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Final Fantasy III (aka VI) (Nintendo SNES) discussion [game]
 
Final Fantasy III (aka VI) on the SNES
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Welcome to the official discussion thread for Final Fantasy III (aka VI) on the SNES!

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Listen to this amazing orchestrated version of FF3's amazing main theme while reading!



1995's Chrono Trigger shares quite a few similarities with its older brother, 1994's Final Fantasy III (aka Final Fantasy VI). They both share the same translator/writer, Ted Woolsey, who gave Squaresoft's games of that era a particularly quirky voice. They both have similar plot structures, starting off fairly linear then gradually becoming quite open-ended. And they both represent some of the very finest in RPGs, shortly before the genre got drenched in anime cliches.

But if you're one of the many, many people who haven't played FF3 and have played CT, don't expect another CT. This is a Final Fantasy game through and through, and with that comes the staples of the series, for better or for worse: random battles, a rising imperial evil, and a somewhat slow opening chapter. CT has ridiculously good pacing, and FF3's merits are admittedly take a little more time to become evident. But rest assured this is an RPG worth playing.



So what do I like so much about FF3 that makes it worthy of being my favorite RPG (above EarthBound!?) and second-favorite game? EVERYTHING. The soundtrack is the best. The storyline is the best. The cast is the best. The battle system is deep and addictive, the main game is extremely long, involved, and--this word is extremely overused, but it's very fitting for a tale like this--epic. You're looking at a 60-hour goliath of a game with a massive, well-developed cast you'll fall in love with, and an infamous, psychotic villain that's deliciously evil. There's comedy, tragedy, drama, romance, twists, double-crossings, operas, colosseums, banquets and airships, all set to a timeless soundtrack and lovely hand-drawn 16-bit visuals. And the entire, enormous end sequence is the stuff of legends.

It also has a 2-player mode! You can set any of the four playable characters to P1 or P2, and use a second controller to go through the adventure with a buddy.

So in short, don't miss this work of art from the 90's. It's soooo good, you guyyyyyys. C'monnnn...!

And if you're playing it now, feel free to post your progress, etc, in this thread!

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07/02/11, 01:12    Edited: 07/02/11, 01:15
 
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@Mr_Mustache
Or maybe the gil coins are actually made of nickel in the days of FFVI.
04/11/13, 22:11   
@r_hjort

Makes sense to me! All of the other elements/compounds are there (Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.), why not Nickel?
04/11/13, 22:33   
Mr_Mustache said:
@GameDadGrantMaybe a nickel is 5 gil...

Maybe. I thought gil were the same as dollars, though? What's the currency exchange rate between gil and American greenbacks?

Either way, "for the right price" sounds better, IMO. Makes it sound like his priorities are more in line with being an assassin for money, and that'd he do anything for it. When he'd kill "for a nickel" it just makes him sound cheap!

r_hjort said:
Or maybe the gil coins are actually made of nickel in the days of FFVI.

Ehhhh...I dunno. It's not like we ask for "a cupronickel" when we ask for a nickel (or any coin).
04/11/13, 22:48   
@GameDadGrant
No, but you do refer to nickels as nickels, as a reference to the material it's made of, which differentiated it from the previous version of the same currency. It's possible that the gil were previously made from actual gold, but that it became more practical to make them out of another, more common material when new ones were discovered (or rediscovered). In such a case, it would make sense for people to refer to the new currency as a nickel, especially when wanting to emphasize that they're talking about a lesser value. I also imagine that, in a world where things like iron and gunpowder are new discoveries, and where mass production of pretty much anything is limited, local production and crafting skills would be more prominent in your daily life, and the individual materials would bear more significance, even in everyday speech.

I have to disagree about Shadow sounding cheap, too. If anything, it makes him sound more ruthless, and I also think it gives you a more colourful picture of Edgar's impressions of Shadow.
04/11/13, 23:09   
@GameDadGrant

Even if they don't have a currency called a "nickel," it could be slang, too. We say "greenbacks," as you mentioned, and that isn't the official name at all. Either is bucks, clams, shells, fivespot, grand, etc. And we've heard people refer to cash as "paper," too..which is what they're actually made of. So yeah, maybe "a nickel" is equivalent to "some nickel."

