The original. The Classic. It’s now fully playable on Nintendo Switch.

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster just dropped for consoles after being tied to mobile and Steam for the past year and, to my way of thinking, now it’s truly home.

I’m going to be breaking down each game in the collection, thanks to the good folks at Square Enix, then giving a final, overall impression of the wider package.

And what better way to start than with the original Final Fantasy. With a sixteenth numbered installment just a few short months away, and countless spinoffs with the franchise name, is it possible this is the most iconic, inspirational, maybe even important video game of all time?

It was certainly ahead of its time, banding four warriors of light together in a quest to save the realm and the king’s daughter from the clutches of a rogue knight. Your party of four can be customised between a vintage warrior, a thief, white, red, and black mages, and the Monk/Black Belt class.

This early decision is actually quite significant, as you’ll need a healthy balance to keep yourselves safe and in the fight. A DPS caster can be the difference between winning and losing a fight, a healer is needed to keep everyone’s bars full, whereas a nifty thief is good at dodging devastating attacks and a warrior can take a good beating.

And, so you can see, this has truly formed the basis and nucleus of this franchise for decades. Between that, and the open world exploration of the map, dealing with random encounter after encounter through forests, sands, and open fields, the inspiration for this series truly takes hold.

And over thirty years (yes, really) later, this game still has an entertaining core loop, it still feels fresh as a daisy, and it still compells you to keep playing onward. That’s a rare find, only with games like Tetris, Pac-Man, even the original Mario. Most RPGs don’t tend to age too well, but Square Enix have lovingly restored it and it fits wonderfully on Nintendo Switch.

Each game in Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster has the original soundtrack, but equally an Arranged version which sounds just beautiful. The use of panpipes, the soft undertones and that vintage Final Fantasy theme just sweep you away. I quickly found myself lost in Cornelia and its wider continents.

Equally, the visual approach to the game is wonderfully updated. We’re not talking to the same remake or remaster level of a Resident Evil 4, of course, but Square Enix have stayed faithful to the original vision and kept the experience distinct and old school. This goes both for environments, for character models and even the text which can be set to be pixellated for that extra level of authenticity.

And, of course, with the age of this (and the other games) let’s say the challenge might be a bit frustrating for some, particularly newer players to the series. That’s why the newly implemented boosts via the menus are an absolute gods-end, letting you enjoy the story, gameplay and allowing you to stay ahead of the enemies by earning 4x the xP and Gil.

Heck, you can even turn off the random encounters if you just want to cruise around, though this (and early Final Fantasy games) are all about the grind. So, you probably shouldn’t do that right off the bat.

I never got to finish Final Fantasy 1, but with Pixel Remaster I’ve been able to blaze through, enjoying myself at every step. In fact, it’s some of the most fun I’ve had on my Switch this year.

Sure, the mechanics are dated and it won’t necessarily be the attraction for many in this collection, but the original Final Fantasy, incredibly, still holds up well today and with the benefits of Pixel Remaster, it’s about as close to definitive as we’ll ever see, bar a full-blown remake.

Verdict

Entertainment in education, Final Fantasy still holds up well, despite its dated mechanics, and benefits magnificently from the upgrades Pixel Remaster offers. 

Pros

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Code kindly received from Square Enix for purposes of review

Stay tuned for the full overview of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster