A few weeks after what has to be one of Square Enix’s most hyped and confusing announcements ever, at E3 2021, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy III, all now have a release date - at least, on Steam.
Final Fantasy I to III will release on July 28
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster games have been controversial ever since they were announced at E3 2021. Concerns about the lack of detail regarding when the Pixel Remaster games would release, how much they would cost, as well as why they were being sold individually instead of as a compilation, and the fact that they’re not available on the PC, have all been brought up in recent weeks. While the majority of the said issues and grievances have yet to be resolved, we at least have a release date to go by now. The release date for the first three Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster games doesn’t come from Square Enix. Instead, it’s from the Steam profiles of the first three Pixel Remaster games. Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3, will all release on Steam on July 28 and are available individually and as a bundle at a 20% (give or take) discount. In the same listing for the Final Fantasy I-VI bundle, the release dates for Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI are simply listed as 2021. What is perhaps the biggest surprise of the Pixel Remaster games’ listing on Steam is the price disparity. Both Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II are available for $11.99 each. However, Final Fantasy III costs $17.99, as well as Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6.
What’s new in Final Fantasy I, II, and III?
Seeing that the Steam profiles for Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3, are already up, we finally have a better idea of how the games will look. If you head on over to the individual Steam profiles of each title, you’ll see just how much of an effort Square Enix put towards updating the graphics of these classic RPGs. Upon closer inspection, you can see that there’s a mix of HD representations of original assets together with assets used in other Final Fantasy titles. According to Square Enix, the Pixel Remaster games are the best mix of modernization and authenticity. In our earlier preview, we mentioned that Square Enix might release the Pixel Remaster games by threes. This certainly seems to have been the case for this initial batch of Final Fantasy games. It remains to be seen if Final Fantasy 4 through 6 will be released together as well, or individually throughout the rest of 2021.
