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Final Fantasy I & II Remakes Confirmed For GBA
Thanks to 1UP for its story revealing Square Enix has announced a Game Boy Advance compilation of Final Fantasy I & II, due to debut in Japan this July. The article mentions: "That's the same pair of 8-bit RPGs that came to North America for the PlayStation as Final Fantasy Origins. However, the GBA remakes will feature a few new extras on top of the content from the original games", including new dungeons and substories - the remake also "seems to use the magic point system from later games in the series", and a U.S. release is likely but unconfirmed.
It's about time.
They've been out for the Wonderswan for ages.
Putting the romance back into necromancer.
I've been hoping for this ever since I saw a Gameboy-game shaped box for Final Fantasy Origins. Then I noticed that it said Playstation on it and not Gameboy. It was just a ploy to lead me astray.
Now, finally, my hopes will be realized. I can't wait.
If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
Apparently, the Square guys really do read and take to heart Slashdot comments...
--trb
I hope this leads to still more Final Fantasy goodness on the Nintendo platforms.
Thanks again, Square, for not including FF3 in your compilation in order to make even more money when you put it in another compilation somewhere down the road.
Rob
So we can play "pirated" games when they dont allow us due to unfair geographical restraints.
Numbering scheme aside, it's nice to see these games being (re)released so that fans can relive the good times and new RPGers can experience what all the fuss was about. And if Square Enix and Nintendo can make a few bucks, great. Everybody wins.
How many times are videogame companies going to expect people to dish out money for the same exact games? These 'technological update' port/remakes are completely against the progressive nature of technology because they depend on the suppression of our rights to play games that we have already purchased. Instead of allowing people to continue to play classic games they have already paid for on new hardware (via official emulators and hardware ROM extractors and the like), they rely on the short life-cycle of console systems to sell us the same games again in a new packaging. While they do update the technological presentation, they don't make any significant changes, or even create superficially different levels and challenges to make the games any different the second (PSX), third (WSC), fourth (GBA) time around. It's even more revolting than sequelitis. If they -must- remake, instead of making a re-re-re-release of FF1-2, why don't they remake FF3 for once and use the opportunity to localize the only Final Fantasy still officially missing in the US? While it's proven to be more successful to re-release classic games on new hardware than to actually develop new games, it also shows that the monolithic Square can't come up with any better games than their last-ditch effort twenty years ago when they were a two-bit videogame company on the verge of bankruptcy (which, oh the irony, is what the 'Final' in FF actually stood for at the time).
(not to say that the Wonderswan was a system popular over here, but the Wonderswan ports of FF1 and FF2 did find their way to the US as Final Fantasy Origins... Maybe if the FF3 port had been completed, we'd have that game as well)
Ever since FFVII came out, Square doesn't refer to the US numbering scheme anymore for identifying it's previous games (it'll say something like FFIII US if they were trying to make that distinction. Otherwise they'll say FF VI. So FF II is the real FF II, not FFII US (which would be FF IV). Capiche?
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
so? I've been looking for an excuse to buy a GBA, assuming this comes to Europe fairly quicky, this will probably be the reason I do. I've never owned or played FFI/II, but I kept intending to buy Origins for the PSX, now I'm thinking I'll hold off and get this instead.
Square at a profit-based company don't forget, and they make good games. Isn't it better that they release good games and occasionally go off and re-release them for profit that not make good games at all?
Also, hopefully this will improve relations between Square and Nintendo, having Squares support for the Gamecube 2 (or whatever it is) will really help Nintendo.
Also, hopefully this will improve relations between Square and Nintendo, having Squares support for the Gamecube 2 (or whatever it is) will really help Nintendo.
Not if Square keeps making throwaway games like Crystal Chronicles for it. Face it, the only reason Square is producing for the GC is so they can produce for the GBA.
Rob
How many times are videogame companies going to expect people to dish out money for the same exact games?
Probably as long as those games ported from older systems continue to be among the biggest selling GBA games. Hell, that's why I got a GBA, to be able to play all the older classic games without needing to deal with ROMs. Fully half, at least, of my GBA collection is remade SNES/NES games.
