History YMMV / FinalFantasyIII

* ThatOneLevel: Do you like [[LevelGrinding grinding]]? No? Well, then you better get used to it, because you'll need to do a ''lot'' of it in order to get through [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon final dungeon]] without having to retread it every single time you die. One of the bosses, at least in the remake, has high strength and attacks [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard three times per turn.]] If he decides to target your dedicated healer, you might as well reload your save and climb back up. The four optional bosses have over 90,000 HP, three times more than the bosses you've faced up until that point. Actually, the bosses aren't so much "optional" as they remove the [[LuckBasedMission luck-based]] element from the upcoming FinalBoss. (The Cloud of Darkness has a TotalPartyKill attack which can only be countered by beating the four bosses in the area. Unless you're prepared to spend hours LevelGrinding you're going to get trapped in a HealingLoop even if your party has Sages) Worse yet, there are [[CheckpointStarvation zero opportunities to save]]! It's so notorious that most walkthroughs and people in the ''Final Fantasy'' community suggest that you grind your characters up to level 60. For reference, if you've been playing normally with no opportunities for grinding, you ought to be in your late forties. Even [[WordOfGod Sakaguchi himself]] called this dungeon horrible!
** The DS remake also failed to curb the infamous final dungeons' difficulty.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: At the end of the game, it is revealed that there must be a [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil balance between light and darkness]], and the Cloud of Darkness is released when either grows too strong -- a thousand years ago, a flood of ''light'' nearly destroyed another world when its balance was disrupted, and four Warriors of Darkness had to defeat the Cloud of Darkness and drive the light back. All of this information and these ideas about DarkIsNotEvil and LightIsNotGood are relegated entirely to the last hour of the game, which up until that point is a standard story about the [[LightIsGood Warriors of Light]] defeating a DarkLord and driving back the [[DarkIsEvil Darkness]].

** The Onion Kids. The ''Dissidia'' version of the character helped a lot, but it still applies to the original 8-bit characters, who more or less look like toddlers in that job class.

** It took ''thirty'' years, but the 2021 Remaster finally remedies the notorious lack of saving in dungeons. Now you have auto-save and a permanent quick-save slot, so the infamous final dungeon does not need to be beaten in a single sitting, nor will you lose progress in the likely event of a game-over.
** The 2021 Remaster also removes the CP needed to change jobs from the Famicom version, and the transition phase between jobs from the remake, allowing characters to freely change jobs without either needing to grind for the right to change in the first place or penalties to their stats for a set number of battles afterwards respectively.

* BrokenBase: The treatment of the Sage and Ninja jobs in the remake gets some of this. In the original, they were the InfinityPlusOneSword options, being PurposefullyOverpowered and undeniably the strongest magic and physical jobs, but in the remake, they were nerfed significantly and put on par with the others. This created either relief ("thank god, now they're just an option rather than broken") or irritation ("dangit, I ''[[CatharsisFactor liked]]'' stomping the endgame with a party of Sages and Ninjas!"

** The 2021 Remaster also removes the transition phase between jobs, allowing characters to freely change jobs without penalties to their stats for a set number of battles afterwards.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: It took ''thirty'' years, but the 2021 Remaster finally remedies the notorious lack of saving in dungeons. Now you have auto-save and a permanent quick-save slot, so the infamous final dungeon does not need to be beaten in a single sitting, nor will you lose progress in the likely event of a game-over.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E61ozmHW8pI underwater theme]] sounds a lot like [[https://youtu.be/0bjB-IWEYI0?t=21 "Serenade"]] by Music/FranzSchubert.

