Final Fantasy III (NES)

Final Fantasy III
Developer: Square Publisher: Square Platform: NES Released in JP: April 27, 1990 This game has hidden developer credits. This game has unused enemies. This game has unused items. This game has unused text. This game has a prerelease article This game has a Data Crystal page

Final Fantasy III is, of course, the third game in the Final Fantasy series and the last one for the Famicom. Like Final Fantasy II before it and later V, it skipped an overseas release on its native platform, resulting in a renumbering of the titles that were released in the US for Nintendo consoles (thus Final Fantasy VI ended up being the game to get the "Final Fantasy III" title in the US). Despite that, it still deserves notoriety for setting a more definitive template for the gameplay and visual presentation style of later Final Fantasy titles, especially V, which carries over a similar customizable job system.

For many years, this entry was something of a lost game, even in Japan: a planned WonderSwan Color port was scrapped due to the loss of the original source code, and consequently it ended up being the only Final Fantasy game from the 2D era that was ported to neither the PlayStation nor the Game Boy Advance. It would eventually get a 3D remake for the Nintendo DS, which is the version that made it to the rest of the world. In 2021, the Pixel Remaster version of III was released, which finally gave players outside of Japan the chance to play (a remastered version of) the original game.

To do: Steal more info from FFWiki or something. Some good info here, and this site has some info on the NES enemies.

Developer Message

Hold Up + Left + Start + Select, press Reset, then release Select to display the message "BY: NASIR" (Nasir Gebelli, the game's programmer). Presumably, he could have used this code to prove the game was his if a pirate were to remove the game's credits.

Unused Text

Location Names

All of these locations are present in the game, but the location text goes unused.

ウルのいど

"Ur's Well"

サロニアのせんじょう

"Saronia Battlefield"

こだいいせき　ちょうさたい

"Ancient Ruins Investigation Unit"

きょだいせん　インビンシブル

"Great Ship Invincible"

たきのうらがわ

"Behind the Waterfall"

ザンデのへや

"Xande's Chamber"

Unused Items

• かめのこうらわり ("Turtle Shell Split") - A battle item that casts Erase on a single target. It can only be obtained through a glitch. It ended up being used in the DS remake, where it was called the Shell Breaker.
• ちんもくのおふだ ("Silence Amulet") - A battle item that casts Silence on a single target. It can only be obtained through a glitch. Used in the DS remake, where it was called the Silence Seal.
• ボムのあたま ("Bomb Head") - A battle item that casts Flare on a single target. It can only be obtained through a glitch. Possibly removed due to redundancy with the functionally-identical Chocobo's Wrath item.
• ハンマー ("Hammer") - A lightning-elemental hammer with 25 attack power, and 60% hit rate. Can be equipped by Viking. It can't be found, stolen, bought, or won from enemies, but it can be obtained through a glitch. It may have been removed due to being vastly outclassed by the time you actually gain access to the only job class that can equip it. Used in the DS remake.
• ゆめのたてごと ("Dream Harp") - A harp with 0 attack power, 60% hit rate, and the ability to put targets to sleep. Can be equipped by bards and ninjas. It can't be found, stolen, bought, or won from enemies, but it can be obtained through a glitch. Used in the DS remake.

Unused Enemies

Captain

Level 34 with 315 HP, yields 410 EXP and 800 gil. Doesn't have any spells or elemental affinities, and it doesn't have any items to drop or steal. Has an alternate palette for some reason. Seems like there were supposed to be goblin enemies on the surface overworld, judging from its stats.

Hobgoblin

Level 48

16,560 HP

121 Attack

28 Defense

32 Magic Defense

320 EXP

8 CP

2,500 gil

Its HP places it around the final areas of the game, maybe the Ancient's Maze or as part of formations in the Crystal Tower, though given its relatively low level it could have appeared as a powerful, if obscenely-hardy, enemy earlier on, which is also supported by its relatively high gil drop. Either way, the dummied-out status of this and the Captain mean that at some point in development it was decided to limit Goblins to the Floating Continent.

Phoenix

Level 35 with 330 HP. Yields 960 EXP and 440 gil. Weak to Ice and Wind, and can cast Fire. Potions can be stolen from it. Definitely the most complete of the dummied enemies. Stats place it somewhere on the surface world as a random encounter, or perhaps earlier as a boss.

Spriggan

Level 64 with 1,140 HP, yields 4,600 EXP and 4,400 gil. Potions can be stolen from it. This one was definitely meant for the Ancient's Maze.

Terrible Dragon

To do: Apparently there's a third palette, but I can't find it.

Level 64

16,510 HP

144 Attack

38 Defense

208 Magic Attack

18 Magic Defense

4,600 EXP

66 CP

4,500 gil

Has no items or elemental affinity, but it does have a Strength of 150 - higher than even the final boss! Seems like either a powerful Ancient's Maze or Crystal Tower enemy, or perhaps a superboss. Might have been removed for being too powerful, as the last few bosses in the final game are incredibly difficult already.

Lost Gold

Level 30 with 265 HP, gives 560 EXP and 310 gil. Can steal Potions. Has no special abilities or elemental affinities. Apparently, this enemy was listed in Japanese guides. It had its stats boosted and ended up used in the DS remake, as a random encounter in the Goldor's Mansion room with the Gold Swords.

Fury

Level 11 with 120 HP, yields 152 EXP and 102 gil. Steal Potions, no abilities or elemental affinities, the usual. They were also put in the DS remake, as a random encounter in the first floor of Tower of Owen.

Sea Dragon

To do: Replace existing graphic with the correct palette. Should probably go on a Prerelease page, too.

Level ?

380 HP

62 Attack

4 Defense

? Magic Defense

1560 EXP

? CP

560 gil

This enemy does not appear in the ROM data itself, but it does appear in the official Japanese Famicom strategy guide book, complete with stats, showing that the enemy was a very late removal and still existed in the game when the guide book was being put together.

However, this enemy did make its way into the DS version, appearing on the water in the northern part of the Floating Continent. It also makes an appearance in the Pixel Remaster version, though is no longer missable as it can also be found in various rivers on the surface world.