Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster console review - The definitive way to play classic RPGs

When Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster came to PC, I was incredibly excited. After all, some of my favorite games of all time were updated with modern pixel graphics, and a remastered soundtrack. However, they were not perfect. The English font was not great and required players to do some retooling to get a clean, enjoyable font. I recently gained access to the console versions, and it’s basically all I’ve played over the last couple of days.

Interestingly, the current versions of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, which are available on console, boast some new additions to the releases that weren’t included in the PC version at launch. Hopefully, the PC versions will be updated to reflect these changes as well. These came in the form of useful boosts to cut down on grind time, which, while they won’t appeal to everybody, certainly felt amazing to me.

The console versions of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster are the best way to play

As such, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is sold separately or in a bundle. No matter which one you choose to pick up, it’ll definitely be worth it. Like the PC version of the games, they're all digitally remastered, faithful versions of the original Final Fantasy 1-6 releases. However, they have had all of their bugs patched out, so if you were looking forward to some speedrunning tricks, those won't be possible.

This hits Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI the most. Sorry, there's no Item Dupe or Warp Glitch (FFIV), or Vanish+Doom (FFVI). Furthermore, it was nice to see the spells in Final Fantasy 1 do what they’re supposed to do. Even if you’ve never played the first six Final Fantasy games, this is still going to be the definitive way to play them.

Personally, the only real downside is that the “Advanced” content isn’t present in any of these releases. It does make sense since these are based on the original Nintendo/Super Nintendo releases. I would really love to see the content from the GBA releases added, even if it’s a DLC bundle. Even without these, I adore being able to play them on my PlayStation 5. Sadly, the wallpaper/theme that these came with cannot be used on the PS5.

To fully enjoy them, I had to dust off the PlayStation 4. Each of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster releases on PlayStation comes with an adorable theme and a series of avatars, based on the protagonists of the respective games.

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster on console also came with some exclusive updates that, as of this writing, aren’t available on PC. This will absolutely make the game far more enjoyable for people that want to avoid a bit of the grind.

What are the changes to Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster on console?

All six games feature a few useful changes, and I’m a big fan of all of them. First off, there’s the font. You can use the default font or opt for a more pixelated, retro font. This new font is so much prettier for me. In fact, you'll see it being used in all of the footage that I recorded for this review.

Additionally, you can change the soundtrack from 'Original' to 'Remastered' whenever you desire. I did exactly that in all of the footage as well, so you can hear and see the difference in these videos.

Next up, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster has “boosts” that might upset some players, but it's certainly a foolish thing to be mad about. Each game has a set of boosts that can be turned on or off at will. You can either turn off encounters and adjust the EXP, Gold, AP, JP, or Stat Growth, depending on which Final Fantasy game it is.

For instance, in Final Fantasy II, you can increase the Stat/Spell growth of your characters and have set times where you’re guaranteed to gain HP, so you don’t have to grind too hard. I tested this out myself, and it felt pretty smooth. Let’s be honest here, some of the early Final Fantasy games were notoriously grind-heavy.

Additionally, some of them (NES games, in particular) had ridiculously frequent enemy encounters. The very fact that players are able to reduce the grind or turn off encounters entirely means that they can fight when they wish to or simply enjoy the storyline without interruption. For those who are curious, this doesn't appear to disable trophies.

As such, you can adjust these values from 0% to 4%. While it’s definitely useful, it’s not going to be overwhelming. Clearly, there are ways to use these in more efficient ways in the later games. Final Fantasy IV has an amazing grind spot, if you steal Sirens in the Tower of Babil (lower), for example. The best part about all of this is, if you don’t want to use them, you don’t have to! I think they’re useful though, and I will definitely be taking advantage of this.

The visual and audio styles are beautiful

The visuals are still breathtaking, just like they were on PC. I’m a big fan of the new cutscene introductions for the games. Interestingly, these weren’t in the original releases of Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3, in particular. These games feature gorgeous pixel art, which isn't really a shock. The character sprites feel brighter and more vibrant to me. For example, Kain’s armor in Final Fantasy IV is a more brilliant shade of cyan.

In addition to these changes, I’m also in love with the fact that you can swap soundtracks. It must be stated that I adore Nobuo Uematsu’s original work and I’m glad that it’s in the game. The orchestral remasters are worth hearing as well, but the option to change it at will is certainly appreciated. It might seem like a strange thing to enjoy, but I do.

Final thoughts

While I’m disappointed that the PC version of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster doesn’t feature the exciting upgrades that this version does, I’m glad that consoles received these at the very least. Hopefully, these will be brought to PCs in the near future.

That said, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is certainly the definitive way to play these classic games. While other editions might feature more content, this is the ideal way to play the original release exactly the way it was meant to be experienced.

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is a beautiful collection, and I’m glad you can get them separately or in a bundle. Not everyone loves all six games equally, but that doesn't change the fact that they all brought something special to RPG fans across the world. Although it took longer for some of these titles to reach the west, they’re still worth playing, even after all this time.

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 (Code provided by Square Enix)

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch - already available on iOS, Android, and PC

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

Release date: April 19, 2023