Just started the DS version...

[hhr1dluv]

And I'm kinda surprised by how hard it is. I must have died like three times already...I'm supposed to be saving Princess Sara from that cave, and so far I've died in those Mythril Mines (which I assume I'm not supposed to go in yet), and in the west tower at the castle. What level should I be at? That gryffin thing in the chest killed me...but I've been fighting on the world map, and none of the enemies give enough experience for me to justify leveling there.

Should I be so frustrated already?

[RedWiz]

I don't really remember what my levels were... but I'd say it's pretty safe to assume you should be frustrated.

[Rebellious Eagle]

I actually found III really easy, and it was my first FF game. Anyway, don't go into the Mythril Mines yet! Wait until after the curse on Kazus has been lifted. And to kill the Griffin, use Antarctic Wind items.

[Goldenboko]

This is one of the games where leveling seems like a good idea, but I never really do. Normally I don't have much trouble, but sometimes certain things give me trouble. xD

I recommend getting through the beginning of the story ASAP. Until you can start buying items and using classes, things can be easily frustrating.

[Zeromus_X]

I found it a lot easier since everyone could use Cure at the beginning, making those undead enemies much less annoying.

But yes, I agree that the beginning can be tough in both versions.

[hhr1dluv]

Okay, I have triumphed! I leveled up to level 8 in the west tower at the castle and now I have job classes!

Anyone recommend certain jobs? I have Ingus as a Warrior, Luneth as a Monk, Arc as a Red Mage, and Refia as a White Mage.

EDIT: So, this is rapidly becoming my "please help me" thread. Anyway, I've noticed that once I got the job classes, whenever I equip a weapon, my stats actually go lower than if I were barehanded. That makes no sense to me. Should I just have them all unarmed? Like, my white mage's stats go from 18 Strength to 3 when I equip her with a staff. What are the benefits here? Actually...that's maybe not the best example. My red mage loses 3 strength points when he equips that wightslayer(?) sword. WHY?

Also, what are the disadvantages of needing to adjust to a job class for two battles?

[Wolf Kanno]

Their stats will rise as their job levels go up so don't worry, though you should keep the monk unarmed cause that is a classic FF secret. Red Mages are easily the most broken class in the beginning of the game. Warriors are good until your Monk gets a few job levels then they will easily overtake the Warrior in terms of damage and Hp gain. White Mages and Black Mages are good stand-by's. Thieves are pretty much useless in this game until their Job level is in the 70-80 range. Course the only thing you need them for is stealing elixirs from Dragons at the end of the game and stealing Gungnir from a certain boss.

The characters are a bit like the FFV party imo concerning stats, by this I mean you have one character geared towards magic (Lenna/Arc), one towards physical(Bartz/Luneth), and the last two are more in the middle though each does slightly move to one side of the damage equation. Faris and Ingus are pretty good with magic but seem slightly better at physical while Krile and Refia are good physical fighters but seem slightly better with magic. This is just my view and it may be eschewed by my warped bias.

The only classes I don't care for are:

Rangers - costly and you have way better options that outweigh this classes advantages.

Scholar - Really bad for completionists, Great with magic, crappy MP, terrible Hp growth. They are powerful but it takes a bit of planning and once again it requires stocking and hording magic items.

Evokers - Just no... Use a Geomancer instead and wait for the Summoner class to open up.

Still, its mostly up to you on how you use them. Also, a bit of friendly advice. Save often and try to use the Phoenix Downs sparingly. You cannot buy these, you can only get them from treasure chests and as a rare drop from monsters. "Raise" is the reason why White Mages stay useful to your party for a very long time in this game.

[Rebellious Eagle]

Your party sounds pretty decent for now. Red Mages tend to become quite outdated as more jobs become open, however, so just keep that in mind for now. Also, when you unlock Knight, switch over your Warrior. That should be good enough for the first half of the game. ^^

[RedWiz]

Your class selection will do just fine.

You'd probably be better off in the long run if you had a black mage instead of a red mage, but I would never trade a red mage. As a matter of fact, if I still had FF3, I'd play a full party of red mages, just for kicks...