When I was a child, my uncle, who was 19 at the time, was playing "Final Fantasy 3" back when we numbered the Final Fantasies improperly, and he had this book. Before I even played the game, I read it. Then I read it again. And I read it again. It felt like a novel. Aside from the obvious intent of being a game strategy guide, parts of the prose is fantastic, and Olafson gleans so much from the story - theme, character, bits of dialogue that on first glance you wouldn't notice bearing as much meaning as they do in many of the scenes. Olafson doesn't get everything right. He can't. He tells what he knows, and what he knows, seems less to be gaming and more to be literary. I would get into arguments when "Final Fantasy 7" came out - which is better, Seven or Six, and I would argue Six, although Seven at the time had the best graphics there were (ugh) and thrilled me with its own story. But I had gotten something out of Six, with the help from Olafson, nobody looking at it briefly could. I don't think I can think of Six without thinking of this book. That may be bad. But it's an incredible story in my memory nonetheless.
This is, without a doubt, the best game guide I have ever read. It is so smooth and well-written that it reads like a novel, and it quickly became my favorite book when I started reading it. My friend let me borrow the game, and I was uninterested at first, but the guide added so much to it that I kept it and ended up buying it from him. That's what makes a good strategy guide, I think. It sure made this one good.
Good book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
I've read over twenty FFIII strategy guides (including a decidedly mediocre my friend did) and none of them even compare to this. I've gone through the game, start to finish, maybe fifty times, making different decisions along the way. But even so this book opened my eyes to new possibilities. This is a no-nonesense, not telling completely book. It did'nt tell me every little thing to do in so-and-so place. I highly recemend this book!
A very well done strategy guide
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
For those of you who call books like these "spoilers" or say they ruin the game, you never should have read it. Strategy guides are made to help you through the game, not preserve the secrets or give cryptic hints at the answer to puzzles. They are made to get the player through the game if the player can't do it on their own. This strategy guide does just that in the way another player might. It doesn't tell you everything in the view of the game designers. A nicely rounded book that leaves a fair amount of optional exploration to the player.
The best players guide ever!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
My favorite video game related book ever! I'd recomend it to those who don't even have the game or want it.Unlike most guides where you have to have the game to understand it, you cold read this just for pleasure reading since it gives you such a detailed idea of the game and it's characters. I got another FF3 guide and it came nowhere close. And it doesn't give away all of the story. And even if you know the story half the fun is in the challange of battles and level building and the feel of exploration.
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