Last updated on January 4th, 2026 at 07:19 am
FINAL FANTASY III – Roleplaying Game Review
FINAL FANTASY III is a Roleplaying game from SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd., first launched in 28th July 2021.
It’s rated 9+ and currently has 135+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes FINAL FANTASY III Stand Out
A remodeled 2D take on the third game in the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series! Enjoy the timeless story told through charming retro graphics. All the magic of the original, with improved ease of play.
With the power of light nearly eclipsed by the power of darkness, only the crystals' four chosen adventurers can save the world.
Experience the iconic job changing system first introduced in FFIII – switch jobs at will and use various abilities as you progress in the game. Change into a variety of classes like Warrior, Monk, White Mage, Black Mage, Dragoon, Evoker, or even call monsters to do your bidding with as a Summoner.
Enjoy the exciting third installment in the FINAL FANTASY series!
■ Beautifully revived with new graphics and sound!
・Universally updated 2D pixel graphics, including the iconic FINAL FANTASY character pixel designs created by Kazuko Shibuya, the original artist and current collaborator.
・Beautifully rearranged soundtrack in a faithful FINAL FANTASY style, overseen by original composer Nobuo Uematsu.
■Improved gameplay!
・Including modernized UI, auto-battle options, and more.
・Also supports game pad controls, making it possible to play using a dedicated gamepad UI when connecting a gamepad to your device.
・Switch the soundtrack between the rearranged version, created for the pixel remaster, or the original version, capturing the sound of the original game.
・Now possible to switch between different fonts, including the default font and a pixel-based font based on the atmosphere of the original game.
・Additional boost features to expand gameplay options, including switching off random encounters and adjusting experience gained multipliers between 0 and 4.
・Dive into the world of the game with supplemental extras like the bestiary, illustration gallery, and music player.
One-time purchase. The app will not require any additional payments to play through the game after the initial purchase and subsequent download.
This remaster is based on the original "FINAL FANTASY III" game released in 1990. Features and/or content may differ from previously rereleased versions of the game.
[OS Compatibility]
iOS 13.0 or higher
[Applicable Devices]
iPhone 6s, iPod touch (7th generation), iPad (5th generation), iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and higher
This Roleplaying game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, FINAL FANTASY III is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 27th May 2025
Recent improvements include:
＊Minor bugs have been fixed.
Download & Availability
FINAL FANTASY III is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get FINAL FANTASY III on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
Though the pixel remaster doesnt have the bonus content FF3s bonus content was essentially non existent. This is the best version of FF3 out there.
We love this game, 5 stars if we can get controller support.
We dont see the option to add gold exp.
We get that this game happens before parts one and two, but the airships limited mobility just kills us. And then there are the quests you have to do in mini size. Or where you need to turn into frogs. This just all felt really passive aggressive. Still, this game is better than ff2, and there are a number of things here that return in part 4. We kind of like that there are so many jobs, but it kind of feels like cheating sometimes. Last thing: tap mode doesnt work with secret doors, so thats kind of irritating.
Not optimized for iPhone 15. The island is in the way and is over text. Also, you cannot customize controls unlike in the switch version. The game itself is great, just missing features considering the price.
We love this game so much but it would be so much better if it had controller support.
Great game would be five star if it supported controllers.
Would be 5 stars for us but lack of controller support is a bummer.
Final Fantasy fans are really easy to please. Square slaps new pixelated graphics and a remixed score on an inferior version of the game and FF fans act like they did them a favor. Oh course Square is just setting them up to sell them the DEFINITIVE COMPLETE VERSIONS in a few years with all the added content. Pixel remaster fans get mad at us for saying this now, then when the next versions come out theyll claim those versions were always better. Just watch it happen. Lets be clear about the pixel remasters. Only the first 2 FF games are improved. 3-6 have less content and less challenge. They are objectively inferior versions of the games because there isnt as much to do. Whether you feel that the added content in previous releases was necessary or not is irrelevant. Its LESS CONTENT. Not as much stuff to do and the game ends faster. This isnt an improvement. Pixel remasters arent the pure classic versions anyway, there are lots of changes from the original releases 30+ years ago. So if theyre gonna alter the original games, why wouldnt they include all the extra content released over the years? How can you call something a definitive version when its a barebones release? The 3D version is way better. More challenge, more content, more jobs, and an entirely new introduction.
