Characters / Final Fantasy III

This is the Character Sheet for Final Fantasy III. For characters from the SNES game titled Final Fantasy III in North America, see the character sheet for Final Fantasy VI.

The Warriors of Light

In General

• Child of Two Worlds: In the 3D version it's revealed that the party were born on the surface world and came to the floating continent with Cid Haze as a consequence of Xande unleashing the flood of darkness. However, this is not touched upon later in the game outside of unused text hinting at Ingus' hometown and that Luneth remembers the airship crash.
• The Chosen Many: Four kids were chosen by the crystals to save the world.
• Color-Coded Characters: The four starting Onion Knights have differing color palettes to set them apart, the colors being red, blue, green and another red (though occasionally appearing purple on the menu). The DS versionpays tribute to this by color-coding the party members in the opposite order from the Famicom lineup while Dissidia Final Fantasy NT would give Onion Knight palettes based on three of the four Onion Knights. Averted with the manga heroes as their color palettes change on each manga cover.
• Conveniently an Orphan: Something all three groups have in common is that they're orphans and they're chosen by the crystals. The 3D version both lampshades and somewhat justifies it by revealing that the warriors are not native to the Floating Continent and came from the surface world.
• Depending on the Writer: Whether or not the characters from the 3D version or Dissidia's interpretation based on the Famicom originals are the canon protagonists varies. Material pertaining to III directly will use the 3D version's protagonists while crossovers such as Dissidia or Theatrhythm will use Onion Knight. It gets particularly odd in mobages such as Brave Exivus or Record Keeper where you can use both the 3D version's protagonists and Onion Knight, though Record Keeper does acknowledge it in special dialogue and Onion Knights' soul breaks. Meanwhile, the manga uses its own set of characters, although that's justified given how early it was made.
• Divergent Character Evolution: The original Onion Knights did not have distinct personalities nor any defining characteristics outside of their armor color, which became irrelevant as soon as Jobs became available. The manga diverged them into three boys and one girl, each with distinct appearances and quirks while dropping the Onion Knight motif. The DS version followed suit with its protagonists who were differentiated even further with wardrobes that carried over into the design of their job outfits and having two of the four orphans not end up in Topapa's care. Meanwhile, the Onion Knight seen in Dissidia, whilst still based on the original Famicom heroes, is a character in his own right and has his own identity beyond any of the other protagonists.
• Inconsistent Coloring:
  • The fourth Onion Knight: His armor is the same shade of red as the first, yellow
  • The manga protagonists tend to have different color schemes across the few colored illustrations they get (such as Muuchi's hair being brown in some illustrations and black in others). Doug is probably the most extreme example, usually being blond and having an association with green and yellow except in at least one case where his hair is silver and his clothes are blue and yellow.
  • Subverted with Luneth: Onion Knight's Luneth costume associates him with the color blue rather than the usual purple, likely to make him a Composite Character with the unnamed warrior from the artwork of the original version of III^note When Onion Knight got a proper version of a costume based on said artwork character in Duodecim, it used a black outfit variant based on a certain art piece. However both the Japanese name of the costume and Onion Knight's personality hint that, while invocative of him, it isn't actually Luneth.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Their title's exact phrasing varies between "Warriors of Light" and "Warriors of the Light", depending on the translation.
• Kid Hero: Their youth is remarked upon several times, though never specifically given. The DS and manga protagonists are more closer to teenagers than children, although the party in general is still among the youngest in a Final Fantasy game^note For reference's sake: Zidane is the second youngest FF main character at age 16. Muuchi, from the manga, is age 15 and Luneth and Onion Knight are implied to be around that age, if not younger.
• Light Is Good: As counterparts to the equally-benevolent Warriors of Darkness.
• Made of Iron: They survive two airship crashes and end up no worse for wear. The 3D version references this in a darker context by introducing a third crash to the game via the updated backstory: Cid was ferrying an airship full of people on the day the flood of darkness happened, and the only survivors were himself and the four orphans.
• Naughty Is Good: To varying degrees depending on the group: On one end, Luneth is the only mischevious one of his group and that's partially due to his nature; on the opposite end is Muuchi, Doug and J Bowie from early in the manga, who are shown to trick and steal from merchants, to the ire of Toppapa and later Melfi.
• The Smurfette Principle: Played straight in both the manga and the 3D version which have a single girl among the group, averted in the original where the four orphans were all boys, not that it means much.
• Symbol Motif Clothing: In the DS version, each of the four heroes has a particular symbol or patterning in their shown Freelancer/normal clothing that pops up in many of their job outfits. Luneth has the pattern of his vest of belts and a 3x3 checkered pattern similar to them, Arc has the "X" shown on his belt buckle or his yellow scarf, Refia has the cross on the clasp of her vest, and Ingus has the teardrop shape of his pendant, or just continues to wear it. Here's◊ a◊ few◊ examples◊.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: In the 3D version, it's implied that a combination of this and childhood amnesia is why the warriors could not remember that they came from the surface world, or even that there was a surface world to begin with. Unused text further complicates it by showing that Luneth and Ingus vaguely remember the airship crash and his hometown respectively, along with the mountain range near the Cave of Shadows, while Arc and Refia show no sign of remembering anything prior to their lives on the floating continent.
• Weapon Specialization:
  • The manga heroes have specific weapons they favor in combat: Muchi uses a sword, Doug has a bendable stick with a spikeball on the end, Melfi has a bow and arrows as well being proficient in white magic, and J Bowie sometimes wields a staff while other times relying on physical prowess. In either case, he also uses black magic.
  • The remake heroes don't have specific weapons, so much as specific jobs that they are usually portrayed as in supplementary material such as the opening (with certain exceptions): Luneth is a Warrior, Arc is a Black Mage, Refia is a White Mage and Ingus is a Red Mage. Of course, during gameplay, you can make them any class you'd like.
  • Lastly, the Onion Knight of Dissidia uses not only his namesake, but also the Sage and Ninja jobs, based on their Famicom portrayal.

2D Onion Knights

The main protagonists of the original Famicom and Pixel Remaster versions of the game. Four orphans from the village of Ur, they fell into a hole in the Altar Cave while exploring. There, they encounter the wind crystal and are chosen to be the Warriors of Light.

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• Canon Name: Averted. The original game didn't give the Onion Knights names and most media at the time didn't use consistent names. The manga adaptation, Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu: Final Fantasy III Yori uses the names Muuchi, Doug, Melfi and J.Bowie, but the manga also toes a line between Pragmatic Adaptation and In Name Only and those names are not used outside of it. After the release of the DS version, screenshots and gameplay of the Famicom version in media such as the Ultimania or Theatrhythm's EMS sequence use the same names as the DS protagonists (Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus). However, in Dissidia Final Fantasy, the Onion Knight in that game who is based more closely on the Famicom heroes simply goes by Onion Knight or variations of the name. Worth mentioning is that this specific Onion Knight's Japanese name is written in Katakana (オニオンナイト).
• Composite Character:
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy would represent the original Onion Knights via a single Onion Knight who appears as the FFIII hero representative, a trend that would continue with later crossover games. Leans into ZigZag territory as, although his descriptions occasionally mention his other three friends we have yet to see them.
  • In a less straightforward example, Luneth's personality seems to be the closest to the original Onion Knights.
  • Goes in the opposite direction in Final Fantasy Record Keeper where, despite the sprite being based on the class' appearances prior to Dissidia, Onion Knight's soul breaks and easter egg dialogue make it clear he's based on the Dissidia interpretation. The release of the III-themed Dreambreaker dungeon in 2020 finally adds a dress record based on the Dissidia interpretation named "Cosmic Onion Knight".
• Featureless Protagonist: The many NPCs whom you meet have more personality (and more to say) than your Kids do. The only thing setting them apart is their color schemes when using the Onion Knight job.
• Guest Fighter: A singular Onion Knight representing them appears in Dissidia and this interpretation goes on to appear in its various spinoffs. An Onion Knight closer to the original depiction is the basis for the class' appearance in Brave Exivus with the Dissidia Onion Knight also appearing as a CG unit.
• Heroic Mime: Averted; Even in the original 8-bit version they have dialogue.
• Lost in Translation: The use of Onion in their initial class name, apparently, was meant to mean something like "beginner," or generally meant to invoke that they're inexperienced. In English, it just sounds like the vegetable.
• Vague Age: They're said to be youthful, but it doesn't give a clear idea of what age they are. Even the adaptations do not clear up matters: Both the manga and the DS version portray the heroes as teenagers, but Dissidia's Onion Knight appears to be a child.

DS Orphans

Luneth

An orphan raised by Nina and Elder Topapa in the village of Ur. Adventurous by nature, his curiosity gets the better of him as he tumbles into a hole created by the great earthquake.

The main protagonist of the DS version, he's an orphan from Ur raised by the village priest, Topapa. He was the first one to speak to the Wind Crystal, which charges him to find the other three Warriors.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: Memory of Heroes tones down Luneth's Innocently Insensitive traits, with his recklessness coming from his habit of sacrificing himself for his allies.
• The Berserker: Fitting his reckless nature, his usual job is the Warrior job, which has an ability that sacrifices defense in favor of attack power.
• Blow You Away: He uses wind-based attacks in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.
• Bully Hunter: The children teasing Arc at the beginning of the game flee when they see him, implying that he's this, at least where Arc is concerned.
• Bullying a Dragon: He and Ingus were initially willing to stand their ground against Bahamut (although, just a dragon as far as they knew at the time) in-spite of Desch's warning to run.
• Casting a Shadow: He can use Darkness abilities in Record Keeper and he has a Dark Knight counterpart in Brave Exivus.
• The Chosen One: By the Wind Crystal. Though all of them are, Luneth brings them together.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Purple, derived from his sweater.
• Composite Character:
  • To an degree, he's one to the four Onion Knights from the original game, retaining their backstory and being closest in personality to them. His silver hair with a ponytail also calls to mind the warrior from Amano's artwork for III.
  • In both Record Keeper and Brave Exvius, Luneth vaguely acted as one to Dissidia's Onion Knight prior to the latter joining the games, to the extent of having two of his moves (Swordshower and Blade Torrent) as special moves/Soul Breaks. The Brave Exvius example is a bit more notable as Swordshower is exclusive to Luneth and neither version of Onion Knight nor Onion Knight Refia can use it.
• Constantly Curious: The game opens as he falls through a hole he was investigating, subsequently leading him to the Wind Crystal.
• Cryptic Background Reference: Not nearly as much as Ingus, but a unused scene reveals that he is vaguely aware of once being on an airship. Additionally, in both a scene in the final game and the unused text, he is shown to vaguely remember the airship crash that brought them to the floating continent.
• Deadpan Snarker: Moreso in the unused text (especially towards Refia).
• Déjà Vu: In one of Cid's scenes directly after crashing the airship in Nelv Valley, Luneth gets a feeling that they've done that before suggesting that he has vague memories of the airship crash that made the party orphans. The unused text shows a similar scene in the Wrecked Ship, where Luneth cryptically says that they've seen a destroyed ship before.
• Dual Wielding: He dual-wields, like everyone else, in the opening. His appearance in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius also has him wield a longsword and a knife, and he's one of the few characters in that game to be able to do this innately.
• Fearless Fool: His adventurous nature gets him into trouble a few times.
• Glass Cannon: His usage of the Warrior job makes him one by extension. Brave Exvius runs with this further via his STMR reward: "Luneth's Clothes" gives an impressive attack boost... along with having a singlepoint of defense.
• Guest Fighter: He makes appearances in Pictlogica Final Fantasy (both normal and Viking), Final Fantasy Airbourne Brigade, Final Fantasy Record Keeper, and Final Fantasy Brave Exivus. Additionally, one of Onion Knight's unlockable costumes in Dissidia Final Fantasy and it's sequel gives him Luneth's hairstyle, named Luneth (Luneth-Style in Japan) in Duodecim.
• Headbutting Heroes: A Downplayed example with Refia, which is much more explicit in the unused text where he's prone to teasing her, much to her annoyance.
• The Hero: He's the first character controlled by the player and represents the party.
• Innocently Insensitive: He's not good at tact and either unintentionally insults, or he teases out of place.
• The Leader: A Type III, Headstrong. He leads the others by charging in, and their more mature and/or cautious natures keep him in check.
• Jumped at the Call: Due to his adventurous personality.
• Manly Man and Sensitive Guy: He's the Manly Man to Arc's Sensitive Guy.
• Sailor's Ponytail: He has a ponytail and he's the most adventurous of the group.
• Spell Blade: He can use Spellblade abilities in Record Keeper.
• 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.
• Treasure Hunter: In the unused text, he gets excited over the possibility of treasure, and discussion of it usually makes him more interested in the subject at hand.
• Vague Age: Unlike Arc and Refia, his age never comes up neither in the full game nor the unused text, leaving it unclear just how old he's supposed to be. Presumably however (especially depending on how one interprets his interactions with Aria) he would be around 15 years old.
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • Another Downplayed case with Ingus, once again more explicit in the unused text: While he and Luneth do occasionally look down on the other, though not nearly as much as the opening would lead one to believe, they also hold an amount of respect for each other that Luneth and Refia's relationship lacks.
  • Memory of Heroes plays it more straight between himself and Ingus, due to Ingus being more of a Deadpan Snarker.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Not to the same extent as Refia, but a scrapped running gag would have Luneth be hesitant to board an airship due to getting seasick (airsick?). There is one remnant of this in the final game, but it's so non-specific that it's likely to go over one's head unless they are aware of it in the first place ^note The scene where Desch suggests that the party see Argus about airships, Luneth mutters that he doesn't have fond memories of his last airship ride—which in context, seems like a reference to crashing their last one into a boulder.

