Final Fantasy is one of those franchises that has gone through many ups and downs throughout its many decades of existence. Over the years, the two-dimensional entries in the mainline series have literally seen dozens of re-releases, remakes, and remasters. With the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, Square Enix have seen to release what seems to be the definitive Final Fantasy experience. Having already been released on mobile platforms and PC, it only seemed inevitable that there would be a release for console. This release looks to introduce more people to the series’ roots while offering fans of the series the chance to relive the magic of early Final Fantasy games.

The biggest draw and possibly the main point of Pixel Remaster are the updated graphics and sound. It is immediately clear that the developers did not want to update the sprites to look high definition, as the graphics come across as a more detailed version of their original NES and SNES counterparts. While it’s all in the name ‘Pixel Remaster’, for anyone who hasn’t played these games in recent years, you could be forgiven that they look just as how they remember, and that is probably a testament to not only how ageless the character designs looked in every Final Fantasy 2D adventure, but also the settings and scenery that make up each world. There is one scene in Final Fantasy VI however, that takes everything one step further, I shall not spoil it for you, but it left me wanting the natural next step for any future remasters of these games.

The music that sets the tone for many classic scenes was originally done by Nobuo Uematsu, and it’s fitting that he has returned to oversee the remastered tracks for this release. The majority of the tracks heard in the game retain the overall feel of the original score for each title, and do not feel out of place despite the classic pixel art style. For purists, the original tracks for each game have also been included so you can always switch to Mr Uematsu’s originals if that tickles your fancy.

What sets Pixel Remaster apart from most re-releases is how it brings many of the best elements from past releases for each individual title and ties it together into a single package. Many of the titles utilise the localisations from the Game Boy Advance titles, meaning many of the mistranslations (such as calling the original town in Final Fantasy Corneria instead of Cornelia) have been removed from their original state. Final Fantasy III and IV surprisingly borrow some of the elements introduced in their 3D remakes on the Nintendo DS, such as how bosses operate and updated sound effects.

Another addition to Pixel Remaster is Boost Mode. What it effectively does is allow the player to turn the random encounters off and on at will. This helps offset the frustration that can occur when random battles occur every few steps while exploring the world map and various dungeons. To keep it balanced, the games all offer up to four times the amount of experience, gil (money), and other character growth aspects depending on the game. This doesn’t mean that the games can be completed just by battling the games forced encounters and boss battles, so some random battling will be required. It is nice to be able to build up your characters to where you need them to be and then turning off the random encounters for the rest of a dungeon. Unlike some remasters in the past, the Pixel Remaster versions of these titles do not include a speed up option, so for those wanting to skip through many of the exploration parts and just experience the story are out of luck.

Other additions include maps and auto battling. The maps included not only add world maps to the games that didn’t originally have them, but it also includes maps of towns and dungeons, while also highlighting points of interest such as inns and shops in townships. The games also keep track of points of interest on the world map, so you can keep track of where you might need to return to later on in the game without being too lost.

Auto battling essentially does what it says on the tin. You can either start a battle with it turned on, which will have your party inflict physical attacks automatically until either all the enemies are dead, or your party dies. Alternatively, you can set what you want each character to do, and once all your party have had a move each, turning on the auto battling will have them remember their last action and continue to repeat it. This way, you can have mages cast magic while the monks and fighters inflict physical damage, or any kind of strategy you need to defeat your opponent. Thankfully, if things are looking dire, you can turn off auto battling at any point in the battle to continue on manually.

With many of these inclusions seemingly creating possibly the greatest and most complete version of each of the six titles, there are some omissions from the various remasters and remakes that didn’t make the cut. The Soul of Chaos dungeon does not make a return to Final Fantasy I, nor does the Cave of Trials or the Lunar Ruins from Final Fantasy IV. For the most part, from my time with the games, the main things removed are the bonus dungeons, which to be fair, never added any additional story elements to the games themselves and only served as a place to acquire high level weapons and enemies. What is kept is an overall improved version of what we can experience on the NES and SNES versions of the games.

The stories of Final Fantasies I through to VI were what drew many people to the series at the very beginning. With this release, Square Enix can share these narratives with a new generation, as well as offer veterans of the series to experience them again. Final Fantasy I starts off with a considerably basic tale of prophecy where four strangers will show up at the height of evil in the world and save the planet type tale that was used heavily in the 1980s. Later games had much more complex narratives such as Final Fantasy IV’s theme of redemption, where most characters had a sordid history that they were trying to atone for. Final Fantasy VI’s overall plot involved bringing together characters who were alone in their world, and through finding each other were able to overcome their shortcomings. The stories really do hold up really well, especially in the case of Final Fantasy III to VI.

In order to bring the games into the 2020s, there are some minor sacrifices in some of the games that don’t hurt the overall story but were omitted most likely because they wouldn’t be as acceptable in this day and age. Edgar no longer fights the urge to flirt with a minor, and the pirate accents Final Fantasy II and IV have eased off a lot. There are likely other examples of this but those were the ones I found during my time with the games.

By bringing together the best elements from past releases and updating the graphics and sound while still keeping the overall feel of the original titles, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is the definitive way to experience the original six Final Fantasy games. The games as a collection offer long-time fans of the series a chance to relive the magic of their favourite games, while also introducing a new generation to the series' roots. The stories of Final Fantasies I through VI still hold up well today, and the addition of boost mode makes grinding less of a chore and values your time more. The overall experience is a faithful representation of the games that many players originally fell in love with. Overall, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is a must-play for any Final Fantasy fan or RPG enthusiast.