Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Not as prominent as some cases, but Luneth, Arc, Refia, and Ingus seem to favor the colors purple, green/yellow, blue, and red, respectively.
Heroic Mime: Averted, even in the original 8-bit version.
The Onion Knight gets no special abilities, since it is the default job class and the weakest during the beginning of the game. However, once the character reaches level 99, their stats expand rapidly, reaching 99 in every stat, making it the most powerful class in the game. It's also the only class that can use the Onion equipment which is the strongest equipment in the game.In the DS remake, the default class is instead the Freelancer, but the Onion Knight still appears as a secret superpowered class.
Too Many Belts: Though quite tame in comparison to the likes of Lulu and others who made the trope famous, Luneth stands out for having a vest made up of three large, thick belts wrapped around his torso. The patterning of said vest reappears on many of his outfits in the different jobs.
Bodyguard Crush: This is debatable. While Ingus worries about Sarah's welfare, it's his job to do so as a knight of Sasune. But it's worth noting that half the Kingdom ships them, including the King himself. The Ultimania however assigns them Official Couple status.
Wise Beyond Their Years: A very mild case. He's the same age as the rest of the party, but his behavior is much more mature.
The Wind Crystal Jobs:
Fighter/Warrior
The Fighter gets no special command. At the beginning of the game, they are the power houses, providing the best boosts to all physical stats. However, once the Knight job is unlocked, this job loses its usefulness.In the DS remake it gets the Advance command, which cuts defense in exchange for more offense.
White Mages excel in assisting the party with defensive and restorative White Magic. Some offensive magic is also available (Light and Wind). They possess low Attack power and Defense.
Blow You Away: In a departure from their typical standing as Black Magic, Aero, Aeroga and Tornado are White Magic in this game.
Black Mages excel in attacking enemies with offensive Black Magic. They wield a variety of spells and can attack multiple targets at once. They possess low Attack power and Defense. They can also wield bows and rods.
Red Mages are able to use a wide assortment of weapons, including both Black and White Magic. However, they are unable to become true masters of either school of wizardry.
During battle, Thieves are able to steal items from the enemy or assist the party in escaping from combat. While on the field, placing a Thief at the front of your party will allow you to open locked doors. They are unable to guard. Unlike the Thief from FFI, they can actually steal from opponents.
Rangers are highly skilled in the way of archery. However, they can be expensive considering the need to purchase arrows. With a bow in hand and arrows readied, rangers can deal the same amount of damage from either the front line or the rear line. They can also wield boomerangs.
Knights are mighty warriors who are experts in close-range combat. They are dependable allies who can defend themselves, as well as shield fellow party members during harsh ordeals. The Knight is considered an advanced version of the Warrior class.
Using their analytical prowess, scholars are able to ascertain an enemy's HP and any existing weakness. They also use the mystic power of ancient tomes to damage enemies. Their extensive knowledge allows them to double the effects of items they use.
Lethal Joke Character: Their combat abilities suck normally: bad physical attacks and limited to low-level magic even worse than The Red Mage. However, their Study ability casts like Dispel, removing any Status Buffs from the enemy. They also have the potency of items doubled, so if you can afford to keep a supply of attack items in your inventory, they're quite effective.
Lethal Joke Character: Their Terrain abilities, as listed under Elemental Powers up above, are almost as effective as the standard Black Magic spells, but the Geomancer doesn't need a single MP to use them. The only problem is that the spell cast when you use Terrain is completely random.
Their status as this comes across stronger in the NES release, where three of the eight possible results are Instant Death attacks, giving you roughly a 40% chance of instantly killing an enemy. Not bad odds when it doesn't cost you a single MP to try.
Luck Based Job: As noted above, the enemy it targets and spell it uses is mostly random (but not completely - the enviornment determines what spells may appear). The job is even more risky in the NES release, where there is a chance of the spell backfiring.
One-Hit Kill: Black Hole in the DS release, Rapids, Sinkhole and Quicksand in the NES release.
The Water Crystal Jobs:
Dragoon
Dragoons wield spears in battle and are highly skilled against aerial foes. They are renowned for their ability to launch deadly attacks from above.
Vikings swing giant hammers and axes with ease. Their only drawback is that they develop slower than other melee Jobs. Vikings are mainly used as a "Tanker" for their ability Provoke and access to the strongest armor.
Magic Knights can equip heavy armor, and are one of the only two Jobs that can equip "Dark Swords", which appear as katanas. These swords prevent certain enemies from splitting. On the other hand, The Dark Knights are trained to harness the negative energies that flow throughout the world. The dark blades they wield are very effective against monsters that divide and multiply. The Dark Knight replaced in the Magic Knight in the DS release.
White Magic: Used by the Magic Knights in the NES version.