"He's slit his momma's throt for a nickel" also sounds that he'll do ANYTHING for almost NOTHING. A dangerous guy indeed, someone you don't want to cross. That sounds more insane than someone who is a simple assassin. Of course, he probably WOULDN'T slit his momma's throat for a nickel, but that is how rumors start.

r_hjort said:
@GameDadGrant

I have to disagree about Shadow sounding cheap, too. If anything, it makes him sound more ruthless,

See?
04/12/13, 07:16   
@Mr_Mustache

How's about a compromise: "He'd slit his momma's throat for the right price."
04/12/13, 07:32   
@sirmastersephiroth

Man, you guys hate nickel!
04/12/13, 08:53   
Alright, so now that we're all in agreement that the GBA translation is far superior, and anyone that prefers the SNES text is just plain wrong, here's an update on my progress.

Got through the Phantom Train section of Sabin's arc. I saved once I got to the World Map again. This whole part is just...weird. I'm having a really hard time figuring out what exactly the tone is of this game. Like...in the beginning, we have a fairly serious fantasy/steampunk opening with a seemingly bloody war brewing. But then shortly after, we have Sabin jumping into a river to fight a giant purple octopus (bare handed!), only get get launched from the water and sent flying into the horizon, Wile E. Coyote-style. Then we're back to this weird, almost Alice in Wonderland-like part of the game, where Sabin and Cyan get on board a train to the afterlife. Which they fight. And not even like, while ON BOARD the train, but they fight it WHILE RUNNING AWAY FROM IT. Yes. That's right. They're running so fast, THEY ARE LITERALLY OUT-RUNING A TRAIN. Which, yes, Sabin can perform a Suplex on. But then immediately afterwards, it gets kind of serious again, as we watch Cyan's family get on board the train, saying their final fair-wells as their spirits move on to the afterlife.

The game is so sporadic, it's difficult to know when to take it seriously or not. Makes it hard for me to figure out who these people are, and whether or not I should care about them. Are they supposed to be avatars for a serious narrative, or cartoon characters going on an adventure? Neither? Both? I mean, I realize this is a game from 1994, but did they not consider fleshing out the personalities of these characters more? It's an RPG, for crying out loud!
04/12/13, 15:58   
GameDadGrant said:
Alright, so now that we're all in agreement that the GBA translation is far superior....
I'm leaving this thread. Seriously.

Setzer's character is RUINED by the GBA's translation, and the whole scene where Locke meets Celes (and their relationship gradually blossoms) is butchered by the GBA translation.

Parts of it may be better, but as a whole, it's worse.

GameDadGrant said:
The game is so sporadic, it's difficult to know when to take it seriously or not. Makes it hard for me to figure out who these people are, and whether or not I should care about them. Are they supposed to be avatars for a serious narrative, or cartoon characters going on an adventure? Neither? Both? I mean, I realize this is a game from 1994, but did they not consider fleshing out the personalities of these characters more? It's an RPG, for crying out loud!
BECAUSE THE GBA TRANSLATION ISN'T AS GOOD!!!
04/12/13, 16:09   
Edited: 04/12/13, 17:30
I thought they were pretty fleshed out...but I was fourteen.
04/12/13, 16:17   
A friend of mine, who played the game at about the same time as I did, back in the 90's, could hardly get through the GBA game since he felt he barely recognized the characters at times. Like ludist mentions, the relationship of Locke and Celes seemed to have turned into something far less subtle. I never played the GBA game myself since I still had my SNES cart, and since all the stuff I heard from my friend made the GBA version seem inferior in terms of storytelling.

