I just started FFIII for the DS and my head is a-swimmin with all the different party combos.

Can anyone forsee an issue if I did not use a white mage?
I want to do:
warrior, thief, black mage, red mage.
I don't want to go down this path if I need really need the white mage.

What has been some successful party combos people are using now?

You'll want the White mage. Though the Red Mage can use black and white magic, the depth of the magic is limited and will make the game more difficult down the road.

Might be best to make everyone a white mage. Then if you get hurt you can just heal real fast llike wolverine.

warrior, black mage, black mage, white mage

Is started out with a Theif, Red Mage, White Mage, and Monk through the first part...

... but when I got to the...

black mages and white mages aren't that useful as you progress. red mage is great but their mp pool sucks hardcore. i'd start with whm, blm, war, and mnk (or thf). then when your whm and blm are a decent lvl, switch them to rdm. you can switch them back to their old jobs for boss fights.

You can stick with a Red Mage for now since they can use white magic until level 5. After that you'll need (need, not want) a dedicated white mage to keep your party alive. Monks are amazing for fighting once they get to a high enough level where using bare fists gives them a higher attack. I'm not sure how much you know about the jobs so I won't spoil the classes you get later in the game. I found myself not using any form of black magic after the first few hours of the game.

A dedicated healer like a White Mage is always useful for long dungeons or boss battles

Really? No black magic needed?
Then I can do
warrior, fighter, red mage, white mage

I highly suggest using a monk. They get to be so strong it's crazy. My final party was I put it as a spoiler in case you don't want to know what jobs you'll be getting later on. I'm sure there are plenty of people who played with black mages (which by the way is usually my favorite job in FF games) but I didn't find the need for one at all throughout the game. Once I got rid of my red mage I didn't use any black magic.

The fun of the job system is using what YOU want to use, experiment and have fun with it.

There's no right or wrong answer. You can do whatever you want.

Exactly. Have fun with it. But at the same time don't pick a party which will lead to disaster like chosing 4 freelancers. That's not going to get you too far in the game regardless of your level. Just make sure you have someone to heal. After that it's all up to you.

Bring punch, vodka, and beer.

Approximately how many hours would it take to complete this game if you are a normal human (not a God-Like PixyJunket ) ?

I finished it at about 27 hours doing some on the side quests. There aren't too many of them though cause it's a NES game. My party was somewhere in the mid to high 50's.

Hey, don't use me as basis for completion time.. I usually take more because I don't use guides and seem to feel kicking the shit out of the last boss at level 99 is fun. Now, you want to talk Metroid times.. I'll take that deity status.

which is my concern. I don't to make the job too hard for myself but still have a good time. See? I would have dropped the white mage and been in big trouble.

Thanks.

God-Like + Metroid = PixyJunket

can someone with FF3 send me some mail via Mognet so I can unlock some of the secret quests?

My friend code is 416701911364.

You need White Mage until you unlock Devout/Sage. You will need 2 healers in the final dungeon/boss to make things MUCH easier.