Arc

Another orphan raised by Topapa, and Luneth's best friend. Unlike Luneth, he prefers reading over gamboling in the wild. His studies endow him with great knowledge that more than makes up for his shyness.

Luneth's studious best friend, who is also from Ur and raised by Topapa. He tries to prove himself by going to Kazus for proof that there are no ghosts there and is terrified when he finds out the place is cursed, and insists on joining Luneth to become braver.

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• Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed. In a reversal to Refia; while he is usually the Black Mage of the group, Final Fantasy Record Keeper portrayed him as a White Mage, presumably to accommodate for Desch. That said, he still has decent access to Black Magic as well as being heavily proficient in summon magic (which even Onion Knight doesn't have) meaning he doesn't suffer too badly from this trope for it.
• Ascended Extra: In a way, and not quite to the same extent as Ingus, but a skittish NPC camped out on the outskirts of Kazus was absorbed into Arc when he was implemented into the 3D version, possibly serving as the basis for some of Arc's own timidity.
• Badass Bookworm: He's generally seen as the smartest of the quartet. In the unused text strings he's usually the one to give advice on how to handle bosses and is generally the first to realize when something's wrong (such as questioning why Gutsco took the horn in the first place). The image is further increased if one puts him in the Scholar job.
• Badass Longcoat: He wears a overcoat and proves to be strong after his Character Development.
• Big Brother Mentor: He becomes this to Prince Alus of Saronia.
• Black Mage:
  • This is his class of choice in the opening and promotional artwork.
  • He's also one in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, complete with a magic rod and a spell book. He also got a 5* variant that is based explicitly on his Black Mage Job.
• Brainy Brunette: He loves books and learning and he's got brown-hair.
• Character Development: The most clear example of the four, Arc goes from a coward to a hero in his own right. This is best shown by comparing him at the beginning of the game (being bullied by the other kids and needing Luneth to help him) to near the end (practically lead the Light Warriors during Saronia and rescuing Alus from a gang of bullies).
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Green, derived from his coat.
• Curtains Match the Window: Brown eyes, brown hair.
• Cute Bookworm: A male example. Towards the beginning of the game, Arc is shy and needs Luneth to protect him from bullies. He later develops into a Badass Bookworm over the course of the game.
• Foil: To Luneth. His official character blurb draws attention to the differences between them.
• Guest Fighter: Appears in Pictlogica Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Airbourne Brigade, Final Fantasy Record Keeper, and Final Fantasy Brave Exivus.
• Hearing Voices: In Memory Of Heroes, he claims Bahamut spoke to him when none of the other heroes (or at the very least Luneth) seem to hear. During the final battle against the Cloud of Darkness, Bahamut apparently continues to speak to him in this fashion right before Arc summons him.
• Height Angst: It is hinted that Arc is upset with how short he is.
• Jack of All Trades: In Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Arc's able to utilize the three main classes of magic, although he's more suited for White and Summon magic than Black magic.
• Making a Splash: His element in Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a Summoner, when he's not playing the offensive White Mage.
• Manly Man and Sensitive Guy: The Sensitive Guy to Luneth's Manly Man.
• Not So Weak: Especially when he sees Alus being bullied.
• Robe and Wizard Hat: His final upgraded appearance in Brave Exvius gives him this look by combining his overcoat with a Black Mage hat.
• Scarf of Asskicking: It appears in quite a few of his jobs too.
• Shrinking Violet: At first he's very shy and can't stand up for himself. He develops during the Mognet sidequest and especially after meeting Alus.
• The Smart Guy: He's usually the one to explain something, especially in the unused text.
• The So-Called Coward: He's often called a coward by his peers. But he is the first person who goes to Kazus, where it was rumored to be haunted.
• Straw Vulcan: Tells everyone in the beginning that there are no ghosts in Kazus and goes there to prove it. (He is technically right, though.)
• Summon Magic: He has access to summon magic in Record Keeper and he becomes a summoner for the finale of Memory of Heroes.
• White Mage: This is his class in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, unlike most of his appearances where he's the black mage. Downplayed in practice as, while White Magic is still one of his greatest strengths, he has access to summons and, to a lesser extent, black magic.
• Youthful Freckles: He looks the youngest and has freckles to back the image.

Refia

Raised in Kazus by the mythril smith Takka, whose rigorous training led her to run away from home... again.

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese, World of Final Fantasy onward), Mimi Torres (English, World of Final Fantasy onward)

An apprentice blacksmith from Kazus. She escaped the curse by running away and joins Luneth and Arc when they find her in Cid's grounded airship.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Heavily downplayed given that he doesn't necessarily have a crush on her, but in a cut subplot for Duster, a bard was to see Refia as his muse, much to her discomfort.
• Adaptational Badass: Final Fantasy Record Keeper took her Action Girl and blacksmith characterizations even further and turned her into a fire-elemental Barefisted Monk who is one of the strongest physical fighters in the game. On the other hand...
• Adaptational Wimp: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius went the exact opposite way with her White Mage characterization, turning her into one of the best healers in the game whose victory animation involves a chocobo running in from offscreen who Refia then prompty hugs.
  • Later on in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Refia gets a second, "Onion Knight" form (in the same update as Luneth's "Dark Knight" version mentioned above), which brings her back to Adaptational Badass.
• Affirmative Action Girl: She's the second example of a female party member in the group, following Melfi from the manga.
• The Apprentice: Her adopted father Takka is Kazus' local blacksmith and wants her to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, Refia has no interest in smithing and takes a rebellious attitude towards her father's attempts to teach her.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: In addition to possibly being one of these in the game itself, Record Keeper has her as a monk rather than her usual White Mage job.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Blue, derived from her vest.
• Composite Character:
  • The only protagonist from the 3D version to avert this. Refia is the only one of the four not to be based on either the Onion Knights or an already existing NPC.
  • Done in the opposite direction in World of Final Fantasy where she retains her personality, but her story arc is a combination of her backstory and Alus' story arc.
• Cute Bruiser: Never has any qualms or troubles with fighting, and she made it from Kazus to the desert on her own at the beginning of the game. Record Keeper takes it further by making her the Monk of the III realm.
• Fiery Redhead: She may be the Light of Affection, but getting on her bad side is still an unwise idea.
• Guest Fighter: Probably has the most exposure of the 3D version's protagonists; In addition to Pictlogica Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Airbourne Brigade, Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Final Fantasy Brave Exivus, She was a signet in Final Fantasy Dimensions II and she also appeared in the much more mainstream World of Final Fantasy.
• Hair Color Dissonance: Between her artwork, variable shadings of her official renders, and spin-off appearances, her hair color ranges from a light strawberry blond to an deep orange-red.
• Headbutting Heroes: With Luneth. It's much more explicit in the unused text, though shades of it remain in the final game and one of her quotes in Brave Exvius.
• The Heart: She has a warm and caring nature, albeit tempered by a sense of no-nonsense and willingness to tell off those who deserve it.
• Interpretative Character: Due to her many appearances in spinoffs, she has been portrayed with various classes such as a summoner in Final Fantasy Legends II, an Onion Knight in Brave Exvius (though, as a separate unit from Refia normally) and a monk in Record Keeper. That said, she usually uses a class from the White Mage line or a support class.
• In the Hood: She's the only Light Warrior to wear the White Mage hood and one of two to wear the Devout hood (Arc being the other). Her Freelancer/normal outfit also gains a hood after her second promotion in Brave Exvius.
• Missing Main Character: Refia is the only member of the four to temporarily leave the party in the final game ^note The unused text, however, shows that Arc and Alus were meant to temporarily leave during the Saronia plotline. and does so twice: After her initial recruitment, Refia refuses to enter Kazus during the ghost crisis out of fear of facing her father. After the situation is resolved, Takka takes her home and she stays there until Cid asks Takka to make a ram for his airship. Afterwards, she goes to the airship, where she permanently rejoins the party.
• Platonic Life-Partners: She forms a close friendship with Desch, but she also bonds with his girlfriend immediately and tells him off sternly for not treating her better.
• Playing with Fire: Her main element in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is fire.
• Proper Tights with a Skirt: Tights or leggings.
• Related in the Adaptation: In World of Final Fantasy, Refia is Takka's niece as opposed to his adopted daughter. The Bahamutian soldier possessing his body confirms that they are related by blood as well.
• The Runaway: She dodged the Djinn's curse as a result of having ran away from her father to avoid training and her description when she's introduced makes it clear that this is not the first time this has happened. She later runs away again to permanently rejoin the party after making the airship ram, though Takka understands.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only (permanent) girl in the group.
• Suddenly Voiced: As of World of Final Fantasy she is the only one of the four DS characters to actually have an audible voice.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: In the unused dialogue, this is her tactic when she inadvertedly reveals to Sara that the mythril ring used to be hers.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Subverted. Luneth and Arc initially assume that, as a blacksmith's apprentice, Refia could make a mythril ring they could use to end the curse. However, Refia admits that she's not at that skill level due to her disinterest in smithing, and instead points the party in the direction of Castle Sasune.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Slightly inevitable when you're adopted by a blacksmith. Her clothes are frilly while being practical, though, and she takes an interest in Salina's romantic problems.
• Team Mom: It happens when you're the Light of Affection. She both looks after them and tells them off when they misbehave. Unei directly notes this in Memory Of Heroes, although Refia is disgusted by the comparison.
• True Blue Femininity: Her default outfit and job class color are blue and she's the female of the group.
• White Mage: She is portrayed as one in the opening, artwork and in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She hates toads, as she is all too open about expressing whenever the need to transform into them arises. Becomes rather funny if she happens to be the mage who has to cast the spell. When it turns out that the Warriors of Light have to do it again later on, she just kinda hangs her head in resignation. Poor girl.
  Refia: Toads!? I hate toads! Don't turn me into one!

Ingus

A loyal soldier of King Sasune's army, he narrowly escaped the Djinn's curse. His prime concern is finding the missing Princess Sara.

