https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QArzEmej73A

Final Fantasy III is another game that suffered from Nintendo’s slow marketing in North America. Released in Japan in 1990, it was never released on this side of the Pacific until its DS version in the early 2000s. This is a shame because, despite suffering from the “curse of the odd Final Fantasy”, i.e. a weak storyline, the game had very impressive graphics and gameplay with its numerous sidequests.

It also had an out-of-this-world soundtrack. Unlike Dragon Warrior IV, which had heavily synthesized arrangements, FF III’s were as realistic as they could come for the NES. Already with the Prelude, Nobuo Uematsu shows how he can evolve and push a console’s sound chip to its limits. For the “hiccup” one in Final Fantasy I to the more complex one in FF III whose “harp” sounds more realistic (I love the echo-like sounds, which makes it sound more mystical), that theme is the perfect gauge for evaluating the evolution. That same evolution can be felt for the battle theme. The arrangements are more upbeat and complex, and the 8-bit track isn’t as annoying as it used to be. Unlike Final Fantasy II the notes flow better and aren’t sharply interrupted. The victory fanfare may not sound as triumphant as in FF II, but at least it was done at a lower volume. Finally the Final Fantasy Theme (Opening Theme) really sounds like Uematsu was trying his hardest to make it sound like real instruments. The 8-bit track is a little annoying, but the core of the arrangements are played much more realistically than in FF 1, with the notes being more detached.

Another impressive feat of this soundtrack is its diversity. I haven’t played other 8-bit RPGs with 1) so many tracks (40+) and 2) such a variety of them. I’m not lying; nearly half those these have to do with either towns or dungeons. And they all feel appropriate: my Hometown sounds very relaxed and welcoming (like Butz’ village theme in Final Fantasy V), Jinn the Fire really sounds like there is a curse on the village while Return of the Warrior sounds very triumphant, showing that you conquered evil. For dungeons, Way to the Mountain Top has an epic feel to it, showing that you’re going high up in the air; Beneath the Horizon (the underwater temple) sounds mystical and intriguing as would something underwater, and the Dark Crystals has a “final dungeon” feel Uematsu has been struggling to make in FF II.

Finally Uematsu set a few standards for that soundtrack. Eternal Wind (the main overworld theme) has epicness DW was not quite able to match. When hearing it you feel like you are starting a grand, epic quest. Under the Water (when in the submarine) sets the standard for water exploration in other games with soothing and mysterious tones (like the one in Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals or even FF V). Finally, Go Above the Clouds (the first airship theme) also sets the standard for epicness when flying, the same way the boat theme in DW IV set the standard for epicness when navigating.

Yes, the FF III soundtrack wasn’t perfect everywhere. The Crystal Tower and Forbidden Land, found towards the very end of the game, don’t have this “near-end” feeling at all. The former is simply an upgrade from Castle Pandemonium, which did not sound like a final dungeon, while the latter didn’t sound like something “forbidden”, or even mysterious (the DS version did a much better job at it). Also, after the third track in a row related to water (Town of Water) it was getting repetitive. In addition, Salonia doesn’t sound very militaristic despite being at war with itself (play it, you’ll know what I mean). The Empire’s Theme in FF II was much better at that because it incorporated more drums. Finally the loops are a little short; being so far into the 8-bit era should have produced longer tracks as for DW IV.

But overall, the Final Fantasy III soundtrack is a masterpiece. Not only does it have a diversity of tracks very few NES games had, but the arrangements are also as realistic as an 8-bit sound chip allows.