It's awesome. It introduced the job system as opposed to classes like the first game, had the first character theme (Aria), and...
You know, whatever I say it's invalidated when I talk about the crystal tower. You think you have suffered in life, you don't know anything if you haven't braved the crystal tower. Mother of god
I just grinded jobs and levels until I was extremely powerful and then mowed down everything in that tower. I didn't feel bad about it. I see Final Fantasy 3 and I think Crystal Tower. That's all
Awesome game
I always visit the optional dungeons, so I'm usually around level 40 by the time I get to Eureka and the Crystal Tower. By then, the Devout's Magic Accuracy is high enough for Toad and Mini to hit consistently, so you can instakill your way through the whole thing with no trouble at all.
Level 40? I was 35 and had no trouble until the boss rush... And you can't toad the bosses :( so I said, screw it, and level to like 80+. Then I was unbeatable. But it wasn't a very... Enjoyable last dungeon, let me tell you that
Yeah, I might have spent a little too long traipsing about with a full party of Karatekas. Grinding to level 80 is insanity, though. I was in the mid-50s the last time I beat the game and even that felt too high.
There's a guy that basically [soloed the endgame](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1209550354?t=2h30m17s) with a level 43 Devout by stacking Protect and Haste, so I get the feeling that it's possible to finish with a full party in the low 50s or even high 40s.
3 was the first FF game I seriously put time into after finally getting addicted to the series through FFXIV.
It's the first of the games to give us a full job system. The warriors of darkness is a really cool plotline. And for me it gets extra points for being the last actual turn based game until ffx. Also has one of my favorite Cids lol
It will forever hold a special place in my heart. I love it very dearly.
I recently replayed the sprite remastered version. To me, it is the most Final Fantasy game of all time.
It's a classic, and I love it unconditionally.
It is indeed fun and the best of the first 3 FFs, but the 3D remake was balls to the walls hard compared to the PR lol bosses with multi turn attacks would kick my ass regularly. Never liked the job adjustment phase either. Main characters were kinda nice tho.
I want a remake of the 3D remake. Miss me with PS1 polygons and a one-second load time every time I want to open or close the status screen. 70% of the difficulty came from the experience and feel and aesthetic just being hostile.
I appreciate the challenge, but the bosses getting two turns feels so bad 😭
Especially when they go once, you revive a party member, then they attack that one.
It introduced moogles and summons to the franchise. I enjoyed it. I remember when you learned that the world that you've been playing on was just a tiny floating continent over a massive world.
The 3d Remake is the best version to me, the added story to the main characters really makes a difference, the older ones and remaster feel so short and bland comparatively.
For me, it's the first FF that I actually kind of enjoy, as it is, on a replay today. FF1 and FF2 are respectable and iconic for what they contributed to the birth of the RPG, but I don't find them FUN. FF3 was the first one that refined gameplay elements I still enjoy. I admire FF1 for being a party based Dragon Quest with classes and FF2 for introducing archaic open world RPGing and some very rudimentary dialogue choice mechanics, but neither are really FUN as a sit down and play experience when held up to sooooo many other options over the last 30 years.
Important to the series' development in a ton of ways, but looking back I find it kinda... eh? The job system is not as creativity-bolstering as it initially seems thanks to the relatively controlled growth of available equipment and "basically just better" job upgrades, and at least in the original releases I hate how much the final boss is a hard grind check and not, you know, interesting.
These days if I want a classic, fully retro FF in the dungeon crawler style, FF1 is direct and painless and short... and if I want that job customization and stuff, sorry but FF5 blows this out of the water.
Soundtrack's one of the NES' best though.
I played the DS version and I could say I enjoyed it a lot, and also I don’t know if it's me or nostalgia playing tricks but this game had a fascinating sense of existential dread.
Like whole towns being cursed, colossal beings present on the map that could wipe your party which means you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, also what will forever stick to me is that your party will be instantly killed and shown in small cutscene if you tried to enter the path to the Crystal Tower before finishing all the requirements before.
