Squeenix Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster - New Remasters of Final Fantasy I-VI

[Thac0]

It is quite impressive how little information they gave with this trailer.
In the press release (https://press.na.square-enix.com/TH...EMASTER-SERIES-BRINGS-FINAL-FANTASY-I-THROUGH) it says that those games are released individually.
From the screenshot it shows that those are not the godawfull mobile graphics that the FFV+FFVI mobile ports got. They still look inferior to the original SNES graphics tho, and Square did not choose to print free money by remaking them in the DQ III remaster Octopath style. Instead it looks closer to the FF1 and FF2 mobile versions, that have been available for ages.

 

[Lemming42]

Confused. It just looks like the PSP versions of FF1/FF2 (and I think FF4 had a similar release). Which look alright, but remaking the remaining games in that style is hardly something to get excited over. And yeah, agreed - the original graphics tend to look better anyway, especially for the SNES installments.

I'd be more interested in remakes that introduce some quality-of-life features, since the games are all such a massive slog. The worlds and characters are fun enough but the grinding is fucking miserable, especially with the jobs system in FF3/FF5 and the stab-yourself-in-the-face-to-gain-health system of FF2. Not really sure what they could do, though.

 

[Sentinel]

Available on Google Play Store

wow more mobile remasters! very exciting

 

[Gilius Thunderhead]

I'm sure they'll continually find new ways to milk their fanbase for decades to come. I'm personally more interested in mods and romhacks, which actually add value to a new playthrough.

 

[LESS T_T]

Comparisons of sprites compiled by RPGSite. https://www.rpgsite.net/feature/113...-series-here-s-what-we-ve-managed-to-find-out

New versions are from the trailer, so compression artifacts and all that.

It looks like they're going to unify every game under the same aesthetics. Goodbye FF6 colors. Oh you, Squnix.

 

[Duraframe300]

Comparisons of sprites compiled by RPGSite. https://www.rpgsite.net/feature/113...-series-here-s-what-we-ve-managed-to-find-out

New versions are from the trailer, so compression artifacts and all that.

It looks like they're going to unify every game under the same aesthetics. Goodbye FF6 colors. Oh you, Squnix.

It feels like worse version of the old sprites.

FFS. It feels like there's some artist at Square constantly going *This is what you like RIGHT? RIGHT?*. Especially that completely useless new *pixel* sprite for FF1. Why oh why the fuck does that even exist?

FFS just do a decent, coherent job. You did it when remaking FF1 and 2 for PSX. I'd even argue you managed to do it on the FF4 collection on PSP (regardless of other downsides of the game). MODDERS manage to do it. Stop fucking up.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Stop fucking up.

Might as well ask for a unicorn and world peace while we're shooting impossible requests at Square.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

the recent remakes look like rpgmaker games

 

[Deflowerer]

Confused. It just looks like the PSP versions of FF1/FF2 (and I think FF4 had a similar release). Which look alright, but remaking the remaining games in that style is hardly something to get excited over. And yeah, agreed - the original graphics tend to look better anyway, especially for the SNES installments.

I'd be more interested in remakes that introduce some quality-of-life features, since the games are all such a massive slog. The worlds and characters are fun enough but the grinding is fucking miserable, especially with the jobs system in FF3/FF5 and the stab-yourself-in-the-face-to-gain-health system of FF2. Not really sure what they could do, though.

You were grinding in these games?

 

[Thac0]

the recent remakes

Those are the awfull mobile versions, widely considered to be the worst versions of those games for most of them.
Only FFIV has an even worse version in FFIV US (called FF2), because the Japanese nerfed the difficulty of the game until it is beatable by toddlers, because they thought Americans were too retarded to appreciate a proper hardcore rpg from Japan otherwise.

Spoiler

FF IV US version is by far the easiest release of the game.

The new "pixel remasters" seem slightly better than those mobile versions, but still clearly inferior to all of: The original SNES versions, the 3D remakes that FFIII and FFIV already got and the Octopath style remaster that DQ III is getting.
What gives Square? This really wasn't that hard to fuck up.

