So deep you could drown in it
Much as we'd be the first to complain if a slightly rushed port of an old game was shoehorned onto the DS, there's no danger of that here. For starters, Final Fantasy III was never released outside Japan so, unless you're an obsessive RPG fanatic, you won't notice that Final Fantasy III DS is an incredibly faithful translation of the original. More important is how much work Square Enix has put in to ensure this isn't seen as a port of an ancient RPG.
So much effort has gone into making Final Fantasy III DS that you'd be hard-pushed to recognise its NES-based origins, although it does retain an old-school RPG plot that's light on subtlety. Rather than gently easing you in and carefully introducing each character, you're slammed with a barrage of 'Go here!', 'Do this!' and 'Have these!' set-ups that make you appreciate how important storytelling is in games these days.
In fact, this lack of exposition is the game's only shortcoming - it's a timely reminder of how hard RPGs can be. Gamers wanting an adventure that'll hold their hand and kiss them better when they get smacked on the head by Bahamut would do well to look elsewhere.
For those who don't though, they'll find an intensely rewarding and, considering its NES origins, deep RPG that has so much hidden inside it, it's scary. It might not seem that way initially, of course, because the opening hour or so sees you doing little more than running from place to place and entering random battles. However, once your party of four is fully formed, you've beaten your second dungeon boss and earned the ability to change jobs... well, it all kicks off.
Jobs For The Boys
Yes, jobs. Assigning your characters jobs - or roles, to be more exact - within your party lets you customise abilities, use more powerful weapons, learn magic spells and much more. With over 20 jobs in total, each of which can be levelled up to silly proportions on top of normal character levelling up, you can not only chop and change your party's talents at will but also discover a monumental amount of depth within the game.
Perhaps more concerning for those with far too much time on their hands though, is that this is just the start of it. From the huge amount of subtly-hidden areas that are just itching to be found, to the far bigger secret side-quests (just thinking about the Legendary Smith quest makes us fear for our social lives), there's tons to do. And that's before you even think about fighting those monstrous Summon bosses, exploring the hidden DS-exclusive dungeon or trying to become the fabled Onion Knight...
To be honest, it's amazing not just to think of how much work has gone into making Final Fantasy III what it is (the new 3D visuals alone look gorgeous and really bring the game to life), but also that it was even a NES game in the first place. There's so much depth and richness to the experience, even a dedicated RPG fan will take many hours to plough through it all. If you're not really into your role-playing you should be prepared for the long haul, and if you're a total RPG novice this really will be a baptism of fire. You have been warned.