Not sure if this game was supposed to be dark fantasy but it felt that way in many points of the game.
I have a strong attachment to it cause it's my first FF. I played all versions. It's also one of the most bullshit games by the time Crystal Tower rolls around cause I never had to grind until I get to Xande who hits me with a HP check at the start of the battle following a gauntlet of bosses with no rest (thankfully the Pixel Remaster helped with the rest issue but not the grinding one for a while on PC since we didn't get those exp boosters initially). I think everything pre-Crystal Tower is great though, definitely better than the prior 2 games.
Definitely the hardest JRPG I played alongside DQ2 and Mother. I do wish the 3D remake kept the changes it was gonna make in regards to the story.
I played the Pixel Remaster last year and had a fun time with it.
More importantly (to me anyway) it led to Final Fantasy V, which in turn led to Bravely Default, the game that brought me back into RPG’s in a big way.
F*CKING LOVE IT!
Probably still my most favorite FF.
So many iconic things began here, that I consider it the true first FF game.
And it’s crazy coz there are still some great things about playing the NES version over the RM version.
One of the first FF I played when half my friend didn't even knew it existed, I was playing on an emulator, some one gifted me a CD with every NES games and I had a translated FF3. Not that it mattered too much because I didn't understand English anyways but grinding was really enjoyable.
Now it's fun but FF5 really made the job system way more enjoyable.
It's great. It established the backbone necessary for 5 and tactics. Both great job systems. 3 isn't as good as either game, but they wouldn't exist with out it.
The basically limitless team options were super cool. It's incredible that they fully just designed basically 20+ characters for this game.
Best overworld theme and a lot of fun with how quickly you can break the game. I love it when games let you do that if you want.
It's rough around the edges with some systems and you can feel the job system wasn't as elegant as ff5 but it's definitely a 'ff3 walked so ff5 could fly' kind of deal to me.
Also I was stunned when I realised the world map was actually a floating island. Then you leave it and see how small the 'world' was compared to the full map. I loved that moment, reminded me of playing ff7 when it came out when I was a kid and you first step out of midgar.
In ff14 shadowbringers there's a really good [rendition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0eIO32QuH8&list=RDD0eIO32QuH8&start_radio=1) of eternal wind aka the 3 world map theme.
No disrespect to I and II, but I feel like it's the first true Final Fantasy. From the Job System, the Crystals, the cast of characters, even a lot of the monster designs and summons. It still holds up as an NES JRPG, which is saying something for a game that old. Definitely one of the grindiest FFs, but that was kind of the name of the game back then for RPGs. Great music, and really big game for 1990. I remember when I finished the Floating Continent and I assumed that was it. Like once I finish this area we'll do the final boss and be done with it. Then you find out it was basically chapter 1, and there's a whole world below that's much bigger.
The game that introduced moogles, summons and many of the iconic jobs that defines the franchise. It doesn't have much story but the vibes that the game give off is great.
3D remake was the first FF game that I finished.
While 3D remake is an alright game, the Pixel Remaster should be the version that newcomers play.
Loved it. A little looney toons in places but the subtle reveal once you reach the outer loop early in the game, jawdropping. I really had fun playing the PR version.
I have the 3D remake somewhere, we'll see if I ever get round to it.
I absolutely love it! It’s a fantastic game and aside from FF I it’s the start of this amazing job system that would be further fleshed out in FF 5 and other games!
Not sure about the original but I really hated the fact that there were no save points inside of dungeons in the PSP/DS version. I never managed to finish the Crystal Tower because it was so frustrating.
Historical significance aside, it's one of my least favorite. Gameplay systems that are just kind of there, bland story, and -the- worst last dungeon in the series.
All it’s missing is a decent story and better pacing to be an amazing game. It’s not a bad game at all though. Just feels a little too basic even when compared to FF1
I’ve only played the 3D version, and it was fine, but having to essentially readjust every time you changed jobs was annoying. For example: for the Garuda fight, you’re encouraged to use your newly acquired dragoon job, otherwise you’ll get destroyed. But you’re getting destroyed anyway, because you have to use it a certain number of times first. Plus a lot of the jobs felt rather arbitrary, such as Scholar, which I only used against the Skelton boss.