 

[mogwaimon]

the state of the world is cursed when this is still an improvement over the current FF5/FF6 'remakes'....and if this results in us getting the FF3 remake and FF4 Complete Collection in a 2D pixel format and on PC without emulation respectively, it might not be so bad. Also finally getting the FF1/2 Anniversary Editions off of PSP

but watch, they'll fuck it up somehow and make the FF3 pixel remaster just the original but with shittier sprites or leave out the After Years/interquel part of FF4 or...well, any number of other things.

 

[Hyperion]

and the stab-yourself-in-the-face-to-gain-health system of FF2

The game will punish you for this if you go overboard. Enemies in the final dungeon do percent-based damage, which will make it very difficult to heal yourself to full after getting chunked. Getting yourself a bit of breathing room in the beginning is all you really want to do. Grinding so much you can kill the knights you're supposed to flee from and loot a mid-game dungeon isn't what the game intended, lol.

 

[†††]

Could've at least tried making them in the style of the new Dragon Quest 3 remake. I don't get why Square is so apathetic with the old Final Fantasies

 

[mogwaimon]

Could've at least tried making them in the style of the new Dragon Quest 3 remake. I don't get why Square is so apathetic with the old Final Fantasies

because they don't want to remind people they used to be good at making games so they don't have to actually make good games anymore to milk the fans.

 

[Duraframe300]

the state of the world is cursed when this is still an improvement over the current FF5/FF6 'remakes'....and if this results in us getting the FF3 remake and FF4 Complete Collection in a 2D pixel format and on PC without emulation respectively, it might not be so bad. Also finally getting the FF1/2 Anniversary Editions off of PSP

but watch, they'll fuck it up somehow and make the FF3 pixel remaster just the original but with shittier sprites or leave out the After Years/interquel part of FF4 or...well, any number of other things.

We're not getting those.

Also PSP sprites > those new ones imo.

 

[mogwaimon]

the state of the world is cursed when this is still an improvement over the current FF5/FF6 'remakes'....and if this results in us getting the FF3 remake and FF4 Complete Collection in a 2D pixel format and on PC without emulation respectively, it might not be so bad. Also finally getting the FF1/2 Anniversary Editions off of PSP

but watch, they'll fuck it up somehow and make the FF3 pixel remaster just the original but with shittier sprites or leave out the After Years/interquel part of FF4 or...well, any number of other things.

We're not getting those.

Also PSP sprites > those new ones imo.

so what, for FF1/2 are they using the content from the GBA versions instead or are these straight Origins style ports? and I guess for FF4 it's too much to hope for the Complete Collection but still...

 

[Thac0]

they'll fuck it up somehow

I personally fear for the difficulty. I wouldn't put it past nu-era Squeenix to lower the difficulty on all of the pixel remaster games, akin to the FF IV easy type version.
I think all of the Dragon Quest ports up to now are significantly easier than the original games aswell, while the horribly ugly mobile FF ports are at least identical in balance to the old versions.
That said putting a challenge difficulty in there would be just about the only thing that would motivate me to buy a few, I dislike having to resort to modding for that. Somehow the accomplishment feels lesser if it was made by fans, not the professional developers. Particularily FFV and FFVI could use a little bump to the difficulty, both have systems with a lot of promise, but you never have to make much of them to win.

 

[mogwaimon]

it'd be hard to make the games easier than they are now, FF1 Anniversary is a cakewalk compared to the NES version and even Origins...FF3 is the only one of the six that kinda retained some semblance of challenge IIRC in its remake.

DQ losing the challenge is a shame though. those games are actually pretty tough to begin with so having them dumbed down hurts worse than FF, which has almost always been pretty easy in comparison

 

[Thac0]

FF3 is the only one of the six that kinda retained some semblance of challenge IIRC in its remake.

FF4 3D is arguably harder than the original game. It is a tossup, they included a new skill system in which you can personalise your characters a bit by giving them abilities from other classes and such, but they really buffed the bosses to compensate. If you utilise that well it is easier, if not it is harder.
I played both the European GBA version (which is at least supposed to be very close to the SNES version in difficulty) and the 3D version and I found the GBA version slightly harder, but I found some busted combinations with the new skill system.

