Yesterday, some rumors began to circulate that Final Fantasy III would soon be getting an iPhone port. However, that's where the news stopped. Two problems arose: A) the news was based off of a scan of a Japanese magazine that nobody could read to confirm the news, and B) nobody knew whether the game (if it existed at all) was coming to territories outside of Japan. Today Square Enix offered an official word on the matter, and we can all rejoice in the knowledge that one of the lost Final Fantasy games will find its way to North America on the iPhone.
Square Enix's downloadable games division tweeted the news today, confirming the suspicions. The company twitter account stated enthusiastically, "FINAL FANTASY III coming next month!!!!!" It also offered a URL which leads only to a basic webpage with a Final Fantasy III logo and some basic mystical Final Fantasy theme music.
Nothing yet is known about the port. It remains to be seen whether the game will be enhanced like the Nintendo DS version, or if the game will be based off of the original Japanese Famicom (NES) game. Prior to its 2006 rerelease on the Nintendo DS, Final Fantasy III had never before been released outside of Japan, making it something of a legend to North American gamers. It was the first game in the Final Fantasy series to feature the popular and influential "job" system for character classes.
No pricing information has yet been announced, however, given that both the previous Final Fantasy iOS releases (Final Fantasy [iTunes Link] and Final Fantasy II [iTunes Link]) are priced at $8.99 it seems like that's a pretty reliable guess.