Honestly, it's my least favorite FF game. Granted, I've only played the PR version. The story is extremely bland, and the difficulty ramp at the end is uncalled for
In my opinion. It’s one of my least favorite. It’s very grindy because of the job system and unless you grind the later jobs the end is very very difficult.
This one grew on me, the pixel remaster is very good. I did not like the 3D remake, but it's still my most viewed youtube series. FF3 feels like a matured FF1.
Played the PR version last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The soundtrack is amazing, especially “The Crystal Cave”, one of the mystical peaks of Maestro Uematsu. I consider it almost a reboot of the original FF, but lots of staples of the series were introduced here. Very good game
How quickly time goes by, I wasnt born yet, but I remember playing it as a child, I played again on the emulator some time later, It's one of my favorites
The first game in the series that I would be ok with going back to. This one feels the most like a FF game out of the NES trilogy. With that said, I don't really see the need to go back to this game when V does pretty much everything III does but better in every way
I just finished it on pixel remaster. Loved it. Last night I completed the crystal tower on FFXIV and had one of those moments when you realise the connection. 😀✌️
I feel awful saying that the DS remake was my first attempt at this game. But man, that intro cinematic, those models and the world just look gorgeous! I mean, don't get me wrong, there is always a charm to sprite work, but DS FF 3 and 4 just scratched that itch to play early the FF titles for me.
I've kept my old DS solely for those two games, in fact!
I feel like it was the last classic FF game to sort of “wander” about its direction. This was practice for FF4. You can see some of the themes already there but it doesn’t get the story depth yet and it’s hard to figure out where to go, this is the last FF game without a concise and obvious direction. The 3d remake is playable, and it’s okay, you can see them practicing for Cecil’s real story. 4 would be the first FF game to be a serious rpg, the beginning of the FF series we know now.
Of the original 3, it is certainly the best, and it's not even close. After this one the series started to change a bit (for the better I'll admit) but this is one of the only FF titles I find myself going back to. It also started my love for FF as it was my first in the series (DS version) and for that I'll always love it.
I just finished the PR. I *really* enjoyed this game and I’m so bummed it wasn’t originally released in the US. Being that 4 was my foray into the series, though in those days it was known as 2, I finally get to see where the foundation of 4 came from. Obviously, 3 has an impressive level of customization whereas there’s basically none in 4. To be honest, and story-aside, if FF3 had the ATB, I’d probably rank it above 4.
Sadly in my bottom three. It’s got a lot of potential but it’s just one of the most bland and boring entries in the series. My 100% run of it was done mostly while staring at a tv show and grinding job levels without looking at the screen.
One of the weakest titles in the franchise, unfortunately. I liked it, but it feels like a reaction to FF2 in a very nervous, trying-to-recapture-what-makes-FF1-good sort of way that ultimately ends up feeling pretty uninspired.
It's awesome. It introduced the job system as opposed to classes like the first game, had the first character theme (Aria), and... You know, whatever I say it's invalidated when I talk about the crystal tower. You think you have suffered in life, you don't know anything if you haven't braved the crystal tower. Mother of god I just grinded jobs and levels until I was extremely powerful and then mowed down everything in that tower. I didn't feel bad about it. I see Final Fantasy 3 and I think Crystal Tower. That's all Awesome game
I always visit the optional dungeons, so I'm usually around level 40 by the time I get to Eureka and the Crystal Tower. By then, the Devout's Magic Accuracy is high enough for Toad and Mini to hit consistently, so you can instakill your way through the whole thing with no trouble at all.
