Not to be confused with the 3D remake on the Nintendo DS, Final Fantasy III is the previously Famicom-exclusive third game in the Final Fantasy series. While the remake on the Nintendo DS is the first official release of the game in the West, players now have access to the excellent Pixel Remasters version of Final Fantasy III that preserves its original presentation and gameplay, with a few helpful quality-of-life-features to boot. Final Fantasy III would originally release in April of 1990 in Japan, which coincides with the release of the original Final Fantasy in North America on the NES. Many fans consider it to be a return to form of sorts following the drastic departures that Final Fantasy II makes over the original.
However, that’s not to say that Final Fantasy III doesn’t introduce some significant changes of its own, as it’s the first game in the series to introduce the now-infamous Job system to replace traditional classes. Whereas Final Fantasy allows players to form a party by choosing from 6 RPG class types and Final Fantasy II gives players a blank slate, allowing players to mold their characters through actions, Final Fantasy III gives players unprecedented freedom in granting players the ability to select and master multiple “Jobs”, changing classes on the fly to fit the situation.
The same core team that is behind the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II returned for Final Fantasy III, including creator and director Hironobu Sakaguchi, composer Nobuo Uematsu, and character designer Yoshitaka Amano. It would go on to be the third best-selling game of 1990, later earning recognition from Japanese publication Famitsu as one of the greatest games ever made.
Final Fantasy III Premise
Final Fantasy III returns to the “blank slate” approach of the original game by providing players with a party of four nameless heroes. Additionally, the game’s party have no set classes but instead acquire a new set of Jobs after visiting each of the game’s four Crystals. The Job System allows players to switch their class in between battles using the game’s menus, and changing classes impacts equippable gear, abilities, and stat growth when leveling up. The game returns to the traditional accruing of experience points for leveling up from the original, but adds in Job Points that players earn to master jobs and make switching between them easier.
Assigning a job to a character grants them special unique abilities exclusive to that job. For example, the Lancer job can Jump, the Bard can Sing, and so on. Final Fantasy III is actually the first game in the series to introduce the iconic summon monsters via the Summoner and Evoker jobs, bringing the first appearance of several iconic characters such as Ifrit, Bahamut, and Shiva. It is also the first game in the series to introduce multiple world maps, having players switch back and forth between the starting map of the Floating Continent and then returning to the Surface.
In terms of its story, Final Fantasy III develops a world in which the four elemental Crystals are in danger of creating a Flood of Light, requiring the player’s four heroes to travel the world and attempt to restore balance. Along the way, they encounter several nefarious villains as well as plenty of helpful NPCs, eventually heading to the Crystal Tower to stop the evil sorcerer Xande and prevent the resurrection of the Cloud of Darkness.
Final Fantasy III Main Characters
Although the characters themselves are essentially without identity or personality (outside what the player assigns to them through imagination and gameplay), there are plenty of engimatic NPCs and villains that make an appearance throughout Final Fantasy III‘s narrative. The recurring character of Cid even plays a much larger role than his debut in Final Fantasy II, though he does still help the party gain their airship. Main characters in Final Fantasy III include:
- The Warriors of Light: The Warriors of Light are the heroes of the game and orphans from the village Ur. After adventuring in a nearby cave, the four heroes come into contact with one of the four elemental Crystals, gaining the Crystal’s power in the form of Jobs and setting off on an adventure to prevent the world’s destruction.
- Cid: Cid is one of the first major NPCs that players meet after beginning their journey. He grants the party use of his airship in exchange for helping to cure his wife of a mysterious illness.
- Unei: Unei is one of the three students of the great magus Noah, along with Doga and Xande. She has a unique power to control dreams.
- Doga: Doga ia another of Noah’s students and one of the world’s great sages, acting as a guide to the party and informing them of Xande’s intentions. Together with Unei he helps the party enter the forbidden realm of Eureka.
- Xande: Xande is the game’s primary antagonist and another former student of the great magus Noah. Xande’s gift of mortality from Noah leads to him going insane and attempting to resurrect the Cloud of Darkness.
