Exploring the Classic RPG: A Review of the Pixel Remaster of Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy has been around for over 30 years, and with the release of the Pixel Remaster, gamers can now experience the original game on the Nintendo Switch. As someone who has never played a Final Fantasy game before, I decided to give it a try and see where it all began.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Despite being released in 1987, Final Fantasy felt familiar to me. The game is a classic turn-based JRPG set in a fantasy world. I was reminded of the early Dragon Quest games, which also feature a group of heroes fighting evil, turn-based combat, and swords and sorcery.

One of the most interesting aspects of Final Fantasy was its magic system. The spell mechanics are based on the same Vancian system used in Dungeons & Dragons. While the spell names were not as exciting as those in Dragon Quest, I found the magic system easy to understand and use.

However, the lack of communication around the spells and class choices was frustrating at times. The spell descriptions were vague, leaving me to guess how effective a spell was in a particular situation. I also found it difficult to understand the pros and cons of the class choices I made at the beginning of the game.

Graphics and Quality of Life Improvements

The Pixel Remaster does an excellent job of updating the graphics of the original game without changing the core gameplay. The quality-of-life improvements, such as autosaves, improved graphics, and fast-forward mechanics, make the game more accessible to modern gamers.

The ability to speed up battles with auto-attacks was a huge relief and saved me countless hours. The game also features helpful mini-maps and remixed music. However, the CRT TV effect was not recommended, even for nostalgia’s sake.

Overall, I found Final Fantasy to be a game that allowed me to figure things out on my own, with a little less hand-holding than I was used to. While the story was light, the core gameplay loop of exploration and battling was addictive, and the feeling of progression was constant. The Pixel Remaster is a great way to experience a classic game without too much interference.