Final Fantasy III wiki page
Originally released in Japan for the Nintendo Famicom in 1990, Final Fantasy III was the second game to not initially receive a North American release. Unlike FFII, a domestic release was not even considered since they had already committed to releasing Final Fantasy IV for the SNES instead. Final Fantasy III was the last of the "unreleased" games to finally receive localization via a complete remake for the Nintendo DS in 2006 with several changes to the story and gameplay. To date, there still has not been a release of the original game in NA making Final Fantasy III in some ways the "final" Final Fantasy.
The original Famicom version focus on four un-named orphans who are dubbed the Warriors of Light after discovering the Crystal of Wind. They are charged with relighting the four Crystals of Light and restoring balance to the world. The DS remake gives the four orphans names and personalities and slightly alters the early events of the game to allow the player to meet and recruit each one. Luneth is the main character and, in this version, is the only person who discovers the crystal of wind. He is then charged with finding the additional Warriors of Light. They are Arc, Luneth's best friend, Refia, the daughter of a blacksmith, and Ingus, a Knight of Sasune.
The gameplay of III takes more inspiration from I than II. III introduces the Job System which allows the 4 warriors to train in any class and to also switch classes later on. These include the original 6 classes from FFI and add an additional 17 classes. III also introduced class specific abilities (like Jump or Steal) rather than simply having each class alter stats and weapon choices.
A few other new items introduced in III and carried on to later games:
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Moogles
- Summons
At this point, most of the recurring features of the Final Fantasy series have been introduced. Future games simply expand on the existing ideas or introduce new elements that don't get carried over into future games.
As noted previously, Final Fantasy III has only been legally released in NA on the Nintendo DS. It is possible, however, to find the original game emulated with a fanslation. Also, an interesting note: Final Fantasy III is the only core FF title to have not seen a release on a Sony console or any console other than ones made by Nintendo. A port to the Wonderswan was planned, but eventually cancelled due to programming difficulties.
Cid Watch:
Cid Haze is the first Cid to have his very own last name. The characters first meet Cid very early in the game and help him break the curse of the djinn. For their help, Cid donates his airship to the group (but it doesn't last long) and then retires with his wife. Cid returns later in the game to upgrade the group's ship into another airship and reveals that he played a key role in the orphan's origins.
This Cid essentially established the name as a recurring role and also placed into a slightly larger supporting role than in Final Fantasy II. This also cements Cid's association with airships.
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Alright, so Final Fantasy III! This is another game I've never beaten. I played it and a got somewhat far, but I've never been a fan of the Job system (either in this or V) and gave up the game when it basically said "Have all dragoons or die!" I thought the game was cheating. Anyway, we'll see how it goes this time.
I will, of course, be playing it on the DS. I'm interested to see if anyone will be or has played the original version via ROM? I'd like to see anyone's thoughts on the original version.