is a series of video game remasters of the first six installments in the ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

series developed by Tose and

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

and published by Square Enix. The series includes remasters of the original versions of ''

'' (1987), '' Final Fantasy II'' (1988), '' Final Fantasy III'' (1990), ''

Final Fantasy IV titled ''Final Fantasy II'' in its initial North American release, is a 1991 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The fourth main installment of the ''Final ...

'' (1991), ''

Final Fantasy V is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square. It is the fifth main installment of the ''Final Fantasy'' series. The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainmen ...

'' (1992), and ''

Final Fantasy VI also known as ''Final Fantasy III'' in its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' ser ...

'' (1994), available standalone or in the ''Final Fantasy I-VI Bundle'' compilation. It is notably the first release of the original ''Final Fantasy III'' outside of Japan, as only the 2006 3D remake had released internationally prior to the ''Pixel Remaster.'' The ''Pixel Remasters'' feature rearranged music supervised by original composter

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Joh ...

, redrawn sprite art by original artist Kazuko Shibuya, updated

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...

, additional content such as an illustration gallery and bestiary, and other enhancements. Initially released on

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, Android, and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

, the games had a staggered release date between July 2021 and February 2022 before all six games released together on

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

in April 2023 in commemoration of the franchise's 35th anniversary. The games released on

Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

in September 2024. The series received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the upgraded presentation, rescored music, quality-of-life enhancements, included extras, and balancing, while criticizing its technical issues at launch, English font, and the lack of additional content featured in earlier versions. The series has sold over three million units worldwide.

Content

The ''Pixel Remaster'' series

remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

s the first six installments of the ''Final Fantasy'' series originally released between 1987 and 1994 on the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

and

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

. It marks the first international release of the original ''Final Fantasy III'', the first release of ''I'' and ''II'' on PC, and the first widescreen release of ''V'' and ''VI''. An illustration gallery featuring character, monster, and concept art done by long-time series artist

Yoshitaka Amano is a Japanese visual artist, character designer, illustrator, a scenic designer for theatre and film, and a costume designer. He began his career in 1967 at Tatsunoko Production working on anime such as '' Speed Racer'' and later became the c ...

, a music player, and a bestiary of enemies encountered by players throughout the games have been implemented. The ''Pixel Remasters'' lack the changes and additional content implemented in other versions of the games, most notably the dungeons, superbosses, jobs, and other bonus content featured in the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

versions and later iterations based upon them, such as '' Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection''.

Development and release

The ''Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster'' series was announced at E3 2021 with games to be published on iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows via

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

. Preceding the launch of the ''Pixel Remaster'' series, the prior 2010 mobile releases of ''Final Fantasy'' and ''II'', 2014 mobile releases of ''V'' and ''VI'', as well as their 2015 Steam iteration, were delisted from digital platforms as of July 28, 2021. The 3D

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

remakes of ''Final Fantasy III'' and ''IV'' were retitled and remain available on digital platforms. On December 18, 2022, the 35th anniversary of the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise, Square Enix announced the ''Pixel Remaster'' series would release on

and

in spring 2023. The console versions released on April 19, 2023, alongside the ''Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster -FF35th Anniversary Edition-'' physical collector's edition including all six games, and introduced new quality-of-life enhancements; the selection of a pixel-based font, modifiers for the encounter rate and amount of

EXP Exp or EXP may stand for: * Exponential function, in mathematics * Expiry date of organic compounds like food or medicines * Experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop r ...

, " gil", and Ability Points gained, rebalanced difficulty, and the selection between the original or remastered soundtracks. On January 31, 2024, the Steam and mobile versions received an update to include the quality-of-life enhancements implemented with the console release. On September 26, 2024, at

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

, all six games were released on

Reception

The ''Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster'' series received generally positive reception. According to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, all six remasters, as well as the compiled collection featured in the ''-FF35th Anniversary Edition-'' collectors edition, received "generally favorable" reviews for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Critics lauded the updated presentation for the ''Pixel Remasters'', particularly the rearranged soundtracks. The lack of content available in prior versions was criticized. Criticism was also pointed at the original English language font. Following the success of the ''Pixel Remaster'' series, Square Enix has considered potential re-releases of other legacy games.

Sales

The series has sold over three million units worldwide as of September 2023.

Notes

External links

Official website
*
Final Fantasy I-VI Bundle
' on

References

{{Final Fantasy series Fantasy video games Japanese role-playing video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Single-player video games Video game remasters Video games developed in Japan Windows games Xbox One games