A fluff-tacular Final Fantasy III trailer
by Ross Miller 
{ May 18th 2006 at 4:29PM }
Game Brink is hosting the official Final Fantasy III trailer, a remake of the original FF III on the DS. The entire 2-minute trailer consists of approximately 10 seconds of total gameplay footage. The majority of the trailer is pre-rendered CG and self-promoting hype. here's how the trailer breaks down:
- 0:00 to 0:36 -- Fluff text, decreeing this game as "The only Final Fantasy that never reached Western shores."
- 00:37 to 00:45 -- hand-drawn artwork from the game.
- 00:46 to 1:19 -- Some beautiful CG work of the main characters riding Chocobos alongside a rising airship.
- 1:20 to 1:31 -- Actual gameplay footage.
- 1:31 to 1:37 -- More CG, including our heros facing off against a giant Cerberus-style beast.
- 1:38 to 2:00 -- More fluff text: "Complete the Fantasy."
[Thanks, Miyamootoo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
fawazr @ May 18th 2006 4:37PM
2 minutes of gameplay footage wouldn't have been all that impressive. Sure, those who already like the series, will appreciate a trailer that's nothing but gameplay, but the trailer does a good job of selling the game to everyone else. IMHO, that's not fluff, just good marketing. Plus, Square has cornered the market on "pre-rendered CG and self-promoting hype," so it would be odd if they broke from tradition.
spoo @ May 18th 2006 4:39PM
That is some sexy CG from the DS.
Mike @ May 18th 2006 4:40PM
i thought it was a cool trailer :)
Saxon @ May 18th 2006 4:43PM
"That is some sexy CG from the DS."
Almost too sexy...
32_Footsteps @ May 18th 2006 4:52PM
Between the proportions and the actual quality of the graphics, it reminded me much of Final Fantasy IX. But considering that's my second-favorite of the series, I consider that a good thing.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing how people deal with FF3's cloning monsters. I can imagine, until people learn the tricks of dealing with them, that people are going to go nuts trying to deal with them.
I still say they should bring back the name "Onion Knight," though.
AJ @ May 18th 2006 4:52PM
Gotta love it. I doubt this will happen, but it would be awesome if SquareEnix started remaking all of the pre FF7 titles for the DS, even though most of them are on or coming to GBA. I would love to see Locke and Kefka recreated with the Crystal Chronicles style. How bout it?
I'm hoping they take full advantage of the touch screen, or at least make them menus fully touchable. I want to pet my chocobo!
benjamin @ May 18th 2006 4:53PM
Pre-rendered trailers have never bothered me much but this does. Why would they show pre-rendered footage that the system isn't even capable of displaying? At least with other trailers the pre-rendered parts could be from cut scenes and intros but not this. This is outright deception.
BPM? @ May 18th 2006 4:55PM
While that trailer was nicely CG'd and all... I felt kinda disappointed by it.
Why? For one, hardly any actual gameplay is shown.
And for two, the art style of the CG clashes with that of the game. It almost feels like two different products.
In that matter... it reminds me of the commercial for The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons... It was a 3D rendered commercial feauting Link using the Harp of Ages and the Rod of Seasons... The problem, though, was the commercial featured Ocarina of Time's Link, who looks quite different from OoA/OoS's Link (who is almost identical to ALttP/LA Link).
Cameron @ May 18th 2006 5:05PM
Regarding the CG, I think that quality is entirely possible on the DS, we just don't know how much extra data is being used. There is only 128MB of data to play around with there. It is more than likely you'll see more artifacts with the final product, but it is also possible Square has one hell of a compression technology made specifically for the DS. We'll see come September. We've seen pretty bad cutscenes in CastleVania to really good ones in Meteos (if this is Meteos quality at worst, I'd be quite content). Metroid had way too many artifacts.
As for the actual content of the tralier- it told me nothing I didn't already know. Still looking forward to this, though.
benjamin @ May 18th 2006 5:10PM
@BPM?:
Agreed.
It's not like pre-rendered footage is so new that it's inclusion would inherently clash with a (32 bit?) game either. They could use pre-rendered sequences in a comparable resolution.
Exo @ May 18th 2006 5:22PM
Its quite possible, They had some nice vid scenes in Kingdom hearts on Gameboy. I really doubt they would use the whole cart for the game anyway
Edmund @ May 18th 2006 5:31PM
"Why would they show pre-rendered footage that the system isn't even capable of displaying?"
The DS can show Hollywood movies. Nintendo has been considering the possibility of putting titles out on GBA cartridges to be played on both GBA and DS. Displaying a movie isn't a problem for the hardware in any modern gaming device.
And as for the game, I think it looks beautiful and incredible. It's about time America got it's hands on it, and it's presented very well. It looks like Crystal Chronicles, and Crystal Chronicles is gorgeous.