Every 5 mins or so it boots us out of the game . Infuriatingly frustrating.
If Im not mistaken there was a AR (augmented reality) feature advertised with this game. Does anyone know how to access this feature? Other than that this is one of the best versions of FF3.
We love having this game on mobile, but maybe you guys could add controller support? We play games with Backbone and we would LOVE to be able to use it on this and the other Pixel Remasters.
Honestly this game becomes awesome when you know what youre doing (right dungeon with right class setup especially at that mini dungeon where your physical classes cant do damage) and/or job leveling every battle from the start by doing 5 actions, including defending (1st character can end 5th turn attacking with everyone benefiting as defense occurs first regardless of order), which auto battle helps a ton. We enjoy the quality of life (pixel remaster standard of amped up soundtrack with art, maps, quicker/diagonal walk speed, quick auto battle that remembers your past actions). Unfortunately, the jobs are not explained in game, nor are you able to see your job level in status (its in the job menu). The story is great for its time, and we like the rotating guest characters, though they dont participate in battle like the 3D version. It is nice they didnt pull the 3D version should one want to try (though note the Onion Knight is default here, and an unlock there, with Freelancer just being a bad job that doesnt get stats buffed when you max it out, though unfortunately its character level and not job for onion knight so you cant exploit early), but this game is a lot better given you have quicksaves, multiple enemies who dont have a ton of health, and the other characters make up for having identical kids (3D gave distinct names/slight personalities). Our favorite part of the game is how quickly you get an airship and the initial jobs though we find warrior kinda useless given monk is a bargain (and strong with Tonfa you can find) and you need money for magic in that mini dungeon. The wightslayer is nice for the Red Mage, though it does phase out after the first 2 dungeons. Its still better than FF1 given you can dual wield even shields (some like the Viking to bait weak physical attacks while the rest of the party attacks unscathed). Just remember, if this version of the game frustrates you, you were playing this like a typical RPG without trying to game the system for ridiculous power, which is no fun. You do have to retreat back to town as you cant buy Phoenix Downs until after that mini (2nd) dungeon (nice change though early you need to always heal at the spring first, as inn wont revive), which would compound if the difficulty is excessive for being underprepared (not underleveled as youll be job leveling every battle with that 5 turn defense strategy, though it is only one per battle). Quicksave and healing spots do make the final dungeon (You have to manually backtrack at the top floor as the story forces you to a point of no return to undermine the Gil you make to buy shurikens before the final boss area) easier too, let alone you wont have to only use the OP ninjas/sages as bardsong for the bard has you go first to buff the party (alternate attack/defense) with decent hp healing at higher job levels. Devout and Magus have more spell charges than the sage, and a petrification strategy is fun with those 3 equipping golem staffs to kill anyone susceptible in 3 hits rather than waste magic.
You should update this and other final Fantasy pixel remastered games 1-5 and later then you make final fantasy 6 compatible with more newer devices both Apple and android device and include performance improvement to those games as well.
Just need appleTV support and its perfect.
FF3 is a great game, easily our favorite NES FF. A lot of the Pixel Remasters here on mobile have had frequent crashing issues (Except FF6) but this one has been the worst so far. Please fix stability. Our device isnt old nor is it overheating while playing.
Please add support for controllers on iOS.
Im having a great time with this and all of the pixel remasters but this particular game crashes all the time, to the point where Im almost quicksaving after every battle.
Copying our FF6 review because somebody needs to address this: FF3 is obviously a great game but for the love of god would have putting controller support in a game already with controller in mind be so difficult its like youre intentionally trying to upset your player base (plus the steam version already has it so there is absolutely no reason iOS should have launched without it. Keeping this 2 stars because its playable and its a great game but there is seriously no excuse for lacking controller support.
