The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series is a near-perfect collection of the original six Final Fantasy titles, updated quite well to be played by today's Final Fantasy fans and new players. The smoothed graphics, orchestral arrangements of the beloved original soundtracks, and litany of gameplay updates demonstrate that this is not just a simple rerelease, but a clearly thought-out collection of titles ready to be enjoyed by anyone who's willing to take a step into classic RPGs from Square Enix. While I don't consider this collection to be truly definitive because of a smidgen of cut bonus content, I still consider this collection worthy of any RPG fan's time and an absolute must-buy for anyone interested in playing through the first six Final Fantasy titles for the very first time.
It’s merely April, and 2023 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for gamers like me wanting to relive their childhoods. So far, we’ve seen Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime Remastered, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, and as of earlier this month, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series for the Nintendo Switch. To say that I am happy would be severely understating my excitement in not just reliving some of my favorite games, but seeing them updated and retrofitted with new features and quality of life fixes, too. I’m ecstatic about how much focus publishers have dedicated toward legacy titles, as simply making them available on an emulator with no additional updates just doesn’t cut it today. Games are easier these days, with additional emphasis placed on clarity and accessibility for gamers of multiple audiences. Attempting to release classic titles without changes risks pushing players away.
Growing up with Final Fantasy titles on my SNES (and their subsequent rereleases on the Game Boy Advance and PSP), I’ve come to hold a very special place in my heart for these challenging JRPGs. In middle school, I purchased Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls for the Game Boy Advance; later, I bought FFI again for the PlayStation Portable. In high school, one of my gym buddies and I would reminisce about FFVI, spending time in between weightlifting exercises coming up with the best strategies for min-maxing characters’ stats through the use of magicite shards. A good chunk of my childhood was spent playing the first six Final Fantasy titles and sharing stories with my friends. Sure, they were hard, and I needed a walkthrough from time to time to figure out what to do next, but boy, they were fun.
In 2023, I can recognize that the first six Final Fantasy games might not be the best fit for players today. Each title’s difficulty curve is quite steep, relying on thoughtful teambuilding, grinding through random encounters, and making your way through a 2D world that may or may not tell you what to do and where to go next. Thankfully, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series (FFPRS) takes the “everything-and-the-kitchen-sink” approach to remastering this classic content. Before I go into detail as to why and how, I wanted to make one thing clear about this review: Final Fantasy I-V can take anywhere from 20 to 40 hours to complete in full, whereas Final Fantasy VI can take anywhere between 40 to 80 hours to complete. If you want to min-max your party’s stats in Final Fantasy II-VI, assume that your completion time will be at the higher end. For those of you who’re not the best at math, that means that FFPRS in its entirely should take at least 140 hours to complete barring the use of any gameplay adjustments and walkthroughs that could expedite your playthrough in a significant fashion. While I did not spend 140 hours reviewing FFPRS, I utilized my existing knowledge of these games to guide my assessment of the collection and its updates. This review can, and should, be used to evaluate a decision in (re)playing a set of classic RPGs whose stories remain the same but with mechanics that are incredibly more player-friendly and respectful of players’ time.
This is not the first release of FFPRS, mind you. Last year, FFPRS was released on PC (Steam) and mobile (iOS, Android) with some minor updates, most notably graphical. The graphical updates smoothed out the pixelated agedness of the original titles while also adjusting the default font to increase readability. However, at the time, there were no ways of reverting the UI settings back to their original glory. With the release of FFPRS on the Switch and PS4, players have more agency in swapping the UI’s font between the modernized and classic styles. Players also have agency in swapping the graphics display between modernized and the classic styles, too. This approach in giving players’ agency in customizing their graphical experience should be the default from in all classic title collections. As a classic game fan, I want to relive the original experience, but I fully recognize the importance of in-game readability.
Nobuo Uematsu’s classic soundtracks were given some additional love, too. Part of my love for video game music came from Uematsu’s original Final Fantasy soundstracks given their power in connecting with the current mood of the game, their catchiness, and their unique breadth. In the most recent version of FFPRS, players have the option of selecting between Uematsu’s originals and an updated orchestral accompaniment that does Uematsu’s work serious justice. The soundtrack of any title can be accessed from the title screen and easily swapped between the orchestral and the classic versions, so if you’re on the fence, I highly recommend listening to a few tracks to gauge which kind of vibe you want to instill in your playthrough. I’m usually cautious for remastered music content, but the orchestral arrangements provided in-game add a level of depth and nuance that couldn’t be portrayed in the original series. The soundtrack remains a treat for the ears, and there is no wrong way of going about selecting the audio experience you prefer. Be prepared for goosebumps if you’re a fan of stellar video game music.
Hidden in the FFPRS in-game Configuration menus are additional gameplay levers that make the game less of a grind and more of a reasonable experience: From this menu, you can disable random encounters, boost gil (money) gains, and increase experience gains by up to four times. This means that, should you wish, you can very quickly level your party to an appropriate level, obtain a massive amount of gil to purchase whatever you want, and then coast through the remainder of the RPGs by wandering around and not needing to deal with any more random encounters. These gameplay levers have been added to the already existing changes made in the original Pixel Remasters, one such change being the autobattle function. Taking all of this together, players can very quickly let the AI battle enemies for a short amount of time, getting to an absurdly high and overpowered level, and then proceeding to a boss to continue the story.
