I'm ashamed to say that i have this game (DS version) for over 2 months and i haven't played it yet...

You mentioned the bad reviews.Edge gave it a 6/10 (which is not bad),and if i remember correctly they said that FFIII is a polished museum piece.They wanted the gameplay to be more like today standards (which i think it translates to "more easier") rather than the same gameplay from 16 years ago.
Personally,as Bolivar also mentioned,i believe that all NES FF's will be remade for the big systems of consoles but not earlier than 10-15 years from now.