Freezes and can inadvertently lose progress if you receive an email and/or change apps while playing. Happened three seperate times now mid play.
These pixel remasters are really good we're enjoying the old school final fantasy games alot more. Hopefully now and in the future pixal remasters they had controller support especially to the backbone controller.
Im a die-hard FF fan. Ive played every core game when it was released (including the ones that initially didnt release in America) and have spent countless dollars on ports and sequels. We like the new graphics and music across all 3. Im a little frustrated that theres no controller support, especially because the tap-to-walk pathing in this one wouldnt path through hidden walls (it did in the other 2, so its weird it didnt for this one). Nonetheless, this port is the only port of FF3 that Ive ever actually enjoyed. In fact, this was only the 2nd time Ive beat the game, while Ive beaten the others plenty of times (minus 11 & 14, which we dont consider real games in the series, but are still enjoyable in their own right). Im glad bonus content in all 3 was removed because it was never really balanced well and never made much sense (not to mention they were pointless), but Im also sad there were no attempts at adding content. It would be nice to see tons of side quests added or what-not that actually build and strengthen the story (not Go find our dog or Gather ingredients for our family dinner types of quests). Theres no reason to make a true to the original rerelease we can just go play the original if thats what we wanted.
Love getting to play an old classic for the first time. There is just nothing more nostalgic than the 8 & 16 but era console RPGs. Love that Square remasters this in 2D and the graphics look great. Its the update Ive been waiting for. Wishlist: – Please fix the font. It doesnt match the aesthetic of the game. – Please allow the removal/hiding of the d-pad graphic on the screen. It clutters up the UI in a not-good way. – Please add controller support With these fixes, this easily becomes a 5/5 game for us.
Final Fantasy III was a game originally made in 1990 on the NES/Famicom. This pixel remaster stays true to much of the original games design philosophy, which can be both enjoyable and a hindrance. It uses the old Charge system of magic rather then the modern MP system, Inns dont revive KOed party members, and airships not being able to fly over mountains are just some of the things in this game that might throw you for a loop if you come in after having played other FF titles. The plot is paper thin (it was originally an NES game, after all) and lacks some of the improvements/changes to gameplay and story that the 3D remake gave us. But at its core is a perfectly functional RPG. It expanded on the first games Job System with improved customization options. This is not a game that holds your hand and the difficulty can spike up rather suddenly at times. Its older design philosophy can be easy-to-hate at times, gimmick dungeons that require Mini or Toad are a sour point for us in this game, but the combat is enjoyable and its a solid experience if youre in the market for an old school RPG experience.
We enjoyed the game – it was a lot of fun to play. Will change star rating once the following is addressed: 1) The game could be better optimized for iOS – it makes our iPad Pro 12.9 2020 run hot and run through its battery 2) Final achievement for earning all achievements does not get rewarded – we have tried to troubleshoot by logging in an out of Game Center, force closing the app, etc..nothing works Suggestions: 1) Controller Support 2) Square Enix restore – we would like to be able to play the game on other platforms utilizing the Square Enix backup feature 3) Apple TV app.
Enjoying it thoroughly but it crashes on our 5th Gen iPad about once every 10-30 minutes, presumably due to out of memory (usually occurs when we switch scenes or open the menu). Similar to issue with the first two Pixel Remasters, but much worse for this one. Wait for a few patches for them to fix their memory leaks.
This game doesnt let you listen to other music or podcasts while playing. How does an app releasing in 2021 still have this issue?! We cant give any app with this issue more than 1 star.
No controller support was a total letdown for us.