For all the crap Ted Woolsey gets for various lines, I think he did an outstanding job with FFVI's translation. Sure, the SNES game got other, non-canonical names for some Espers, enemies and techniques, but I think he handled the relationships between the characters with great care. To me, the FFVI cast are still some of the most believable fictional characters I've had the pleasure to get to know.
04/12/13, 16:35   
Edited: 04/12/13, 16:36
@GameDadGrant

I see where you're coming from, but I don't think those elements are detrimental to the game at all. The Phantom Train fits in perfectly with FF3's mysterious/ethereal side, and it works as a nice bit of lore (that's kind of spooky in its own right), tying in with Cyan's family boarding it to bring it down to a humanizing element at the end. Yeah, you fight the train while running from it, but that's really just a more dynamic way of showcasing the battle, rather than a serious plot point. Same with Sabin's tussle with Ultros; yeah, he gets hurled from the river, but it's a brief, silly moment that works well enough with previous lighthearted bits established in the game (the Moogles, Edgar/Locke's dialogue, etc). It also shows how brash and overzealous Sabin can be, so there's that too.

I think moments like these (and your upcoming meeting with Gau) help give the game a lot of its personality; I've always loved how the game feels fully devoted to its characters, but isn't above the occasional slapstick moment or cheeky bit of dialogue. I also think that the 16-bit sprite look helps it get away with a lot more, since much of the action in this limited look leaves more to the players' imagination.
04/12/13, 18:00   
It's been a while since I played the GBA version but I don't recall anything bad with it. I'd have to play it again to really pick out what doesn't work compared to the SNES...

And are we really going off of that one line Shadow says to determine that the GBA translation is far superior? And someone who has never played the SNES version at that? Plus there's that one line from Celes much later in the game I'll never forget which was really changed a lot from the original. Definitely doesn't have the same impact at all with the GBA version.
04/12/13, 18:15   
@ludist210

Wow, you're super devoted to the original translation!

@r_hjort, @TriforceBun, @Mr_Mustache

I see what you guys are saying, but are you guys really going to deny that your collective preference for the original script has nothing to do with the fact that you played it when you were young? Like @VickiL mentions above?

Nostalgia's tough.

VofEscaflowne said:
And are we really going off of that one line Shadow says to determine that the GBA translation is far superior?

I wasn't being totally serious, personally. Especially in this post - my tone is all tongue-in-cheek, there. I can only speak for myself, of course. I think others here are taking this differently than me....

And hey! Listen! I *did* technically play the SNES version before! I...I've just never finished it.
04/12/13, 18:38   
Edited: 04/12/13, 18:39
I never know what to expect with the serious direction some threads take on this forum
04/12/13, 18:47   
@GameDadGrant

I've played both to completion multiple times. Even though the translation was more true to the original Japanese script on the GBA, parts of the SNES version told the story better and helped develop several characters better, especially Locke, Celes, and Setzer (whom you haven't run into yet).
04/12/13, 18:48   
Edited: 04/12/13, 19:12
@GameDadGrant
I'm aware of the effects of nostalgia, and I'll gladly admit that I feel nostalgic about FFVI in many ways, but that has very little to do with what approach to the writing I prefer. I think I've expanded upon my reasons for preferring one line over the other well enough for it not to merely be dismissed as a case of me seeing things through rose tinted glasses.
04/12/13, 18:57   
@ludist210, @r_hjort

Fair enough, fellas.
04/12/13, 19:11   
@GameDadGrant

Agree to disagree. When in Rome. Got it.

The GBA did add four Espers to the mix, and had two additional (read: brutal) dungeons, so it has its plusses as well. Plus it's on the go, so there's that. Both versions are excellent, and you can't go wrong playing either. I just happen to prefer the SNES version.
04/12/13, 19:13   
@GameDadGrant

Let me help you.
1. Yes, you should care about them.
2. Totally take it serious! Why can't it be? Yes, like anything, there is comic relief Kefka's sand on his boots, Uncle Ultie, etc.

@GameDadGrant

I have great nostalgia for Excitebike, too..and now I'm like "..we liked this?"
04/12/13, 21:06   
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