Final Fantasy III version differences

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The following is a list of version differences between the various releases of Final Fantasy III. The Nintendo DS remake overhauled much of the game. This version, barring direct ports of the Famicom game, has been basis of future re-releases.

Timeline of version differences

Famicom

• Released April 27th, 1990, the first release of the game.

Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS version, released 2006, gave the game a complete overhaul. The graphics are rendered in full 3D and various changes have been implemented.

• The Warriors of Light have canon names and identities: Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus. Consequently, a number of scenes are added and modified to accommodate.
• An FMV plays upon starting the game.
• The opening sequence is changed: Luneth is the only one to fall into the Altar Cave and the rest of the party joins one by one. The Wind Crystal jobs are now obtained after defeating the Djinn in the Sealed Cave.
• Designs for most of the characters are based on their Yoshitaka Amano designs.
• Temporary fifth party members (Princess Sara, Cid Haze, Desch, Aria, Alus Restor, Doga and Unei) can occasionally aid in battle with physical attacks or magic.
• The job system is reworked. Various jobs have been re-balanced and some have new abilities. Each has a "Job Level", which determines its effectiveness. Replacing the Capacity mechanic is a mechanic known as the Job Adjustment Phase, which reduces the stats of a specific job until a number of battles have passed.
  • Fight is renamed Attack.
  • Defend is renamed Guard, except for the Knight's Defend ability, which is still a more effective version.
  • Run is renamed Run Away, no longer reduces a character's Defense to 0 until their next turn, and is issued to the entire party by holding the shoulder buttons. Jobs that used to have the Run ability can now use Guard.
  • Escape is renamed Flee and has a chance of failing.
  • BuildUp is renamed Boost.
  • Bards no longer have the Cheer and Scare abilities, and Sing has different effects.
  • The Scholar's Peep and Scan abilities are replaced with Study.
  • Rangers and Dark Knights have the Barrage and Souleater abilities respectively instead of Magic.
  • Other new abilities include Summon, Advance, Retaliate, Provoke, Throw, Item Lore, Equipment, Rear, and Front.
• Certain jobs have been moved around: Thief (Final Fantasy III) has been moved to the Wind Crystal, Geomancer (Final Fantasy III) to the Fire Crystal, and the Black Belt, Sage and Ninja jobs have been moved to the Earth Crystal.
• The amount of enemies onscreen at any given point is reduced to three. To compensate, many enemies have increased stats.
• This version introduces Mognet, a mail function which connects the majority of the remake's new content. Players could send mail to each other, both over wireless connection or Nintendo Wi-Fi, and to in-game characters. After sending a certain amount of letters to other players, the player could unlock letters from the in-game characters, which can lead to sidequests. This functionality is no longer available, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service having been discontinued May 20th, 2014.
  • The Onion Knight job has been promoted to an unlockable job, via completing a Mognet sidequest. The Freelancer job replaces it as the default class.
  • The Iron Giant appears as a bonus boss accessible through Mognet.
  • A bonus dungeon, ???, can be unlocked via Mognet.
  • A character exclusive to the remake, the Legendary Smith, is tied to the Mognet sidequests. The party obtains Ultima Weapon through her. Additionally, the Smith can create Ultimate weapons for each job with Job Level of 99.

iOS/Android/Steam

The iOS/Android/Steam version is based on the DS version.

• The music is now CD-quality, matching the official soundtrack.
• The Mognet sidequest has been tweaked to remove the Wi-Fi requirements. Now, the letters unlock over the course of the story and require a specific character to be in the lead to get them (Luneth for Topapa, Arc for Alus Restor, Refia for Takka and Ingus for Sara Altney; Cid Haze and the Four Old Men do not require a specific person at the front).

An update to the Steam version released on February 27th, 2020 added a few more features, most of which come from the PSP version:

• An auto-battle feature.
• An art gallery, including a music player.
• UI changes.
• 21:9 screen support.
• Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai language options.

PlayStation Portable

The PlayStation Portable version was released in Japan on September 9th, 2012 and in other regions on September 25th, 2012. This version was released exclusively through the PlayStation Network in most regions, but saw a physical release in Japan. New features include:

• Common data install to available storage medium (JP only).
• Improved graphical quality.
• The option to use the English script, making it import-friendly.
• An auto-battle feature.
• The ability to switch between the original and arranged soundtracks.
• An art gallery.