Many spells and skills exist in Final Fantasy III. The spells are divided into 3 categories: Black Magic, White Magic, and Summon Magic. This section also describes the effects of the Geomancer's Terrain skill and the Bard's Sing skill.
White Magic
These spells are mostly used to heal and protect your allies, though there are some attack spells among them.
Level 1
- Cure- Restores a little HP.
- Poisona- Cures poison.
- Sight- Displays the world map, showing all locations.
Level 2
- Aero- Deals light wind damage.
- Toad- Causes or cures the toad status.
- Mini- Causes or cures the mini status.
Level 3
- Cura- Restores HP.
- Teleport- Teleports the party out of a dungeon and onto the World Map.
- Blindna- Cures blindness.
Level 4
- Libra- Reveals HP and weaknesses of an enemy (does not show HP for boss monsters).
- Confuse- Causes an enemy to be confused. Does not always work.
- Silence- Causes an enemy to be silenced. Does not always work.
Level 5
- Curaga- Restores a lot of HP.
- Raise- Revives an ally like a Phoenix Down does.
- Protect- Raises the defense of an ally.
Level 6
- Aeroga- Deals heavy wind damage.
- Stona- Cures petrification.
- Haste- Increases the attack speed of an ally.
Level 7
- Curaja- Restores a huge amount of HP.
- Esuna- Cures all status aliments.
- Reflect- Creates a barrier that reflects magic on a single target.
Level 8
- Tornado- Deals wind damage, reducing an enemy's HP to anywhere between 1 and 9. Does not always work
- Arise- Revives an ally and restores their HP to maximum.
- Holy- Deals heavy light damage.
Black Magic
These spells are used to deal damage and to cause status effects.
Level 1
- Fire- Deals light fire damage.
- Blizzard- Deals light ice damage.
- Sleep- Lulls an enemy to sleep.
Level 2
- Thunder- Deals light lightning damage.
- Poison- Deals damage and poisons an enemy. If the enemy can't be poisoned, does nothing except waste some Level 2 MP and a bit of your time.
- Blind- Blinds an enemy. Does not always work.
Level 3
- Fira- Deals medium fire damage.
- Blizzara- Deals medium ice damage.
- Thundara- Deals medium lightning damage.
Level 4
- Break- Petrifies an enemy gradually, eventually knocking it out. Not all enemies can be petrified and Break will not always work.
- Blizzaga- Deals heavy ice damage.
- Shade- Paralyzes an enemy. Does not always work.
Level 5
- Thundaga- Deals heavy lightning damage.
- Raze- Causes instant knock-out to enemies with a lower level than the caster.
- Erase- Removes beneficial magic effects (Haste, Protect, Reflect, etc.) from an enemy.
Level 6
- Firaga- Deals heavy fire damage.
- Bio- Deals non-elemental damage.
- Warp- Creates a portal to another dimension.
Level 7
- Quake- Deals earth damage.
- Breakga- Petrifies an enemy instantly. Does not always work.
- Drain- Absorbs HP.
Level 8
- Flare- Deals very heavy non-elemental damage.
- Death- knocks out an enemy instantly.
- Meteor- Rains meteors down on an enemy.
Summon Magic
There are two types of Summon Magic: a type with two effects that occur randomly, and a type with one fixed effect. The former is used by Evokers (and Sages), and the latter is used exclusively by Summoners.
Unless specified otherwise, Evoker attacks target one enemy only, while Summoner attacks target all enemies.
| Lv. | Summon | Evoker: indirect | Evoker: attack | Summoner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Escape / Chocobo | Chocobo Dash Party runs from batte |
Stumble Usually has no effect |
Chocobo Kick Damage proportional to the level difference between caster and enemy |
| 2 | Icen / Shiva | Mesmerize Stuns enemy |
Icy Stare Ice damage |
Diamond dust Ice Damage |
| 3 | Spark / Ramuh | Mind Blast Stuns all enemies |
Thunderstorm Lightning damage |
Judgement Bolt Lightning damage |
| 4 | Heatra / Ifrit | Healing Light Restores HP to all party |
Hellfire Fire damage |
Inferno Fire damage |
| 5 | Hyper / Titan | n/a | Clobber Stomp Both deal earth damage |
Earthen Fury Earth damage |
| 6 | Catastro / Odin | Protective Light Casts Reflect on all party |
Slash Attacks all enemies |
Zantetsuken Instant kill |
| 7 | Leviath / Leviathan | Demon Eye Petrifies all enemies |
Cyclone Wind damage to all enemies |
Tidal Wave Water damage |
| 8 | Bahamur / Bahamut | Aura Casts Haste on all party |
Rend Instant kill |
Mega Flare Non-elemental damage |
Terrain
The Terrain skill is useable only by Geomancers. It harnesses the power of the earth to cause different elemental damage. The determining factor of what effect is caused is the environment the skill is used in. This skill does not consume MP.
A (+) by the skill name indicates a high chance of being cast. A (-) indicates a low chance of being cast. Note that Wind Slash, Ice Storm, or Ice Pillar occur frequently in all environments.
| Environment | Effect | Element | Targets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert | Cave-in (+) | earth | one enemy |
| Desert | Earthquake | earth | all enemies |
| Forest | Wind Slash (+) | wind | one enemy |
| Forest | Ice Storm (+) | ice | all enemies |
| Forest | Shadowflare (-) | non-elemental | one enemy |
| Lava cave | Magma (+) | fire | all enemies |
| Cave | Whirlpool | instant death | all enemies |
| Cave | Ice Pillar | ice | one enemy |
| Cave | Shadowflare (-) | non-elemental | one enemy |
| Airship | Wind Slash (+) | wind | one enemy |
| Airship | Ice Storm (+) | ice | all enemies |
| Airship | Shadowflare (-) | non-elemental | one enemy |
| Underwater | Whirlpool | instant death | all enemies |
| Underwater | Ice Pillar | ice | one enemy |
| Dungeon | Black Hole | instant death | one enemy |
| Dungeon | Flame Burst | fire | one enemy |
Sing
The Sing skill is useable only by Bards. Using different harps can have different effects on the songs sung. Note that the strength of the effect increases with job level.
Note that the effects of Minne, Minuet, and Elegy only last for 2 rounds of battle.
| Harp | Song | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Madhura Harp | Minne | Support: increase physical defense power of the party. |
| Loki Harp | Minuet | Support: increase physical attack power of the party. |
| Lamia Harp | Requiem | Attack: damage all opponents. |
| Dream Harp | Paeon | Healing: heals the party a little. |
| Apollo Harp | Elegy | Support: decrease the amount of damage the party takes from any attack. |