This is a review of the REAL Final Fantasy III on the NES (for my review of the “other” FF III, aka Final Fantasy VI, go to https://www.vizzed.com/boards/thread.php?id=74951).

Graphics: 9/10

This late 8-bits era game has very impressive graphics. There are two distinctive worlds, the “Floating Continent” and the world over which it floats, are both are massive. Nature is finely detailed: Forests have a lot of trees, mountains look very high (you can even access them) and
dungeons have a variety of backgrounds. You even get a total of six vehicles (including a submarine)! The last airship pushes the graphing capacity to the limit by “floating” above strategically placed valleys so you can move ahead.
Inside villages, you will need to explore thoroughly as there are many treasures hidden in grass, pots, book shelves… There are more people around, so don’t forget to talk to them to get the vital information you need to progress. Castles are also huge. They have many floors full of hidden passages and treasures, the design (bricks and towers) is impeccable for the time and they are all distinct (Salonia doesn’t look like Sassoon).
But the best is inside battles. For the first time until Final Fantasy VI, characters swing their weapons only as much as they attack – one swing for one hit, seven swings for seven hit. Final Fantasy IV has characters swing twice except when attacking with their fists/claws, and Final Fantasy V had the opposite.  You can also see which enemy is attacking, making planning much easier.
The game introduces summons; they are nicely drawn and have more than one attack. Magic is also nicely drawn. Although not as well imagined as Final Fantasy II (it had 16 different drawings!), it is better drawn since none of the magic is merely a “flash” like ultima, flare and holy were in FF II.
When you get the dragoon job, your characters can also jump! Speaking of jobs, there are many of them, each with its unique design. Although they ultimately end up the same (a super attacker and a super magician that can cast anything), try them and see which ones are better.
Finally, your (physical) fighting can FINALLY “roll over” the next monster. In Final Fantasy I and II, if you didn’t plan ahead properly, you would simply miss if the target had been destroyed. It still does it in III for magic, though.

Music: 10/10

Once again, Nobuo Uematsu outperforms himself in this game. The game contains 45 tracks, one more than FF IV, and I found III to be more
varied. Indeed, there are more tracks associated to dungeons and villages than IV. Hell, III served as an inspiration for IV; the battle theme, the Fat Chocobo theme, the Lute of Noah, etc., were all remastered in IV.
FF III finally masters the art of boss music. In FF II, there were distinctive tracks for bosses/unique monsters (inside Pandemonium), but they rarely came about. In III, the distinction is much neater.
Finally, although it loops quicker than Dragon Warrior IV, I found the music in FF III to still be elaborate. It sounds less synthesized and less repetitive – in DW IV, the tower and casino musics loop after 90 seconds, but there isn’t much variation during that time.

Addictiveness: 8/10

When I first tried the game, I couldn’t get enough of it. As I said, there is so much to explore inside towns and dungeons. In the latter, there are so many hidden switched and treasures that you will want to explore every dead end and walls.
The job system is also worthwhile. The first ones you get are just the classical ones: white and black mage, fighter and monk. But as the game progresses, you get tons more jobs, from knight (that defends allies from physical attacks when they’re low on HP) to Vikings, from summoner to thief.
And for once, who is in front matters; thieves can unlock doors without keys. Finally, reading books can be very informative. In Salonica, for example, there is a huge library that tells you all about the history of the world.

Story: 2/10

The Gurgan quietly spoke...
"This earthquake is but an omen. The tremors that pulled the Crystals into the earth and brought
forth monsters are nothing compared to the Darkness which is to come...
But, hope is not yet lost. Four souls will take up the quest of the Light.
And so it begins...
Four orphans have been raised by the priest Topapa in the remote village of Ur.
A Crystal has sunk into the earth due to the earthquake, and the four boys have come in an
adventurous mood. They had only intended to test their courage...

Unfortunately, despite this seemingly elaborate introduction, Final Fantasy III suffers from what I call the “curse of the odd FF”. Indeed, except for Final Fantasy VII, I found all odd FF up to X to have weak story plots.
In III, despite playing the game twice, I still find that the various elements were just picked at random, without any links between them. Why is there a floating continent? Why has the final boss turned to evil despite being taught by a grand master? How have the four orphans been raised to be the Warriors of Light? Speaking of the characters, they are as superficial as the ones in Final Fantasy I. They have no depth whatsoever; who talks is not even mentioned in the dialogues.

Depth: 7/10

Nevertheless, despite an almost nil plot that progresses at random, it is very elaborate. Progressing through the Floating Continent can take tens of hours, and at least twice as much to then go to the final dungeon. It’s not merely a question of level grinding (although there IS a lot of that) but rather a matter of going left and right to make the story progress.

Difficulty: 7/10

Although I consider myself and RPG veteran, Final Fantasy III was still pretty tough. In many moments in the game, you have to be miniaturized/frogged in order to move forward, inside a village or a dungeon. There are even fights where you must be miniaturized, making physical fighting futile.
Also, there are many areas in the world where you fight on your airship. That’s pretty unusual. Fortunately, when you get the last airship, you can start a fight with canon firing at the enemy.
Finally, as in many older RPGs, some clues are very hard to find. When you get the submarine for example, you need to find an underwater
temple. The problem is, there are many areas that look exactly the same where that temple might be. Be sure to have many potions…
In short, RPG lovers must try this forgotten masterpiece – it only got published on the DS for North America. The graphics are impressive, the soundtrack is a classic and there is a lot to discover. Just make sure to have a FAQ nearby in order not to get lost in the confusing storyline.