Xbox on Thursday surprise-dropped some Square Enix JRPGs, including six Final Fantasy games and two Mana titles, fon Xbox and PC following an announcement at the Tokyo Games Show.
First up, Final Fantasy 1-6 are now available in their pixel remastered forms. These feature 2D pixel remasters of the first six Final Fantasy games, which were originally released on PC via Steam on July 28, 2021, and were later brought to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and even iOS and Android. You can buy the games together in a bundle or separately.
The first six in the series often get overshadowed by Final Fantasy 7, which has been the subject of a high-profile remake trilogy, along with the MMO Final Fantasy 14 and some of the other newer releases. However, Digital Trends ranked Final Fantasy 6 as the best mainline Final Fantasy game, calling it “perfectly paced” and “an absolute triumph in every sense.” It also offered unprecedented player freedom and customization for its time, and was the first game to feature high-quality 2D character sprites, which has been recreated across the other entries in the bundle.
Other changes to the pixel remasters are rearranged soundtracks (although you can still switch between original and new as you play), a new font option, the ability to turn off random encounters, and other extras.
Xbox further announced that two other Square Enix JRPGs hit Xbox and PC on Thursday: Trials of Mana and Legend of Mana, which are also available on Xbox Game Pass. We also got a new trailer for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, which was already announced to be hitting Xbox Series X/S on November 14 alongside PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC. The latter, in particular, is visually striking, and because its the first game chronologically in the original trilogy, it will provide a great way for players interested in Dragon Quest to hop in.
This is a unique move for Square Enix, which has a close partnership with Xbox competitor Sony since originally publishing Final Fantasy 7 on the PlayStation 1 as an exclusive. The newest games in the franchise — Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Final Fantasy 16 — are not planned to come to Xbox. The platform is generally not known for its JRPG catalog, although three Persona games have hit Xbox and PC over the past couple of years, along with some Dragon Quest and other titles.
If you’re interested in other Xbox announcements from Tokyo Game Show, you can check them out on the Xbox Wire.