We were skeptical, given how they didnt give this a console release. We played the NES original and DS Remake so this had quite the shoes to fill. However Im about two hours in and can say with no reservations that this the definitive way to play. The spritework and textures are spot on, from obvious stuff like character sprites and enemies to more subtle things like how water shimmers and clouds roll by. The thing nobody talks about though is the music. While it does borrow a tune or two from the DS remake otherwise its all original and the best of any version of this game. From rock to orchestral everything feels epic an extraordinary. Its the kind of OST youd buy to listen to on its own. As for gameplay its largely the same as any other version, save for one difference. It uses a spell slot-based system for magic. In short this is just like the NES version. To those unfamiliar though basically magic is divided among several levels and each level has a unique pool of points to draw from when casting their respective spells, with each spell costing one point. For instance level 1 spells can have 9 points, level 2 can have 5, and so on. We like this return to form because, since spamming high level spells alone isnt an option like in more modern RPGs, you have to be more strategic and economic. The downsides are the price (18 bucks is a bit much for what you get), a lack of controller support (hopefully a future update will add this), and omission of the DS remakes added story elements. The last point, where each party member had their own personality and plot, is sacrificed to make this more in-line with the NES original, sure, but its still missed. Besides that though we still think this the definitive way to play Final Fantasy III.
This game is exactly what we hoped it to be! Heres a gem for you guys If youre using an iPhone to play, and have a smart TV accessible, you can use screen mirroring (a feature on your phone) to play this game (or any game) on your smart TV! We have a 4K tv, and it does the game even more justice! We see the remastered colors even better on a larger screen! Our phone then acts as a controller then we would love to see this game add the actual controller usage, but its just fine for now. Thank you Square Enix for what you do for us fans! Cant wait to see what else you come out with.
We cant count the many times we have started this game on the DS and never finished it. We got this version and Im falling in love with it. The story is nothing out of this world but it has an unique charm to it. We find ourselves drawn to the world and we feel a need to explore every nook and cranny. The job system is awesome, we played FFV but the jobs in this game are pretty cool (Monk and Geomancer OP). We cant wait to finish it and play the others.
We are a huge fan of this remaster. It hit a lot of the notes, but heres a short pros and cons list. Pros: + Great control. We play on iPhone and iPad (only needed to purchase once), but mostly our iPhone. We havent had issues, and most of what Ive messed up on in terms of control was our own fault save for one gripe (see cons). + This 2D title is a part of history. As far as we can tell, this is a solid rehash of the original, and Im excited to keep clipping through it. It feels like the original with job changes, and thats what we were hoping for. + This is what we expected. And our expectations were pretty high. They really did (sort of) re-invent the wheel here, and we havent been disappointed so far. + The music is OUTSTANDING. Industry reviews have said it all over, but still, its worth noting. Cons: – Theres an issue on our iPad: the game crashes. We are going to chalk it up to being an older iPad because it works flawlessly on our phone, but they should nip that in the bud. – 8-way movement is awkward. Its the one grip we have about the movement. – If youre not into touch controls, you probably wont be a fan. Its all touch controlsyou should know that going in. Thank you, and if pick this up, we hope you enjoy it.
This is the best version of 3 hands down! The graphics/sprites are great, The remastered soundtrack will take your breath away, and the addition of tap mode for the mobile ports is genius! Ill definitely be picking up all 6 Pixel Remasters. (As a side note to Square, PLEASE FIX iOS FF9!!!).
Pros + Awesome soundtrack. + Beautiful sprites. + Auto battle and easier job level up – less grinding. Cons – 8 way movement is too clunky. Prefer 4 way movement. – Typo on Caanan, should be Canaan. – English language font type look out of place. Could use a better font type to improve readability. – Biggest complain for us is the random crashes. Im playing in Pad Air 2, iOS 14.6. Please fix this as we cant enjoy the game with these crashes.
This surpassed our expectations, given Squares track record with mobile releases. The game is absolutely lovely: Easy to control, with great graphics and a fantastic remastered soundtrack. (A slightly nicer font wouldnt hurt, but it honestly bothers us less than we imagined it might.) One very clear downside is that theres no controller support. Seems like an insane omission, especially given that other Square Enix RPGs support it. Its not a huge problem in FFIII, but we think it will make the titles that use the ATB system (IV, V, and VI) sort of a pain. Hopefully they add it.
