Final Fantasy III (3D Remake) version differences

This is a list of known version differences in the 3D Remake of Final Fantasy III, with new releases altering content and removing bugs and glitches presented in the previous version; changes are cumulative unless otherwise noted.
==Nintendo DS==
A 3D Remake of the original Final Fantasy III developed by Matrix Software released in 2006 on August 24 in Japan and November 14 in North America, followed by a 2007 release on April 5 in Oceania and May 4 in Europe. It marked the first official release of the game in international territories:
*Official Logo - A new version of the logo that uses the standard typeface of the series since Final Fantasy IV, featuring the nameless warrior as depicted in illustrations of the game by Yoshitaka Amano. It has since been used in all media featuring Final Fantasy III.
*3D Visuals - Fully rendered 3D graphics for characters, environments, and spells.
* Story Changes - The Warriors of Light are replaced with four new characters: Luneth, Arc, Refia, and Ingus. Consequently, a number of scenes are added and modified to accommodate their inclusion.
**The opening sequence is changed: Luneth is the only one to fall into the Altar Cave and the rest of the party joins one by one. The Wind Crystal jobs are now obtained after defeating the Djinn in the Sealed Cave.
**Takka is now Refia's adoptive father.
*Characters - Designs for most of the returning characters are based on their Yoshitaka Amano art.
*Full Motion Video - A new FMV intro sequence is included, featuring both new and returning characters.
*Gameplay - Numerous changes to the gameplay were implemented:
**The job system is reworked. Various jobs have been re-balanced and some have new abilities. Each has a "Job Level", which determines its effectiveness. Replacing the Capacity mechanic is a mechanic known as the Job Adjustment Phase, which reduces the stats of a specific job until a number of battles have passed.
**The Run command no longer reduces a character's Defense to 0 until their next turn, and is issued to the entire party by holding the shoulder buttons. All jobs except Thief can now use both Run and Guard commands.
**Warriors receive the Advance ability, allowing them to deal more damage at the expense of defense. In addition, the job gains the ability to use axes.
**Red Mages equipment selection has been greatly expanded, and they can now also use Level 5 Black and White magic.
**Knights receive the Defend ability, which is a more effective version of the default Guard command. In addition, the job gains the ability to perform low level White Magic.
**Bards no longer have the Boost and Scare abilities, and the Sing command provides new effects depending on the equipped weapon.
**The Scholar's Study and Uncover abilities have been fused into a single Study command, while also gaining the same effect as the Erase spell. In addition, the job also has the ability to increase the potency of items and cast low level White and Black Magic.
**Rangers gain Barrage, but lose the ability to perform low level White Magic.
**The Dark Knight, known as Magic Swordsman in Japanese, is revamped to be based on the recurring Dark Knight job in appearance and gameplay, gaining the Souleater ability and losing the ability to use White Magic.
**Summon abilities from the original Famicom release are removed and replaced with recurring abilities from later installments.
**Several new Terrain abilities are added for the Geomancer job.
**Sages lose the ability to perform "Combination" summon abilities, gaining the ability to only perform the "Black" and "White" versions summons.
**Other new abilities include Retaliate, Provoke, Throw, Equipment, Rear, and Front.
**The order of attaining jobs has been rearranged; Thief is acquired through the Wind Crystal, Geomancer through the Fire Crystal, and the Black Belt, Sage, and Ninja jobs have been moved to the Earth Crystal.
**The amount of enemies onscreen at any given point is reduced to three. To compensate, many enemies have increased stats.
**Guest party members can occasionally aid in battle with physical attacks or magic.
*Mognet - This version introduces Mognet, a mail function that connects the majority of the remake's new content. Players could send mail to each other, both over wireless connection or Nintendo Wi-Fi, and to in-game characters. After sending a certain amount of letters to other players, the player could unlock letters from the in-game characters, which can lead to sidequests. This functionality is no longer available, with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service having been discontinued on May 20, 2014.
**The Onion Knight job has been promoted to an unlockable job, via completing a Mognet sidequest. The Freelancer job replaces it as the default class.
**The Iron Giant appears as a bonus boss accessible through Mognet.
**A bonus dungeon, ???, can be unlocked via Mognet.
**A character exclusive to the remake, the Legendary Smith, is tied to the Mognet sidequests. The party obtains Ultima Weapon through her. Additionally, the Smith can create Ultimate weapons for each job with a Job Level of 99.
==iOS/Android==
Mobile ports for the 3D remake were released for the iPhone on March 24, 2011 and iPad on April 21, 2011. An Android port was later released on June 27, 2011. Changes featured include:
*Full Motion Video - Improved framerate for the opening FMV that now runs on a single screen.
*Music - The quality of the music has been improved, matching the official soundtrack.
*Visuals - Improved graphical quality and framerate.
*Mognet - The Mognet sidequest has been tweaked to remove the Wi-Fi requirements. Now, the letters unlock over the course of the story and require a specific character to be in the lead to get them (Luneth for Topapa, Arc for Alus Restor, Refia for Takka, and Ingus for Sara Altney; Cid Haze and the Fellows do not require a specific person at the front).
With the release of the Pixel Remaster edition on July 28, 2021, both the iOS and Android port were rebranded "3D Remake" to distinguish them.
==PlayStation Portable==
The PlayStation Portable version was released physically in Japan on September 9, 2012 and digitally through the PlayStation Network in other regions on September 25, 2012:
*Full Motion Video - Improved framerate for the opening FMV that now runs on a single screen.
*Data Install - The option of Data Install to enable faster loading times.
*Visuals - Improved graphical quality framerate.
*Localization - Language options in both Japanese and English, with the latter option import-friendly as the PSP is region-free.
*Auto-Battle - An auto-battle feature that enables quicker progression against enemies.
*Soundtrack - Options to switch between the original and arranged soundtracks.
*Bonus Content - An additional Art Gallery and BGM Player.
== Ouya (Defunct) ==
Released on 28 March 2013. Though identical to the mobile ports, it is no longer possible to acquire nor play this port of the game.
== Steam ==
The PC version was released on May 27, 2014 globally, excluding Japan, which was later released on February 2, 2020. Its release in Japan also saw an update that added several features not present in the first release, which included changes from the PlayStation Portable version along with new additional features:
*User Interface - UI changes to accommodate the option to play with the keyboard and mouse as controllers.
*Video Options - The option for a 21:9 widescreen support.
*Localization - New language options: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean and Thai language options.
With the release of the Pixel Remaster edition on July 28, 2021, the Steam port was rebranded "3D Remake" to distinguish it.
Category:Final Fantasy III