Oh, I love FF III. I was wondering what I had placed higher - IX, as it turns out. Could have been V, though, which I also adore, or VII. These four were at the top, but kinda ordered at random.
This game is an amazing achievement. FF had been ambitious from the start, but this here includes so, so much, and it is so fun. This one might feel the most like a fun, lighthearted adventure (like I, but with better graphics and so, so amazing monster sprites). You stumble from weird plot to weird plot, while unraveling the big story behind it all. There is implied lore that delights my heart. Every location is an Easter-egg hunt, giving all the towns an additional layer of fun, and honest-to-god reminded me a bit of my childhood, when a friend would hide a little figurine or something, and the other person would look around the room to find it.
An important introduction: Moogles! They are adorable, and awesome, and I love them.
And, of course, a flexible job system, where nearly every job has its time to shine (with the sole exception of Bard, which is a shame). I really like, how this take on the job system is so very different from all the ones that came later (and I don't think the later version is superior, I enjoyed what I got here). You basically get a set of toys, and can play around with them. The game even tells you, by giving you the right equipment, that you could, maybe, try this toy out NOW. And suddenly, you have a bunch of thieves that rip all the monsters apart, at least for some time.
The only problem is the item limit, but aside from that, I loved exploring the different jobs, and just changing to what the game wanted me to use. More like a puzzle game (and again, I think the point was to make the player actually try out all these different jobs). I also think it might not be so hard to actually keep four jobs for the most part, maybe? A thief is supposed to be viable until the endgame, due to the insane amounts of hits he gets, I think? Sure, there are places were you simply need a Dark Knight or a Dragoon, and I guess the very endgame is too hard, if you don't use the superclasses? I will certainly try, at some point.
A detail I really liked was, how the seed for Cecils journey from Dark Knight to Paladin finds its seed here. There is some lore, which I forgot the details about, but that are about the Dark Knight and where it's power comes from, or something. Like all games in this series, you get ideas in one game, which are really interesting and get then explored in the next.
I love the summons, and even if they are less practical, I think I enjoyed how they worked. And just having them introduced here - summons are great.
There is quite some nice lore, and when you get to the Cloud of Darkness, and its world, I couldn't stop seeing a world where the power that protects it went too strong, and basically destroyed it, enslaving the ones who are supposed to guard it. Like it would happen in the world of Light, if that side became too strong. With the Cloud of Darkness not as a willing antagonist, but more a force of nature, that will devour everything, if there isn't some sort of equilibrium. I love the world building in this game.
I'm forgetting stuff, I know. But I think this is an amazing game, and one of the most purely joyfull experiences of the series. As Positronic Brain mentioned, it took the good stuff from I and II, and mixed it. Personally, I think the result is amazing. Also, look at some of these sprites, they are incredible:
I adore this slime. He looks so grumpy.
Dullahan, I presume. Great, but nothing against
the great and mighty Hein. No idea what, but I love everything about this guy, despite having nearly no backstory, and love his inclusion into the backstory of VIII.
And, granted, the best is also last:
Well, Xande is plenty fine, but I'm talking, of course, about
What an awesome sprite. so much detail, so much...there. The spritework in this game is great.
Oh, not to forget the best sprites of them all:
The cutest sheep of them all
his majesty, and
this guy. Your were brave, little one.
Well, that's enough. I love this game.