Final Fantasy III was unofficially translated into English in 1999 by Neill Corlett and Alex W. Jackson.[citation needed] This was the first appearance of moogles and the Fat Chocobo in the series. The "walk around the world on a chocobo and I'll give you a prize" quest was repeated in Final Fantasy V. The names of Doga and Unei, two key characters in this game, appear in multiple Final Fantasy games including Final Fantasy IX, which contains a sub-quest involving two items named "Doga's Artifact" and "Unei's Mirror". A crab-like monster named Uruk-Hai exists in this game; the name, although not the monster itself, is a reference to Tolkien's Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings series.[citation needed]
Cancelled WonderSwan Color version
Bandai unveiled their WonderSwan Color handheld system in 2000 and had immediately headed up a deal with Square Co. to release enhanced remakes of their first three Final Fantasy titles on the new console.[2] Although Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were both released within a year of the announcement, Final Fantasy III was ultimately delayed from its late 2001 release date, even after Bandai picked up the game's publishing rights.[3] Although no official cancellation was mentioned by Square, the game's official website was taken down after production of the WonderSwan Color consoles ceased. [4] Instead, a port of Final Fantasy IV was made for the WonderSwan Color. Shortly after Square joined with Enix to form Square Enix in 2003, the company posted assurance that the game's promised remake would not be completely forgotten, and there was speculation that it might find its way to the Sony PlayStation or Nintendo's Game Boy Advance as its predecessors had.[5][6] This would finally come in the form of a Nintendo DS release in 2006. In 2007, producer Hiromichi Tanaka explained in an interview that the WonderSwan Color remake had been abandoned because the structure of the coding of the original NES game was too difficult to recreate on WonderSwan Color.[7]
Nintendo DS version
The remake of Final Fantasy III was already in development when it was decided, after considering the PlayStation 2 and other consoles, to bring the game to the Nintendo DS, a decision that would later be positively reinforced by the commercial success of the Nintendo DS.[8] The Final Fantasy III remake was first announced to be in development on October 7, 2004, but detailed information did not emerge until a year later. Hiromichi Tanaka, one of the main designers of the Nintendo Famicom version, headed the project as both the executive producer and director. His guidance and supervision were needed because the remake was not a mere graphical update as Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II's remakes were, but a total overhaul using the Nintendo DS's 3D capabilities, which allowed the game to have more than one viewpoint; however, the layout of the dungeons and towns closely matches the original. Along with 3D graphics, a full motion video opening scene has been made for the game, similar to those found in the ports of the 2D Final Fantasy games for the PlayStation. The game also has a Mognet system where players can register other players' friend codes, online using Wi-Fi or the local area network, and trade mail, which is essential in unlocking a secret job, quest, and area. Developer Matrix Software handled the programming of the game.[9]