* ThatOneLevel: Do you like [[LevelGrinding grinding]]? No? Well, then you better get used to it, because you'll need to do a ''lot'' of it in order to get through [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon final dungeon]] without having to retread it every single time you die. One of the bosses, at least in the remake, has high strength and attacks [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard three times per turn.]] If he decides to target your dedicated healer, you might as well reload your save and climb back up. The four optional bosses have over 90,000 HP, three times more than the bosses you've faced up until that point. Actually, the bosses aren't so much "optional" as they remove the [[LuckBasedMission luck-based]] element from the upcoming FinalBoss. (The Cloud of Darkness has a TotalPartyKill attack which can only be countered by beating the four bosses in the area. Unless you're prepared to spend hours LevelGrinding you're going to get trapped in a HealingLoop) Worse yet, there are [[CheckpointStarvation zero opportunities to save]]! It's so notorious that most walkthroughs and people in the ''Final Fantasy'' community suggest that you grind your characters up to level 60. For reference, if you've been playing normally with no opportunities for grinding, you ought to be in your late forties. Even [[WordOfGod Sakaguchi himself]] called this dungeon horrible!

* ThatOneLevel: Do you like [[LevelGrinding grinding]]? No? Well, then you better get used to it, because you'll need to do a ''lot'' of it in order to get through [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon final dungeon]] without having to retread it every single time you die. One of the bosses, at least in the remake, has high strength and attacks [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard three times per turn.]] If he decides to target your dedicated healer, you might as well reload your save and climb back up. The four optional bosses have over 90,000 HP, three times more than the bosses you've faced up until that point. Actually, the bosses aren't so much "optional" as they remove the [[LuckBasedMission luck-based]] element from the upcoming FinalBoss. (The Cloud of Darkness has a TotalPartyKill attack which can only be countered by beating the four bosses in the area.) Worse yet, there are [[CheckpointStarvation zero opportunities to save]]! It's so notorious that most walkthroughs and people in the ''Final Fantasy'' community suggest that you grind your characters up to level 60. For reference, if you've been playing normally with no opportunities for grinding, you ought to be in your late forties. Even Sakaguchi himself called this dungeon horrible!

** The concept of balance between light and darkness, and what would happen if ''light'' overcame the world instead of darkness, ended up being revisited and explored thoroughly in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'''s ''Shadowbringers'' expansion, decades later.

* GoodBadBugs: A bug involving the inventory in the Famicom version allowed the player to acquire the very powerful Onion Equipment at the start of the game. (It takes a huge amount of time to set up, however.) Another one in the [=DS=] version allows players to duplicate any consumable item in the game, up to and including [[GameBreaker the rare and precious Phoenix Downs]].

* NeverLiveItDown: [[ThatOneLevel The final dungeon]], and the fact that you [[CheckpointStarvation can't save the game aside from the outerworld]]. If people are going to have a discussion of the difficulty of this game, chances are they’ll mention this dungeon. Keep in mind, III is actually ''[[SequelDifficultyDrop easier]]'' than [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI the first]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII second]] game in some ways, the problem is the ''there are no save points'', which prevents people from saving the game in the dungeon, making it a one-way trip.

* NeverLiveItDown: [[ThatOneLevel The final dungeon]]. If people are going to have a discussion of the difficulty of this game, chances are they’ll mention this dungeon. Keep in mind, III is actually ''[[SequelDifficultyDrop easier]]'' than [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI the first]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII second]] game in some ways, the problem is the dungeon, which prevents people from saving the game in the dungeon, making it a one-way trip.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: At the end of the game, it is revealed that there must be a [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil balance between light and darkness]], and the Cloud of Darkness is released when either grows too strong -- a thousand years ago, a flood of ''light'' nearly destroyed another world when its balance was disrupted, and four Warriors of Darkness had to defeat the Cloud of Darkness and drive the light back. All of this information and these ideas about DarkIsNotEvil and LightIsNotGood are relegated entirely to the last hour of the game, which up until that point is a standard story about the [[LightIsGood Warriors of Light]] defeating a DarkLord and driving back the [[DarkIsEvil Darkness]]. A story about that original conflict, where the player fought as the [[DarkMessiah Warriors of Darkness]] to save their world from the light, would have flipped many standard RPG story tropes on their head and made for a much more interesting story.