Wow, are you one of those guys that buys the same car year after year, because the damn things just keep getting re-released annually?
No, you can't be. Nobody's that stupid. Those cars must be for new buyers.
Oh, we were talking about re-released games, weren't we? Hmm.
I didn't know a 2004 Ford Mustang was almost exactly the same as a 1988 Ford Mustang.
Learn something new every day!
Rob
The first screenshots of the remakes also indicate that the original Final Fantasy will have a different magic system. Instead of the Dungeons & Dragons-style spell level system from the original game, it seems to use the magic point system from later games in the series.
This seams like a weird thing to do. The original magic system was not confusing, just different then the current one. I think doing this would completly reshape how magic is used in the first final fantasy. Since there was not an actual picture of the screenshot, I am wondering if perhaps they saw a picture of final fantasy II which did have the MP magic system. I hope so because I would hate it if a major gameplay feature was altered.
As soon as PSP is released, I'd expect Square to leave Nintendo behind completely, regardless of the PSP's guaranteed low penetration against the GBA and its Nintendo successor. That's just how they are.
But the smartest thing Square could do is to leverage their developer relationships against each other. Increase their bargaining power with Sony by releasing more exclusive Nintendo titles, and continue to demand a high level of promotion from Nintendo regarding their releases on Nintendo platforms.
Friend: There is a difference between buying new and buying used. I don't buy used games for gifts, for example, although that may be considered a peculiarity nowadays, what with the cheapskate nature of many gamers.
Besides, it becomes a matter of renewed circulation. I don't see 5 copies of Dragon Warrior IV at every gaming store I walk into, and I don't already own the original. If I did want the original, I'd have to pay quite a bit for it. So I for one would love to see an American re-release of it for a current system, at a reasonable price. I couldn't care less about a re-release of DW I-III, because I already own them....although someone else may want them to be re-released (again) because they don't have them. And that's FINE.
(Let's ignore the portability and convenience issues. I'm sure you've already thought of them.)
a re-re-re-release of FF1-2,.....
Where all of the swords have been digitally replaced with Walkie Talkies, and black mages have been replaced with teddy bears....
No I didnt spell check this post...
Friend: There is a difference between buying new and buying used.
That has nothing to do with your flawed analogy. You said that buying re-releases of games is the same as buying new models of cars. I pointed out that it is not.
As for playing old games that you didn't have the chance to play originally, that's what emulation and abandonware are for. (Sure it's illegal, but I don't see the FBI arresting people for pirating decade-old games. And it doesn't even have to be illegal if the copyright owners would make their old games freeware instead of milking them until there's nothing left.)
Rob
two-bit videogame company
Actually it's 8-bit.
"You said that buying re-releases of games is the same as buying new models of cars. I pointed out that it is not."
Your basis was that of price. Well, understand that you are not being forced to re-buy today what you've bought yesterday: You can very freely choose not to buy the latest and greatest re-iteration of what you've already paid for. And unless you've imported the Wonderswan versions of FF 1&2, you haven't purchsed a portable version. Very simple.
Meanwhile, in non-Pluvius land, where the happy newbie gamers live, somebody somewhere is glad that they will be able to play these games on GBA. Would you fault them for that?
"That has nothing to do with your flawed analogy."
Oh, it most definitely does.
Speaking of either cars or game carts, the latest version has a feature you either want or don't. Whether that feature be portability or extra dungeons or snazzy Yosemite Sam mud flaps is irrelevant. If you want it enough to pay the for extra features, you have the choice to buy the new version. If the old one doesn't work any more, perhaps your decision is partially made for you. If you don't want or need the new features, awesome.
And the middle ground between buying a new game (or an update of an old game) and buying nothing at all? Buying a used copy of the old game. That is why I use the analogy of used car:new car::used game:new game - buying used games is the only legal/moral alternative that takes the crux of your argument (price) into consideration.
