An Introduction to the 22 Jobs of FFIII
With DS owners waiting in anticipation of the FFIII remake and just over a week left, Famitsu has released more information about the game.
The first 2 pages introduce the story to FFIII of how 4 chosen youths, guided by the prophecy of a crystal is lead into an adventure to retrieve light to save the world from darkness.
Bottom left pictures on the first page show the two towers that await them at Castle Sassoon. Following this is a small paragraph on the the second page, about Doga and Unei, two wise mages who learned their magic and knowledge from the great elderly mage Noah. As guardians of the world, they are the key characters to understanding why such a catastrophy is taking place. Many should remember them from the original Famicom game.
In the photos we see the jobs that you can obtain by accessing the various crystals scattered throughout the world. A square chart shows how the jobs are aligned with good to the north, bad to the south, magical to the east and warrior to the west.
So lets see what some of the 22 jobs have in store for us players. Note that moves and job abilities have also been translated by taking the names from the MMORPG where applicable since there was no official translations for the original game, this is as close as you can get really. Needless to say, changing jobs will also change their appearance. No coffer key hunting for those AF pieces needed now.
Freelancer
What you start off as. You can yield any weapon and also make use of White/Black Magic although the overall effectiveness is very low.
Warrior
With a high amount of HP and defence, the Warrior has a skill to boost his/her attack temporary at the expense of lower defence. The Warrior can't use any magic.
Thief
As some of you may have guessed, the Thief can "Steal" items from the enemy and has the ability to "Flee" allowing you to have a higher chance of escaping from battles.
Evoker
Summoning random creatures to fight, each of them are either of the light or dark type.
Ranger
Shooting from a distance, the Ranger can shoot multiple shots in one smooth movement. "Barrage" allows you to hit an enemy a random number of times in one shot.
Martial Artist
A professional in close range combat who has a higher attack power than the Monk. After using his "Save" ability, his normal attacks inflict more damage than usual. The "Save" ability can be stacked but, overusing it will cause damage to yourself.
Dark Knight
Wears dark armour and makes use of dark, negative energy. Just like the Knight, the Dark Knight has high attack power and his strength really shows when equipped with a "Dark Sword". Using "Darkness" he can attack multiple enemies at the expense of his own HP.
Devout
A job that can make use of the strongest White Magic spells. With a large amount of MP, the Devout can cast high level White Magic many times. Cute kitty ears, no?
Monk
Skilled in close combat arts, the Monk can attack at high speed with bare hands. He can't make use of magic and the equipment he can make use of is limited. With "Counter", the Monk can counterattack the enemy when hit by physical attacks.
White Mage
Making use of healing type magic mainly, the White Mage can heal party members without wasting items. The White Mage has low attack power and low defence. Just like the Black Mage, will take a lot of damage when hit.
Black Mage
Skilled in Black Magic, the Black Mage can cast spells that strike all enemies at once. He has low HP and has the lowest defence out of all the jobs.
Red Mage
With skills that are in between the Black Mage and White Mage, the Red Mage has average attack power and can yield several types of weapons. The Red Mage can't make use of high level White/Black Magic spells.
Bard
Fights enemies by playing a harp. Making use of the "Sing" ability, the Bard has many songs that provide various effects. He acts as a support for the party and can also attack the enemy. The effects of the songs change depending on the harp equipped.
Scholar
Holding a book in one hand, the Scholar is skilled highly in analysis. With his "Check" ability, he can find various stats about the enemy and their weak points. Apart from being able to make use of White Magic, being able to use items much more effectively than any other jobs is his strong point.
Summoner
Having more MP than the Evoker, the Summoner can summons many creatures that are either of the dark or light side. Each of them have different powerful attacks that can attack all enemies.
Sage
The Sage can use all summons, and Black/White magic. Although she has a fairly high amount of MP, she is still inferior to the Magus and Devout.
Knight
With a higher defence than the Warrior, the Knight can protect party members using the "Guard" ability, taking any damage inflicted upon his comrades. Can also make use of White Magic to heal himself and members.
Dragoon
A spear user who has an advantage against airborne enemies. With his "Jump" ability, he can jump high into the air and after one turn, he fall down charging into his enemy. During the turn where he jumps into the air, he is invulnerable.
Geomancer
Attacks the enemy by ringing a bell. Using the ability "Terrain", he can be supported by the battleground he fights on and can make use of various random, nature based attacks.
Viking
A power fighter who can yield axes and hammers. Using "Provoke", he can make enemies turn their attacks on him. Amongst the warrior type jobs, he develops the slowest.
Magus
As opposed to the Devout, the Magus is a master of Black Magic. He has a large amount of MP allowing him to make use of high level Black Magic spells many times. The Magus can also equip weapons of the hammer, dagger type variety.
Ninja
Out of all the jobs, the Ninja has the fastest attacks and has the highest average skill. When equipped with items such as Shurikens, the Ninja can make use of the "Throw" ability to inflict damage. This however, means he/she will lose his/her equipped weapon!
And for a little reminiscence of the original FFIII, here's a scan with scenes from the original Famicom game showing Doga's house, the conspiracy of Mage Hyne, a request from the fairies, warping from a magical incantation, the curse from the Demon Dragon, Odin's battle and more.
Xcomp
Clark
Xcomp
Sandopicook