* NightmareFuel: The Nepto Dragon's design in the original Famicom version is [[http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080217165631/finalfantasy/images/c/ca/FF3NES-NeptoDragon.gif very unsettling]].

* EvenBetterSequel: While ''III'' may feel dated in this day and age, it's important to remember how much of what would be Final Fantasy's standard gameplay was actually fleshed out in this installment. While ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy1'' started the franchise, it had a lot of early JRPG crust[[note]]Lots of spells flat out don't work due to coding bugs, enemies that are defeated in a round but are still targeted by someone end up wasting the characters turn, and the LevelGrinding was quite obnoxious at points[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' switched to a stat grinding system that ultimately wasn't well received. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', however, went back to a more realized version of ''Final Fantasy 1'''s system, introduced a far more balanced level curve, streamlined a lot of the crust of the earlier games out, introduced the JobSystem to [=RPGs=] as a whole, as well as introduced ''many'' elements of what would become the series iconic staples.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: It's stated that the world goes through cycles. The last time all this stuff happened it was with a team of champions of darkness defeating an overwhelming light. Unfortunately, all of these interesting ideas about DarkIsNotEvil and LightIsNotGood are relegated entirely to the game's ''backstory'', with the game itself being another standard tale of [[LightIsGood Heroes of Light]] defeating the DarkLord and driving back the [[DarkIsEvil Darkness]]. Imagine if this game took place during the last cycle instead, with a story about [[DarkMessiah chosen heroes of darkness]] fighting against the Light, and turning all those old RPG tropes on their heads.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: It's stated that the world goes through cycles, with the UltimateEvil changing between a Cloud of Darkness and Cloud of Light depending on which is more powerful at the time. The last time all this stuff happened it was with a team of champions of darkness defeating the Cloud of Light. Unfortunately, all of these interesting ideas about DarkIsNotEvil and LightIsNotGood are relegated entirely to the game's ''backstory'', with the game itself being another standard tale of [[LightIsGood Heroes of Light]] defeating the DarkLord and driving back the [[DarkIsEvil Darkness]]. Imagine if this game took place during the last cycle instead, with a story about [[DarkMessiah chosen heroes of darkness]] fighting against the Light, and turning all those old RPG tropes on their heads.

** '''You'd Expect''': Noah would give them all the same gift, or at least one he ''knew'' they'd like (which is arguably the point of gift-giving).

** '''Instead''': Doga gets granted immense magical power, Unei gains dominion over dreams, and Xande is [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers rendered mortal]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: It's stated that the world goes through cycles, with the Flood of Light and Flood of Darkness causing the UltimateEvil to change between being a Cloud of Darkness and a Cloud of Light. The last time all this stuff happened it was with a team of champions of darkness defeating the Cloud of Light. Unfortunately, all of this is relegated entirely to the game's backstory, with the game itself being another standard tale of Heroes of Light driving back the Darkness. Imagine if this game took place during the last cycle, with a story about [[DarkMessiah chosen heroes of darkness]] fighting against the Light, and turning all those old RPG tropes on their heads.

* EvenBetterSequel: While ''III'' may feel dated in this day and age, it's important to remember how much of what would be Final Fantasy's standard gameplay was actually fleshed out in this installment. While ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy1'' started the franchise, it had a lot of early JRPG crust[[note]]Lots of spells flat out don't work due to coding bugs, enemies that are defeated in a round but are still targeted by someone end up wasting the characters turn, and the LevelGrinding was quite obnoxious at points[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' switched to a stat grinding system that ultimately wasn't well received. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', however, went back to a more realized version of ''Final Fantasy 1'''s system, introduced a far more balanced level curve, streamlined a lot of the crust of the earlier games out, introduced the JobSystem to [=RPGs=] as a whole, as well as introduced ''many'' of what would become the series iconic staples.