Level 40? I was 35 and had no trouble until the boss rush... And you can't toad the bosses :( so I said, screw it, and level to like 80+. Then I was unbeatable. But it wasn't a very... Enjoyable last dungeon, let me tell you that
Yeah, I might have spent a little too long traipsing about with a full party of Karatekas. Grinding to level 80 is insanity, though. I was in the mid-50s the last time I beat the game and even that felt too high. There's a guy that basically [soloed the endgame](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1209550354?t=2h30m17s) with a level 43 Devout by stacking Protect and Haste, so I get the feeling that it's possible to finish with a full party in the low 50s or even high 40s.
Aria definitely deserves more love for her story arc and character theme.
3 was the first FF game I seriously put time into after finally getting addicted to the series through FFXIV. It's the first of the games to give us a full job system. The warriors of darkness is a really cool plotline. And for me it gets extra points for being the last actual turn based game until ffx. Also has one of my favorite Cids lol It will forever hold a special place in my heart. I love it very dearly.
Literally same especially after shadowbringers
I recently replayed the sprite remastered version. To me, it is the most Final Fantasy game of all time. It's a classic, and I love it unconditionally.
It’s fun, but I do prefer the 3D remake.
It is indeed fun and the best of the first 3 FFs, but the 3D remake was balls to the walls hard compared to the PR lol bosses with multi turn attacks would kick my ass regularly. Never liked the job adjustment phase either. Main characters were kinda nice tho.
I want a remake of the 3D remake. Miss me with PS1 polygons and a one-second load time every time I want to open or close the status screen. 70% of the difficulty came from the experience and feel and aesthetic just being hostile.
I appreciate the challenge, but the bosses getting two turns feels so bad 😭 Especially when they go once, you revive a party member, then they attack that one.
ooh I need to play the 3D remake.
It introduced moogles and summons to the franchise. I enjoyed it. I remember when you learned that the world that you've been playing on was just a tiny floating continent over a massive world.
The 3d Remake is the best version to me, the added story to the main characters really makes a difference, the older ones and remaster feel so short and bland comparatively.
For me, it's the first FF that I actually kind of enjoy, as it is, on a replay today. FF1 and FF2 are respectable and iconic for what they contributed to the birth of the RPG, but I don't find them FUN. FF3 was the first one that refined gameplay elements I still enjoy. I admire FF1 for being a party based Dragon Quest with classes and FF2 for introducing archaic open world RPGing and some very rudimentary dialogue choice mechanics, but neither are really FUN as a sit down and play experience when held up to sooooo many other options over the last 30 years.
Important to the series' development in a ton of ways, but looking back I find it kinda... eh? The job system is not as creativity-bolstering as it initially seems thanks to the relatively controlled growth of available equipment and "basically just better" job upgrades, and at least in the original releases I hate how much the final boss is a hard grind check and not, you know, interesting. These days if I want a classic, fully retro FF in the dungeon crawler style, FF1 is direct and painless and short... and if I want that job customization and stuff, sorry but FF5 blows this out of the water. Soundtrack's one of the NES' best though.
I played the DS version and I could say I enjoyed it a lot, and also I don’t know if it's me or nostalgia playing tricks but this game had a fascinating sense of existential dread. Like whole towns being cursed, colossal beings present on the map that could wipe your party which means you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, also what will forever stick to me is that your party will be instantly killed and shown in small cutscene if you tried to enter the path to the Crystal Tower before finishing all the requirements before. Not sure if this game was supposed to be dark fantasy but it felt that way in many points of the game.
I have a strong attachment to it cause it's my first FF. I played all versions. It's also one of the most bullshit games by the time Crystal Tower rolls around cause I never had to grind until I get to Xande who hits me with a HP check at the start of the battle following a gauntlet of bosses with no rest (thankfully the Pixel Remaster helped with the rest issue but not the grinding one for a while on PC since we didn't get those exp boosters initially). I think everything pre-Crystal Tower is great though, definitely better than the prior 2 games. Definitely the hardest JRPG I played alongside DQ2 and Mother. I do wish the 3D remake kept the changes it was gonna make in regards to the story.
I loved the final boss gauntlet.
The OST. I immediately think about the OST.
I played the Pixel Remaster last year and had a fun time with it. More importantly (to me anyway) it led to Final Fantasy V, which in turn led to Bravely Default, the game that brought me back into RPG’s in a big way.
