/vr/ - Retro Games

>>9602084
It's more than visual fluff. The Pixel Remaster is (surprise) the easiest one between the Famicom and 3D versions. Back in the DS version, the monster limit was crunched due to perceived hardware limitations, so stats/classes were rebalanced across the board to make up for it. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done and general game difficulty wasn't as wildly thrown off as some people make it seem. At worst, maybe the boss AI could've been improved. Pixel Remaster is aesthetically closer to the Famicom original, but it still carries over and builds upon a staggering amount of 3D remake changes under the hood, especially the parts of it that give you an easier time without regard for why that was done in the first place. Many of the added class abilities were kept, giving you a bigger edge in battle. The capacity system was replaced yet again, but whereas the 3D version gave you a reasonable adjustment period, PR now has absolutely nothing there to keep you in check. And while the formations are ostensibly based on the original, the monster locations are based on the 3D version; an easy example, Goblins only appear in Altar Cave in the original, while in the 3D and PR versions, they keep appearing well after the cave and show up in and around town, which is normally the point you're supposed to be moving on to the next phase of monsters. Oddly enough, a similar change may have been planned for the WonderSwan Color version
>>9600631, but it at least looks like they would've increased the number of outdoor Goblins to compensate (or it was just a test shot). Plus, in Pixel Remaster, game overs mean very little and the game freely allows you to restart from the beginning of the area. Final Fantasy III isn't even one of the hardest games in the series, putting aside the long final dungeon that eluded playtesting. Overall, yes, there is much dumbing down in the Pixel Remaster, and the Famicom and DS versions both had greater respect for your resourcefulness.