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Final Fantasy vs Final Fantasy Legend III

Final Fantasy is an RPG game from Square (1987) while Final Fantasy Legend III is an RPG game from Square (1991).

Quick answer: Final Fantasy Legend III has the higher Metacritic, 70 to 67.

Final Fantasy

1987 · Square

67Metacritic

Final Fantasy Legend III

1991 · Square

70Metacritic

What each one is

Final Fantasy is filed under RPG. In contrast, Final Fantasy Legend III under RPG.

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy is a 1987 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. The story follows four youths called the Warriors of Light, who each carry one of their world's four elemental crystals which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the crystals, and save their world.

Description from Wikipedia

Final Fantasy Legend III

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.

Description from Wikipedia

Story, characters and reception

Final Fantasy
Plot

Setting Final Fantasy takes place in a fantasy world with three large continents. The elemental powers of this world are determined by the state of four crystals, each governing one of the four classical elements : earth, fire, water, and wind. The world of Final Fantasy is inhabited by numerous races, including humans, elves, dwarves, mermaids, dragons, and robots. (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception Final Fantasy has been well received by critics and commercially successful; the original Famicom (NES) version shipped 520,000 copies in Japan, grossing more than ¥3 billion or $21,000,000 (equivalent to $60,000,000 in 2025) at retail. According to Square's publicity department in 1994, the game had sold 600,000 copies in Japan. The NES release was more successful in North America, where it sold 700,000 copies, adding up to 1. (Wikipedia)

Final Fantasy Legend III
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 FantasyFinal Fantasy Legend III
GamingPickz Score——
Steam rating——
Critic aggregate67/10070/100
PriceUnknownUnknown
Install size——
Steam DeckUntestedUntested
Released19871991
DeveloperSquareSquare

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Final Fantasy 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.

  1. Genre and premise

    Final FantasyRPG game
    Final Fantasy Legend IIIRPG game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Final FantasyNo descriptive tags
    Final Fantasy Legend IIINo descriptive tags

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Final FantasyMetacritic 67
    Final Fantasy Legend III ✓Metacritic 70

    Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.

  4. Price

    Final FantasyUnknown
    Final Fantasy Legend IIIUnknown

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Final Fantasy Legend 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 Legend III (Metacritic 70)

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Final Fantasy is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Final Fantasy Legend III is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

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Common questions

How different are Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Legend III in scope?

Final Fantasy lists little scope data. Final Fantasy Legend III lists little scope data.

Is Final Fantasy 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 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 or Final Fantasy Legend III?

Final Fantasy Legend III has the higher Metacritic, 70 to 67. 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.

All comparisons

How 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.

More on each