- Cloud of Darkness: The Cloud of Darkness is the force threatening to throw the world into chaos and the true antagonist of the game.
Games in the Final Fantasy Series
There are now 16 mainline entries in the Final Fantasy series as well as several ground-up remakes of fan-favorite titles and plenty of spin-offs. As one of the longest-running and most respected JRPG franchises, Final Fantasy continues to innovate and inspire with each new game in the series. And, nearly 35 years since the original release of Final Fantasy III, it’s still incredible seeing how much its Job System continues to influence games in the genre. Mainline entries in the Final Fantasy series include:
- Final Fantasy (1987)
- Final Fantasy II (1988)
- Final Fantasy III (1990)
- Final Fantasy IV (1991)
- Final Fantasy V (1992)
- Final Fantasy VI (1994)
- Final Fantasy VII (1997)
- Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
- Final Fantasy IX (2000)
- Final Fantasy X (2001)
- Final Fantasy XI (2002)
- Final Fantasy XII (2006)
- Final Fantasy III (DS) (2006)
- Final Fantasy IV (DS) (2007)
- Final Fantasy XIII (2009)
- Final Fantasy XIV (2013)
- Final Fantasy XV (2016)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)
- Final Fantasy XVI (2023)
Final Fantasy III Cheats and Secrets
As one of the more difficult games in the series, Final Fantasy III pulls no punches when it comes to difficult boss encounters and the need to endlessly grind random battles to build a powerful party. Thankfully, the Pixel Remasters version of Final Fantasy III available on PC, PS4/PS5 and Nintendo Switch offers some official “boosts” that expedite the grinding process. Though the Boosts are exclusive to the console versions of the game, the PC Pixel Remasters each have Cheat Trainer files that players can install and use with help of a third-party Cheat Engine.
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster Boosts
Players can utilize the following Boosts at any time during gameplay on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch Pixel Remaster versions of Final Fantasy III. Enter the Main Menu at any point and select “Configuration”. From here, scroll down and select “Boost”. The following options are available to make your time within the game significantly easier.
- Encounters: Can be turned “On” or “Off”; dictates whether players have random battles on overworld map and within dungeons.
- EXP – Defaults at 1x, but players can set it at up to 4x; impacts the amount of experience the party earns after each battle (with 4x equating to four times the normal amount).
- Gil – Defaults at 1x, but players can set it at up to 4x; impacts the amount of money the party earns after each battle (with 4x equating to four times the normal amount).
Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster Cheat Engine & Trainer Options for PC
Using a third-party Cheat Engine (such as WeMod) allows players to have the software scan their Steam library and upload Cheat Trainer files that add-in cheat options for their favorite games. After downloading and installing the Cheat Engine of your choice, there are Cheat Trainer files available for Final Fantasy III‘s Pixel Remaster on PC that include some of the following options:
- Infinite HP
- Infinite MP
- 100% Hit Rate
- 100% Evasion Rate
- 100% Item Drop Rate
- One Hit Kills
- Infinite Items
- No Random Encounters
- Set Game Speed
- Gil Multiplier
- EXP Multiplier
Final Fantasy III Cheats FAQ
Can you do more than 9999 damage in Final Fantasy III?
9999 is the maximum damage value that the game can show but some attacks can hit more than once, resulting in the capacity to do significantly more damage.
How do you unlock more jobs in Final Fantasy III?
New jobs will automatically unlock each time the party restores light to one of the four elemental crystals, granting the party access to entirely new build opportunities.
Do Job Levels matter in Final Fantasy III?
While most games in the series have players worrying about simply character level, Final Fantasy III introduces the need to consider job level as well. Job Level impacts various things depending on the job, such as hit and evasion rates with melee classes and spell accuracy and power with spellcasting classes.
What is the best melee job in Final Fantasy III?
The best physical class that players have access to is the Ninja, which is only accessible after earning in in the forbidden realm of Eureka (as part of the game’s final dungeon).