Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster Collection (2021)

I just played through III-VI, and I really love these games. I’ve only played VI before (many times), and that one is, of course, amazing. V was surprisingly good! All in all, VI is still my favorite of the bundle, but I think I had more fun playing V - the job system is super cool and works well, and the more light hearted story was refreshing. IV was great, III was good. I think I’ll play through I & II soon, for completion.

FF5: S: 7-18-25; F: 12-20-25 (44:20) 4/5: This game was a true endurance run for me, which is obvious by how long I played it compared to the first four games. Partly it took so long because I truly enjoyed leveling up the different jobs and partly I was dragging myself at a glacial pace through dungeons that I didn’t like very much. This game does have a ton to recommend it; the storytelling and character work took another leap forward for this entry, so much so that the recaps at the end were actually interesting. And it can’t be overstated how much fun it was to explore the different jobs in new environments. But, man, were some of those environments tedious as all hell, full of enemies with annoying status effect attacks and boss battles that always made me think I picked the wrong jobs—almost certainly as an intentional gameplay element to make me experiment more. Experimenting got pretty exhausting at times, especially in the final dungeon with the final boss. Still this fifth entry is probably the strongest one overall so far and is still an enjoyable game to play today.

FF4: S:5-8-25, F:6-21-25 (20 h): This entry represents a pretty big shift in how the Final Fantasy games approach storytelling. Cecil is a main character-ass character, with an arc that goes through the whole game and relationships with other characters that aren’t deeply explored but are fleshed out enough that you can care about his feelings for them. And the other playable characters have distinct personalities that make it hit when they leave the party. I even like these early attempts at writing romantic relationships. And the story has a brisk pace that I loved. You go to the moon! This game really goes for it when it came to the story and characters and it shows, even if later entries are stronger on both fronts. The combat isn’t anything special in this one but I do like the dungeons and some of the boss fights. The final fight was a little obnoxious, mostly because you’re pretty discouraged from using the abilities of one of your characters after you’ve possibly done a handful of optional quests to build her up. But overall this is an early FF game that truly feels like a Final Fantasy game as we know them now.

FF3: S:3-22-25/F:3-30-25 (15:00)4.5/5: This is the best of the original three games in the franchise. While it mostly abandons the loose individual characterizations given to the central characters in FF2–something the DS remake works to address through its established characters with their specific relationships to each other—FF3 is far and away the most fun to play. The dungeons are well-designed, the job system is fun and easy to experiment with, and the story, while still not anything deep, puts the familiar pieces together in a way that feels fast-paced and solid. If you’re going to play only one of the original trilogy, this is definitely the one to pick up.

FF2: Started 3-11-25/Finished 3-17-25 (19:15) This is a way more ambitious game than the original Final Fantasy, with an experimental leveling up system (that is completely broken but fun in its own weird way) and a story that tries for more complexity with its plot and characters. It’s not especially deep but it is a notable upgrade from the first game. Your main three characters have basic but distinct personalities and your revolving door of a fourth party member is often an interesting archetype that the franchise will return to again and again. I get why this isn’t a high point of the series but I think it’s a fun, quick play for people who love old school RPGs or are really interested in exploring the evolution of the Final Fantasy franchise firsthand.

Final Fantasy: (17:53) This isn’t a particularly deep or complicated game but it is pretty impressive how fun it still is all these years later. The formula works. I enjoy how the game makes you figure things out, although I wouldn’t want every game to make me remember some guy in a graveyard in some town might like to look at my Rosetta Stone, and the simple combat is still enjoyable even if it’s not that challenging. This is a great game to play when you want to turn your brain off for a few hours and fight differently colored versions of the same ogre.