A soldier from Sasune, he's a loyal protector of the throne. He was training outside the castle when the curse struck and joins the other three to find Sara and the Djinn with King Sasune's permission.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: Twofold in Memory of Heroes: First, while generally remaining stoic, he displays more emotion throughout the adaptation. Secondly, he's far snarkier here than in other portrayals, to the point of not being above insulting Luneth.
• Agent Scully: He has a tendency to be skeptical such as expressing disbelief at Desch's memories of why the continent is floating, as well as the idea of the floating continent itself.
• Aloof Ally: Downplayed in the final game, but Ingus is shown at rare moments to exhibit annoyance or frustration at the rest of the group's antics. This is most apparent in the unused text for the Amur Sewers where he admits that he finds them too "soft" to have been chosen by the crystals. He does change his stance after encountering the Four Old Men.
• Amputation Stops Spread: In Memory Of Heroes, as his arm turns to stone thanks to Medusa's bite, Ingus elects to use his knife to shatter the arm and use Refia's Cure magic to regrow it.
• Anime Hair: It looks like he stood with his back to a high-powered fan and applied hairspray.
• Ascended Extra: Unlike the other new Warriors of Light, he actually is present in the original version of the game... as a nameless Sasune soldier who managed to avoid being turned into a ghost due to being away on a mission when the Djinn's curse fell upon the castle. The location in which he's encountered and the means by which he avoided said curse (although with different reasoning) were both retained in the 3D version.
• Badass Cape: After his initial promotion in Brave Exvius, as a result of taking on Red Mage characteristics, Ingus gets a cape for his Freelancer/Normal outfit. He also sports one in several of his home game's job classes.
• Big Brother Mentor: Towards Luneth and Arc especially. In the unused text, he leans closer to a Team Dad.
• Bodyguard Crush: There is a small love story between him and Princess Sara.
• Bullying a Dragon: He and Luneth were willing to stand their ground against Bahamut when it initially appears. It takes Desch's emphasis on how dangerous it is for them to start running.
• Casting a Shadow: He's one of the characters capable of using the "Fell Sword" technique in Pictlogica Final Fantasy and unused text hints that he was initially raised in the Dark Knight village of Falgabard, though whether or not he actually becomes a dark knight is up to the player. He also takes up the position of Dark Knight in Memory of Heroes, though we only see it around the time of Doga and Unei's fight. Inverted in Record Keeper where he is a Knight with access to Holy abilities and White Magic.
• Chick Magnet: Downplayed: There's obviously Sara, but unused text implies that there is a handmaid who secretly pines for him and the dancer in Ur tries to kiss him (though Sara has none of that).
• Childhood Home Rediscovery: In the unused text, Ingus experiences a wave of nostalgia upon arriving in Falgabard, but he doesn't explicitly remember anything and his skeptic nature causes him to resist the party's theories that he grew up there. Even so, he eventually opens to the idea and expresses a desire to return.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Red, derived from his gambeson.
• Consummate Professional: His upbringing as a soldier means that he's significantly more serious and no-nonsense than the rest of the Warriors of Light. This is highlighted mostly in his views of the Four Old Men in Amur, but some scenes in the unused text imply that this attitude extends towards his teammates to a certain extent.
• Cryptic Background Reference: While all four light warriors have a Mysterious Past, unused text for the game only directly touches upon his; In the Cave of The Circle, Doga compares his eyes to those of a dark blade wielder and in Falgabard and the Cave of Shadows (both areas heavily associated with classes that wield dark blades) Ingus expresses familiarity with the area upon arriving.
• Deadpan Snarker: In Memory of Heroes, usually directed at Luneth.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Earth is his main element in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.
• Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: His large jade pendant, which appears on many of his job classes' outfit.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Okay, so they're not that giant, but they are still very poofy.
• Guest Fighter: He appears in Pictlogica Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Airbourne Brigade, Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Final Fantasy Brave Exivus. Additionally, Onion Knight's DLC costume in Dissidia 012 (Duodecim) is based specifically on his outfits (though, in contrast with Luneth's costume, Ingus is not mentioned in the name or description of the DLC pack in the Japanese version of the game.)
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He's the traditional noble knight in shining armour.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: It's implied that he feels powerless when fighting on his own. This aspect is most apparent in the unused text but it's still alluded to in a conversation with Sara, his Trust Mastery quote in Brave Exvius and in Easter Egg dialogue in Record Keeper at the end of the Nemesis battle in the Hall of the Beyond if Y'shtola and Ramza are in the party.
• Humble Hero: He acknowledges that his strength comes from his allies. This is more zigzagged in the unused text where certain moments do portray him in a more arrogant light, something he comes to acknowledge.
• Icy Blue Eyes: While harder to tell on his CG model, his in-game model has gray-blue eyes, befitting his serious nature.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: His relics in Record Keeper generally invoke this, mostly being swords and shields.
• Lady and Knight: White Knight to Sara's Bright Lady. He acts like a Knight in Shining Armor while he's away from Sasune, too.
• The Lancer: He's more experienced and mature than Luneth and the others, being an actual knight rather than some village kid. This is subtly reflected in that he is level 4 when he joins the party, whereas Arc and Refia join at Level 3.
• Magic Knight: In the opening FMV, Ingus ignites his sword and uses it to cast a spell with Arc against the behemoth. He also enchants his sword for his special moves in both Record Keeper and Brave Exvius, though Earth elemental for former and merely swinging it with both hands for the latter.
• Parental Abandonment: Unlike the other three orphans, Ingus is not shown to have foster parents and it is implied that the king is the closest he has to one. Memory of Heroes upgrades this to an Ambiguously Absent Parent, as it is mentioned in passing that he is the adopted son of one of the soldiers, but is otherwise not elaborated on further than that.
• Perpetual Frowner: Outside of a few moments of the opening FMV, he usually has frown on his face. Until the ending.
• The Quiet One: He's not as chatty as the other three. That usually means what he does say is serious.
• Rebel Relaxation: He takes this pose upon winning a battle, adding in a Fist Pump during a level up. Brave Exvius tweaks it to a simple Badass Arm-Fold.
• Red Mage: In the opening, artwork and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Bonus points for the area you meet him in (Castle Sasune) endorsing Red Mages.
• The Reliable One: He has a very solid and imperturbable manner.
• Ship Tease: He has plenty with Princess Sara.
• Spell Blade: As mentioned, he does this in the intro FMV and his Limit Break in Brave Exivus. Zigzagged in Record Keeper where, although he does something similar in his Soul Break animations, Ingus can't actually use Spellblade abilities.
• The Spock: Most apparent in Memory of Heroes right before the fight against Doga and Unei, where he's this role to Luneth's The McCoy: While Luneth gets angry at him for being ready to kill Doga and Unei, Ingus states that he is agreeing with Doga and simply doing what he must.
• The Stoic: While he's not necessarily cold, he's more standoffish than the other three, and his character animations are far more reserved. For one thing, he's the only one who doesn't jump when he levels up.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Sugar around Princess Sara and, to a lesser extent, his friends. Otherwise he acts like The Stoic.
• Team Dad: It's more evident in the unused text, where he's stricter and more no-nonsense, while also showing more care and concern to his fellow light warriors. Actually brought up at one point in the unused Saronia lines where, during a rant, Arc angrily states that Ingus isn't his parent/guardian.
• Vague Age:
  • Much like Luneth, his age doesn't come up in-game nor in unused text, with the closest thing to a hint being that he's 15 years old at minimum ^note In the unused text for Falgabard, Ingus mentions that he's served Sasune since age four. Cid's story places the airship crash at "more than 10 years ago", although the english version translates that as "10 years ago" exactly.. He's implied to be older than the others, both in the way he acts and the fact that he has Ship Tease with Sara who's confirmed to be 21.
  • ''Brave Exvius calls Ingus a "young man" in his description, like Desch and unlike Luneth, Arc and Onion Knight, all of whom are referred to with "young boy".
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Luneth in Memory of Heroes and implied in the opening movie. The actual game doesn't really feature it though.
• Was Too Hard on Him: He feels this way after Arc leaves the party in the unused text for Saronia.
• When She Smiles: One of the few, if only, moments in the game (outside of the intro FMV) where Ingus smiles is during the ending when Princess Sara asks to stay with the him longer instead of being sent back to the castle.

Allies

Sara Altney

The Princess of Sasune, who holds the Mythril Ring that can dispel the Djinn's curse.

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• Adaptational Badass: In Brave Exivus, she's finally given the chance to fully fight alongside others and to go on adventures.
• Adaptational Wimp: Unlike the game where she's enroute to seal the Djinn away, she's trapped in her tower by the Djinn in the manga and while she does prepare to face off against him at one point in the fight, she never gets the chance to do so. In fairness, the Djinn himself is under the opposite trope.
• Blow You Away: She can cast the Aero spell and her ability set in Brave Exvius is primarily themed around wind.
• The Cameo: She appears in the Record Dungeons in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, but has yet to be playable.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: She shows signs of being one during the ending, when a dancer tries to kiss Ingus.
• Damsel in Distress:
  • Subverted. Everyone assumes that she's been kidnapped by the Djinn, because she and the ring are gone. You find her in his lair, on her own and quite un-kidnapped, having decided to go and seal him herself.
  • Played straight in the manga where she's initially trapped in her room by the Djinn.
• Guest Fighter: She appears in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a potential vision.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: The beautiful and noble princess of Sasune obviously bears the right appearance.
• Healing Hands: She may occasionally use a Cure spell and she learns White Magic abilities in Brave Exvius.
• Lady and Knight: Bright Lady to Ingus's White Knight.
• Magic Staff: She uses a scepter in Brave Exvius, both for casting magic and for physical attacks.
• Missing Mom: While the king of Sasune is present, the queen is nowhere to be seen. The Mognet questline in the 3D version heavily implies she is dead.
• Mythology Gag: The second of four Princess Sara(h)s.
• Older Than They Look: Sara is 21, but the 3D version's artstyle doesn't make that entirely clear (which isn't helped with Ingus' Vague Age). Averted elsewhere such as in her artwork or the manga.
• Rich Boredom: While she understands why she can't go, she makes it clear that she would wishes she could accompany the Warriors of Light on their quest. This is especially apparent in the DS version, where one of her Mognet letters directly discusses this trope.
• Ring of Power: Her Mythril Ring will seal the Djinn.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Though she admits to being nervous, she doesn't hesitate to confront the danger to her kingdom.
• Ship Tease: She clearly has a thing for Ingus in the DS version and her lines in Brave Exvius.
• Stripperiffic:
  • In the her Amano artwork, which is the basis for her design in the DS version. Downplayed in that she's well-covered everywhere else, but her outfit still shows her cleavage and her belly button.
  • Played straight in the manga which combines her Famicom leotard with the top half of her Amano outfit.
• Tomboy Princess: Supplementary material suggests that she's more of a tomboy than she may seem. This can be seen in some of her mannerisms, both in the games and in the Memory of Heroes novel.
• Tragic Keepsake: In the DS version's Mognet sidequest, this is why she is desperate to have her pendant fixed: It used to belong to her mother.
• True Companions: With the Warriors of Light in general in the Famicom game and Ingus in particular in the 3D version.
• Warrior Princess: The first of many for this series. When the Djinn curses her kingdom, she initially goes alone to seal him away.
• White Mage: Uses Cure and Aero^note classed as White Magic in this game when she helps in battle. Downplayed in Brave Exvius where she is classified as a Princess, though she still has plenty of white magic abilities.

Cid Haze

A jolly old man who owns an airship. He plays a larger role in the 3D version.

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• Adaptation Origin Connection: In the 3D version, it's revealed that Cid was carrying passengers on his airship as the flood of darkness hit. The resulting crash is only survived by himself and the four children that would go on to become the Warriors of Light. By contrast, the Famicom version gives no indication that Cid used to live on the surface.
• Ascended Extra:
  • In the 3D version, He is significantly important to the backstory of the four orphans, namely being the reason why they are on the floating continent to begin with.
  • For much of the manga, he pilots the party's Global Airship.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Cid's expertise with airships comes in handy when the party needs to upgrade their boat. And there's his role in the four orphans backstory in the 3D version.
• Cool Airship:
  • He owns an airship by the time the game starts, although it's arguably a Subversion as it's the least impressive of the airships the party will use over the course of the game.
  • The manga interprets Cid's airship as a an fantastical sailboat, rather than the galleon of the games.
• Cool Old Guy: He' a lively old man who builds airships.
• Cool Shades: He also has a pair of goggles sitting on his hat.
• Cryptic Background Reference:
  • In the original Famicom game, talking to Cid after he upgrades the boat has him mention that he used to make airships for King Argus. The 3D version transfers the dialogue to a soldier in Castle Argus, who instead says that Cid and the king are old friends who used to do airship research.
  • In the 3D version, the Saronia engineers mention a "genius engineer" of Saronia who resurrected the Nautilus and mentions that said inventor was on an airship when the Flood of Darkness hit before wondering what happened to him. These seem to point to Cid being that engineer. The english version states that Cid "invented" the Nautilus and calls him an engineer of the "Saronia of Old", which raises some questions.
• The Engineer: He owns an airship and helps to upgrade the Enterprise into an airship. An NPC in Saronia also hints that he resurrected the Nautilus.
• Guest Fighter: He appears as a party member in the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy series.
• Happily Married: To his wife, who is known as "Mrs. Cid" rather than Haze for some reason.
• Helicopter Pack: In the manga, his backpack has a propeller that allows it to junction as a flight device.
• Legacy Character: There's an old guy named Cid and big shocker, he owns an airship. Go figure.
• Playing with Fire: In the 3D version, he can cast Fira to attack enemies.
• True Companions: With the Warriors of Light in general in the original and the 3D version (though when Doga summons everyone else to break the Curse of the Five Wyrms, Cid specifically mentions Luneth).

Desch

Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (Japanese, Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia onward)

A man suffering from amnesia, he accompanies the heroes to try and find his lost memories.

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• Adaptation Origin Connection: A subtle case that only comes up once Fridge Logic sets in: The 2D version's Books of Owen were set long before the events of the game and reveal that Desch was frozen right during the Wrath of Light. The 3D version's Books of Owen, on the other hand are implied to have been written somewhat recently, ending as Owen and Desch leave for "the test site"; Implied to be what would become the Floating Continent. Thus, Desch being frozen in order to guard the Tower of Owen is a direct result of Xande unleashing the flood of darkness.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Ziggzagged in the manga. On one hand, he doesn't use magic nor his sword. On the other, he's able to chop down a tree barehanded, so he doesn't really need them.
  • Memory of Heroes skips the Nepto Shrine by revealing that Desch had previously helped the vikings out of a situation of their own. While details aren't given, one with knowledge of the games is left to assume that the situation in question was the Nepto Shrine scenario.
• Adaptational Villainy: Initially in the manga, Desch appears to be villainous, commanding flocks of birds to attack the protagonists as well as brainwashing people, including Muuchi. However, it's later Subverted when it is revealed that he himself was brainwashed by a monster and he promptly begins acting more like his game counterpart.
• Black Mage: His class in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, deriving from his use of the Thundara spell when acting as a guest in the party.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: He's under the influence of a monster in the manga and can, in turn, use his birds to brainwash others, including Muuchi.
• Cool Sword: Desch is shown to have a curved sword in his Amano artwork (and implied in dialogue, for the Pixel Remaster, at least) and he actually uses it for his physical attacks in the 3D version. Notably, unlike Cid who uses a generic hammer, Desch wields a distinct sword that only he can use; It would go on to become his signature weapon in later appearances ^note While Desch's sword can be hacked into the item menu via a cheat device, it is impossible to actually equip it..
• Costume Evolution: His outfit has been tweaked numerous times:
  • The original Amano artwork had him in a jumpsuit with pads on his shoulder and brown hair. This appearance is the basis for his design in Opera Omnia. Additionally, the Famicom version, presumably due to a limited palette, makes his outfit green instead of the traditional purple.
  • The manga translated the jumpsuit as a robe and gave Desch a hat. He gets a different outfit and a different hat upon being freed from his brainwashing.
  • The 3D version translates his jumpsuit as a coat, gives him blue-ish hair and adds a strange device to his left shoulder, presumably to allude to his status as a Gadgeteer Genius.
• Disney Death: Desch throws himself into the boiler of the Tower of Owen, with his fate being ambiguous at best and clearly dead at worst. When Doga calls the Warriors of Lights' companions, he arrives just in time for Desch to climb back up, having narrowly fixed the tower.
• Feathered Fiend: In the manga, he has the ability to command birds, which he uses to attack the Warriors of Light. Subverted when he returns to normal as he's shown to retain the ability.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Along with the information that he and his father are Older Than They Look, Saronia Library also provides some examples of their trivial inventions other than the tower, such as three of the four Global Airships that the party use in the course of Final Fantasy III.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: He fights with his fists in the manga, unlike in the 3D version.
• Guest Fighter: He appears in not only Final Fantasy Record Keeper, but Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia as well.
• Handsome Lech:
  • The first thing he says after they gain the Enterprise? That now they can meet 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.
  • Record Keeper actually makes this a mechanic: Specifically, Desch's Awakening is one of the few that gets stronger depending on how many girls are on the team.
  • Opera Omnia once more touches upon this aspect in his character event. Onion Knight teases him by threatening to tell Salina, and almost tells the rest of the party before Desch backs down.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • He throws himself into the boiler of the Tower of Owen in order to fix it. He doesn't die, however.
  • In the manga, he fuses with the Queen Tree to restore the surface world. Unlike his game counterpart however, he doesn't come back.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Can't remember anything but his name. Later revealed to be The Fog of Ages; his extended hibernation messed up his memories.
• Magic Knight: He uses either a sword or a Thunder spell when he appears in battle.
• Older Than He Looks: The more he climbs the Tower of Owen, the more memories he unlocks; including the memories 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 belonged to the Ancients, a race that went into hiding after their actions 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.
• The Pollyanna: He doesn't let his amnesia keep him down and is usually jovial while he's with the party. It's only once he starts to remember his duty as the guardian of the Tower of Owen that he begins to get serious.
• Sailor's Ponytail: Desch is an adventurous vagabond and has a ponytail to aid the image. It actually seems to be one of the more consistent aspects of his design.
• Shock and Awe: He can potentially cast Thundara when he appears in battle and as a result, this is his main element in Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia.
• Suddenly Voiced: Opera Omnia is the first time he has had a (Japanese) voice.
• True Companions: With the Warriors of Light in general in the Famicom version, Refia in particular in the 3D version and with Onion Knight in Opera Omnia.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: In the manga, during a fight with the Warriors of Light, Desch's shirt rips in two as he proceeds to give them a beat down.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Desch's character design in the manga is very different from the games, even after he's rescued.
  • Amano's alternative design for Desch is unrecognizable, even compared to the manga.

Aria Benett

A young girl who lives on the surface world and accompanies the party.

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• Adapted Out: She does not appear in the manga, though Alus' manga counterpart has similar elements to her.
• Dub Name Change: From Elia to Aria.
• Force Field: She Has a Protect spell.
• Guest Fighter:
  • She appears as a party member in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.
  • She appears as a potential vision in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Sweet, slightly ethereal, pure-hearted priestess who has flowing golden hair.
• Healing Hands: She can cast a Cure Spell.
• 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 The Chosen Ones finally come, she's already dying and bed-ridden.
• Leitmotif: She's notable for being the first character in a Final Fantasy game to have her own theme music.
• Making a Splash: Her method of attacking in Brave Exvius is to create a wave of water.
• Mysterious Waif: She seems a bit delicate and acts a bit mystical, referring to the "light" the heroes have in them.
• Sacrificial Lamb: She leaves the party by dying.
• Taking the Bullet: She takes a poison arrow meant for the party—specifically for Luneth in the 3D version. There's a boss battle and an earthquake immediately after, so they can't save her in the chaos.
• White Mage: Both of her spells are White Magic (Protect and Cura). She also takes this role in Record Keeper. Fittingly, she has a long white dress.

Alus Restor

The young prince of Saronia who was exiled by his own father. The party finds him being mocked in a pub.

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• Adaptational Wimp: Zigzagged; Memory of Heroes doesn't have him contribute to the fight against Garuda like he can do so in the 3D version (not that the warriors need it), but he begins to draw his sword against the ruffians mocking him in the tavern, implying he can fight to some degree.
• Age Lift: He seems to be a teenager in the manga rather than a child like in the game. Either that or he's Younger Than He Looks.
• All-Encompassing Mantle: Especially during his entrance◊ in the manga.
• Bad Ass Long Robe: "Badass" maybe not, but Alus does wear a large mantle in his Amano artwork and the manga. The 3D version changes it to a simpler cape.
• Battle Boomerang: His weapon, which can be seen on his back.
• Blow You Away: He can cast Aero spell.
• The Cameo: In Final Fantasy Record Keeper though much more indirectly than Sara: The Famicom gameplay videos seen in Arc's Heavenly Rains soul break are from the Saronia stretch of the game; namely, while Alus is in the party.
• A Child Shall Lead Them: He ascends the throne after his father's death.
• Composite Character: In the manga, he retains his role of being the prince of Solados, but him being a guide to the surface for the Warriors of Light, him being the Last of His Kind, and his apparent death make him closer to Aria than to his game counterpart.
• Confusion Fu: He may cast the Confuse spell during battle.
• Cool Sword: In his Amano artwork only, although Memory of Heroes shows he has one anyway.
• Depending on the Artist: Not quite to Desch's extremes, but still very noticeable:
  • The 2D versions depicts Alus as wearing a large coat with a crown (tilted in his portrait sprite) and, due to the Famicom's limited palette, a red and white color scheme. The Pixel Remaster gives Alus a color palette in line with his other appearances, except for his hair now being blonde.
  • The Amano artwork gives Alus purple clothes with a orange mantle, a sheath on his back and white hair. Alus' skintone is also noticeably colored compared to other characters Amano draws.
  • The 3D version takes cues from Amano's design, although it replaces the mantle with a simple cape.
  • Alus wears a very different outfit in the manga, both in his flashback and in the present, on top of the apparent Age Lift. While he does keep his mantle, the manga changes Alus' overall color scheme to red (mantle), blue (clothes) and brown (hair). The thing on his back is also more clearly shown to be a sheath for some kind of knife.
• The Exile: You meet him being bullied because his father had banished him and stripped him of his title, and nobody thinks he's the real prince.
• Last of His Kind: In the manga, he's the only remaining citizen of Solados after its destruction. This does not last either.
• Missing Mom: Alus' mother is never brought up during the main Saronia plotline. It's only by talking to an NPC afterwards that it is learned that she is dead.
• The Power of Love: The only thing that prevents King Gorn from killing his own son.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Although he's a bit lost for what to do after his banishment, he quickly takes the opportunity to try and help his father.
• True Companions: With the Warriors of Light in general in the Famicom version and Arc in particular in the 3D version. This is alluded to both in Record Keeper with Arc's Heavenly Rains soul break and in Brave Exvius via one of Black Mage Arc's passives.
• White Mage: He uses the Confuse and Aero spells, when appearing in battle.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Despite being 10, he takes the affairs of his kingdom seriously. When he ascends the throne after his father's death, he seems to fit comfortably into role of king.
• The Wise Prince: He's deeply troubled by his father's behavior and where it will lead the kingdom. After his father's death, he becomes The Good King.

Doga and Unei

Doga

Unei

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.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Both of them in the manga. Downplayed for Doga who merely looks younger, played straight for Unei who has her game appearance for all of one page before transforming into her Hotter and Sexier younger design.
• The Archmage: Doga is the most powerful mage in the world, courtesy of Noah.
• Big Fancy House: Doga owns a manor which is staffed entirely by his moogles. It also has a grotto where Doga and Unei go to create the key to Eureka. Memory of Heroes suggests that it used to be Noah's.
• Big Good:
  • They act as one for the final leg of the story, guiding the Light Warriors to their final battle with Xande and aiding them in various ways.
  • In the album Final Fantasy III: Eternal Legend of the Wind, Doga is said to be the voice of the wind, guiding the Warriors of Light in their journey.
• Black Mage: Doga sticks to black magic when he joins the party.
• Cool Old Guy: Doga. Emphasis on "old"
• Cool Old Lady: Unei shoves her way into the party and casually detonates boulders.
• Dream Walker: Noah gave Unei power of the dreamscape, which is implied to involve this. The 3D version outright confirms it by having her visit Luneth while he is unconscious.
• Dual Boss: They force the party to fight them in succession.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Unei appears to the party after the fight with Kraken, just before they wake up in the restored surface world.
• Evil Knockoff: Clones of their boss forms populate the Ancients Maze (Unei) and the Crystal Tower (Doga), both on their own or summoned by enemies.
• Familiar: Unei's parrot is implied to be one. It even speaks!
• Guest Fighter: Both of them appear as potential visions in Brave Exvius.
• Holy Hand Grenade: Unei uses Holy.
• Inconsistent Spelling: "Doga" and "Unei" is sometimes romanized as "Dorga" and "Une".
• I Was Quite a Looker: Both of them in manga, but especially Unei◊.
• Leitmotif: One that has several names, but is usually referred to as Doga and Unei or Let Me Know The Truth. It plays in areas related to them and makes a few recurring appearances throughout the series, particularly for their counterparts in Final Fantasy XIV. The "Eternal Legend of the Wind" album adds lyrics to it, as part of the song "Their Spiritual Leader".
• Mythology Gag: Unei's younger appearance in the manga is based on an unused Amano design for her.
• Never Mess with Granny: Unei. When Luneth tries to suggest that she take it easy, she slaps him down in short order.
• One-Winged Angel: Both of them take on monstrous forms when they fight the Warriors.
• Playing with Fire: Doga casts Flare and Firaga.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: They're fighting to kill the party in the dual boss fight, and there's no break to heal in between. But if the Warriors of Light can't manage that, there's no way they'd be able to take on the marathon final dungeon.
• Time Master: Unei, who can cast Haste.
• White Mage: Unei's spells are from the White Magic side, though she deals in buffs and Holy.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Doga and Unei agree that the gift Xande received from Noah, the gift of Mortality, was the greatest of them all. Xande disagrees.
• Wizard Classic: Doga ticks most of the boxes: He wears robes, is very old, inherited great magical power from Noah and lives in a manor, filled with books and staffed only by moogles, that is the only point of interest on the continent that it's on. Said manor is also guarded by fierce winds that only an airship like the Nautilus can hope to get through.

Noah

A famous and powerful sage who was the master of Doga, Unei, and Xande.

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• Greater-Scope Paragon: He was the teacher of Doga and Unei, who went on to assist the Warriors of Light in their fight against Noah's rogue student Xande. He was also said to be able to use all forms of magic and sealed Leviathan and Bahamut on the Floating Continent, as he was the only one at the time who could summon them.
• Jack of All Trades: It's hinted that the Sage job is based upon him, as he was able to cast from all three schools of magic.
• Mono no Aware: It's hinted that he had this view, especially in unused dialogue for the 3D version, which led him to gift Xande his mortality.
• Posthumous Character: He died long before the beginning of the game, but his actions hold a lot of influence even in the present day.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Giving Xande the gift of mortality was not Noah’s best decision, inadvertently causing his former student to go mad and freeze time by flooding the world in darkness to avoid dying.

Warriors of Darkness

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.

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• Adapted Out: They don't appear in the manga adaptation, while the monsters they were turned into end up as cannon fodder.
• Ascended Extra: Memory of Heroes has them partake in the final battle alongside their light counterparts.
• Big Damn Heroes: In Memory of Heroes, when the Warriors of Light are overwhelmed by the Cloud of Darkness, they arrive to save them in a complete reversal of the games.
• Black Knight: They're benevolent versions. Despite their armor and representing darkness, they're certainly good guys.
• The Chosen Many: Just like their light-based counterparts, although they were summoned by the Dark Crystals.
• Dark Is Not Evil: They are definitely heroic and readily help the current generation once freed.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Their appearances in both versions of the game were not unique and it was unclear if they even had the ability to use jobs. Memory of Heroes makes their party into a Sage, a Ninja, a Black Belt and a Knight.
• Forced Transformation: They had been turned into the monsters Cerberus, Echidna, Ahriman, and the Two-Headed Dragon.
• Hero of Another Story: They were the ones who fought against the flood of light years ago. While they're only personally encountered at the end of the game, they're constantly mentioned in regards to the setting's backstory.
• 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.
  • In the unused text, Doga notes that the Warriors of Darkness supposedly died trying to stop the flood of light. Whether or not they actually did and the ones encountered at the end of the game are their spirits in some form or if they were just transformed into the dark crystal bosses is not clear.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Like the Warriors of Light, whether their exact title is "Warriors of Dark" or "Warriors of the Dark" varies between translations.
• Noodle Incident: Unused text for the 3D version has both Desch and Doga reveal the sun used to revolve around the Earth, but now it's the other way around. The implication, especially from Desch's words, is that the Flood of Light caused the sun to stop moving and whatever the Warriors of Darkness did to stop it cause the Earth to start moving instead.
• Sealed Good in a Can: In the Memory of Heroes adaptation, they were unable to fully beat back the Cloud of Darkness and instead kept it bound. The Warriors of Light getting pulled in gives them the opportunity to beat it back for good.
• Walking Spoiler: They're mentioned numerous times in the backstory, but only show up in person at the very end of the game.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: It takes the powers of both Light and Dark to defeat Cloud of Darkness this time around.

The Legendary Smith

A famous smith who travels the world in search of new metals. The Warriors of the Light meet her while searching for a means of repairing Princess Sara's broken pendant and she agrees to fix it in return for the party bringing her any Orichalcum that they happen upon.

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• Canon Foreigner: She's the only character aside from the protagonists to be created for the remake. Specifically, she's linked to the remake-exclusive Mognet sidequests.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": If she has a name, no one knows it. She simply introduces herself as "a wandering smith" or variations of such.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: She puts her work above all else. She outright says that money does not interest her when Ingus tries to pay her and even her desire for Orichalcum is rooted more in simply wanting to make something out of it, as she makes it clear she'll hand over whatever she makes to the party.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: She's able to repair Sara's pendant where Takka couldn't and she uses the Orichalcum to make the Ultima Weapon. She also hands the party extremely powerful equipment whenever they master a job.
• Walking the Earth: Takka's letter describing her states that she wanders the world. She moves from Northwestern Saronia to Falgabard between encounters with the party and afterwards she randomly appears in different places across the world. Interestingly, she can show up on both the Floating Continent and the surface, as well as in certain unexpected places.

Villains

Xande

"Once you are gone, eternal life will be mine!"

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese, Dissidia Opera Omnia onward)

The third student of Noah who trained with Doga and Unei. While Doga and Unei got great powers 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.

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• Adaptation Expansion: While his backstory remained mostly intact, the DS version explains why Xande was summoning the Cloud of Darkness: He accidentally did so while trying to stop time in a bid to regain his immortality and fell under its influence. This was presumably done due to a different interpretation of Xande's motives.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: In an indirect fashion; late in the 3D version, Doga reveals that Xande's magic while attempting to stop time was what created the floating continent. By contrast, two of the books in the Saronia library in Famicom version explicitly notes that it was Owen's technology that lifted the continent; The 3D versionsimply implies that Owen's tech controls it instead. Additionally, Cid's story implies that the flood of darkness Xande unleashed as a result of his magic is responsible for the crash that put the orphans on the floating continent.
• Adaptational Sympathy: The 3D version makes some rewrites to make Xande more sympathetic; His status as Doga and Unei's Evil Former Friend is played up a bit more, Xande's motives are clearly said to be an attempt at regaining his immortality and his resulting Motive Decay is due to being Brainwashed and Crazy due to the Cloud of Darkness, his mirror trap is toned down from trying to feed the protagonists to wyrms to merely freezing them in place and in one skit, Luneth acts as an Audience Surrogate by sympathizing with Xande in regards to being turned mortal.
• The Archmage: He's not as powerful as Doga, but he's still a very powerful mage.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
  • One piece of Amano artwork for Xande depicts him as tall enough to hold the Warrior in his hand.
  • In the manga, he's so big that the heroes fight him from on top of floating platforms.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • He will occasionally use Libra to scan the party during his boss fight. That said, it averts it from a gameplay perspective as this mostly just equates to a wasted turn for Xande.
  • Brave Exvius acknowledges this with Xande's Ancient Libra move, which boosts the power of his Ancient Darkga and Ancient Stonga moves, along with reducing an enemy's SPR.
  • Opera Omnia once again gives him "Libra", though this time, it functions as an actual attack.
• Big Bad: For most of the story, he appears to be this. However...
• Big Bad Wannabe: He turns out to be an Unwitting Pawn of the Cloud of Darkness in the game. Averted in the manga, where he's the final enemy that the heroes face.
• Blessed with Suck: Xande makes it quite clear through his actions that this is how he sees Noah's "gift" of mortality. He just wants to be spared his impending death by old age.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: It's stated by one of the Warriors of Darkness that Xande fell under the Cloud of Darkness' control at some point.
• Climax Boss: The Big Bad is the first of 6 bosses encountered after passing the game's Point of No Return.
• Clone Army: One of the Famicom strategy guides explains the Doga and Unei clones as a result of Xande using their cells.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Garland and the Emperor were mortal men with connections to royalty (being a knight and, er, respectively) who sought to conquer the world. Xande was the apprentice of a powerful mage who granted him mortality, prompting Xande to turn to darkness. The game also explicitly explains Xande's reasons for his fall compared to Garland (whose motive for kidnapping Sarah is primarily explained in supplementry material) or the Emperor (whose reasoning goes unexplained nor is given any indication outside of "conquest"). While both prior villains go on to transform into stronger forms after their initial defeats, Xande dies after the battle and he is not the Final Boss. Finally, Garland and the Emperor have significant connections to the main protagonists (the former trapping them into a time loop where they kill each other over and over, the latter burning down their hometown and separating one of them from the others) and encounter them at least once prior to the final battle; Xande has no direct connection or impact to the protagonists of the original version and remains in the Crystal Tower until the Warriors of Light reach him.
• Create Your Own Hero: In the 3D version, Xande's attempt at flooding the world with darkness inadvertedly launches one of the continents of the world into the air, creating a place unaffected by the Time Stop that the future Warriors of Light just so happen to crash onto.
• Degraded Boss: Four clones of him can be found in chests in the World of Darkness guarding Ribbons. Keep in mind that this is shortly after the party foughts the real Xande.
• Demoted to Extra: Despite being the Big Bad for most of the game, Xande mostly appears in side materials as a throwaway boss or merely a name-dropped reference, with III's villain representation usually going to the Cloud of Darkness.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Brave Exvius and Opera Omnia give him several ground-based moves, presumably to allude to his use of the Earth Crystal to cause the flood of darkness in the Famicom version of the game.
• Evil Former Friend: Xande, Doga and Unei were all students of Noah prior to the start of the game. The fact that Doga's moogles refer to Xande as "Master Xande" and Unei tells the Warriors of Light to save Xande suggests that they still view him as their friend.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: In the DS version, at least; Xande initially flooded the world with darkness out of desperation to stop time and regain his immortality. Unfortunately, he accidentally calls the Cloud of Darkness into existence and, simply put, things don't end well for him.
• Evil Sorcerer: He comes complete with a tower.
• Face–Heel Turn: It's said that Xande used to be a good person and Noah's gift of mortality drove Xande over the edge. The 3D version goes even further by having the Warriors of Darkness reveal that Xande had not intentionally summoned the Cloud of Darkness, and fell under its control, calling into question how much of his actions when the party confronts him are of him in his right mind.
• Generic Doomsday Villain: Downplayed: Xande was the first Final Fantasy antagonist with something resembling a complex motive, but his actual screentime is less than the thing that hijacks him, and while Doga and Unei explain why he's doing what he is, it's never explained what his overall end goal is beyond triggering a flood of darkness. The 3D version goes the Tragic Villain route by portraying him as desperate to avoid dying to the point of triggering the flood and his calling the Cloud of Darkness being an accident.
• Good Old Fisticuffs:
  • Xande's physical attack is portrayed in the 3D version has him smacking the Warriors of Light over the head with a double hammerfist.
  • Memory of Heroes has him gather up darkness in his hand and effectively punch a hole in Ingus' torso.
• Guest Fighter:
  • Xande appears as a vision in Brave Exivus. This is especially notable as it marks the second time Xande appears outside of his usual boss role (the first being the comparatively-obscure Pictlogica Final Fantasy).
  • Xande appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia as a party member. Curiously, unlike most of the other villains, he joins as his introduction to the story, rather than after.
• Immortals Fear Death: His main motivation. He was once an immortal, but he was given the gift of mortality by his master. He is willing to do anything to keep himself from dying. Up to and including flooding the world with darkness and freezing time for anyone, himself included. So long as he can prevent himself from dying, he's willing to make any sacrifice.
• Inconsistent Spelling: While the official translations call him Xande, the SOM2Freak NES fan translation calls him Zande.
• Magic Staff: It hovers. In Memory of Heroes and Brave Exvius incorporate it into his fighting style while the 3D version implies that he uses it for magic only.
• Motive Decay: He initially flooded the world with darkness in order to stop time and avoid dying. By the time the Light Warriors defeat him, he no longer cares about achieving immortality and isn't troubled as he dies, due to summoning the Cloud of Darkness into the world. Justified, as it later turns out that he fell under its control.
• Older Than They Look: Unlike his fellow students, Xande doesn't seem to have aged as much as Doga and Unei who look elderly. It seems to go beyond just appearance too, as Doga and Unei seem to be in poor health in their old age and transform into more monsterous forms to fight the party while Xande himself shows no such issues.
• Orcus on His Throne: He spends the majority of the game up in the Crystal Tower (it probably has a heck of a view), with most of his influence being felt through Doga, Unei and his minions.
• Out of Focus: Despite being the Big Bad for most of the game, and having a more sympathetic and developed backstory and motivation than Garland or the Emperor, Xande has been eclipsed by the Cloud of Darkness in the larger Final Fantasy franchise as the villain representative of III. It wasn't until the later 2010s that games like XIV, Brave Exvius, and Opera Omnia, that he began to nudge his way back to prominence, but the Cloud of Darkness still appears more frequently and is given greater importance than him.
• Power Floats: While the original sprite left it ambiguous, Xande is portrayed as floating during his fight in the 3D version and later interpretations such as Brave Exvius and Opera Omnia have him take flight during most of his attacks.
• Red Baron: During the battle with Xande, he is identified as "Maou Xande". However, this is dropped in the english translations of both the 3D version and the pixel remaster. Spinoffs like Brave Exvius and Opera Omnia do allude to it though, translating it as "Demon King".
• Reused Character Design: Not so in the games, but in the manga, Xande's design is based on the scrapped Guardian summon by Amano.
• Sorcerous Overlord: A number of the bosses that the Warriors of Light face are acting under his orders.
• Suddenly Voiced: Not counting his Eorzea counterpart, Opera Omnia marks the first time Xande is voiced in a Final Fantasy game.
• Unwitting Pawn: He is this to the Cloud of Darkness.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: For a sorcerer, he is really buff.
• Walking Spoiler: You don't get his backstory until the second half of the game, nor his motives until the final dungeon and the only time you meet him in person is right before said final dungeon. Until those points, Xande's presence is felt through his minions.
• What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: The motivation for his actions. Doga and Unei get great magical powers, Xande gets to not be an immortal anymore. While Doga and Unei believe that Xande got the best gift of them all, Xande himself disagrees and attempts to undo it.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The guy used to be an immortal sorcerer who had his immortality taken from him while Doga and Unei got more power than ever. You'd probably be a bit upset too.
• You Don't Look Like You: In the manga, he uses the scrapped Guardian summon design rather than his own. Additionally, unlike characters like Unei or Desch, who either vaguely resemble their used designs or featured them briefly, Xande's normal design never appears in the manga.

Djinn

"Hah hah hah hah! Your bauble has no power over me now that I am infused with the power of darkness!"

An ancient evil spirit who was released by the same earthquake that dropped the Onion Knights/Luneth into the cave containing the Wind Crystal. He turns the people of Kazus and Castle Sasune into ghosts, and defeating him to lift this curse becomes the first major objective of the newly formed Light Warriors.

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• Adaptational Badass: In the manga, he goes from a Starter Villain Warm-Up Boss to a Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever Person of Mass Destruction.
• Adapted Out: The Final Fantasy III portion of Memory of Heroes begins right after he's been resealed.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He's gigantic in the manga. At best, Muuchi only reaches up to his thigh. At worst, his foot.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Princess Sara mentions that since the Djinn is a fire elemental, he's vulnerable to ice magic. In fact it only takes 2 uses of Antarctic Wind items to defeat him.
• Genie in a Bottle: Since he's a spirit, the Djinn can't be killed. The only way to get rid of him is to seal him inside a mythril ring.
• No-Sell: When Sara tries to seal him with her mythril ring, it initially doesn't work because the Djinn has powered himself up with the power of darkness. It works the second time after the Light Warriors weakened him by beating him up.
• Person of Mass Destruction: He destroys much of Castle Sasune in the manga during his fight with the Light Warriors.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Was sealed away by the Warriors of Darkness 1000 years ago, but got released by the same earthquake that starts your adventure. He ends up in this state once again after you beat him.
• Starter Villain: He's the first storyline villain you deal with; he's also fought after you gather all four party members (in the DS version) but before you get the crystal's power and the ability to class change.

Giant Rat

"Squeeek!!! Who you be? You no take shiny, squeek!"

An enormous rat that steals one of the ruby eyes off the Nepto Dragon statue and hides it in its nest underneath the Nepto Temple, refusing to give it back without a fight.

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• Climax Boss: Defeating it and restoring the statue gives you access to the Enterprise, allowing for water travel across the Floating Continent's seas.
• Intellectual Animal: Is capable of limited speech and can cast Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder in battle.
• Square-Cube Law: Technically only classifies as "giant" due to it being slightly bigger than Wererat enemies and your party fighting it while miniaturized. It also unfortunately means that physical attacks are useless against it and you can die easier to its own, even moreso in the DS version as it can attack twice in one turn.
• You Dirty Rat!: A large, slightly intelligent greedy rat that steals an eye off the Nepto Dragon's statue, causing said dragon to go berserk and the vikings much grief because of it.
• You No Take Candle: Speaks this way, even almost saying the exact phrase for the trope.

Gutsco the Rogue

"Haw haw haw! I have the power of fire! I can feel it coursing through my veins! But it's not enough! I must defeat you, those who've been blessed with the light, to gain the true power of the crystal of fire! Now...die!"

A thief who seeks to steal the power of the Fire Crystal. The Warriors of Light initially fight him while he's trying to steal the horns of ice needed to safely pass through the volcano where the Fire Crystal is located. Although defeated, he follows them by disguising himself as a shadow and manages to steal the horns anyway, using them to get to the Fire Crystal just before the Warriors do and steals its power, transforming into the fiery Salamander.

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• Ambiguously Human: It's not entirely clear what Gutsco is. He's got grey skin, white hair, and seems to be wearing a giant living snake as a toga. In the DS version he's also got wings.
• One-Winged Angel: In your second encounter with him, he uses the power of the Fire Crystal to transform into Salamander to fight you.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: He wears a giant snake as a toga. He also uses the power of the Fire Crystal to transform into the giant reptile Salamander. In the DS version his snake and Salamander have identical coloration and scales, which might indicate some kind of connection.
• Winged Humanoid: He has a pair of wings in the DS version.

Sorcerer Hein

"Ahh...the power of darkness is a thing of beauty, a black tapestry of chaos! A tapestry on which I shall paint an all-encompassing nocturne! With this fortress, Argus's soldiers, and the power of darkness... I will rule the world! Time to die!"

A former advisor to King Argus. Hein eventually staged a coup, kidnapping and brainwashing the members of Castle Argus and transforming the Elder Tree into a floating fortress. He is confronted by the party after they are captured in Tokkul and taken to his castle.

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• Adaptational Badass: He has Shiva and Ifirit at his beck and call in the manga adaptation. When they stop fighting for him, he forcibly fuses with them and goes One-Winged Angel.

• Agent Peacock: Hein's outfit is quite extravagant, looking rather like a rainbow-colored pirate outfit.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's not clear if he's another agent of Xande, or just an unaffiliated sorcerer trying to make a power grab of his own. When you confront him he simply mentions having become more powerful by tapping into the power of darkness, much like the Djinn did. Some NPC dialogue and Brave Exvius suggests that it was the latter, indirectly caused by the earthquake.
• Arc Villain: Hein is basically one for the Floating Continent. You learn about him causing trouble at several different locations after gaining the Enterprise and the ability to explore the entire Floating Continent, but don't actually confront him until quite a bit later when you're actually almost ready to leave the Floating Continent for the surface world.
• Barrier Change Boss: The first boss to do this in the series and one of, if not the, first instances in gaming: Hein's ability, Barrier Shift, allows him to change his elemental weakness.
• Climax Boss: Downplayed. He's the last boss to be fought before the Warriors of Light can leave the Floating Continent and learn of their origin in the DS version but he doesn't have much plot significance on his own. Instead, the first boss to be fought after leaving the Floating Continent, Kraken, is the significant one.
• Dem Bones: He's a skeleton. It's unclear if he was always one or if he was disguised while he was an advisor of King Argus (much like Gigameth). Brave Exvius gives the implication that he used to be human.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: His betrayal of Argus is a result of the earthquake at the beginning of the game giving him the power of darkness, corrupting him into the form he is today.
• Evil Chancellor: Much like Gigameth, he was an advisor to King Argus before overthrowing him and taking over.
• Evil Sorcerer: His title is Sorcerer and he fits the "Evil" part of the bill quite nicely.
• Guest Fighter: Hein is a vision in Final Fantasy Brave Exivus.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Some sources give his name as "Hyne".
• Meaningful Name: He's named after Magere Hein, the Dutch name for the Grim Reaper.
• One-Winged Angel: In the manga, he transforms as a result of a Fusion Dance between himself, Ifirit and Shiva.
• Slouch of Villainy: Does this in the DS version while sitting on his throne.
• Take Over the World: His ultimate goal, using his floating fortress and Argus' army.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Most of the Scholar's use, especially in the Famicom version, comes from the battle against Hein: Due to Hein's Barrier Shift, the Scholar's "Scan" ability is much more useful here than it is normally.
• Villain of Another Story: He's not clearly connected to Xande and, if one believes Brave Exvius, his takeover was more of a side-effect of the earthquake than anything else.
• Villainous Breakdown: In Memory Of Heroes, he doesn't take the Warriors of Light's constant counters to his Barrier Shift very well. By the end of the fight he's reduced to screaming "WHY?" over and over again.

Goldor

"You will not take my crystal! Instead, you will take a sound thrashing!"

A wealthy citizen of Amur who lives in a giant gold manor. Upon learning the Warriors of Light are going around absorbing the power of the elemental crystals, he chains up their airship with a giant gold chain under the mistaken belief that they're planning to take his precious gold crystal.

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• Adapted Out: His plotline is cut in Memory Of Heroes.
• Big Fancy House: He lives in a mansion made of gold. This extends to everything inside, including the enemies.
• Filler Villain: While he is the first villain to be fought on the surface, Goldor has next to no plot relevance. The only thing he does plot-wise is misdirect the Warriors of Light by making them assume that he shattered one of the elemental crystals, only for Doga to later reveal that the one Goldor shattered was totally different.
• Gold Fever: He wears full plate gold armor and lives inside a giant gold manor filled with gold furniture, gold weapons and armor, and a bunch of minions and monsters made of gold. Yeah he really likes gold.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: He fights with his fists in the DS version.
• Idiot Ball: The heroes only come into conflict with him because he chains up their airship which prevents them from progressing on their quest. He only does this because after learning that they're going around absorbing the four crystals, he believes they're going to take his most precious possession, a giant gold crystal. However, it is not one of the four elemental crystals and the heroes would have been completely uninterested in it. He ultimately ends up getting killed over nothing.
• Interim Villain: Unlike most of the other major villains, it doesn't seem like he's one of Xande's minions or tied to the Flood of Darkness at all. He just seems to be some asshole who gets in the way of you saving the world because of his greed and paranoia.
• Irony: He fights the Light Warriors to prevent them from taking his gold crystal and destroys it after losing, despite the Light Warriors only being interested in it due to thinking it's the Earth crystal (it's not).
• Sore Loser: He's so obsessed with keeping the Light Warriors away from his crystal that he destroys it himself after he loses.
• Tin Tyrant: He continues the tradition of the first five Final Fantasy games having an antagonist clad in armor. Unlike the other examples though, Goldor has little to no influence on the story and his armor is made of solid gold.

Gigameth

"Oh, bother. Well, have it your way. I'll just skip to the part where I kill you all!"

The chancellor of the kingdom of Saronia, Gigameth has cast a mind control spell on King Gorn and forced him to order his soldiers to fight each other as well as exile his son Prince Alus. When Gigameth tries to force Gorn to kill Alus, Gorn stabs himself instead, breaking Gigameth's hold over him. When confronted by the Warriors of Light, Gigameth reveals his true form as the monstrous Garuda.

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• Adaptational Wimp: A heavily ironic case considering how much he's That One Boss in the source material: Garuda in Memory of Heroes reacts with fear when he learns that the party can turn into Dragoons, doesn't show any of his lightning skills and is quickly killed by the Warriors of Light. Compared to the foes both before and after, he comes off as an Anti-Climax Boss.
• Ambiguous Situation: Much like Hein, it's unclear if he works for Xande, or is just striking out on his own. He is heavily implied to have menaced Saronia long before the events of the game, but it's unknown if Xande resurrected him to cause chaos or if he just-so-happened to make a bid to control Saronia during the events of the game.
• Arc Villain: He's this to Saronia, given that it's a Plot Tunnel and you're trapped in the city until you defeat him.
• Back from the Dead: It's all but outright stated (and actually outright stated in one Fan Translation) that the "great avian lord" that Saronia's dragoon defeated in the past is him. How he returned exactly is unclear.
• Climax Boss: In a similar vein to Hein: He doesn't have much plot significance on his own, but his defeat gives the party the Nautilus, one of their two final airships, and allows them to reach Doga's Manor which is when the plot finally focuses on learning about and reaching Xande.
• Evil Chancellor: This one man is the reason the Kingdom of Saronia has gone completely nuts.
• Feathered Fiend: His true form, Garuda, is a monstrous bird.
• Inconsistent Spelling: The 3D version translates his chancellor form as "Gigameth". The Pixel Remaster translates it as "Gigametz".
• One-Winged Angel: Transforms into Garuda just before you fight him.
• Shock and Awe: As Garuda, he tends to cast lightning spells. Very, very strong lightning spells.

Medusa, Kraken, and Titan

Medusa: "I, Medusa, will destroy this tower in the name of our lord, Xande...and plunge these lands into eternal darkness! Hih hih hih! You cannot stop me! Prepare to die!"

Kraken: "I am Kraken, tasked by Lord Xande to steal the light from the crystal of water... And you...you are all about to die!"

Titan: "By Master Xande's orders, you will be crushed!!!"

Minions of Xande sent to stop anyone from interfering with their master's plans. Medusa is sent to collapse the Tower of Owen in order to cause the Floating Continent to crash, Kraken is sent to destroy the water crystal and kill the Warriors of Light when they come looking for it, and Titan confronts the Warriors of Light at the earth crystal.

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• Adapted Out: Titan is the only one of the three not to appear in the Memory of Heroes novelization.
• In the Hood: Kraken wears a cloak and hood, though his tentacle feet are clearly visible in the DS version. Medusa wears a similar outfit, though she wears her hood down to show off her monstrous head. Both ditch their outfits for combat.
• Losing Your Head: Medusa appears as a floating head in battle.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted. Titan shares the same name as the summoned monster Titan, despite the two of them being completely different characters. In other games he's been renamed to Phlegethon to avoid confusion. It should be noted that the Titan spell in the Japanese version is Hyper, possibly short for Hyperion.
  • Played straight in the Japanese version. The summon monster Titan's name is written as "タイタン", while boss Titan is written as "ティターン". And they are pronounced differently too.
• Plot-Irrelevant Villain: None of them are mentioned at all by anyone else and you only learn about each of them immediately before you fight them. Titan in particular suffers from this as, while Medusa and Kraken still had impacts on the story (forcing Desch to fix the boiler of the Tower of Owen and killing Aria respectively), Titan is only encountered en route to the Crystal Tower and has zero plot relevance as a result. Tellingly, Memory of Heroes cuts Titan while keeping the other two.
• Stripperiffic: Titan's a male example as he wears a loincloth, a breastplate that only covers the upper half of his pecs, a cape, and not much else.
• Taking You with Me: Memory Of Heroes has Medusa throwing herself into the Tower of Owen's boiler in a last-ditch effort to sink the floating continent.

Cloud of Darkness

"We shall devour your light, and use it to return this world to the Void!"

Voiced by: Masako Ikeda (Japanese, Dissidia Final Fantasy onward), Laura Bailey (English, Dissidia Final Fantasy onward)

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.

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• Adaptational Villainy: In the opposite direction of Xande; In the original, it is implied that Xande was under the Cloud of Darkness' control, but is only mentioned briefly in passing and not elaborated upon, with the Cloud of Darkness' overall role being implied to be recent. In the remake, not only is the situation with Xande more fully explained, but Unei mentions that Xande himself was affected by the Time Stop and implies that the Cloud of Darkness was working behind the scenes, making all of the Floating Continent's troubles her doing.
• Adapted Out: It does not show up in the manga adaptation, leaving Xande as the final enemy.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: It's green during the final battle and orange while invincible in the Famicom version. Averted with the Amano artwork and thus, its default appearances in spinoffs.
• Ancient Evil: She is a primordial being that has taken physical form due to the imbalance of of light and darkness caused by Xande when he stopped time. She was also manipulating Xande to carry out her goals to plunge the world into nothingness.
  • It's implied in the Famicom/Pixel Remaster version and outright confirmed in the 3D version that she was the force that the Warriors of the Dark fought during the Flood of Light. Memory of Heroes takes it even further by implying that the Warriors of the Dark had to hold it back ever since.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Of darkness, and possibly of light when the balance is tipped the other way. Or an avatar or the manifestation of the power of the Void. A multiverse constant in Final Fantasy.
• Big Bad: She is the true main antagonist of the game despite not appearing until the climax.
• Boss-Altering Consequence: You can choose to fight the Cloud of Darkness after losing the first battle, but doing so would be near impossible as the Cloud of Darkness would have a high defense and a powerful Particle Beam. If the player instead defeats the four Guardians of Darkness, it will free the Warriors of Darkness and weaken the Cloud of Darkness.
• Breakout Villain: Although Xande is the main antagonist right up until the end of the penultimate dungeon of the game, the Cloud of Darkness was more memorable due to its boss music, design, and being the actual Final Boss. After Dissidia Final Fantasy featured it as the representative villain of III, it became the de facto III villain to appear in other crossover titles and make cameos in other games. These days, while Xande is not an unknown, the Cloud of Darkness is far more popular and prominent in the wider franchise than him.
• Cognizant Limbs: Her Combat Tentacles are apparently included in the "we" she uses for herself. In the 3D version, two of them even fight alongside her.
• Complete Immortality: Part of the timeless and eternal Eldritch Abomination deal, of course. You can destroy her body, yes, but all it really does is drive her back and force her to go into a slumber until she gains enough power to become active again, in which case she'll try to physically manifest all over again.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Unlike the first two main villains, Garland and The Emperor, who were mortal before achieving godhood, the Cloud of Darkness is already a god-like entity that is the living embodiment of the void and in contrast to Garland and The Emperor who were introduced in the beginning of their respective games, She doesn’t appear until the climax of her game.
• Damage-Sponge Boss: In the 2D versions; her only attacks are hitting the entire party with Flare Wave and occasionally punching someone out. Whether or not you can defeat her is entirely dependent on if your mages can heal fast enough to keep up with Flare Wave.
• Dark Is Evil: Obviously. However, it's also worth noting that Light Is Not Good. Too much of either element causes a "flood" that summons her presence.
• Final Boss: One of the most difficult in the series.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: While Xande causing a flood of darkness was well established, said flood calling in the physical manifestation of the Void was not. The 3D version adds foreshadowing to reposition it as the Greater-Scope Villain.
• Greater-Scope Villain:
  • Xande is always named as the source of the trouble and he's the one who directly recruits minions, but the Cloud of Darkness is the one who set the ball rolling... and unlike him, she is trying to end existence as we know it. Doga and Unei are the only ones to perceive that she's behind things.
  • ZigZagged in the 3D version: It's revealed that she was called into existence after Xande disrupted the balance by flooding the world. On the other hand, she did cause the earthquake on the floating continent that starts the game and it is heavily implied by both Unei and one of the Warriors of Darkness that the monsters on the floating continent that claimed to have been sent by Xande actually were sent by her.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The first battle with her is this: She's invulnerable to any damage you can do and she immediately ends the fight on her turn by hitting the party with a Particle Beam. Attempting to fight her without freeing all four Warriors of Darkness leads to the same result.
• Humanoid Abomination: She's an eldritch world-eating entity possibly as old as creation, but from the waist up she looks like a human-ish female.
• I Am Legion: Justified as of Dissidia, as her tentacles are sentient and she speaks for them alongside herself.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Her signature attack, Particle Beam is portrayed as one of these, especially in the 3D version.
• Light Is Not Good: On top of being an apparent clear-cut case of Dark Is Evil 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".
• The Man Behind the Man: The Warriors of Darkness reveal she was controlling Xande's actions in order to allow her to manifest.
• No Biological Sex: Word of God officially stated that the Cloud of Darkness is actually genderless, despite appearing as a woman, with many in-game characters^note In later materials. In III itself, the Warriors of the Dark called the Cloud "it" refering to her as female.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Her objective is to return everything to the Void.
• Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: As Zidane says in Dissidia:
  Zidane: "Well, she is a lady... I guess?"
• Physical Goddess: She is an ancient entity of the void and has control over the powers of darkness, who seeks to return everything into nothingness.
• Really 700 Years Old: She's at least 1,000 years old.
• Walking Spoiler: The only clue to her existence is the backstory and how it details the Warriors of Darkness' fight against the flood of light. Nowadays however, thanks to spinoffs like Dissidia, it's probably more surprising how little she is in the game.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Most of the time she just uses Particle Beam, which does massive damage to the entire party. Rarely she'll use a physical attack that ignores defense and will likely kill the target through sheer damage unless you've done some serious level grinding. Subverted in the 3D version, where she has a completely different strategy.

Jobs

Default jobs

Onion Knight

The way of the onion knights is a long and hard one... but once you master the job, the rewards just might be worth it!

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• Demoted to Extra: ZigZagged. In the 3D version, due to the main characters having unique identities, the Onion Knight job is replaced with the Freelancer and is relegated to being the only secret job. That said, it is buffed to use both schools of magic, making it the most powerful job in the game.
• Guide Dang It!: Access to the job in the 3D version is locked behind the Mognet sidequest which, if you're playing the DS version, requires the online component. This is less the case in the later versions which simply require Luneth to be at the front of the party at certain periods of time.
• Iconic Outfit: The Onion Knight class itself is one for III in general. The 3D version pays homage to it by keeping it as a secret job (its story role being filled in by the Freelancer class) while Dissidia uses a variation of the original class rather than using the DS protagonists.
• Jack of All Trades: In the 3D version, Onion Knights have access to all levels of magic, making it a more proper example of this.
• Magikarp Power: The gimmick of the job, which carries over to its later depictions: For most levels, the Onion Knight class is a woefully underpowered job that is switched out of as soon as you get the Wind Crystal jobs (In the 3D version, its level curve makes Freelancers look good). However, around level 90, the class' stats skyrocket to the point of being the most powerful class in the game.
• Purposely Overpowered: At max job level, the Onion Knight has 99 in all stats, can equip Onion Blade (150 Attack, +7 all stats), Ultima Weapon (155 Attack, +15 all stats), and full Onion armor which provides +8 to all stats. There's a reason why Onion Knight breaks the game at level 99.

Freelancer

Freelancers can use low-level magic, but their base attributes are pretty low.

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• Canon Foreigner: It is the only job exclusive to the 3D version, narratively filling the position of the Onion Knight job.
• Crutch Character: By design: You have to play through the first two dungeons of the 3D version with the class and they have the bare essentials in regards to magic (Level 1 White and Black). However, they quickly fall off upon getting the Wind Crystal jobs and their only saving grace is that they can use a wide assortment of equipment, which is the primary way of boosting their middling stats.
• Determinator: Mastery of the Freelancer job makes you this, according to the mastery certificate.
• Iconic Outfit: While traits carry over to the rest of the jobs, the Freelancer is the only one to have the Warriors of Light's unchanged outfits.
• Master of None: While using it is mandatory for the opening of the 3D version, pretty much any other job will do anything (or, in some cases, everything) that Freelancers can do better.
• The Red Mage: They function as a weaker variant, having access to the first tier of magic along with the ability to use weapons.

Wind Crystal jobs

Warrior

Warriors are weapon experts. Their Advance ability allows them to deal even more damage than normal, but they also get hit a lot harder.

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• Divergent Character Evolution: The Famicom version renders the Warrior obsolete once the Fire Crystal gives you the Knight job, with it being better stat-wise and having a passive cover function. The 3D version gives the Warrior the Advance command, cementing it as a job that sacrifices defense for more power.
• Glass Cannon: The Warrior's ability, Advance, allows them to raise their attack at the cost of also lowering their defense. This is notable as the defense reduction scales with the attack boost, which increases as the job level gets high, meaning that the Warrior sacrifices more defense the higher their job level is.
• Lightning Bruiser: The Warrior has higher-end agility, helping them to move in a timely manner.

Monk

Monks are very resilient melee fighters. Their Retaliate ability allows them to counterattack while on the defensive.

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• Barefisted Monk: Black Belts and Monks have higher attack power without weapons.
• Counter-Attack: The Retaliate skill functions like one of this: If the Monk is attack on the same turn that they use the skill, then they pay the offender back, with interest.
• Divergent Character Evolution: The Famicom version renders the Monk obsolete upon reaching the Water Crystal, which gives the superior Black Belt job. The 3D version gives the Monk the Retaliate skill, giving it a bit more of its own identity as a defensive counterpart to the Black Belt.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: All of the Warriors, except for Ingus, wear sleeveless Gis.

Red Mage

Red Mages can use both white and black magic, but cannot use high-level spells from either school.

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• Bad Ass Cape: Red Mages come with a red cape, adding to their classy look.
• Crippling Overspecialization: In the Famicom version of III, Red Mages can only use Sabres. This limits them to a whopping two swords, the Wightslayer and the Tyfring. Combined with their somewhat-less limited dagger capabilities and there's little reason to give them physical weapons over staves or rods. The 3D version greatly expands the amount of swords they can use, making them more practical. Brave Exvius references this by having Ingus only wield sabres in his sprites.
• Crutch Character:
  • Played very straight in the Famicom version: The Red Mage is ok for the early parts of the game, but their limited sword compatibility cripples them physically and their magic peaks at Level 4. By that point, you'll have several jobs that, while more specialized, do whatever the Red Mage can do much better.
  • Subverted in the 3D version via an Elite Tweak: Red Mages start off decently at the beginning of the game, but fall off towards the middle due to a lack of equipment and reaching their peak in terms of what spells can be learned. However, they are able to equip endgame weapons that boost their stats and their Job Mastery item is armor (not a weapon, like a number of other melee jobs) that boosts all of their stats that can stack on top of said weapons.
• Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: Inverted in the 3D version: Because Red Mages cannot use Magic beyond Level 5, their usefulness as mages decreases as the game goes on. However, they are able to use endgame equipment which, when combined with the classes' exclusive Infinity+1 Armor, makes them incredibly powerful physically.
• Planet of Hats: Subverted. Red Mages are revered in Sasune, with a japanese strategy guide noting that they played into the kingdom's history, Ingus being one in the opening, and the Wightslayer being one of the few swords a Red Mage could use in the Famicom version. However, none of the soldiers of Sasune dress like Red Mages and Red Mages aren't heavily featured outside of specific dialogue.
• Red Mage: The Trope Namer itself returns from Final Fantasy.

White Mage

White Mages are casters who specialize in restorative magic. They're not physically strong, but their willpower is incomparable!

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• Blow You Away: Wind magic is classified as White Magic in III allowing White Mages to use it.
• In the Hood: As per usual. In the 3D version, Refia is the only one of the four to wear the White Mage's hood.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Several points of the game require the party to become mini, resulting in physical attacks becoming useless and the party being forced to use magic. This is especially true of the Famicom version's trek after Dragon's Peak; The 3D version aliviates it by giving the Freelancers rudimentry magic access and allowing Desch to help out from time to time.
• White Mage: The Trope Namer from Final Fantasy returns.

Black Mage

Black Mages are casters who specialize in offensive magic. Despite their appearance, they can take a few hits, too.

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• Black Mage: The Trope Namer from Final Fantasy returns.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Black Mages in the 3D version noticably sport a black color scheme instead of the usual blue. Despite this, they're as helpful as ever.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Played straight in the Famicom version as a carry over from Final Fantasy but Zigzagged in the 3D version: While the Warriors of Light don't do this with their Black Mage outfits, the Black Mages that function as shopkeepers and rare NPCs do.

Thief

Thieves are very fast and agile, and they can swing their weapons lightning-fast. They also have the ability to pick locked doors. Their steal ability allows them to take items from enemies. Also, everyone will take less damage while escaping if they use Flee.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance: In the original and Pixel Remaster versions, the Thief job is granted by the Fire Crystal. It's one of the first classes you get in the 3D version.
• Escape Battle Technique: Variously called Flee or Scram, a better variation of the standard Run command.
• Magikarp Power: The Steal command operates on this: As the Thief procures job levels, they eventually move into higher item pools which allows them to steal better items, with the most precious items only being attainable at a maxed out job level.
• Mythology Gag: The Thief is moved to the Wind Crystal in the 3D version, allowing the jobs given at the beginning of the game to mirror the original Final Fantasy.
• Spontaneous Mustache: In the Famicom version, the Thief grows a mustache when using the job, despite the party still being children. The Pixel Remaster drops it.
• Stripperific: Refia's Thief outfit shows a shocking amount of skin. By contrast, the most the boys show is Ingus' slightly longer v-neck.
• Utility Party Member: A thief at the front of the party can immediately open locked doors without needing a Magic Key.

Fire Crystal jobs

Ranger

Rangers are experts in ranged combat. With their bows, they can attack for full damage from even the back line! Their Barrage ability allows them to unleash a hail of projectiles at the enemy!

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• Backported Development: The Ranger in the Pixel Remaster matches the 3D version more closely than the original, losing their magic access in exchange for a barrage command.
• Bottomless Magazines: Averted in the original and the 3D version, meaning that resource management is a significant part of the job. Played straight in the remaster.
• Forest Ranger: As their name implies, this is their motif.
• Spread Shot: In the 3D version, their Barrage skill fires off for arrows at random targets.
• White Magic: In the Famicom version, they can use up to Level 3 White Magic.

Knight

Knights take pride in their defense. Their Defend ability allows them to step in and take damage for weakened allies. And they can use white magic, too!

• Divergent Character Evolution: In the Famicom version, the Knight job acted as an outright upgrade to the Warrior Class. The 3D version gives the job Level 1 White Magic as well as nerfing its speed, cementing it as the defensive counterpart to the Warrior.
• Mighty Glacier: Knights in the 3D version have low agility, but their high vitality, white magic and Defend abilities mean that they'll be able last a long time compared to their peers.
• The Paladin: The Knight is primarily a defensive class, thanks to their Defend and White Magic skills along with their Cover passive ability.
• Taking the Bullet: Their passive Cover ability allows them to take a hit for an ally.

Scholar

Scholars can examine enemies and spot their weak points. They can also enhance the effects of items they use. They can dispel magic effects from enemies they've studied. Surprisingly enough, these bookworms can also use magic!

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: In the Famicom version, their two skills allowed them to look at the enemies' HP and weaknesses respectively. The remakes combine these into a single skill, Enemy Scan, and adds the ability to remove buffs to boot.
• Backported Development: Despite being based more heavily on the Famicom version, the Pixel Remaster takes the Scholar's passive "Item Lore" ability from the 3D version and turns it into the "Alchemy" command.
• Badass Bookworm: These bookworms are not to be underestimated.
• Badass Cape: Luneth and Ingus wear capes in the scholar outfits, for some reason.
• Item Caddy: Their biggest change in the 3D version: Any item used by the scholar in battle will be twice as effective than if used either or the map or by anybody else. For healing items, this is alright. For attack items used on enemies weak to them...
• Nerd Glasses: In the 3D version, the Warriors of Light wear glasses unique to this job.
• The Red Mage: They can use up to level 3 magic on top of their Item Lore ability and their strength isn't too shabby either.
• Squishy Wizard: The embodiment of this trope and the primary drawback of the class, even in the 3D version. Even at the max job level, the Scholar will have the absolute worst vitality with no items to boost it while the Black and White Mages will actually have decent growths by that point.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Hein and Amon are Barrier Shift bosses who do not signify what element they shifted to. Thus, the Scholar's primary purpose is to figure out the boss' weakness so that the rest of the party can deal heavy damage. The 3D version's buffs allows the class to subvert the trope by making them more useful overall.
• Throw the Book at Them: Scholars' main weapons are books, which they whack their enemies over the head with

Geomancer

Geomancers harness the power of nature itself, manifested in their different terrain attacks. Their damage potential rises exponentially by job level.

