Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles vs Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is an RPG game from The Game Designers Studio (2003) while Final Fantasy III is a JRPG RPG game from Square (1990).
Quick answer: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has the higher Metacritic, 80 to 79.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
What each one is
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is filed under RPG. In contrast, Final Fantasy III under JRPG and RPG.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is an action role-playing video game developed by The Game Designers Studio for the GameCube. It was released in 2003 in Japan and 2004 in North America, Europe and Australia. A remastered version for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS was released in August 2020. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series and beginning of the series of the same name, Crystal Chronicles was the first title in the franchise to be released for a Nintendo home console since Final Fantasy VI in 1994.
The original FINAL FANTASY III comes to life with completely new graphics and audio! A remodeled 2D take on the third game in the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series! Enjoy the timeless story told through charming retro graphics.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Crystal Chronicles takes place in an unnamed fantasy world inhabited by four races. The player takes control of a caravan hailing from the village of Tipa, in which members of the world's four races come together to help its mission. One thousand years before the game's events, the world's sustaining Great Crystal was shattered by a meteorite carrying an alien lifeform called the Meteor Parasite. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu praised the game's fairytale aesthetic and unconventional treatment of the RPG genre; journalists Shane Bettenhausen, Jennifer Tsao and Kevin Gifford Electronic Gaming Monthly each gave the game high praise for its innovation in gameplay and graphical style. Eurogamer s Rob Fahey gave the game a near-perfect score, noting the clear production values and calling it "one of the best action RPGs" he played; his only… (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting and characters Final Fantasy III is set in an unnamed fantasy world protected by four elemental crystals. A millennium in the world's past, an ancient civilization based on a network of floating continents overused the power of light and triggered a disaster by upsetting the balance between light and darkness. This imbalance summoned the Cloud of Darkness, an entity which would return the world to nothingness. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Within its first week on sale, Final Fantasy III reportedly sold 500,000 copies. As of March 2003, the original Famicom game had shipped 1. 4 million copies in Japan, outselling the domestic releases of the previous two Final Fantasy games. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles | Final Fantasy III | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 7.5/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Very Positive (93%, 2,841) |
| Critic aggregate | 80/100 | 79/100 |
| Price | Unknown | $17.99 |
| Install size | — | 1 GB |
| Steam Deck | Untested | verified |
| Released | 2003 | 1990 |
| Developer | The Game Designers Studio | Square |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles vs Final Fantasy III, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Final Fantasy Crystal ChroniclesRPG gameFinal Fantasy IIIJRPG RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Final Fantasy Crystal ChroniclesNo descriptive tagsFinal Fantasy IIIRPG, JRPG, 2DThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ✓Metacritic 80Final Fantasy IIIMetacritic 79Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles—Final Fantasy III2,841 reviews · 1 add-on · 1 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Final Fantasy Crystal ChroniclesUnknownFinal Fantasy III$17.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Metacritic 80)
Where they differ
RPGJRPGSingleplayer2DAdventureClass-Based
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Final Fantasy III is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and 6 for Final Fantasy III. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy III in scope?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles lists little scope data. Final Fantasy III has drawn 2,841 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 1 GB.
Is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles or Final Fantasy III better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles or Final Fantasy III?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles or Final Fantasy III?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has the higher Metacritic, 80 to 79. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.