Final Fantasy III - (by SQUARE ENIX)

[bigred447uk]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

Update: gratuitous use of the spoiler tag ahead ..
[SPOILER]...Good lord! I still need to finish Avadon. Then Baldur's Gate! Definitely not girlfriend friendly - good thing she is in China for 5 weeks, right?

Nice posts ! It's good to hear some positive impressions from someone new to the series. You have inspired me to actually play this. I bought it ages ago.

I am quarter way through Dimensions though and FFIV next week ...

I'm screwed. As a 41 yr old gamer with little time because of work and family stuff I just can't get the hours in !

Maybe it's time for a debilitating mid-life crisis type breakdown so I can catch up ! Lol

[Riotgirl]

Originally Posted by bigred447uk

Nice posts ! It's good to hear some positive impressions from someone new to the series. You have inspired me to actually play this. I bought it ages ago.

I am quarter way through Dimensions though and FFIV next week ...

I'm screwed. As a 41 yr old gamer with little time because of work and family stuff I just can't get the hours in !

Maybe it's time for a debilitating mid-life crisis type breakdown so I can catch up ! Lol

I'm surprised that I like it as much as I do. I guess because I appreciate it for what it is - it has oodles of charm and at this stage, avoids the anime spikey armour, with impossibly huge weapons and skimpy lingerie.

So far (now completed Nepto Temple and the game is opening out a bit more), it hasn't been too difficult - partly because I've taken advice on board and grinded, read advice from NPCs, and also leave dungeons at various periods to save on the World map. I suspect this will change as I'm still up to the Wind Crystal part of the game. My party is comprised of a Thief, White Mage and 2 Red Mages.

Later will possibly choose Ninja, Devout, Dragoon and Viking. Plenty of time to mull over choices.

Rather than the debilitating mid-life crisis, take some vacation time, but the first week you have to ostensibly "work" re: play FF. You can then join your family the week after

[Riotgirl]

Completed Molten Caves and now at the Fire Crystal stage. The first time killing Gutsco was a little tough. Refia spent most of the fight in a mini state, and Ingus spent most of the fight face down in the dirt - took 2 Phoenix Downs to revive him, because he got punched in the face immediately after the revive for his 2nd dirt nap!

The Salamander fight was cake because I was prepared, and followed the Dwarves advice, so had a better upgrade to Antarctic Wind (which really helped).

Party are all level 21 and are still Thief, White Mage, Red Mage and Red Mage. Thinking of changing Ingus' job from Red Mage to Knight. Will have to grind job levels if I do, to make Ingus effective. Happy to keep Refia as a Red Mage for now for elemental weakness duties - plus, acting as front-line warrior for random / dungeon encounters. N.b. Ingus now a Knight.

Note: unlocked Onion Knight but have no intention of grinding up to level 99 just to be effective! Not that much of a masochist!

Raced around the continent on a chocobo; found Fat Chocobo; chased some sheep. Absolutely loving FFIII.

[Isilel]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

I'm surprised that I like it as much as I do. I guess because I appreciate it for what it is - it has oodles of charm and at this stage, avoids the anime spikey armour, with impossibly huge weapons and skimpy lingerie.

Ditto. I am actually surprised that inability to save during dungeons doesn't annoy me so far and it is really good at creating tension. Of course, thankfully the dungeons aren't huge. One thing I would have wished for would be much better escape chances from the 2 first bosses. I didn't wholly understand the system yet and when I saw that I was outclassed and tried to run (2 turns in each case), was slaughtered. That was unnecessary and unfair starting hurdle, IMHO.

Oh, and I am so thankful that Refia has normal outfits, rather than looks like a stripper! And I can even use her as a party leader on the map!

Another great thing is how they handle NPCs - that they don't displace the core party, but are still useful. I hate favorite characters suddenly leaving, with all their skills and equipment, to make place for somebody else.

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

Party are all level 20 and are still Thief, White Mage, Red Mage and Red Mage. Thinking of changing Arc's job from Red Mage to Knight.

I am at the Molten Caves and the faq suggests that I will be able to pick new jobs soon. But are rhey really better than what I have, i.e. Monk, 2 Red Mages and a White Mage? I turned Luneth from Red Mage to a Monk later, when I found good Monk equipment, but it took quite a while for him to become really effective. I wish the game explained the classes and their advantages more. Don't want to use the faq too much and spoil myself.
Does the Knight have much better attack/defense than the Red Mage? Will it make up for losing black magic during the boss fights?

Note: unlocked Onion Knight but have no intention of grinding up to level 99 just to be effective! Not that much of a masochist!

