The Final Fantasy III Retrospective

With the Super Famicom looming ahead, Final Fantasy III would be the last game in the series to be developed for Nintendo's 8-bit Family Computer. And while it would take cues from both of its predecessors, it would also embody the grief and hope of series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi during a tumultuous time in his young life.

In this part of the Final Fantasy Retrospective, we'll be examining the market context of Final Fantasy III, its development, Sakaguchi's personal tragedy that would steer the direction of the game's story, Biblical allusions, and the significant changes and additions made to subsequent versions of the game.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:28 - Part I - The Console Wars
07:36 - Part II - 8-bit Limit
12:45 - Patreon
13:00 - Part III - Final Fantasy III
14:30 - With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
15:43 - The Job System
25:43 - It's a Big, Big World
41:30 - Morbigity & Mortality
46:32 - Climax
55:46 - Personal Thoughts
57:37 - Part IV - The Three Faces of Final Fantasy III
1:08:48 - Part V - The Breakthrough
1:13:12 - Epilogue & To Be Continued...

Sources:
18. Thunderbirds 2086
20. FF Ultimania Archive 1, pg 127
22. Parkin, Simon. The Never-ending Story. January 2018, Edge Magazine.
24. Electronic Gaming Monthly 232, pg 29
25. Miyazaki, Hayao. Laputa. Studio Ghibli, 1986.
28. Book of Genesis, chapters 6-9
29. Book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah 9:7
35. Famitsu 102
36. Famitsu 100, pg 16
37. Famitsu 103
38. Famitsu 106

[bongchoof]

Jesus, I knew Sakaguchi's mother died but burned alive in her home?! That is horrific. I can't even imagine something like that. Bless that man for continuing to work on this series so many love, even when he was at his lowest point. They would have understood. Anyone would.

[JuliusCaesar]

This is what Youtube was made for. Researching, editing, writing on a professional level. Cannot be more pleased

[midwestmystic]

I like how that one guy's professional business picture has him smoking a cigarette. Such different times compared to today

[tylerconley]

as i continue to watch these videos one after the next, it fills my heart with SO MUCH joy seeing another person who truly understands and realizes what they're looking at.. besides pokemon, i dont think another game series has EVER done so much for my life, as much as final fantasy and its family of games. i've played and replayed the FF series for so many years and learned everything i could so i'll see things nobody else sees and then Andrew releases a video upon his playthrough and goes into EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL. giving credit and shining the spotlight on everybody involved. its a beautiful compilated deep dive into the history of the people creating this series and the company at large, the gaming world at the time, and the climate of ideas being tossed around to create the next big thing. bravo my brother, you have stunned me yet again with this one, and i cannot wait to see the later videos where you're playing 6, and 9. the work it takes to compile so much information into one video, the editing, and the way it loops music in the background, i dont even realize i've been watching for an hour by the time it ends.. i'm hooked from the beginning and stay invested the whole way through! easily one of my favorite content creators in the platform right now and you deserve more views and recognition for this level of insanely good material... bravo mate, another one for the record books, hopefully I can boost my patreon subscription higher soon

[genericworm]

was so surprised to see how small this channel is, the quality is way above what you'd expect for such a small channel

[matthagen]

I'm in awe... these retrospectives are so well done. Huge respect to you Andrew for all the work and time you've put into this series. It really shows.

[MegamanNG]

This is fantastic. Truly. I played FF3 on the DS but it was the Pixel Remaster that is the true experience for me. Beating it was fun.

I also had no idea that Sakaguchi's mom died while FF3 was in development. I have to wonder if it had an effect on Sakaguchi while FF7 was being made.

[empiar]

I love the running gag in this video of Saylor either being dead, or getting killed immediately before being healed. I hope it was intentional.

[fabiankrummeich]

So much hard work that goes into these videos and they turn out absolutely amazing!! So incredibly captivating. Can't wait for the SNES, and *especially*, PS1 era.

[milesdavis]

Are you planning on doing every mainline game in the series? These are so well done man. Definitely some of the best coverage of these early games I’ve seen.

[Nasgatemk]

Absolutely fascinating hearing the 3D version described as overly difficult. Maybe it came from experience with chemist in V, but as soon as I unlocked Scholar I found the game to be so easy, only Pixel II has beaten it for "easiest FF title"

[deepcosmicspacewizard]

I absolutely love your videos of Final Fantasy! I have played one through three and after beating each one I watch your retrospective. your video has given birth to a deeper love to this series that I wouldn't have been able to have if it wasn't for your videos. I really enjoy and find it interesting to hear about the behind the scenes, the deeper meaning in the games story and design, and and all the ins and outs that you go into in your videos. I truly appreciate all your hard work that you put into your retrospectives. It truly is a work of love and it shines through in each video. Just as hope shines through even the greatest of despair. I raise my sword in honor of you, final fantasy, video games, art, life, and love and I hope you continue to work on videos in this series as my journey now takes me to Final Fantasy 4.

[Cloudrim]

These FF videos have been exceptional, in the literal sense of the word, and I'm so glad you've made them. Genuinely some of the best videos I've seen on YouTube - very much looking forward to future instalments.

[RisXchTaisu]

I'm slowly working through your videos as I finish each game in the pixel remaster collection and I really love all the attention to detail, development information and changes from version to version that is detailed. Keep up the great work

[sweetest_melody]

What an incredible video, an incredible retrospective, and an incredible analysis of everything this has to offer! Narrative, mechanics, music, everything! Absolutely amazing work my friend!

[Inogat]

the way you weave Sakaguchi's personal life into your narrative is brave and brilliant.

[Eric-ytfp]

Another incredible dive. Really looking forward to FFIV, which was my introduction to not just Final Fantasy, but RPGs in general.

[Coreisus]

You can hear that in the Pixel remaster, Umatsu is just feeling the music.

[gregtroyan]

I never bothered with any of the pixel remasters, but I did play both the 8-bit version of III and the 3D Remake. I didn't find the 3D version very difficult personally and found that it had a lot of charm. I also quite enjoyed the music. I like it for what it is : )

[thebohochocobo]

Such a beautifully written and preformed video essay on a final fantasy 3 retrospective. This is a fantastic piece of work and I sincerely hope you continue all the way to 15!