It's my second favorite game in the series.
It was an absolute marvel on the NES, managing to do what it did
Brilliant game. Finally cleared and maxed my file this last week while sick
Best of the NES entries. Great soundtrack. Great job system. And the Pixel Remaster is IMO the peak version
The crystal tower is probably the most infamous dungeon in the series. Square was completely out of their mind when they designed it.
F*CKING LOVE IT! Probably still my most favorite FF. So many iconic things began here, that I consider it the true first FF game. And it’s crazy coz there are still some great things about playing the NES version over the RM version.
One of the first FF I played when half my friend didn't even knew it existed, I was playing on an emulator, some one gifted me a CD with every NES games and I had a translated FF3. Not that it mattered too much because I didn't understand English anyways but grinding was really enjoyable. Now it's fun but FF5 really made the job system way more enjoyable.
My first one. Although it isn't amazing compared to a lot of the older games, it's still special to me just because of nostalgia
It's great. It established the backbone necessary for 5 and tactics. Both great job systems. 3 isn't as good as either game, but they wouldn't exist with out it. The basically limitless team options were super cool. It's incredible that they fully just designed basically 20+ characters for this game.
I've only played the 3ds version so far, but: I like it!
The first few hours of both the original and the remake were needlessly hard.
Best overworld theme and a lot of fun with how quickly you can break the game. I love it when games let you do that if you want. It's rough around the edges with some systems and you can feel the job system wasn't as elegant as ff5 but it's definitely a 'ff3 walked so ff5 could fly' kind of deal to me. Also I was stunned when I realised the world map was actually a floating island. Then you leave it and see how small the 'world' was compared to the full map. I loved that moment, reminded me of playing ff7 when it came out when I was a kid and you first step out of midgar.
In ff14 shadowbringers there's a really good [rendition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0eIO32QuH8&list=RDD0eIO32QuH8&start_radio=1) of eternal wind aka the 3 world map theme.
No disrespect to I and II, but I feel like it's the first true Final Fantasy. From the Job System, the Crystals, the cast of characters, even a lot of the monster designs and summons. It still holds up as an NES JRPG, which is saying something for a game that old. Definitely one of the grindiest FFs, but that was kind of the name of the game back then for RPGs. Great music, and really big game for 1990. I remember when I finished the Floating Continent and I assumed that was it. Like once I finish this area we'll do the final boss and be done with it. Then you find out it was basically chapter 1, and there's a whole world below that's much bigger.
The game that introduced moogles, summons and many of the iconic jobs that defines the franchise. It doesn't have much story but the vibes that the game give off is great. 3D remake was the first FF game that I finished. While 3D remake is an alright game, the Pixel Remaster should be the version that newcomers play.
Its still on my to do list.
The DS remake was fun...haven't started the Pixel remaster version yet...
FF3 crawled so FF5 could fly. So thanks FF3.
First played the DS version, and I loved it. Picked up the Pixel Remaster and am looking forward to playing it during a long weekend.
the NDS remake was my first FF
Loved it. A little looney toons in places but the subtle reveal once you reach the outer loop early in the game, jawdropping. I really had fun playing the PR version. I have the 3D remake somewhere, we'll see if I ever get round to it.
The best game ever
The FF3 I first played was FF6, and was the best FF I have ever played. Still is.
I absolutely love it! It’s a fantastic game and aside from FF I it’s the start of this amazing job system that would be further fleshed out in FF 5 and other games!
Not sure about the original but I really hated the fact that there were no save points inside of dungeons in the PSP/DS version. I never managed to finish the Crystal Tower because it was so frustrating.
Ngl FF2 and 3 are the ones i basically know nothing about. What is a good reason to play them?
Historical significance aside, it's one of my least favorite. Gameplay systems that are just kind of there, bland story, and -the- worst last dungeon in the series.
I liked that it gave us a prototype job system that was perfected in 5.