DQ losing the challenge is a shame though. those games are actually pretty tough to begin with so having them dumbed down hurts worse than FF, which has almost always been pretty easy in comparison

I'd argue the opposite, if you take some edge off of Dragon Quest III, the remaining game is still pretty fun. If you do the same for FF V and FF VI the games become complete snoozefests.

 

[Falksi]

Jesus fucking wept.

Make some new games you idle cunts.

 

[mogwaimon]

FF3 is the only one of the six that kinda retained some semblance of challenge IIRC in its remake.

FF4 3D is arguably harder than the original game. It is a tossup, they included a new skill system in which you can personalise your characters a bit by giving them abilities from other classes and such, but they really buffed the bosses to compensate. If you utilise that well it is easier, if not it is harder.
I played both the European GBA version (which is at least supposed to be very close to the SNES version in difficulty) and the 3D version and I found the GBA version slightly harder, but I found some busted combinations with the new skill system.

DQ losing the challenge is a shame though. those games are actually pretty tough to begin with so having them dumbed down hurts worse than FF, which has almost always been pretty easy in comparison

I'd argue the opposite, if you take some edge off of Dragon Quest III, the remaining game is still pretty fun. If you do the same for FF V and FF VI the games become complete snoozefests.

Ah, is FF4 3D really that much harder? I fear I hadn't played that version, and the versions I've dipped my toes into really haven't been that difficult at all.

In regards to DQ losing difficulty vs FF losing difficulty, sure that might be, but FF games already being easy, you're not really missing much if an official port dumbs them down because there really isn't much to dumb down. A DQ game on the other hand, is already challenging so if a port were to dial down the difficulty, you'd be missing something essential to the game. Sure, if you lower DQ3 by a degree or two there's some fun to be had...same could be said of DQ2, with a few adjustments the game can turn from hell into something playable by mortal men.

But the official ports/remasters in question (i.e. modern remasters, not the likes of DQ3 SNES or the DQ4 PS2 version) tend to just nosedive all difficulty into the ground so that the most casual critters can pick up the games and 'have fun', even if the game wasn't all that challenging to begin with so that's the context that I thought we were working within when I made that statement

 

[karoliner]

What is the point in doing something if you aren't going to do it right?

 

[Sentinel]

I think all of the Dragon Quest ports up to now are significantly easier than the original games aswell

They aren't. Most bosses actually get buffs, not nerfs, to compensate for the backporting of QoL features. But DQ ports aren't comparable to Square Enix trash because they're overseen by Yuji Horii himself.

 

[Thac0]

I think all of the Dragon Quest ports up to now are significantly easier than the original games aswell

They aren't. Most bosses actually get buffs, not nerfs, to compensate for the backporting of QoL features. But DQ ports aren't comparable to Square Enix trash because they're overseen by Yuji Horii himself.

I gotta play DQ III NES and DQ V SNES to compare. Also since those are the most fun I should replay them anyway.
From what I have read about version differences DQ III certainly gets easier, due to all the new equip boosting martial artist through the roof and thief being a super busted class in the first place. DQ V is harder to compare due to 3 person parties.
I would really wonder if the remasters are easier than the original games, because these games are not exactly tough. They have a bit of bite, but people online talk about them as if they were devious meat grinders on the level of Age of Decadence hybrid runs.

That said I agree that the DQ remasters are much higher quality than anything Square has done with the old FFs in decades, except maybe the 3D versions of FFIII and FFIV which are both pretty fun.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/06/final-fantasy-pixel-remaster-series-launches-beginning-july

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series launches beginning July
New trailer released.

The recently announced Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series will launch in order starting in July, Square Enix announced in a now-removed presentation video.

The series—which will be available for PC, iOS, and Android—consists of individual re-releases of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI. All six titles’ pixel art characters have been fully remastered from their original versions by pixel artist Kazuko Shibuya of Square Enix, who has worked on the Final Fantasy series since the first game.

The removed presentation video was a 30-minute discussion featuring Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker), composer Nobuo Uematsu (Dog Ear Records), and Yoshinori Kitase (Square Enix), with hosts Kenichi Maeyamada and Chiaki Matsuzawa. The group shared behind the scenes stories of the Final Fantasy series’ development, and offered a glimpse into the expectations that went into the games.

The video ended with a new trailer for the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, which confirms the release window. Watch the new trailer below (MP4 download available here).