this pixel remaster has no soul

[jhr_digitalartist]

when i was young, i considered final fantasy III (because i live in the US) to be a masterpiece, and possibly the best RPG on the super nintendo. this pixel remaster, even with its 'improvements' just feels flat and joyless. it does not feel at all like the game i grew up with. granted i have the original on my mini snes that i could play, OR play it emulated with snes9x, which i still might do. i just dont know what it is about this remaster that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. one of my favorite parts in the game used to be the section after Sabin falls off the raft and you get to choose which scenario to play next, i always did Terra/Edgar/Banon first as it took the least amount of time, then Locke, and then Sabin. i am replaying that section in the remaster and not enjoying myself at all.

[spy]

Yes, I have played all the pixel games on Steam, but this was the one I did not like the most. This game feels like it is missing some things. I think the combat in the game is unbalanced or be changed with its combat durations. This makes playing with some characters unfun. Why bother with other characters when there is Sabin and Edgar who can hit everyone. I think this is unbalanced in this Pixel version. Some characters' stories seem to have been shortened. The music is worse. It has no spirit of the original. I used to see this game at the top of the best RPG lists, but it did not give me what I heard.

The best in Pixel Steam versions seem to be 4 and especially 5. 5 is very well done. The music is remastered and very, very good and a real FF adventure. 4 does the character-based gameplay of 6 very well.

[Super Moogle]

A big part for me was that I found the Ted Woolsey translation (what you grew up with if you played it as "Final Fantasy 3" in North America) to have much more personality and character than the 'official' remastered translations. The characters spoke more like real people, the humor was funnier to me, and some of the lines he chose were far more iconic and memorable than the remastered lines. The game should've had an option to pick your preferred localization/translation.

"Son of a submariner!" is just so unexpected the first time you see it that it instantly tells you that Kefka isn't just some homicidal general, he's loopy in the head as well.

Also it seems like the remaster censored a bunch of stuff for... reasons? Apparently we were able to handle complex themes better in the 90's than today, so instead of having Imperial soldiers actually torturing general Celes they just speak aggressively to her, and it causes her to fall over unconscious.

The last big gripe I have is the unskippable opening cutscene of the Narshe approach. It was used as an opening credit roll in the original, but you could skip it and go straight into the game. Now you have to sit through what is essentially a looping animation with no particular reason as to why you have to sit through it except to set up the mood of the story. Well when you've played the story dozens of times, sometimes you want to skip a few cutscenes.

[Melodia]

Originally posted by Super Moogle:

Also it seems like the remaster censored a bunch of stuff for... reasons? Apparently we were able to handle complex themes better in the 90's than today, so instead of having Imperial soldiers actually torturing general Celes they just speak aggressively to her, and it causes her to fall over unconscious.

It was censored way back in the GBA version because of CERO (the Japanese rating board) and quite possibly even more specifically because of things going on in Japan at the time (FF12 had a scene not in the Japanese version that was left in for the International one where Penelo is tied up.....yes Japan actually got a MORE censored version than what elsewhere got)

[Lysamus]

Nostalgia might be the thief of your joy OP. It's impossible to revisit the game in the same way you did in your youth, as the complications of life and the influences of other media now factor into your modern assessment.

I found delight in comparing the PR version to the version I remembered as a kid on the SNES, and assessing my own reading of the game now vs back then; Looking at what was changed, and trying to work out why that changed happened.

I'll never be able to revisit the experience of playing the game for the first time, even with this PR version, but I don't need to, as those memories are always there waiting for me should I wish to return to them. By setting aside that expectation and looking at the PR version as it is now, I found a new type of joy within it.

[Rambit]

i bet you spend too much time in gaming forums

[jhr_digitalartist]

actually i dont spend ANY time in gaming forums. the closest thing to that, for me, is coming into Steam discussions once in a blue moon.

[Drakeeper]

I mean, I found it superior to the original release in every aspect, especially when you put in a mod or two. But of course, if you're not enjoying yourself just quit.

[jhr_digitalartist]

what mods do you recommend?

[SoloExceptional]

Having played every version of this game.. multiple times. This has been the most enjoyable for me. I do miss the ancillary content of the GBA version of course, but the remastered OST and graphical updates made it for me.

My only concern was the lack of difficulty, but that was overshadowed by the nostalgia rekindled by this game.

After I got to 100% achievement, I went on to find the T-Edition mod, and I would highly recommend that if you want more of a challenge to your FF6