Final Fantasy III vs Final Fantasy Legend III
Final Fantasy III is a JRPG RPG game from Square (1990) while Final Fantasy Legend III is an RPG game from Square (1991).
Quick answer: Final Fantasy III has the higher Metacritic, 79 to 70.
Final Fantasy Legend III
What each one is
Final Fantasy III is filed under JRPG and RPG. In contrast, Final Fantasy Legend III under RPG.
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.
Final Fantasy Legend III, known in Japan as SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Game Boy. The third entry in the SaGa series, it was released in Japan in 1991 and in North America in 1993. A remake for the Nintendo DS was released in 2011 by Square Enix, remaining exclusive to Japan. The Game Boy version was later ported to the Nintendo Switch and released worldwide by Square Enix in 2020, with later ports to Android, iOS and Microsoft Windows in 2021.
Story, characters and reception
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)
Plot
In the world of SaGa 3 , a non-sentient being called the Water Entity is engulfing the world in a great flood. The Water Entity also summons monsters onto the land and low lying cities are abandoned. As a party of four warriors sets out to confront the entity, several youths from the future arrive to help, and it is realized that the Entity's destruction is occurring across all time periods. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Sales In Japan, SaGa 3 topped the Famitsu sales charts from December 1991 to January 1992 . As of 2002, the game had sold 650,000 units, making it the third best-selling title of the Game Boy SaGa releases, and the lowest-selling original SaGa title as of that time. The DS remake debuted in eighth place in Japanese sales charts, with opening sales of over 27,300 units. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Final Fantasy III | Final Fantasy Legend III | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.5/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 2,841) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 79/100 | 70/100 |
| Price | $17.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 1 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | Untested |
| Released | 1990 | 1991 |
| Developer | Square | Square |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Final Fantasy III vs Final Fantasy Legend 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 IIIJRPG RPG gameFinal Fantasy Legend IIIRPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Final Fantasy IIIRPG, JRPG, 2DFinal Fantasy Legend IIINo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Final Fantasy III ✓Metacritic 79Final Fantasy Legend IIIMetacritic 70Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Final Fantasy III2,841 reviews · 1 add-on · 1 GBFinal Fantasy Legend III—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Final Fantasy III$17.99Final Fantasy Legend IIIUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Final Fantasy III 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 III (Metacritic 79)
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 III is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Final Fantasy Legend III is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for Final Fantasy III and 0 for Final Fantasy Legend III. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy Legend III in scope?
Final Fantasy III has drawn 2,841 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 1 GB. Final Fantasy Legend III lists little scope data.
Is Final Fantasy III or Final Fantasy Legend 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 III or Final Fantasy Legend 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 III or Final Fantasy Legend III?
Final Fantasy III has the higher Metacritic, 79 to 70. 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.