Final Fantasy Legend III, known in Japan as SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha, is a role-playing video game set in a science fiction-based world where players take on the role of a four-person party as they travel between environments in different time periods.[4][6] The party explores different environments from a top-down perspective, talking with characters to advance the narrative, using shops to buy and sell items and equipment, and entering battles during exploration.[6][7] Players choose their basic characters from two different races, humans and mutants, who have different ways they can raise their experience levels.[7][8] Travel between eras is carried out using the airship Talon, which is upgraded during the campaign to reach new areas.[6]
Battles play out using a turn-based combat system, where party members attack enemies using their equipped weapons or magic spells.[7][9] Humans raise their level using experience points in battle, while mutants raise their attributes and skills based on usage in battles.[4][8] Humans and mutants can evolve into monster or robot character classes using items gained from enemies; meat triggers evolution into beasts, then monsters, while mechanical parts transform characters into cyborgs, then robots.[7][8] Characters are further customized by equipping magic stones, gaining access to new abilities.[7] Dying in battle forces the player to reload a previous saved game.[6]