Raced around the continent on a chocobo; found Fat Chocobo; chased some sheep.

I see that I have some exploration to do! Only have the race under my belt from those. I love how they do exploration - all the small, but entertaining stuff you can stumble onto. And how they did the "search" function as a zoom is great!
Anyway, this is my first Final Fantasy and I can certainly see the magic.

[Riotgirl]

Originally Posted by Isilel

One thing I would have wished for would be much better escape chances from the 2 first bosses. I didn't wholly understand the system yet and when I saw that I was outclassed and tried to run (2 turns in each case), was slaughtered. That was unnecessary and unfair starting hurdle, IMHO.

I had no problem with either Altar or Sealed Cave. I always explore every nook and cranny, so found Antarctic Wind in one of the chests - also I guessed that you wouldn't be thrown to the wolves without a good chance to win re: Altar Cave. In principle, I do agree with you in as much that the instructions are minimal and you are left to work things out yourself.

Originally Posted by Isilel

Oh, and I am so thankful that Refia has normal outfits, rather than looks like a stripper! And I can even use her as a party leader on the map!

Agreed. I thought that would be the case, since FF is very thematic in character models. The cute and charming character models, facial and individual physical expressions when you either increase in level or job level, are a nice touch.

Originally Posted by Isilel

I am at the Molten Caves and the faq suggests that I will be able to pick new jobs soon. But are rhey really better than what I have, i.e. Monk, 2 Red Mages and a White Mage?

You change jobs at specific stages in the game [crystal]. So you'll have the opportunity to change jobs once you beat the boss at the end of Molten Caves. In terms of whether they are better than your current roles, like you, I'm too inexperienced in FF to judge. I did cave in and read the gameFAQ for jobs. I made the decision to change Ingus to a Knight from a Red Mage, because of the 'Defend' ability (which automatically happens, apparently), whereby if one of your party becomes critically wounded, the Knight defends them against further attacks re: buys time for your healer to cast a 'Cure', or the character to drink a potion.

Other than that, I'm still Thief, White Mage and Red Mage.

Originally Posted by Isilel

Anyway, this is my first Final Fantasy and I can certainly see the magic.

Snap! Same here. Before I played, I had my doubts that I would enjoy FF. Such doubts have been dispelled, and I'm waiting for FFIV - once, of course, I finish FFIII Oh, cannot finish without mentioning the music score. Gorgeous!

[Riotgirl]

Brief update: cleared Cave of Tides. Random encounters were tough for the Living Tree, but have definitely increased in toughness. I'm glad that I switched Ignus from Red Mage to Knight - especially because I found a Royal Sword then a Blood Sword. The latter seals the deal.

Isilel, once you finish Molten Caves and save, I'd be interested to see if you still persist with 2 Red Mages. Refia [Red Mage] started to fall behind in terms of what she could bring to the party during the Living Tree. This became evident during Caves of Tides, where she really started to hit a ceiling in effectiveness (lack of MP was starting to hurt). My Knight is really starting to shine - depends on what items you find in the game.

Switched Refia to Dragoon. Slowly getting better (current job level is 9). My party is now level 25 Thief, Dragoon, White Mage and Knight.

Loving FFIII. Keeps getting better and better. My favourite game on iOS.

[Isilel]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

I had no problem with either Altar or Sealed Cave. I always explore every nook and cranny,

Yea, but I somehow scrolled beyond the "Item" option and decided that Antarctic Wind was a spell that a Freelancer couldn't learn.

As to the Sealed Cave - I didn't yet understand that if you see an item behind a wall, then it is possible to go through this wall somewhere (rather than doors appearing once a quest is completed), so didn't have supplies from the ghost town and and the ghost castle...

Anyway, it turns out that there is a secret trick - the game quicksaves before a boss fight and if you close the game before the whole party is killed and dump it from the memory bar, then you can return to this hidden quicksave.
Certainly saved my bacon with the Salamander, heh. First fight with the thief was easy, but with this one I needed 2 tries with some grinding in-between and even so it was touch-and-go and 2 characters died. In retrospect, I probably should have put one of my Red Mages into the back row and splurged on ice arrows.

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

My party is now level 25 Thief, Dragoon, White Mage and Knight.

How is the Thief? I strongly suspect that most of my problems were because I switched Luneth to a Monk.
Monk is a really crappy class, IMHO - squishy, low magic resistance, no ranged weapons and not quick enough to reliably go first. With 3 Red Mages Molten Caves and Salamander would have been a walk in a park.
I have now switched him to a Knight and although he is still low-level, I like him so much better.
The game really wants me to switch somebody to a Scholar, with all the equipement it throws at me, but the faq says that it is a terrible class, so I will resist. Of course, they also said that Monk was decent and that Thief is bad, so...

