer but, in turn, it became too OP. At the higher job levels, Terrain command can deal very huge damage with zero cost. And because of the hardware limitation (it was originally an NDS game), the number of enemy per battle was greatly reduced and the battle became much more easier. This version, though, it fixes the flaws in the previous games and the game becomes more balance. There's no such thing as weak jobs anymore (there's still some flaws but they are much more balanced than the old ones). I'm in the first play through and planning to restart the second play through with the new party setup. The only gripe I have with this game is, the mobile version, which I'm playing, doesn't support gamepad. That kind of stupid, if you asked me, considering that the game's UI was designed with gamepad control in mind. And I'm telling you, adding codes for supporting controller is not that difficult. I see no reason why they decided to not to do it.

Im emulating the first 2 games currently playing ff1 on ppsspp. Gonna play 4 on their too but I think ima do 3 also save me some money I just don’t think the price is justified I bought ff13 for 6 dollars got 12 basically free on GameStop b2 get 1 free. I got x for free on PS4 and ff7and 8 double pack was 50 for the switch and ff9 was 9 on the eshop.

"Running is much more reliable." Does that mean defense for the entire party doesn't drop to zero when even one party member tries to run away from battle? The "defenseless" mechanic in the Famicom version is probably one of the worst mechanics I've ever witnessed--it made the endgame so much more unbearable.

Wish they’d put these on consoles

How’s the last dungeon?

Thanks everyone

Because it's the only one that hasn't got a 2D Remake/Remaster.

I do not agree with the fact they did not include I and II bonus dungeon .. at this point it was a stupid choice

This was a fantastic video?

Gonna wait for console releases of these

It appears that these games are true remasters of original FFs, without any major changes to gameplay or story whatsoever. A pity, since I hoped they would be more akin to 3D remasters but in 2D. Then again, some prefer the current approach. I just hope FF IV remaster will be more difficult than original American release - otherwise, no way I am going to play it.

So the Crystal Tower is doable now? Sweet.

Can't wait for the FFiv review. Really can't decide if it's worth it.. i do not like the 3d version.

The only thing that puts me off the ds version of this game is the combat and such it feels really slow, while 2d version isn't, but there's some things with the ds that also bother me along that to, but I suppose not being a nintendo player is why I just can't enjoy it. But the pixel remaster is likely more my thing, as from where it all started really.

If they are going to remake FFIII, give it the FFV GBA treatment. New content via jobs, superbosses, and dungeons.

I'll be honest, I never had to grind between dungeons to keep my level up but that's because it took me so long to figure out where to go that i'd end up being over leveled LUL, I just refuse to use guides on these old FF games because to me it takes away the exploration experience

I like how it costs more than the 3d remake.

Was this game always that fast paced? Or is it fast forwarded?

Lol the knight looks like Saint Seija

Playing all of the old ff games through and this one is giving me a very hard time

It DOES NOT retain the original difficulty. It doesnt come anywhere near it! In that version end games bosses would blast meteo and kill your entire party if you didnt have 3500 or more hp. In this one they barely hit for more than 1200. You DO NOT EVER need to grind in this version. Why do people say this? Does everyone just suck? I never once had to grind no matter what party i used just walking through the game normally and doing the fights along the way. Easily finishing the game at around 45 with no road blocks at all in 12 hours. Not one boss ever was so strong that i needed to level up to beat it. The changes made it WAY easier. Every class is way more poweful. spells do twice as much damage in this version, and half the classes have a free multi target powerful skill that you can spam for free. Along wth unlimited and cheap revives and heals.. this is mystic quest level of difficulty. I feel like im taking crazy pills. This was a damn cake walk compared to the NES version.

These better come to switch!

Do the four characters have identical base stats?

Maybe if they add controller support for Android I will purchase

4:37 The phoenix down what? 👁️👄👁️

I currently playing 3D version of the game seems like i can skip this one.