BTW, did you happen to absorb my point about re-released games being intended primarly for new buyers in my initial post? I wish you would; it's one point that many of us old-school gamers don't think about (being largely self-centered bastards and all).
"As for playing old games that you didn't have the chance to play originally, that's what emulation and abandonware are for."
Well, we are drifting into off-topic discussion here, but I don't emulate games that I don't own. I emulate games that I do own and for which I do own the original console, sure, for convenience's sake, as well as to preserve the physical well-being of my original carts, discs, and console hardware. That is the extent of my flexibility on the issue, and I consider it a moral compromise that leans towards the high ground.
"(Sure it's illegal, but I don't see the FBI arresting people for pirating decade-old games. And it doesn't even have to be illegal if the copyright owners would make their old games freeware instead of milking them until there's nothing left.)"
This is where our ideas converge the most. I have no problems refraining from downloading DW IV because I haven't paid for a physical ROM. That's the thing about compromises. You have to draw the line somewhere.
Wishing for copyright infringement to be legal doesn't make it so. However, I consider this a useless point as well, since it's my conscience, not the law or the government's ability to enforce the law, that keeps me from downloading ROMs for which I don't already own a physical equivalent. No problem, I have a backlog of legit games that will take a lifetime to get through as it is, whether via console or emulation.
Most importantly: YMMV. I don't give a damn about what other people do or how they act, as long as it doesn't involve me, what I do, or how I act.
The only thing I believe that still needs to be explained to this gentleman, is that in case you haven't noticed, it's getting harder and harder to find original NES hardware/software. Plus I've always wanted to play FFI on a portable system. I for one don't mind all the remakes, it's not like they're remaking a game from last year now is it?
Kleedrac
Sure we wang, can.
Your basis was that of price.
Actually, my basis was that of the fact that a 2004 Ford Mustang is very, very different from a 1988 Ford Mustang. There's barely any difference between the 1988 FF1 and the 2004 FF1, however, besides the portability issue. And heck, you can play FF1 portably using PocketNES.
Beyond that, your post clarifies your position well. As long as the retarded Disney-backed copyright laws exist, abandonware vs. copyright is basically a moral issue, and not worth arguing.
Oh, and I don't fault people for wanting to play FF1 on a GBA; I fault Square for taking advantage of them.
Rob
BTW, none of this explains why Square hasn't re-released FF3 yet. If Square really cared about its fans being able to play re-releases of its games, then FF3 certainly would've been re-released in this compilation, at least (fool me once with FFO, shame on you...)
Rob
If anything I'd be more dissappointed about it not being on the PSX version as on the 700MB CD it's only using 238MB!! However it won't break my heart for it not to be in this compilation, as long as it comes out some time later on. After all ... if it was 238MB on the PSX, I'm not sure how much data can be stored on a GBA Cart, but that's pretty good as is!
Kleedrac
Sure we wang, can.
No. Given the insane game market at the time of the NES, I'm not surprised. We get the NES but shun the Sega Master System, Japan goes gaga of Dragon Quest and America laughs thinking its just a fad, Japan embrace video games openly, America blacklists them as 'only for children'.
This sorta thing also happened to the Dragon Warrior series. America only recieved I - IV, and then jumped to VII. Wheres V and VI? Thank god Nintendo didn't form a habit of naming the Fire Emblem series with numbers as well. (Japan has been playing the series since the first NES and we recently got episode 'zero' on the GBA.) The only series that really made it over here intact with its numbering was the Megaman/Rockman series, but we still missed a couple side-games.
Wow, are you one of those guys that buys the same car year after year, because the damn things just keep getting re-released annually?
No, that is an inappropriate analogy because cars from the 1980's still drive on highways today, and it would be ridiculous to design them otherwise. A more appropriate analogy would be a car that only ran on the roads that were built in the mid 80's, so if you wanted to drive anywhere in the 90's you had to buy a new car, and continue that expensive cycle every 5-10 years... I don't mind and in fact support the idea of continuing to make classic games available for generations of newer players who have never bought or played the originals. It's the fans of the originals who end up buying the new games for nostalgia or simply to play the game again that are getting shortchanged by short-lived console platforms and the tactics developers use to capitalize on it. Even us fans of classic games don't have enough floor space to keep our old NES and Atari machines around after upgrading to XBoxes and Playstations.
