So, Final Fantasy III, which was released on the iPhone a few weeks ago, is now also available on the iPad, for the premium price of $Au19.99 – which also makes it Square Enix’ most expensive iOS game to date. The question is – at over twice the price of some of the biggest iPad games, is it worth the investment?
As we already said in our review, Final Fantasy III is a brilliant little retro title, and the 3D remakes happen to be of a very high standard. Without compromising the core gameplay (which introduced some of the most popular conventions from later Final Fantasy games, such as the job system), the upgraded visuals make the game feel like a simple, but modern release.
And on the iPad it looks absolutely amazing. By far this is the definitive version of Final Fantasy III, with accessible controls despite the lack of physical buttons. It remains a very addictive, very entertaining and quite lengthy quest – you’ll rack up plenty of hours with this game. If you’ve already played it in some form before (and especially if you already have the iPhone version) then it’s probably not worth the reinvestment, but if you haven’t experienced this game before, it’s one of the underrated titles in the decades-old series.
But is it worth $20 – a full dollar more than the modern Chaos Rings, and essentially, $10 more than any other RPG on the iPad worth buying? For a retro title which will actually cost you more than Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX on the PlayStation Network?
We’d like to think so. One of the problems that games developers face on the iPad is the pressure to keep games prices low, which benefits the consumer to an extent (cheap games are good, right?) but as we’ve seen, doesn’t necessarily help developer’s profitability, and leads to an oversaturated App Store, which ultimately does damage to the iPhone and iPad as gaming devices – there’s little to no chance a full-priced game can compete in the current environment.
So, full credit to Square Enix for sticking to its guns and insisting on the value and quality of its games. Yes, they are a little more expensive than other games, but by the same token, these are games that are, realistically, worth that price of admission. If you are a fan of RPGs, support Square Enix and download this game, and then, hopefully, the iOS market will begin to shift back towards giving quality games a shot at being competitive.
The fact that people are whining about the price really annoys me. People expect to get games with the quality and breadth of retail DS and PSP games(and 3DS and NGP games) yet pay a tenth of the price? It's not happening, simply because it's not economically feasible.
The fact that people are whining about the price really annoys me. People expect to get games with the quality and breadth of retail DS and PSP games(and 3DS and NGP games) yet pay a tenth of the price? It's not happening, simply because it's not economically feasible.
I know! This game is easily worth $20. The thing that worries me is, will people buy it when there are so many cheaper games on the iPad? I think this game will be important for detaining whether the iPad is capable of having successful, 'proper' games in the future.
I know! This game is easily worth $20. The thing that worries me is, will people buy it when there are so many cheaper games on the iPad? I think this game will be important for detaining whether the iPad is capable of having successful, 'proper' games in the future.
That's the problem Iwata talked about in his GDC speech which many seemed to have misinterpreted. Having nearly everything be so cheap, regardless of quality, makes it harder to put out a more expensive product even if that price matches the quality of the product.
Also $20 is about the price the games should be when you consider that's about the same as a DS game minus the cost of cart production, distribution, etc.
That's the problem Iwata talked about in his GDC speech which many seemed to have misinterpreted. Having nearly everything be so cheap, regardless of quality, makes it harder to put out a more expensive product even if that price matches the quality of the product.
Also $20 is about the price the games should be when you consider that's about the same as a DS game minus the cost of cart production, distribution, etc.
I haven't picked this up yet, but I haven't had any problem with the price tag. I think there's this mentality that comes with these pad/phone games that they are always going to be very low priced. I have heard many people who say that when they want an app or type of game, they'll pick up 5-10 of similar ones, that are a buck or two, try them all out, and delete all but the best one. There's this cheap/'throw away' mentality that so many people have.
I agree with Oregano's parting comment too – it's what you'd expect for the game on another platform. I think that the content trumps the platform.
I haven't picked this up yet, but I haven't had any problem with the price tag. I think there's this mentality that comes with these pad/phone games that they are always going to be very low priced. I have heard many people who say that when they want an app or type of game, they'll pick up 5-10 of similar ones, that are a buck or two, try them all out, and delete all but the best one. There's this cheap/'throw away' mentality that so many people have.
I agree with Oregano's parting comment too – it's what you'd expect for the game on another platform. I think that the content trumps the platform.