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44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes the Best of a Bad Situation, November 14, 2006
Well, since I finished my Final Fantasy collection off, it only seemed right to finish off my Final Fantasy guide collection as well. Final Fantasy III is a complete remake full of its own exclusive secrets and side quests. A guide could come handy and luckily this guide really isn't all that bad. It has its sticky spots, but at least it isn't useless. This review is pretty long, so if you want a basic rundown of what's good and bad about the guide, you can look to the bottom at "The Good" and "The Bad."
The guide begins, like every other guide out there, with a game basics section which is, of course, a rehash of what you'll find in your instruction manual. It's not necessary, but as a "just in case" it works to quickly help you get adapted to the game. It isn't that many pages, and you probably won't need it. Although, there are some tips outlined here that aren't mentioned in the instruction manual or in the game itself. So it's still pretty handy to have along. Afterwards it goes into the characters and sub characters. Again, more stuff you probably won't find yourself paying much attention to. It tells you each characters starting stats, but it really isn't necessary to talk about those things anymore than it was necessary to explain the simple battle system.
After all that stuff, though, the guide talks about the jobs, which you actually might find pretty useful as a whole. All 23 jobs get an in depth explanation and tips on how to use them, and they're actually not half bad. They'll tell you what abilities they've got, what magic they can use, and effective ways to use them. There's even some detail about using them once you near the end of the game. Finally, you'll find out what their weapons for achieving job level 99 can do for them. It's pretty good stuff, and doesn't waste a lot of time. It's also nice that they give you a table of stats for each level the characters reach. It's also pretty handy that they give you a list of there equipment on the spot rather than making you flip through all the weapons and armor. This section is extremely useful to those new to the game.
Afterwards we have the list of weapons, armor, items, magic, etc. All this stuff is pretty standard for an RPG guide. It's an unwritten law that this stuff must be here, and you probably won't need to refer to it much, but it's nice that it's there.
After all this we finally get to the meat of the guide. The walkthrough. I must say that I was quite pleased with it. There are no story spoilers, and the walkthrough gets right to the point. It's divided into sections based on what crystal you're going after (i.e. there's a whole chapter concerning the wind crystal, a whole chapter concerning the fire crystal etc.). All the objectives are listed at the beginning of each chapter in the walkthrough. There are then sections for each dungeon, town, etc. So it's pretty well organized. For each town they offer tips on what to buy, and they'll tell you what it is you need to be doing, while also providing you with the appropriate information for inns and the weapon and armor shops. In dungeons the walkthrough tells you what enemies you'll encounter and the basic stats about them, and then lead you through. Boss strategies aren't so bad, and also don't waste time. The screenshots are also crystal clear.
The walkthrough has a couple of things that make it effective. The first is that it doesn't waste time catching you up to speed on what you should be doing. The second is that there is not a lot of page flipping as found in several other Bradygames guides. Finally, the maps are extremely detailed. Taken from a birds eye view, they'll be easy to use as you go through your adventures. The walkthrough doesn't refer to the maps often, but it ensures that you're going to use them. All the items are pointed out on the maps, but it probably would've been nice to have a list of items to collect in the area.
There is one big glaring issue about the walkthrough, however. There is no world map, which would've helped. Before each area you'll see a screenshot of the world map in the corner and it can help, but it's really small. Still good, but really small. If the world map had been used on one page, it would've been several times better. Still, on the whole, the walkthrough is a blessing. They'll even mention which job classes you should use and when.
After the walkthrough there's an enemies list. This bestiary isn't bad, but it's pretty annoying. The monsters aren't listed in alphabetical order. Instead they're listed in the order you should encounter them, with the exception of all the bosses actually being in the back. This isn't horrible, but can be really annoying if you're someone who puts the guide down for a long period of time and then picks it up about ten game hours later. It causes for a lot of page flipping. The good news, at least, is that all the enemies are listed in the walkthrough. So there's no real reason to use the enemy list. For item drops there's a handy table at the beginning that you must use along with the enemy list. It can be annoying to keep flipping back and forth between them, but again, all the data you'll actually need for the monsters is listed in the walkthrough.
The side quests and secrets are at the very back of the guide. It's useful and in depth, particularly on the secrets unlocked using the mognet. The only big problem with the sidequests is that the secret dungeon doesn't have a map. They'll tell you about what you'll encounter there, and give a big fantastic strategy on the boss, but they don't tell you how to get to him or anything.
With the minor problems aside, the Final Fantasy III guide really isn't all that bad. It's well organized and doesn't dilly dally with the objectives. If you're stuck on Final Fantasy III, then this guide will certainly help you get unstuck.
The Good
+Detailed game basics section with tips that otherwise aren't detailed in the game or instruction manual
+Great run down of all the jobs, providing tips and strategies on how to utilize them
+Detailed walkthrough that doesn't waste time
+A Spoiler Free Walkthrough
+Detailed maps
+Superb boss strategies
+Crystal clear screenshots
+The side quests and secrets are all covered
The Bad
-There is no overworld map
-The enemies list is heavily disorganized
-Secret Dungeon is missing a map
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best guide, but helpful anyway., January 1, 2007
Ok I guess I've been spoiled by the quality of most of the other Final Fantasy guides by Bradygames. This one is just not on the same level.
Good points:
-Helpful hints about jobs
-Help w/ bosses
-maps
Bad points:
-Rather simplistically written, as if for children.
-Not a very good bestiary. This bothered me a lot.
-No world map w/ all locations on it.
-No play-by-play list of activities in each area, as in many guides.
If you're like me and prefer to have a guide with you while playing an RPG, this book is not a bad idea. But if you're used to much more detailed guides such as the ones for Final Fantasy X and XII, you may be disappointed.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre guide from a company that can do them right, October 6, 2008
The previous reviewers have adequately addressed much of what this guide has done both well and where it is lacking, so I will be briefer than usual.
I always play Final Fantasy games with a guide. They are indespensable at letting you know if you are going to miss any valuable items, where secrets are to be found, what level you "should" be before attempting a boss and how to deal with specific enemies. They also act as a broad reference on any questions you might have at any specific point in the game.
It is on this second point where this specific guide fails. This guide works best if followed entirely along as you progress in the game. If you attempt to use the guide as a general reference for sticking point that you encounter as a you progress, it will leave you wanting.
The main point is there is no world map layout. This is a critical omission. If you were to go wandering around ad hoc and search on your own or do some level grinding it is very easy to become lost/disoriented. Without a world map to direct you where to go to locate your next way point, you can easily end up wandering aimlessly for far too long. This could have been rectified by indicating names of places on the game map but they are not, maybe due to the DS's screen size but nonetheless they need to be SOMEWHERE. And part of the reason someone would buy a game guide.
Along the same lines, if you were to stray from the games indicated path of progression, which is possible to a certain extent, it is easy to encounter areas, bosses, that you are entirely unprepared for. This is common obviously for an RPG but additionally where a guide comes in handy. Area summary and level info is fairly routine for a guide and this do not include it. Lastly, organization is fairly poor, from non-alphabetized beastiary, to no table of contents for the walkthrough, ie. what page is what town on?
Lastly, the overall feel of the book is cheap. Brady has been putting out top-quality guides for FF games for years and this guide really feels like a cheap afterthought. This guide really makes me think of a competitors guidebook.
In the end, the book will be a necessity for many gamers despite its flaws, it's just that it could have been so much more. For the completist who plays an RPG along with the manual, the guide will be sufficient, but less valuable for the person looking for a casual reference.
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