BTW, do these 4-level spells like Petrification, Paralysis, Silence, Confusion etc. even work against bosses in the next segment? Because in the very few JRPGs that I have played so far, stuff like that tended to be worthless in a boss fight. But they are my highest-level spells currently and there are no other picks for the level...

Loving FFIII. Keeps getting better and better.

Indeed. I feel stupid for having waited this long and buying Chaos Rings Omega when it first came out instead. Talk about bad buying choices!

[Riotgirl]

Originally Posted by Isilel

As to the Sealed Cave - I didn't yet understand that if you see an item behind a wall, then it is possible to go through this wall somewhere (rather than doors appearing once a quest is completed), so didn't have supplies from the ghost town and and the ghost castle...

Ouch. I had the supplies and also walked everywhere to make sure that I would have loads of random encounters to increase my levels and job levels. Also, upgrades - weapons and armour - really, really help.

Originally Posted by Isilel

How is the Thief? I strongly suspect that most of my problems were because I switched Luneth to a Monk.

I really like the Thief. Surprisingly good in the early game, due to his Agility, ability to unlock doors and steal (the latter is a really good way of loading up on canned magic). I chose Thief because I eventually want to steal a lance for my Dragoon.

Originally Posted by Isilel

I have now switched him to a Knight and although he is still low-level, I like him so much better.

I too, like the Knight, especially now I'm in the mid-game and encounters have ramped up in difficulty.

Originally Posted by Isilel

The game really wants me to switch somebody to a Scholar, with all the equipement it throws at me, but the faq says that it is a terrible class, so I will resist. Of course, they also said that Monk was decent and that Thief is bad, so...

I too, have lots of Scholar equipment, as well as Ranger (lots of bows). No interest in either class - especially since the main reason for choosing Scholar can be circumnavigated by exploring a village mentioned by one of the Dwarves (big hint for your next segment of the story!).

Originally Posted by Isilel

BTW, do these 4-level spells like Petrification, Paralysis, Silence, Confusion etc. even work against bosses in the next segment? Because in the very few JRPGs that I have played so far, stuff like that tended to be worthless in a boss fight. But they are my highest-level spells currently and there are no other picks for the level...

I didn't use those against the boss in Cave of Tides. I stuck to what I guessed would be an elemental weakness. Like yourself, I did not have an opportunity to cast a Level 4 Black spell.

[L.Lawliet]

Glad you guys are enjoying it!

I'm probably 3/4ths of the way through. Slowly getting there.

To be fair about the classes, some may be "better" than others but it's really about preference. You may like certain skills better than some other classes.

For me, one of my favorites is Geomancer but a lot of people shun it for it's unpredicatability yet it lets me get away with not needing MP so I can cast freely. It also hits 1 or all enemies with normal to high damage. Very useful at all times!

Dragoon is definitely my favorite though. Partially because it moves and looks so damn cool. I did need to grind a bit in the game (necessary later on and also needed in order to steal from Odin).

[Isilel]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

Ouch. I chose Thief because I eventually want to steal a lance for my Dragoon.

Will Dragoon be useful even without the stolen ultimate lance? I have bitten the bullet and looked into the Faq in detail and there is no way I'd start grinding a Thief to level 71 now.
Also, can the Thief steal Antarctic Wind, etc. or only the items that can be bought in shops?

I too, have lots of Scholar equipment, as well as Ranger (lots of bows).

The same - I have found the village, which is why I was asking about the level 4 spells. The Faq says, though, that the weight the party carries slows them down in combat - ouch. I now see why the giant chocobo is there.
Also, It turns out that only the Ranger can use elemental arrows... sigh. This does make the Red Mage less useful.

Originally Posted by L.Lawliet

Glad you guys are enjoying it!


For me, one of my favorites is Geomancer but a lot of people shun it for it's unpredicatability yet it lets me get away with not needing MP so I can cast freely. It also hits 1 or all enemies with normal to high damage. Very useful at all times!.

Hm... Looked into the description and it does sound cool... But no way to leverage elemental weaknesses. Also, squishy. I have to worry about keeping my White Mage alive as is and have just gotten rid of Monk to make my party sturdier. Also, do the bells do full damage from the back row? There is no description on how they actually work... Still, tempting. Is it a class that does well until tier 4 or will I be expected to switch again after the very next crystal?