GAME CLEAR No. 187 -- Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
video games game clear final fantasy pixel remaster square enix playstation ps4Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (2021, Multiplatform)
Remaster of: Final Fantasy (1987, Family Computer/NES)
Remaster Developer: Tose, Square Enix
Remaster Publisher: Square Enix
Original Developer: Square
Original Publisher: Square
Clear Version: PS4
Clear Platform: PS5
Clear Date: 8/5/24
| Why should I care? |
|---|
| Final Fantasy is a juggernaut series with few peers in the industry, and the Pixel Remaster of the first title is a great, accessible way to see how it all started. |
You are the bringer of light…
“Which version should I play?”
It’s that age-old question in this hobby. The very nature of the medium of entertainment software and the advancement of computing over the course of its life has created an environment of frequent ports, rereleases, remakes, and remasters of classic games to modern platforms. In an ideal world, such rereleases would be definitive editions every time, and there would be no need to debate the merits of each version, but of course this is not the case. Sometimes a new version is botched or makes inexplicable changes to the gameplay or story, sometimes an emulation product runs poorly, and sometimes you just want to play the original version regardless of any improvements subsequent releases may have made. Thus, you may find yourself asking the question above to trusted friends, a webforum, or a search engine (which will link you to a webforum thread breaking down the qualities of each version).
As I’ve started to dip my toes into early Final Fantasy, I’ve found it to be among the most fraught game series when it comes to this question. A number of games’ original versions were never released outside of Japan, many rereleases make drastic mechanical and/or visual changes, and the sheer number of different versions can be staggering. The original Final Fantasy, for its part, has some 6 releases that can be considered reasonably distinct: the NES/Famicom original, the WonderSwan version, the PS1 version, the GBA version, the PSP version, and this Pixel Remaster — at least I think I have that right. That makes for a kind of daunting choice to make, especially for someone like me who has no opposition to tracking down a reasonably priced copy of an old release on original hardware.
As a rule of thumb, I strongly prefer playing through series in release order when possible (I almost never ask that other common question “do I have to play [previous entries] before playing [lastest entry]?”). Although in this case I broke that rule for both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII for different reasons, my plan is now to play through the remainder from the first entry onward. I am reasonable, though. If remakes or remasters exist that aren’t overly mutative to the original game, I’m happy to play those. Consequently, this Pixel Remaster series seemed like a great way to play the pre-3D Final Fantasy games in a convenient modern package.
After consulting a friend and Final Fantasy fanatic, I found out that to a diehard, some of these games may make too many changes to stomach. Troubling! Despite that, he did say that the first Pixel Remaster is a pretty good version of Final Fantasy and that it even retained some mechanics unique to the first entry that were altered in later rereleases to make them align more with the mechanics of more recent entries. I liked the sound of that and decided that I was comfortable with this version. Phew! Isn’t playing old games fun?
If you’ve made it this far, I guess I’ll tell you some actual thoughts about the video game Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster instead of rambling about the very concept of video game rereleases.
It’s very good! If you’re reasonably familiar with turn-based RPGs, it’s easy to jump right into. Your first order of business is to build a party of four. You can use any combination of the game’s six classes, but beginners are traditionally advised to use a Warrior, White Mage, Black Mage, and a fourth of their choice. I went with Monk, since I always gotta have a hand-to-hand specialist on my team if it’s an option.
You’re then thrust into the main quest. Your four heroes are the Warriors of Light, chosen to restore the Crystals of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, which can be found in dungeons at the corners of the world of Final Fantasy. This will bring an end to the Darkness that has enveloped the world. So off you go doing little turn-based battles, talking to townspeople to try to figure out where to go next, and eventually fighting the evil bosses that want to stop you from restoring the Crystals. Along the way, you’ll upgrade your armor and weapons and/or purchase new spells to use to help you defeat tougher foes.
It’s all pretty standard stuff, but in 1987, I’m sure it was fairly innovative. If this were a higher-effort piece, I’m sure I could find out exactly what bits of the game were groundbreaking or genre-defining and what was borrowed from even earlier RPGs. Alas, this GAME CLEAR ain’t one of those.
Anyway, even if it feels a bit basic by virtue of its own influence, it’s still fun! If you like turn-based RPGs, you’ll find something to enjoy here. It’s got a cute world with great spritework, and it’s fun to run around and figure out what the world’s problems are and how to solve them. It’s also nice that it only took me 13 hours to 100% complete the game, including the bestiary. That’s a breezy little RPG right there, especially compared to the 81 hours I dumped into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It can be fun to build a world-destroying party over the course of tens of hours, but it’s also not bad to be able to see a game through in a little over a dozen. I’m glad both options exist in the franchise.
I’m told that the original was much longer, but I’m kind of inclined to believe that was at least partially because some of the design smell that has been subverted by the Pixel Remaster. The dungeons of Final Fantasy feature tons of pointless, empty rooms and corridors with absolutely nothing in them. If you were playing the original without a map, you might waste countless hours wandering those areas in search of the staircase to the next floor, generating tons of unnecessary encounters that may wear our your party to the point that you need to leave the dungeon without completing it (or worse, wipe your party and cost you hours of effort for nothing). The Pixel Remaster conveniently includes a map that tells you exactly where to go if you’re inclined to use it. Similarly, the power creep of enemies seems to have been tweaked a bit such that grinding isn’t necessary to get over certain in-game “walls” as they’re often called. I can see why purists may think this is part of the experience, but frankly I don’t think I missed much. I think this is a great, streamlined way to experience the story, combat, and setting of Final Fantasy without some of the ’80s annoyances — and I say that as someone who’s about as tolerant of such annoyances as anybody.
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is also, if nothing else, a vehicle for a terrific Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack, offering both the original chiptune version and a lovely new orchestral arrangement thereof. You can toggle between the two at any time outside of battle, and I enjoyed flipping between them. Some tunes have a certain punch in the original NES style, while others really gain something from the full orchestration. I’ll never get enough of Uematsu’s compositions, and I look forward to hearing more as I continue with this series.
All told, I had good fun with this version of the first Final Fantasy and am glad to have played it, but it’s hard for me not to compare it to my experience with that other big Square Enix property, Dragon Quest. I genuinely adored the first Dragon Quest (specifically, the Switch/Mobile version of it I played), and entries like Dragon Quest III and Dragon Quest V make the list of my very favorite games of all time. Although Final Fantasy has more sophisticated combat and Uematsu is a better composer than the still-good-but-also-fashy Sugiyama, the charm of Dragon Quest is simply overwhelming. I’d give the nod to DQ1 over FF1, but I’ll be interested to see how venerated titles like Final Fantasy VI ultimately measure up to my beloved Dragon Quest.
Final Fantasy II or Dragon Quest VI. Which will join the ranks of the GAME CLEAR series next? Stay tuned to find out. In the meantime, maybe give one of the freshman entries in each series a try for yourself if you haven’t yet. They’ve both got plenty of fun to offer, and neither demands all that much of your time.