much success. The North American release's poor sales are partly due to the fact that the game was released after the release of 16-bit gaming systems, making it seem archaic to gamers. The Super Famicom remake sold 1.4 million units in Japan, with nearly 720,000 units sold in 1996 alone. The Game Boy Color version sold a lower 604,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2001, and eventually became the fifth best selling Game Boy Color game in Japan, with 638,551 copies sold. Together with the sales of the remakes, Dragon Quest III is the most successful title in the series and one of the best-selling role-playing games in Japan. As of November 2010, Japan mobile phone version was downloaded more than 1,000,000 times. Wii Dragon Quest Collection sold 403,953 copies in 2011. Reviews and accolades Upon release, Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine reviewed Dragon Quest III and scored it 38 out of 40, making it the magazine's all-time highest-rated game up until then. In the 1988 Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards, Dragon Quest III won the awards for Game of the Year, Best RPG and Best Character Design. In 1989, Famitsu gave Dragon Quest III the award for the best game released since 1983. A survey conducted by Famitsu magazine in early 2006 among its readers placed Dragon Quest III as the third most favorite game of all time, being preceded by only Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII. In North America, Dragon Quest III was considered an improvement over the first two games, with critics finding the new day/night system and the addition of an in-game bank praiseworthy, but the game was criticized for keeping "the same ugly graphical style and clumsy interface" according to Kurt Kalata of Gamasutra. Its reputation has risen in America since its release, primarily due to its gameplay innovations, leading Nintendo Power to list it as number 176 on their Top 200 Games list. IGN later listed it as the 96th best Nintendo Entertainment System game. GamesRadar ranked it the 12th best NES game ever made. The staff chose it over the other Dragon Warrior titles due to its job system which they felt had depth and was influential to video games. In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list. The Game Boy Color remake received very good reviews from critics. GameSpot gave the Game