2021 was an exciting year for fans of classic Final Fantasy. It was announced that the first six games would be getting remastered for PC and mobile devices. Hardcore Gamer loved the Pixel Remasters, but the reception among fans was more divisive. Some of the complaints were over smaller matters, such as no option to play the original music or lack of bonus content found in the respective Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable version. Others were of larger scope, such has wanting a more full-fledged 3D remake in the style of Trials of Mana or Final Fantasy VII Remake, while others wanted things to remain 2D but given a 2D-HD remake in the style of Octopath Traveler. These theoretical remakes have enormous potential to be great, but drastically changing the games was never the point of the Pixel Remasters. They were always meant to be a way to experience these games close to their original formats but conveniently available on modern platforms. The 16-bit ones remained close to their original graphics while the 8-bit ones kept the same artistic style but were given a 16-bit facelift. The other complaints seem more reasonable to address in the form of updates.
Earlier this year the Pixel Remaster games were ported to PlayStation 4 and Switch. This only seems fitting since most people first experienced Final Fantasy on either a Nintendo or Sony console. After waiting almost two years to play these games on console, they did have quality-of-life improvements added. The developers listened to the cries for the original music to be included, and even though the remixed soundtrack is fantastic, having the option to hear the music as it originally sounded is a nice option. Other improvements included the ability to turn off random encounters along with adjusting the amount of gold and experience received so the player can make the game easier or more challenging. But the one addition that fans were most vocal about wanting was still missing.
Being based on the original releases, all six Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters only include the content from their original releases. For pure nostalgia, older players might not mind because those were the versions they first played and may consider the added content unnecessary. That’s fine for them, but these games have been released in several formats throughout the years. Final Fantasy VI for example was released with additional espers and bonus post-game dungeons for Game Boy Advance in the early 2000s and again on PC in 2015, which is long enough ago where people who were introduced to these Final Fantasy games through later versions would consider the bonus content part of the default experience, making the Pixel Remasters feel incomplete.
But regardless of whether or not the player has person nostalgia for the bonus content, it would be great addition to the games. Not only would it help make the two year wait for the console versions feel worthwhile, but the content is enjoyable in its own right. It’s mostly challenge dungeons for the post game, but there are other nice surprises as well. One of the particularly-enjoyable additions was being able to change the party at the end of Final Fantasy IV, meaning the player could take on Zeromus with Yang, Cid and even Edward if they are feeling particularly masochistic. The Soul of Rebirth in Final Fantasy II actually adds a decent amount of story content, which is surprising for tacked-on post game content. Final Fantasy III would be the version that benefits the least from restoring the bonus content as it was never released in the West in its 2D format prior to the Pixel Remaster. The changes in Final Fantasy III would be hardest to implement since the only western release it got prior to this was the 3D remake, though that version did include additional jobs and an extra dungeon that can be unlocked via Mognet.
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters have been available on PC and mobile devices for a couple years and consoles for a few months now. In their incarnations they’re still enjoyable and highly recommended to anyone who is a fan of turn-based RPGs, whether it be someone’s first time experiencing this era of Final Fantasy or their thirtieth. That said, the lack of the additional content that was included on some previous versions of these games makes it difficult to declare these versions the definitive ones. There have been no announcements to the effect that Square Enix has any plans in the foreseeable future to update these classics with the bonus content, but one can always hope they decide to do what many could consider an improvement to some already great games.
