Originally announced and shown in a short 30-second trailer at E3 this year, Square Enix has been working on a new project for the first six games in the Final Fantasy series, titled Pixel Remaster. Returning graphic designer and pixel animator Kazuko Shibuya is in charge of the project, giving every bit of faith that these classic games will get the care they deserve, given that she was responsible for all six of them, between 1987 and 1994.
In addition to a fresh coat of paint, all six games will be receiving rearranged soundtracks, supervised by the original music composer, Nobuo Uematsu.
Starting July 28th, Square-Enix plans to release the first three games of the bundle for purchase on mobile devices and Steam. While many have been hoping all six games would be released in a bundle for home consoles, sadly no such release has been mentioned.
However, it is worth noting that until now, Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II have been locked to mobile devices, using a port of the PSP 20th Anniversary remakes from 2007. It is a small victory to finally see these two titles make their way to computer platforms. In addition, Pixel Remaster will mark the first time ever that the original version of Final Fantasy III will see release outside of Japan.
In 2007, Final Fantasy III received a full 3D remake for the Nintendo DS with an altered story, added content, dungeons, a reworked job system, and a new group of heroes with backstory not seen in the original NES version. It sounds a bit concerning in comparison.
Actually, the same concern applies to almost every single title. Since Pixel Remaster is using the original NES and SNES version of every game, bonus content such as dungeons, bosses, weapons, and story elements introduced in the PSP or Gameboy Advance versions of any game aren’t likely to make a return, which begs the question of if they are worth buying at full price, if at all. All versions of these games are already available on mobile and Steam in one fashion or another, given the hefty price of the full bundle costing about $75.00. Thankfully, there will be more on offer than some visual and audio overhauling, but the details aren’t entirely clear.
The releases of Final Fantasy VIII HD and Final Fantasy IX HD each came with a number of pre-installed cheats to make both games easier for new players. Such cheats included unlimited gil, unlimited limit breaks, gameplay speed-up, and so on, depending on the game. With any luck, we’ll be seeing a similar treatment with the Pixel Remaster collection.
As shown on the Steam pages and the Square-Enix blog, each game will feature a number of enhancements to the gameplay, including an updated user interface and AI for auto-battle options. Hopefully, this means Pixel Remaster will put an end to the hours of level grinding which the NES version of Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II, in particular, are infamous for.
The first half of Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster will be released on July 28th. Fans can pre-order Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy III individually, or as a bundle on Steam, today, and get free goodies that include soundtrack samples and digital wallpapers.