Ken @ May 18th 2006 5:38PM
Was it mentioned that the game play was changed at all? I thought they were just updating the graphics and adding a touch or two (pun intended) for the Touch Screen. If the play mechanics haven't changed, then we've already seen them, in FFI and FFII.
tomato @ May 18th 2006 5:45PM
Um, it's Final Fantasy. Isn't everything they ever show basically CG? I mean seriously, they very rarely release gameplay trailers when it comes to RPGs in general. It's all about the story line and the CG.
.ed @ May 18th 2006 6:08PM
This game looks incredible.
The DS has such a good game library so soon, even better than the GBA I think, well after new Super mario bros comes out.
GeorgeOfWar @ May 18th 2006 6:35PM
I don't know if you guys heard but Devil May Cry won't be exclusive for the PS3, it will be out for the 360 and for the Wii as well. just saying bye.
mrBUCKET @ May 18th 2006 6:45PM
#9 Metriod prime hunters was on a one gig cart. This game is most likely doing the same thing so i would not think that space is an issue when making ds games. consider that ff7 had 3 disks and each disk was only about half full to conserve load times in the game.
Monkiavelli @ May 18th 2006 7:04PM
@Ken: My guess was always that they were just going to do the "standard update" like the rest... take out a few won't-be-missed features like how, when you were queued to attack an enemy that died before you got to it, you swung at air. I'd be surprised and disappointed if the gameplay was *substantially* different... I like some historical accuracy in my nostalgia.
Yeah, so if it's just a graphical touch-up, they probably figured that everyone would know how an old-school FF played -- and for those that don't, it'll be the CG that draws them in anyway. The big innovation introduced by FFIII was the first real implementation of the same Job system we later saw in FFV and Tactics, etc. That's not the sort of thing you could show in a trailer anyway. Wouldn't make any sense.
Other than the advent of the modern FF Job system, yeah, FFIII played pretty much the same as its two predecessors. It would be odd to devote too much of the trailer to gameplay. The new one is probably still (fundamentally) an old-fashioned RPG. We know how those go... and if we didn't, seeing it in all it's old-fashioned glory probably wouldn't win any converts anyway.
(Myself, I would have preferred that they kept basically the same graphics and updated them to, say, SNES standards, like they did for II. It keeps it authentic but is much easier on the eyes than the original. Nothing wrong with sprites & tiles for an RPG of that era... and the DS could give us some *nice* sprites.)
emmiranda @ May 18th 2006 7:44PM
I don't know how much space would this kind of videos use, considering that in the game would be more. Maybe as they're on a smaller screen the videos doesn't have any problem, plus, the DS cards were 128MB (1Gb) when the DS launched, but maybe they're now on the 256MB size, or even 512MB, kinda what happened with N64 and GBA carts.
Anyway, I'm looking forward this game so much, and tough it didn't have any videos, I wouldn't mind very much :P
striderhayasa @ May 18th 2006 7:53PM
1 GB is what DS cards are capable of. this news broke before the DS hit the market. If PS1 games can have CG cut scenes and such (think Tekken, Tobal 2 etc) then why not the DS? PS1 CDs held almost 660 (?)MBs of space. that's over 300MBs of extra storage for the DS. I think the DS is more than capable.
Cameron @ May 18th 2006 7:56PM
mrBUCKET, DS cards are actually up to 128MB or one gigabit. You're confusing bits with bytes. (1 byte = 8 bits) Now, there is a possiblilty of increased storage like emmiranda suggested, but I'm not too sure on that. I think when DS was introduced, it was mentioned that Cards can be "up to" one gigabit (128MB) in size. I don't know if that can be exceeded. Nintendo Power used to publish solid state media size in their game reviews, but they stopped that for some reason. It would be much more helpful now...
mike @ May 18th 2006 8:09PM
wow.. that was incredible.. the music is beautiful, the cg cut scenes are cool too.. yes this is very possible, the DS is like a portable PS2 essentially.. Remember these are flash chips.. as the technology gets better, bigger and bigger storage sizes are possible on the same size chips. Though, your game is saved on the chip itself, so you can't hot-swap...
Can't wait to jump into this game.. the DS was MADE for RPGs :)
And when is a Chinese-English trainer coming out!!
:p
greatslack @ May 18th 2006 8:17PM
aaaah, classic spiky-haired goodness
Clay @ May 18th 2006 8:17PM
10 seconds of gameplay was all I needed to know I would purchase it.
Geist @ May 18th 2006 8:19PM
I'm glad they're remaking this game in particular. Except for some enthusiastic gamers (such I myself) who got translated roms or speak japanese, not too many have played it, I'd think.
That said, I doubt I'll be purchasing it. But still, I see a lot of sales for it. Cause, you know, I'm psychic.
