Final Fantasy III vs Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy III is a JRPG RPG game from Square (1990) while Final Fantasy XIV is an RPG game from Square Enix (2010).
Quick answer: Final Fantasy III has the higher Metacritic, 79 to 49.
Final Fantasy XIV
What each one is
Final Fantasy III is filed under JRPG and RPG. In contrast, Final Fantasy XIV 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 XIV was a 2010 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Windows, developed and published by Square Enix. It was the original version of the fourteenth entry in the main Final Fantasy series and the second MMORPG in the series after Final Fantasy XI. Set in the fantasy realm of Eorzea, players take control of a customized avatar as they explore the land and are caught up in both an invasion by the hostile Garlean Empire and the threat of the primals, the deities of the land's beastmen tribes. Eventually, they are embroiled in a plot by a Garlean Legatus to destroy the primals by bringing one of the planet's moons down on Eorzea.
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
Setting and characters The story of Final Fantasy XIV takes place in a high fantasy setting. The main location is Eorzea, a geopolitical region on the larger planet Hydaelyn: this contrasts Final Fantasy XI which uses one name to refer to the entire world and its regions. Eorzea is broken up into three main powers: the forest nation of Gridania; the desert-based Ul'dah sultanate; and the thalassocracy of Limsa Lominsa, Eorzea's dominant maritime power. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception During its debut week in Japan, the Collector's Edition reached #2 in the PC games charts behind Civilization 5 and ahead of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty . In the UK charts, the game debuted at #10 behind multiple other games including F1 2010 (#1), Halo: Reach (#2), Civilization 5 (#4) and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (#7). By November 2010, the game had sold 603,000 copies worldwide. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Final Fantasy III | Final Fantasy XIV | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.5/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 2,841) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 79/100 | 49/100 |
| Price | $17.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 1 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | Untested |
| Released | 1990 | 2010 |
| Developer | Square | Square Enix |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Final Fantasy III vs Final Fantasy XIV, 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 XIVRPG 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 XIVNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Final Fantasy III ✓Metacritic 79Final Fantasy XIVMetacritic 49Metacritic'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 XIV—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Final Fantasy III$17.99Final Fantasy XIVUnknownRead 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 XIV 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 XIV. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy XIV in scope?
Final Fantasy III has drawn 2,841 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 1 GB. Final Fantasy XIV lists little scope data.
Is Final Fantasy III or Final Fantasy XIV 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 XIV?
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 XIV?
Final Fantasy III has the higher Metacritic, 79 to 49. 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.