Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster has sold 2 million copies globally, Square Enix announced. Longtime fans nostalgic for the games they grew up loving, and newcomers looking to experience gaming classics have helped the remastered titles sell exceedingly well. Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster includes Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI. While there have been prior ports for the numerous Final Fantasy titles available on a swath of consoles such as, iOS, PC, PSP, Vita, and Gameboy Advance, the Pixel Remasters were given a graphical refresh, along with minor quality of life changes, and the resoundingly disliked updated fonts.
The Pixel Remaster was first announced in June 2021 and originally launched on PC and iOS between 2021 and 2022. On April 5th, 2023, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster came as a full collection of the six titles for both PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Each of the respective titles was given a dedicated amount of care to remain faithful to their originals while providing modern refreshes and accessibility options. Kazuko Shibuya who worked on the first six Final Fantasy titles, returned as lead pixel artist. Through development, each asset had to be worked from the ground up to adapt to modern displays. The collection is largely heralded by Square Enix as a definitive version of each game.
One of the more notable features was the overhauled sound, as explained in a FAQ on Square Enix, “The BGM tracks were given new arrangements, under the full oversight of the original composer, Nobuo Uematsu. The themes we set for these arrangements were ‘following tradition’ and ‘proper evolution’, so that we did not change or damage the image fans had of the original versions. We arranged the tracks in a way that ‘reproduce’ or ‘re-expressed’ areas of the originals, that we were unable to achieve due to the limitations on the hardware at the time. The sound effects were re-created by the Square Enix sound team, taking care to keep the same feel as the original versions had.” The Pixel Remasters have been praised for the revitalized soundtrack.
With the release of the Pixel Remaster, the older ports were largely delisted from storefronts such as Steam and iOS, to avoid confusion. While players can buy the all-in-one Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection that includes the six games for $75, there’s also the option to buy each title individually.