The first time I played this game, it was the oroginal Famicom version (albeit translated into English) I liked this game better than its precedessor, though it was still a basic one. The four main characters all start out as basically nameless OnionKids (you choose the names) and are given no real history. Fortuately in the remake/upgrade, they are given actual names and a history.
The original version was basic but decent, with job classes you could upgrade to as the game progressed, so you could customize your characters to an extent. There are also a few characters who join you temporarily, and the storyline itself is fairly creative, but also at the same time I could not help but sympathize with the villian Xande (Zande in the Famicom English translation) because the Archmage Noah gave him a shitty gift (mortality) compared to his other students Doga (who got magic) and Unei (who got the land of dreams)
Weird thing is, Doga and Unei end up dying anyway (voluntarily) We never see Noah in flashbacks or anything like that, even in the remake of the game, so it'd have been nice if the story had been fleshed out more and Noah's decision explained.
Xande gets so pissed off that it's easy for the Big Bad to use him as a tool and manipulate him Wonder if the great Noah saw that coming, lol.
Compared to the other earlier FF games (1-VII) this game is solidly in the middle as far as the original version goes, and a bit higher as far as the remake goes.
Grade
FF3 (Nintendo/Famicom version) B-
FF3 (Nintendo DS remake) B-
I would have given the DS version a better grade (A-) if it wasn't for the Mognet feature embedded into it. The WiFi feature in Nintendo DS was shut down in 2014, and I did not play this game until what, 2015 or 2016. So I had to use Game Genie codes to access the special features unlockable only by using Mognet. Fuck Mognet.