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• Explosive Overclocking: In the Famicom version: Failing to hit any enemies during hit calculation will result in the spell backfiring and harming the user. The 3D version gets rid of this mechanic.
• Gaia's Vengeance: Geomancers draw their magic from the environment around them. While the effect chosen is overall random, the environments influence the likelihood of certain results.
• Lethal Joke Character: Yeah...a Geomancer. Seriously, they deal the most damage up until the Water Crystal, and even then, they keep up with bosses in terms of damage. Terrain attacks are beastly in this game.
• Mechanically Unusual Class: Geomancers are the one time in the game where the battle backgrounds have any degree of impact in battle beyond flavor, as the Geomancer's environment influences their Terrain spells.
• Random Effect Spell: They only have a single command for spellcasting and whatever they get is random. However, battle environments do influence their spells, making certain ones more likely than others depending on where they're cast.

Water Crystal jobs

Dragoon

Dragoons are polearm experts. Their Jump ability allows them to deal massive damage while being impervious to enemy attacks.

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• Air Jousting: While Dragoons did not make their debut in Final Fantasy III, their trademark jumping ability did.
• Blow You Away: Their jump ability deals wind damage.
• Planet of Hats: Subverted in much the same way as Sasune: Dragoons are touted as being very important to Saronia, including historywise and the game not-so-subtly hints that Dragoons are encouraged for the boss. However, none of the soldier NPCs are indicated to be Dragoons, leaving the party themselves as the only actual dragoons ^note Alus' aids give him Dragoon equipment, but there's no indication that he can use it and the 3D version presents him as a White Mage.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: The Saronia chapter gives you plenty of Dragoon equipment before pitting you against a boss that is weak to wind (the Dragoon's primary element). While there are workarounds, the game heavily encourages using Dragoons.

Viking

Vikings have the ability to lure enemies into attacking them instead of other members of the party, but it's gonna hurt!

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• Backported Development: The Pixel Remaster brings over the Viking's "Provoke" command from the 3D version, allowing them to Draw Aggro.
• Draw Aggro: The Viking's main ability in the 3D version and the remaster is to provoke their enemies into attacking them.
• Elite Tweak: A common strategy regarding Vikings is to give them two shields, park them in the back row and have them constantly taunt the enemy. The Pixel Remaster even defaults to two shields when the player chooses "Optimal" equipment.
• Mighty Glacier: They're as slow as Knights, but fit into the tanking role much more neatly and have one of the highest Strength stats in the game, in the 3D version at least.
• Practical Taunt: The job's main gimmick in the 3D version and the remaster: The Viking's taunt ability not only makes enemies target them, but will also cuts their defense.
• Shock and Awe: Their hammers are lightning elemental.
• Stone Wall: They lack speed, so their physical damage will always be a bit lacking; but they can wear good armor, supporting their high defense.
• Weak to Magic: While they shine in physical combat, their magic defense is unimpressive.

Mystic/Dark Knight

Dark Knights are warriors of the dark blade. Their Soul Eater ability allows them to convert their life into extra damage.

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• Backported Development: Dark Knights lose their white magic and gain "Bladeblitz", putting them on similar footing to their 3D version counterparts.
• Black Knight: After Leon's title, this is the first instance of Dark Knights as a job, although they wouldn't come into their traditional form until the next game.
• Cast from Hit Points: Their usual Souleater attack appears, but only in the 3D version.
• Casting a Shadow: Their equipment is said infused with negative energy, although in gameplay, they invert this by using white magic. The 3D version plays it straighter with the Souleater ability while the Pixel Remaster avoids it entirely (at least, directly).
• Crippling Overspecialization: The Dark Knights in the Famicom version were much more restricted equipmentwise, making them nigh-unusable until you reached Falgabard. The 3D version expands their equipment kit, giving them some degree of use until they can get more specialized equipment.
• Dark Is Not Evil: They tap into the "negative energies" of the world and are associated with an equipment set called "Demon Armor", but are otherwise good guys.
• Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • The Dark Knight was quite different in the Famicom version of III: They could use level 3 white magic, lacked any of the Cast from Hit Points abilities that they would receive in the next game and their "Dark Blades" were not hulking, or even edgy swords but rather Japanese swords. The 3D version heavily revamps the class to be in line with the usual depictions, although the Japanese sword association remains.
  • This also happens namewise: In III, the job was named 魔剣士 while Dark Knights in the series in general are named 暗黒騎士. Most uses of the former title post-III are throwbacks to it, the lone exception being Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings^note where it works completely differently from the Dark Knight job. Note that, aside from a few instances such as Duane from Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and the aforementioned Revenant Wings which translate the job as "Warmage", the job has usually been translated as "Dark Knight". A unique case is the Ultimania Archive, which translates the job as "Mystic Knight" in the prototype files, although the battle sprites are still labeled "Dark Knight"^note It's worth noting that, according to those plans, an actual Dark Knight job was planned at one point in time.
• Empty Piles of Clothing: In the Famicom and Pixel Remaster versions, Dark Knights leave behind only their armor when they die. An interview explains this: Dark Knights have magic runes on their body that give them powers. When the Dark Knight dies, the runes take them, leaving their armor behind. Averted in the 3D version.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Much like the Black Mage, the NPCs and Famicom party play it straight while the 3D version's party averts it
• Later-Installment Weirdness: Rather than giving the job its white magic back or giving it Souleater, the Pixel Remaster opts to give the job Bladeblitz; functioning similarly to the latter, but without the HP drain.
• Planet of Hats: The reclusive village of Falgabard is the only place aside from the similarly elusive Cave of Shadows where Dark Knights reside. One even mans the shop.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: By the time you get access to the Magic Knight's equipment, you'll have to go through the Cave of Shadows, home to many dividing enemies that resist magic. Coincidentally, the Dark Knight's unique weapon type can prevent enemies from dividing. The 3D version reworks how dividing enemies work that gives a bit more wiggle room, but the Dark Knight's multi-targeting Souleater encourages using them even more.
• Training from Hell: It is said that Dark Knights who wish to further their training go to the Cave of Shadows and never return. This is further emphasized as the party meets a dying Dark Knight shortly upon entering.
• Weapon Specialization: Both Record Keeper and Brave Exvius give Luneth the Dark Knight job/powers associated with Darkness. unused text also implies that Ingus has a history in the village although it's unclear if that holds true in the final game.

Evoker

Evokers are initiates of summoning magic, able to randomly draw either the light or dark power of summoned beasts.

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• A Day in the Limelight:
  • Subverted. Unused text reveals that Luneth was intended to get the job in Castle Hein, but that subplot was scrapped. Notably, said subplot would've drawn attention to the Evoker's ability to to pierce the Barrier Shift.
  • The Evoker job appears as a Neo Vision unit in Brave Exvius, making it a rare case of a job/Warrior of Light from the Famicom game that isn't Onion Knight being spotlighted.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The Evoker as a concept is one for the series: The series rarely, if ever, revisits the concept of summons having weaker abilities, both direct and indirect, in favor of just having the Summoner be the only form of Summon Magic. Thus, when the Evoker (or rather, the Illusionist) makes appearances later in the series, it's usually reworked to be more distinct from the Summoner.
• Guest Fighter: An Evoker appears in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a Neo Vision unit, complete with the ability to Brave Shift to a Summoner.
• Random Effect Spell: Each summon has two abilities and which one you get upon summoning depends entirely on how the game is feeling at that moment.
• Summon Magic: In a way that's different from the usual form: Evokers can call upon Summons to get either an indirect effect (white) or a direct attack (black). Every summon has two such abilities, although which one you get is random.

Bard

Bards use their songs to enhance their party's performance. The effect of their songs varies depending on the harp they use.

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• Mechanically Unusual Class: In the 3D version, the Bard job is the only job whose skill has different effects depending on what weapon they're holding. Key usage of the job demands cycling through equipment and Singing to juggle the various effects empowering the party.
• Planet of Hats: The town of Duster is where most of the bards of the world reside. Others can be found in places such as Saronia, but nowhere to the same extent.
• Quirky Bard: Played straight in the original, but reversed heavily in the 3D version, to the point of being a Lethal Joke Character.
• Support Party Member: In both versions, but in different ways: In the Famicom version, the Bard has the ability to lower enemy levels and boost the party's physical attack (although, the actual effectiveness of these techniques is questionable). In the 3D version, Bards can Sing to apply some form of buff to the entire party or shave off some HP from the enemies.

Earth Crystal jobs

Black Belt

Black belts are experts in unarmed combat. They can boost their attack power to deal massive damage, but be careful not to boost too much!

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• Charged Attack: The Black Belt job's main ability in both versions is the ability to charge up its attack to increase its power. Boost more than twice, however...
• Demoted to Extra: The Black Belt job has the dubious honor of being the only class encountered later than the others in the 3D version: In the Famicom version, it was a Water Crystal job while in the 3D version, it was booted to the Earth Crystal^note According to an interview in the Japanese official strategy guide, this was to balance the amount of physical jobs the Water crystal otherwise gives.

Ninja

Ninja excel at using dark blades. They have the ability to throw weapons, which deal enormous amounts of damage.

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• Armor-Piercing Attack: The Ninja's shurikens bypass the enemy's Defense, which is helpful against certain foes, such as The Iron Giant's absurd physical defenses.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Outside of their shurikens, Ninjas were mostly just "the ultimate physical job". In addition to the general nerfs, the 3D version lets the job keep most of its agility and gives it the throw command.
• Nerf: Due to being moved to the Earth Crystal, the Ninja was heavily nerfed in the 3D version: No longer being able to equip every weapon and no longer having near perfect physical stats.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Their "Throw" command in the 3D version allows them to throw any usable weapon in the inventory which, unless you use shurikens, is very likely to be swords.

Devout

Devouts are casters who have mastered white magic. They can use all white magic spells, so make sure to always have one in your party!

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• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Devout is one of two jobs that can use Level 8 White Magic, including the ultimate White Magic spell: Holy.
• In the Hood: Devouts wear hoodies with cat ears on them. In the 3D version, Refia and Arc wear their hoods while Luneth and Ingus don't.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: In the Famicom version, the Devout is found one dungeon prior to the Crystal Tower and, by extension, Eureka. Therefore, players wil likely only spend a short amount of time with the Devout before the Sage makes it obsolete. ZigZagged in the 3D version as, while the Sage is now aquired at the same time, its speed and other nerfs makes the Devout more useful for specializaed white magic
• White Mage: The upgraded form of White Mages, much like the White Wizard.

Magus

Magi are casters who have mastered black magic. If they can learn the forbidden black magic spell, they may be able to destroy all...

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• Black Mage: The upgraded form of the Black Mage, much like the Black Wizard.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Magus is one of two jobs that can use Flare, the ultimate black magic spell, along with the rest of the Level 8 spells.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: In the Famicom version, the Magus is found one dungeon prior to the Crystal Tower and, by extension, Eureka. Therefore, players wil likely only spend a short amount of time with the Magus before the Sage makes it obsolete. ZigZagged in the 3D version as, while the Sage is now aquired at the same time, its speed and other nerfs makes the Magus more useful for specializaed black magic

Summoner

Summoners are able to draw the hidden powers of summon beasts. Their powers will be further enhanced if they can find the legendary beasts...

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• Early-Installment Weirdness: In a similar vein to Dark Knight, the Summoner job in III is titled "魔界幻士" whereas other portrayals use "召喚士". The original term would see usage in the Ivalice-related titles, namely in relation to Elidibus (although you wouldn't know it without looking in the game code) where it was translated as "Hell Magician"(PS1)/"Nether Shaman"(PSP).
• Signature Move: They're one of two classes, and the only class in the 3D version, that can use each summons' signature move from Hellfire to Megaflare.
• Summon Magic: Summoners, in their most familiar form, make their first appearance in the series in this game, although the Evoker is the first appearance of summon magic in general.
• Uniqueness Decay: Inverted: In the Famicom game, both Summoners and Sages could call upon the full effects of the summons. The 3D version reworks the Sage so that the full summon abilities are exclusive to the summoner.

Sage

Sages are those who have gained knowledge in all schools of arcane arts. They can use all types of spells!

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• All Your Powers Combined: They can use all levels of all three types of magic, making it the ultimate magic job.
• Jack of All Trades: The Sage can use practically any type of magic in the game. The 3D version nerfs it into a more Master of None.
• Master of None: In the 3D version, for the sake of balance. The Sage can still cast all three levels of magic, but has less charges and less powerful stats than the specialized jobs. Additionally, it can only use the Evoker's versions of the summons rather than the full power versions that the Summoner can use.
• Nerf: Due to the Sage being moved to the Earth Crystal in the 3D version, it was nerfed into being a Master of None to prevent it from outclassing the other magic jobs. In the end you can get away with just having a Devout, though is some potential in having both.
• Red Mage:Played With. The Sage is the closest equivalent to an upgraded version of the Red Mage. However, it lacks the physical aspect of the job, focusing more on magic instead.
• Support Party Member: A Sage isn't much of a healer on their own. A Hasted Devout is already on top of the damage that boss just threw at you, with the Sage mainly being there for support. That's pretty much all the Sage can do with their small MP pool.

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