BPM? @ May 18th 2006 8:22PM
mrBUCKET, Hunters is actually 512Mb, not 1Gb.
rubaiyat @ May 18th 2006 8:27PM
Though remember that the resolution of the DS is a lot less than even a standard definition TV set.
You can shrink things almost to a quarter the size becuase of that...
So yes DS games are working with 128 megs...but video is 1/4th the size
Basically the DS cart can hold a shade under what an old PS1 CD could...and it has a decade more compression technology to work with.
wii the people @ May 18th 2006 9:33PM
Where, oh where is Final Fantasy 3 from the good old Super Nintendo days? Oh, I also think Geist has a crush on himself.
NZERO @ May 18th 2006 10:42PM
Okay just too set things straight the DS card can hold up to 1GB (thats one gigabyte not one gigabit Okay) and the PSP UMD discs can hold up to 1.8GB(One gigabyte not bit) so just to let people know like cameron who doesn't know the actual storage base of a DS card. It's 1GB as in bytes not bits okay.
Dirk Dorkelson @ May 18th 2006 11:53PM
Final Fantasy III: "The only Final Fantasy that has never reached Western shores."
What about Final Fantasy XII?
Brad Lee @ May 19th 2006 12:38AM
This is why I don't like Final Fantasy anymore. Ever since FF7 there have been waaaay too much focus on CG. I actually find CG to be too disruptive in video games, especially if you can't skip it (such as summons).
Final Fantasy 6 (number 3 in america) and Tactics were the best in my opinion. I might give FFIII a shot, but this trailer does not inspire confidence...
Paul Gale @ May 19th 2006 1:14AM
Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS is totally awesome. I played it at E3 last week in the Square-Enix booth and it was really smooth. This fmv work on the DS looks absolutely incredible. I'm really looking forward to this title.
Paul Gale
1up.com
BPM? @ May 19th 2006 2:06AM
Dirk Dorkelson:
"What about Final Fantasy XII?"
The difference is that FF3 was on the Famicom only. And since then, it has never been ported to a newer system (there were plans for a WonderSwan remake, but as the support for WonderSwan dwindled, the FF3 remake was canned).
And FF12 is a completely new game, not a remake, and will be on its way here.
NZERO:
I don't know where you're getting your info, but that is completely false. Some of the largest DS games include The Rub Rabbits! and Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, both of which are 128MB (1Gb).
It is possible down the line, as flash memory keeps getting cheaper and cheaper, that developers may opt out for larger DS Game Cards (256MB is very likely at the moment, and would still be pretty cheap, too), but so far that hasn't happened. The biggest DS games are 1Gb (Gigabit), not 1GB (gigabyte). This IS a fact.
Dirk Dorkelson @ May 19th 2006 4:34AM
I know all that. My point is that FFXII isn't here yet, so the claim that III is the only one not released on Western shores is inaccurate.
martin @ May 19th 2006 7:36AM
Come on guys, Any actual gameplay footage in a Square trailer (especially a Final Fantasy game) is amazing in its own right!!!
lordbug_scs @ May 19th 2006 7:48AM
"Final Fantasy III: "The only Final Fantasy that has never reached Western shores."
What about Final Fantasy XII?"
You're correct on a technicality. However, FF12 coming to the US was never questioned, and it does have a US release date (Oct. 3rd according to EBGames.com). So, "The only Final Fantasy that has never reached Western shores" ends up becoming correct in a PR/Marketing way.
Why FF3 wasn't in the PS1 re-makes I'll never know. It should've been. Would've rounded out the FF gameline on the PS1 rather nicely.
theWallflower @ May 19th 2006 9:01AM
I don't want to be anal-retentive, but... but I can't figure out a way to finish that sentence. They're actually fighting a behemoth, not a cerberus-type creature.
Kamalot @ May 19th 2006 9:43AM
The gameplay footage in this video is great. It sold me.
Ken @ May 19th 2006 12:14PM
For those of you who are in the mindset that Final Fantasy games have featured too many pre-rendered scenes since Final Fantasy VII: Have you given any thought to the fact that CGI wasn't available until that point? I am sure FFVI would have had plenty of CGI scenes (the Opera scene for example) had the technology allowed it.
Lionel @ May 20th 2006 8:44PM
Excellent preview! I'd love to see Final Fantasy 5 and 6 on the DS as well as those were my favourites.
Salmar @ May 30th 2006 8:00PM
Yes, and I think an FF VII game, perhaps even a recreation of the original, could sell pretty well on the DS.
Regarding the CG, though, those scenes were in fact cutscenes from the game. This month's Nintendo Power has a screenshot from the Cerberus scene.
Salmar @ May 30th 2006 8:11PM
And yes, the cutscenes were prerendered.