The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters remake the first six games in the series, revamping the graphics in a way that attempts to match the aesthetic of the originals while still looking good on modern displays. For the sake of the franchise's decades-ignored spinoffs, Square Enix should keep the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters going and create some HD remakes of the series' best side games.
The new remakes have been the source of some controversy, though, as fans are wondering if they're worth the price of admission. For one, the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters lack the extra content added in previous remakes, such as FF6's post-story battle against Kaiser Dragon or FF5's new jobs. The games' English font has also been criticized, as it appears horizontally squashed and can cause readability problems for some players.
What's most frustrating about the Pixel Remasters is that these games have already been ported or remade a number of times. Other games in the Final Fantasy series are far overdue for remasters on modern systems.
FF Games That Need Pixel Remasters - Final Fantasy Tactics
Square Enix has remastered every mainline Final Fantasy game originally released on the PlayStation for modern platforms, but it has left Final Fantasy Tactics behind. The tactical spinoff received a mobile port, but that's it. Final Fantasy Tactics is widely regarded as one of the best Final Fantasy games, its setting is connected to FFXIV, and it even has Cloud Strife from FF7 as a guest party member. A version of Final Fantasy Tactics with redrawn sprites would be incredible to behold.
FF Games That Need Pixel Remasters - Before Crisis: Final Fantasy 7
Before Crisis is a Japan-exclusive prequel to FF7, released only on mobile phones and no longer playable. The game follows the Turks as they battle an early version of Avalanche that's attempting to use a summon to wipe out all human life. A truncated version of Before Crisis is being localized as part of the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis mobile game, but it appears its story will be broken down into chunks and summarized. The game deserves a full remaster of its own, especially as its events are still canon in FF7 Remake, such as Avalanche attempting to take the life of President Shinra in Junon.
FF Games That Need Pixel Remasters - Revenant Wings
Final Fantasy 12 received an excellent HD remaster for modern systems, The Zodiac Age, which even added content that wasn't in the original English language version. Despite this, FF12's sequel is still exclusive to the Nintendo DS. FF12: Revenant Wings is a strategy RPG in which the cast of the original game explores floating cities and saves Ivalice from harm. Revenant Wings was positively received upon launch, yet it seems to have been forgotten by Square Enix.
FF Games That Need Pixel Remasters - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Despite its name, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a very different game from the original Final Fantasy Tactics. The main characters, children from the real world suffering from a number of hardships, create a fantasy version of Final Fantasy's Ivalice by reading a magical book. They are transported to a new world ruled over by Judges, who use their incredible power to enforce different rules in combat. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has a fantastic combat system and a story that is surprisingly dark for a Game Boy Advance game. It's possible to play FFTA on the Wii U's Virtual Console, but a Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster version on modern systems that cleaned up the graphics would help shine a light on one of the franchise's most underrated games.