Played the ds version, never got to play this one. Its nice and love the music and everything but we also found a bug or glitch idk what to call it. Regardless its when youre on the boat. If you get too close to an edge the character may look like hes off the boat but youre not in land. They wont become unstuck at all. Have to shut the whole game down and come back in to the last save. DO NOT save while in that state because you will come back just stuck. Tried it out with the quick save option rather than our regular save.
We're so glad to see Final Fantasy III finally have its original 2D version remade to re-enter the modern gaming landscape, and be preserved in games history for all time. This is the best looking, best playing version of FF3 ever… Except here on mobile where an awkward touch interface drags down the gameplay. This new remaster is begging for a re-release on a real video game system with a real game controller. Until then, this beautiful new version stands as almost perfect.
We play tge game bow normal but sometime game crash and close we hope you can fix this. This defect sometimes appears when there are many effects such as the emergence of the island from under the water. Thx.
Im a young but long time final fantasy fan. We wasnt alive back when some of these games were released. However, Im still a fan of the classics. This, honestly, is not as bad as everyone is saying it is. The graphics look very nice. They are low-res and crisp just as god intended. Theres some inconsistency with the ui and Im not a fan of the font, but its pretty easy to get over if you just focus on playing. The music, now Im a big fan of the music. They arent using the original tracks for FFIII, but re-orchestrated them and honestly we think it was the right thing to do. The game sounds beautiful so far, and Im eager to hear more. The thumb stick control is a little finicky, but you can kind of use it like a directional dpad if you press the directions. The battles are very faithful to the original and fun, and theres a bit of modern magic going on. Its not a sloppily thrown together port of an old game, there is actually some work done here and that is great. If youre looking for a 1:1 copy of the original, emulate it or find yourself an old NES and cartridge. Im enjoying ourselves so far.
We love Final Fantasy. Have done since the early 90s. It was so much fun playing through the 3D versions, and now we love these pixel remasters, except for one crucial flaw: either give us controller support, or actually use the touchscreen to its full potential like in the FF VI 3D version. This weird ghost controller thing, never has been, nor will it ever be, an effective way of controlling an FF game. Come on, already, Square Enix, this is just being unacceptably lazy at this point. You can, and need, to start doing better, yall.
The rest of the remake looks and sounds great. Easy access to a final fantasy we Havent played. Great The on screen controls are loose and unpredictable. Its not ruining the play through. But, it does force us to constantly think about the input mechanism which takes away from the experience.
Would be a much better experience with controller support.
While the game looks great, runs smoothly, and sounds great the one area it really falls short is the movement mechanism. That weird on screen analog does not work well at all and we find that we fight our movements just to get where we want to go. The tap feature is also not great and clunky. The biggest miss is the lack of controller support. The other games work with them no problem but these do not seem to work with our Razor Kishi. Which would make this the perfect way to play these games.
The pixel remaster is amazing and would be top notch if it werent destroyed by the fact that there is no controller support.
The font is tiny and unreadable. Until this is updated, we would not bother playing.
We were so happy to have the original Final Fantasy III, instead of the remake, finally officially available in English, but theres no controller support here! Hoping it gets patched in later.
This is completely unacceptable. This game crashes before the opening scene finishes playing. We literally cant even play the game we paid for. Im on iPad and this is the exact issue we had with the FF1 pixel remaster. Only this time its substantially worse. This is absolutely ridiculous and we will not be supporting this company again. To release a product with such a glaring issue and to not even work to fix it is just deplorable.
Main menu keeps bugging out also when we can get the game to load , it has no audio. Dissatisfied after almost 20 dollars.
SE never gets this right. Please support MFI controllers. And please add it to FF8 as promised.
The final boss, Dark Cloud, will have one skill throughout. Rush out of the work, not recommended to buy.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.2.2
- Size: 530.60 MB
- iOS: 13.0 or later
- Languages: EN, FR, DE, IT, JA, KO, PT, RU, ZH, ES, TH, ZH
- Content Advisory: Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
- Developer: SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.
Last updated: 27th May 2025 | Genre: Roleplaying | Developer: SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.