All it’s missing is a decent story and better pacing to be an amazing game. It’s not a bad game at all though. Just feels a little too basic even when compared to FF1
I like it but it kinda has no post game contend after cloud of darkness, still really enjoyed it.
I've never played it
Having recently played the pixel remaster, I think it was a decent game which introduced a lot of FF staples (most obviously the job system).
I’ve only played the 3D version, and it was fine, but having to essentially readjust every time you changed jobs was annoying. For example: for the Garuda fight, you’re encouraged to use your newly acquired dragoon job, otherwise you’ll get destroyed. But you’re getting destroyed anyway, because you have to use it a certain number of times first. Plus a lot of the jobs felt rather arbitrary, such as Scholar, which I only used against the Skelton boss.
I love it. Despite it not being my favorite, it is my most replayed FF.
Honestly, it's my least favorite FF game. Granted, I've only played the PR version. The story is extremely bland, and the difficulty ramp at the end is uncalled for
I preferred the remake with Luneth etc
In my opinion. It’s one of my least favorite. It’s very grindy because of the job system and unless you grind the later jobs the end is very very difficult.
The DS remake is one of my favorite FF games. To me it’s on the same level as IV.
It's the best FF by miles.
This one grew on me, the pixel remaster is very good. I did not like the 3D remake, but it's still my most viewed youtube series. FF3 feels like a matured FF1.
Played the PR version last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The soundtrack is amazing, especially “The Crystal Cave”, one of the mystical peaks of Maestro Uematsu. I consider it almost a reboot of the original FF, but lots of staples of the series were introduced here. Very good game
How quickly time goes by, I wasnt born yet, but I remember playing it as a child, I played again on the emulator some time later, It's one of my favorites
The first game in the series that I would be ok with going back to. This one feels the most like a FF game out of the NES trilogy. With that said, I don't really see the need to go back to this game when V does pretty much everything III does but better in every way
I like it. The NES version is best. It has the largest world, the best soundtrack and the funnest game-play of the three NES Final Fantasy's.
God when did I get old... Love them all.
One of the best word map themes (especially the DS remake)
I just finished it on pixel remaster. Loved it. Last night I completed the crystal tower on FFXIV and had one of those moments when you realise the connection. 😀✌️
I only played III on DS and I thought it was a lot of fun!
Better than FF II
I feel awful saying that the DS remake was my first attempt at this game. But man, that intro cinematic, those models and the world just look gorgeous! I mean, don't get me wrong, there is always a charm to sprite work, but DS FF 3 and 4 just scratched that itch to play early the FF titles for me. I've kept my old DS solely for those two games, in fact!
I feel like it was the last classic FF game to sort of “wander” about its direction. This was practice for FF4. You can see some of the themes already there but it doesn’t get the story depth yet and it’s hard to figure out where to go, this is the last FF game without a concise and obvious direction. The 3d remake is playable, and it’s okay, you can see them practicing for Cecil’s real story. 4 would be the first FF game to be a serious rpg, the beginning of the FF series we know now.
Of the original 3, it is certainly the best, and it's not even close. After this one the series started to change a bit (for the better I'll admit) but this is one of the only FF titles I find myself going back to. It also started my love for FF as it was my first in the series (DS version) and for that I'll always love it.
I just finished the PR. I *really* enjoyed this game and I’m so bummed it wasn’t originally released in the US. Being that 4 was my foray into the series, though in those days it was known as 2, I finally get to see where the foundation of 4 came from. Obviously, 3 has an impressive level of customization whereas there’s basically none in 4. To be honest, and story-aside, if FF3 had the ATB, I’d probably rank it above 4.
Sadly in my bottom three. It’s got a lot of potential but it’s just one of the most bland and boring entries in the series. My 100% run of it was done mostly while staring at a tv show and grinding job levels without looking at the screen.
One of the weakest titles in the franchise, unfortunately. I liked it, but it feels like a reaction to FF2 in a very nervous, trying-to-recapture-what-makes-FF1-good sort of way that ultimately ends up feeling pretty uninspired.