It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since one of the greatest jrpgs ever was released in North America. Final Fantasy III (although it's proper number is VI) was Squaresoft's final SNES Final Fantasy game but it cemented Squaresoft's place as one of the best jrpg companies in the market.

I remember waiting almost half a day at the video rental store for someone to return the game so that I could rent it and play it. And the game did not disappoint me in any way.

Final Fantasy III was one of those moments in videogames where a developer takes everything they learned and maximized the potential of the console and the combined knowledge of their past entries to deliver an outstanding product that I consider my favorite Final Fantasy game in the series.

From the sprite work, to the music, to the gameplay systems and its hidden secrets Final Fantasy III was full of secrets and gameplay that was easy to pick up. Characters were all given their own motivations and sub plots just waiting for the player to discover. Villains are equally memorable like the goofy octopus Ultros and his constant run ins with the party. It goes without saying that the game includes one of best transformations from a bumbling sidekick introduction to supervillain for the character Kefka. The pre-recorded laugh that would mark his introduction would mark some of the most memorable scenes in the game.

The set pieces are equally praiseworthy. While today's modern games usually resort to destruction or an explosion to mark a setpiece, Final Fantasy III had numerous crazy sequences including: an opera sequence, diplomatic dinner, even an attempted suicide! There are so many moments I love in the game from its epic introduction:

To one of the finest endings ever created for a jrpg.

At the time when most videogame endings were a few sparse minutes with a congratulations screen, Final Fantasy VI had an ending that dedicated itself to wrapping up every individual character arc (well those that you found) and had some of the best music to accompany it (the way one character theme moved into another blew my mind as a kid).

If you have the time I suggest watching Gametrailers excellent Final fantasy retrospective part about Final Fantasy VI here. It covers everything from development, moments and a multitude of other things that make Final Fantasy VI stand out.

Here's to you Final Fantasy III, one of gaming's most classic games, and a well deserved 20th birthday.