Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV

[feioncastor]

I played FF4 long before I played FF3, and I'm sure most FF Fans know why. I recently played the Famicom Version of FF3, about 3 weeks before the DS version was released in the USA.

And I was astounded at how much the game felt like FF4. Even the graphics looked similar. I'm not sure what the technical term is, but I believe it's "chipset". It looks like they used the same chipsets in the two games, but made them smoother and more bold in color for the SNES.

Plus, those two games have "conditional" dungeons in them, which is something you don't see a lot in many other FFs (that I can think of off the top of my head).

For example, in FF3 there are places that you can only access if you cast "Mini" on your party, and others that you need to cast "Frog". Much like the cave in FF4 where you can't use metal equipment or the Sylvan Cave or Land of the Summoned Monsters Cave, where you have to cast Float on your party to comfortably navigate the caves.

And though you couldn't change them, FF4 did have job classes. I think the only job that appeared twice was White Wizard (Rosa and Palom).

I know the stories have nothing in common. I'm just saying the 'feel' of the games. The two games felt similar. All Final Fantasy games have a distinct feel when you play them, but they also have a lot of uniqueness to each one. It seemed like 3 and 4 felt the same.

Meh, I'm probably the only one who looks at it like that.

[Laddy]

9 and 12 felt the same to me, for similair reasons you posted.

[Elpizo]

Lunar Wale = Nerfed Down Invincible
IV had even 4 Airships like III. (Enterprise, Falcon, Falcon with Drill, Lunar Wale. Or hey, even 5 if you coun't the Enterprise that can carry the hovercraft.)

The 2 games share a lot of things, yeah, I noticed that as well. Even the graphics are pretty similiar.

Even the story has some things in common! Both badguys are controlled by the Final Boss and weren't evil in the very beginning, only turned evil when they became controlled.

[Captain Maxx Power]

I'm not sure what the technical term is, but I believe it's "chipset". It looks like they used the same chipsets in the two games, but made them smoother and more bold in color for the SNES.

I believe the term you're looking for is "Tileset". FF3 and FF4 do share quite a bit in terms of certain elements. Most notable are the crossover of the various classes found in both, as well as some obscure plot elements (for example there are moments where you can naughtily sleep in the bed of a monarch of some description). What FF4 does have over FF3 is it's extended character development. In FF3 the characters were very much blank slates and really were nothing more than an extension of your will into the game rather than individuals in their own right. In other words, they were tools, not characters. FF4's characters had different motives, personality types, and could leave and enter your party for whatever reason at anytime.

[silentenigma]

I thought the same thing as well because I played FF3 (the nes version) almost right after I was done with FF4.

[Zeromus_X]

Both games have a ton of secret passages!

[robfinalfantasy]

I feel the same way about various FF games:
1 & 2 - both felt primitive, ineffective hits!, twins (fighter & frioniel)
3 & 4 - a notch up in gameplay, both have this similar feeling I can't explain
5 & 6 - 6 is like a refined version of 5, but without the job system, significant diff in graphics from 4, optimum equip, starting in 5 I felt more in control of the game, etc.
7 & 8 - the "modern" ones, great stories, junctioning reminds me of materia
Past 8 I don't seem to pair them up.

[Roto13]

Well, most Final Fantasies have jobs, they're just not always explicitly stated.

[silentenigma]

I feel the same way about various FF games:
1 & 2 - both felt primitive, ineffective hits!, twins (fighter & frioniel)
3 & 4 - a notch up in gameplay, both have this similar feeling I can't explain
5 & 6 - 6 is like a refined version of 5, but without the job system, significant diff in graphics from 4, optimum equip, starting in 5 I felt more in control of the game, etc.
7 & 8 - the "modern" ones, great stories, junctioning reminds me of materia
Past 8 I don't seem to pair them up.

That's fairly close to how I'd group them:

1 & 2
3 & 4
5 on its own
6 & 7
8 & 9
10 on its own

13 will probably resemble 12.