The game received mostly positive reviews upon release, though the jazz-inspired soundtrack by company composers Yoshino Aoki and Akari Kaida was widely derided as being both inappropriate to the atmosphere and unmemorable.

Critics generally remarked that Breath of Fire III lacks innovation but is highly engaging due to the craftsmanship and attention to detail in both the story and gameplay.

[2] Breath of Fire III is a traditional console role-playing game that requires the player to accomplish story-based objectives while battling enemy creatures in a number of fantasy environments.

Presented from an overhead isometric viewpoint, the player may rotate the game's camera in any direction around the central character, as well as tilt it up or down to see over or under impeding objects.

[3] When traveling through the game's environment, each character can perform a unique special ability that allows the player to solve puzzles or destroy objects, as well as gain access to otherwise hidden areas.

While journeying on the world map, players may set up camp, which can replenish a character's health by resting, as well as allowing them to speak directly to any member of their party.

Using a turn-based strategy approach, the game allows a player to input commands at the start of each combat round, which are then carried out in accordance with each character's "agility" rating.

Battles are won when all enemies are defeated, yielding experience points that go towards gaining characters' levels, which in turn leads to higher statistics and new skills.

He is accompanied on his quest by several other playable characters, including Nina, a winged princess from the Kingdom of Wyndia and powerful magician; Rei, member of the cat-like Woren tribe and skilled thief; Teepo, an orphaned rogue and longtime friend of Rei's with no memory of his past; Momo, daughter of a famous engineer and inventor; Garr (Garland in the Japanese version[5]), an experienced warrior and member of a group known as the Guardians who serve the goddess Myria; and Peco (Pecoros in the Japanese version[5]), an onion-like creature with limited speech and a connection with nature.

Myria, an ancient Goddess of Destruction, serves as the antagonist once more, though her motives have changed, and she is instead set on preserving the lives of humanity by ordering the deaths of the dragons.

Ryu, Teepo and Rei run afoul of the giant woodsman Bunyan; Mygas, a traveling wizard who is camped outside of McNeil village; and the self-doubting master of non-lethal combat, Durandal, who provides the party with the skills to impress Hondara, the benevolent Urkan priest who despises violence.

Ryu, a preserved baby dragon unearthed by miners, inadvertently shifts form into a young blue-haired boy and is taken in by wandering thieves named Rei and Teepo, members of the cat-like Woren clan.

The institute's chairman and colleague of Momo's late father, Dr. Palet, informs the party of a mutant creature causing trouble at the biological waste dump.

[10] Back in Yraald Region, the pair regroups with Nina, who led a regiment in arresting Mayor McNeil for his involvement with the attempt on Ryu's life and the destruction of their home.

[13] Capcom USA announced in August 1997 that the title would receive an English localization in North America, with the release date originally set for January 1998,[13] which would eventually get pushed back to the following March.

[18] On January 27, 2016, Capcom announced that Breath of Fire III would be re-released in February as a download through the PSN network for the PS Vita, PSTV, and other PSP hardware compatible devices.

The music of Breath of Fire III was composed by Yoshino Aoki and Akari Kaida, two members of Capcom's internal sound team who also provided the vocals for the title's ending song "Pure Again".

While previous games in the series used more traditional orchestral compositions, the soundtrack to Breath of Fire III features a jazz-inspired motif that focuses on instruments such as piano and xylophone.

[19] In September 1997, Capcom released the Breath of Fire III Original Soundtrack published by First Smile Entertainment, which features 31 select songs from the game across a single disc.

[34] It was also met with a positive critical reception in Europe, with Computer and Video Games awarding it a full five-star rating, concluding that it is a "totally engrossing RPG" and "highly recommended.

"[24] Reviewing the Japanese release as an import, GamePro called it "a very enjoyable RPG in which sure craftsmanship is easily evident", giving praise to the colorful graphics and well-constructed battle system yet criticizing its soundtrack, remarking that it "veers widely from unmemorable electronica to hopeless schmaltz, and more often than not, it doesn't add to the atmosphere of the story.

[4] In their review of the North American release, GamePro disagreed about the story, describing it as complex and full of surprising twists and turns.

[25] Next Generation likewise considered Breath of Fire III a gift for lovers of traditional, pre-Final Fantasy VII RPGs, particularly praising the English translation, well-developed characters, hand-drawn sprites, and detailed world.

"[29] Game Informer called it a "fairly straight-forward RPG" with colorful graphics and good characters, but found the long load times and high rate of enemy encounters to be a hindrance.

[36] The re-release of Breath of Fire III for the PlayStation Portable was received similarly to the first in Japan, with Famitsu giving the game a marginally better score of 29 out of 40.

[18] Others, such as Play Magazine, found it to be "pretty generic, as all RPGs never fail to be, but does it all expertly, providing a great adventure that will soak up some hours.

The PSP version sold 23,448 units in Japan,[40] enough to qualify for a re-release under Capcom's "CapKore" label at a reduced price in January 2007.