Evoker/Conjurer
Evokers possess the ability to summon powerful beings into battle. Each possesses a Black and White Magic effect, which is triggered randomly at the time of summoning.
Useless Useful Job: When you first get them you can't buy any Summon Magic yet, and they can't summon the higher-level monsters. The Summoner class is pretty much superior to them in every way and this job is entirely useless once you get Summoners.
Bard
Bards use their Sing ability to buff their allies or, in the DS version, deal damage to their enemy.
Spoony Bard: The first incarnation of the Bard class in the series. The DS version, however, makes them much better than they were in the original release.
The Earth Crystal Jobs:
Black Belt/Master
Black Belts are masters of combat, able to use only their fists for massive damage. They are capable of linking their mind and body to store energy for an upcoming strike. Black Belt is considered to be an upgrade of the Monk class.
Summoners are magic users who have harnessed the power of high summoning - the ability to call forth a combined Black and White Magic effect. This is the form of summoning that would become the standard for the future games in the series. The Summoner is considered to be a powered up version of the Evoker job.
Ninja are able to deal massive amounts of damage by throwing weapons and specialized projectiles at the enemy. It is able to equip almost every weapon and armor.
Cool Mask: A typical ninja cowl covering the lower
Eleventh Hour Superpower: In the NES release it was, with the Sage, one of the two best jobs and was a secret class obtained at the end of the game. The DS release nerfed it and made it normally available.
Sages are highly adept mages who have mastered all levels of the Black and White arts. They have the ability to cast every magic in the game, as well as high-leveled Summon magic.
Gadgeteer Genius: Along with the information of that he and his father is Older than He Looks, in Saronia Library also provides some example of their trivial inventions other than the tower such as the three of four Global Airships that the party use in course of Final Fantasy III
Handsome Lech: The first thing he says after they gain the Airship? Surrounded by different girls from different places, no matter the fact that he has a sick girlfriend that falls sick in the first place because he leaves her village. Refia has to keep him in line.
Older than He Looks: More he climbs the Tower of Owen, more memories he unlocks; including the memories of that he was the one who built the tower and the reason why. We only hear a brief explanation, but Saronia Library gives the more detailed one. Desch and his father were the Ancients, a race that went hiding after their action caused the Flood of Light 1000 years ago. They created the tower to separate the Crystal of Wind and Fire along with the whole Floating Continent to lessen the Flood and to give the Warriors of Darkness their chance to stop it altogether.
Shock and Awe: Casts Thundara when he appears in battle.
Last of Her Kind: There are subtle hints that implied the Maidens of Water were from a large tribe, but slowly began dying out to prevent the Flood of Darkness from consuming the world while waiting for The Chosen One, and they still have to keep surviving because they are the only ones who can break the Crystal Shard's seal. Aria is the last one of them, and by the time TheChosenOnes finally come, she's already dying and bed-ridden.
Two ancient Sages who trained under Noah, Doga was blessed with great magical power while Unei was given control over the world of dreams while she slept.
The dark counterparts to the Warriors of Light, they are a quartet of Warriors who rallied to defend the World of Darkness from being swallowed by the light many years ago. The Warriors of Light seek their aid in the battle against the Cloud of Darkness.
The Chosen Many: Just like their light-based counterparts, although they were summoned by the Dark Crystals.
Heroic Sacrifice: They Zerg Rush the Cloud of Darkness and weaken her so that the Warriors of Light have a fighting chance to save their world.
Yin Yang Bomb: It takes the powers of both Light and Dark to defeat Cloud of Darkness this time around.
Villains
Xande
The third student of Noah who trained with Doga and Unei. While Doga and Unei got great power from Noah, Xande's gift from their master was mortality when previously the four of them were all immortals. Outraged at this snubbing, Xande sought to destroy the Crystals and cause a flood of darkness that would trap the world in temporal stasis, allowing him to avoid dying.
Out of Focus: Xande is the Big Bad for most of the game, and he was the first villain with an established backstory and a goal besides Taking Over The World. However, odds are most people know the Cloud of Darkness as the villain. Dissidia: Final Fantasy has a lot to do with that, as does the fact that the only time you actually meet Xande in person is when you fight him near the end of the game.
What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: The motivation for his actions. Doga and Unei get great magical power, Xande gets to not be an immortal anymore. Just what was Noah thinking?
Cloud of Darkness
An ancient entity that is the embodiment of nothingness, she appears when the powers of light and dark are unbalanced to return all to the Void.
Dark is EvilandLight is Not Good: Too much of either element causes a "flood" that summons her presence. Dissidia's prequel, Dissidia [012]: Duodecim Final Fantasy, gives her a third costume◊ meant to represent her appearance as the commonly-speculated "Cloud of Light".