In my most recent review of Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, I discussed the tension that emerges when these kinds of gameplay levers are implemented. On one hand, utilizing experience/gold boosting in an RPG could disrupt the gameplay loop and take away the typical thoughtful decisions players are expected to make. On the other, it lessens the requirement of the grind to get folks further in the game, let alone to the final boss. During my review period, I tested the gil and experience boosts in connection with the auto battle function. Yes, I was grinding much less than I initially had, but I was less frustrated with backtracking and having to deal with the multitude of random encounters. I simply pressed the right joystick button (R3) and backtracked to wherever I needed to go. Just to give you an idea of how much time was saved, I restored the first two crystals of Final Fantasy I in a little under six hours. Of course, some of this was because I knew of where to go from my previous six playthroughs, but hitting level 50 and defeating bosses in two rounds was a direct result of turning on the multiple boost functions.
For those on the fence about FFPRS‘ boost functions, my personal recommendation is to keep them off until you need them. Each Final Fantasy title has periods where you’ll need to backtrack and retrace your steps. When that happens, sure, turn off the random encounters. If you’re pressed for gil because you need to buy armor, weapons, and spells that are appropriate to your current level, set it to 2x. Same thing for experience. By setting the exp and gil modifier to 4x, I very quickly became overleveled and flew through random encounters in a single turn.
The quality of life upgrades I’ve discussed thus far are exclusive to the Switch and PS4 versions of FFPRS (not the PC or mobile versions at this time!), and all of them are welcome additions. There are additional changes that were initially made in the earlier FFPRS editions that have made their way here, too. This includes an in-game map, which I’m a huge fan of, as well as autosaving (!!!), rebalanced encounters, job class changes (for FFIII onward), and much, much, much more. I mention these changes because of how drastically they improve the RPG experience. The map came quite in handy when exploring dungeons and the overworld, and if you’re not interested in seeing it, easily removable. Autosaving is an absolute blessing, and I’m thrilled to see it. Thinking back to my prior Final Fantasy playthroughs, I remember utilizing the Quicksave function for instances where I wanted to turn off my device, but it only worked so far. Every classic collection released today should include the function, especially for JRPGs that do an excellent job in sucking up players’ time.
Some players may be worried about the rebalanced enemies/bosses and adjusted character stats, but worry not. In my experience thus far, the changes to the games have all been balanced in favor of the player rather than to “change up” each game. Bosses seem slightly easier and less gimmicky, especially in Final Fantasy VI. While I’m not yet at the second half of the game (when things turn upside down; if you know, you know), but I am liking what I’m seeing thus far and appreciating boss fights in all of the titles feeling less like a problem and more like a good challenge.
On the Switch, I have nothing but praise to report on how the FFPRS runs in handheld mode. Of course, these are titles that are 35 years old, so it shouldn’t be too taxing on Nintendo’s portable console. But even on the smaller screen, both graphical settings offer readability (one more than the other, of course), autosave functions quickly and in the background without bogging down resources, and there’s no lag/bugginess to be found even when multiple animations are running at the same time.
I won’t consider FFPRS to be the definitive classic collection of the original Final Fantasy titles, however. While there are a litany of changes and upgrades, it has come to my attention that some cut content that was initially present in earlier remasters, most notably Dawn of Souls and Final Fantasy VI Advance, are not present in the FFPRS. As one who played these titles and enjoyed the superweapons, Easter Eggs, secret dungeons, and hidden bosses, I’m disappointed that they’re not included in what very well should be the definitive, and perhaps the best iterations of the first six Final Fantasy titles I’ve played so far in my life.
I’ll say it again: The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series is the best iteration of classic Final Fantasy titles I’ve played so far. I’ve played through these games multiple times on multiple platforms, and I’ve always appreciated additional content being added every time the game is rereleased. This kind of dedication demonstrates to me that a publisher who’s chosen to dedicate bandwidth on remastering a title legitimately sees opportunities for improvements and opportunities to get more players who lacked the opportunity then to fall in love with games some of us hold near and dear to our hearts.
As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, a “good” collection of legacy content gives players the classic games with minor tweaks all in one place. A “great” collection of legacy content gives players the classic games they loved with some graphical updates and gameplay updates. The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series is undoubtedly a fantastic collection of legacy content that has been carefully and continuously retrofitted for the current generation of players. I am thrilled to see this level of attention on a classic set of titles, and I sincerely hope that other publishers take note and follow suit. FFPRS is how you do a classic collection right.
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series is a near-perfect collection of the original six Final Fantasy titles, updated quite well to be played by today’s Final Fantasy fans and new players. The smoothed graphics, orchestral arrangements of the beloved original soundtracks, and litany of gameplay updates demonstrate that this is not just a simple rerelease, but a clearly thought-out collection of titles ready to be enjoyed by anyone who’s willing to take a step into classic RPGs from Square Enix. While I don’t consider this collection to be truly definitive because of a smidgen of cut bonus content, I still consider this collection worthy of any RPG fan’s time and an absolute must-buy for anyone interested in playing through the first six Final Fantasy titles for the very first time.
A review copy of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series was provided by the publisher for the sole purpose of this Digital Chumps review.