Think how ridiculous it would be to buy a Windows '98 game a second time because you upgraded your system to XP.
'Portability' is not a feature of a game itself, it's a fabricated 'feature' created by preventing you from playing your legally purchased games on newer platforms.
This is so cool. I mean, new dungeons! I'm almost glad I haven't boughten Origins yet (although I'll probably end up buying them both - I get stupidly irrational when it comes to Square games). Now, if only they'd continue the trend and bring out CT, SMRPG, and, more importantly, FFIII.
Final Fantasy 2 is an awful game, the skill system just turns it into a single-player MMORPG grind fest.
My GBA collection is only two games so this is pretty meaningless (well, not THAT meaningless) but I have exactly two games: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Super Dodge Ball (Advance? I forget.) FFTA is a remake of a Playstation game, which is amusing. Super Dodge Ball is an ancient arcade game which has been ported to or remade for basically every video game platform to come out since.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
FFTA is not a remake of Final Fantasy Tactics, the PlayStation game. It's entirely new - new story, new enemies, etc. I mean, it uses the same battle system, and the graphics are a bit similar, but it's about as far from a remake as you can get. An easy mistake, though.
Ah. I never saw the point of buying a game like that for the playstation because I can play miniatures combat instead - but when they offered it for GBA I had to have it. Thanks for the correction.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
By this argument, classic movies should not be released in new formats. Why should we have to buy Casablanca AGAIN just to get it on DVD? Agreed, the turnover on console tech is much faster, but in this case at least it's from a non-mobile (NES/PSX) to a portable platform. (GBA)
Obviously, theres a market for these ports, or else they wouldn't be made, and having a choice of what platform to buy the game for is kinda nice. I'm sick of buying new consoles just for one or two games I know I want to play. (I bought N64 solely in anticipation for FF before they switched to PSX)
It's not like you need to buy these anyway. If you own the game for another platform, no reason to buy it again. (Unless you prefer to play it on the new platform it's being released for)
One other point: When did SE stop developing new games? These ports are not their only output. FFXII is in development for PS2 as we speak. The fact that people are willing to buy their old games again just reinforces that they're quality games. This does not automatically detract from the quality of their current titles. I would expect ports of FFVII-IX to future consoles once PSX games really become obsolete. (the backwards compatability of the PS2 makes porting unneeded right now)
I agree on one thing tho. They REALLY need to get FFIII over here.
Good points, both of you. I've been waiting for FF3 myself.
A little less than half of the total data on the FFO disc is FMVs. Those FMVs will probably not exist in a high-resolution format on the GBA version, and any sound would probably be downsampled and compressed. I can't say that the FMVs will be cut out altogether, since FMV can and does exist on the GBA.
BTW, official Playstation CDs are 650 MB, maximum. GBA carts can officially be as large as 32 MB. That's huge compared to even the biggest SNES games (6 MB). Fitting enhanced versions of FF 1&2 on one GBA cart should be very easy to do, although I believe that including an enhanced FF3 would not have been very feasible. We can only hope that 3-6 on the GBA will follow!
I understand your opinion, but I still disagree.
:) You wouldn't have to, but you might want to. The availability of choice makes all the difference.
"No, that is an inappropriate analogy because cars from the 1980's still drive on highways today, and it would be ridiculous to design them otherwise."
I see yours as the flawed analogy. Those highways from the 80s still exist; they didn't go anywhere. But if some new hypothetical highway system were to have been built since then, that technically required a specific type of vehicle to traverse, then you'd have to upgrade to that type of vehicle to ride on the new highway.
After all, if you still own your older software, isn't the most likely scenario that you still own your older hardware too?
Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to format changes.
"It's the fans of the originals who end up buying the new games for nostalgia or simply to play the game again that are getting shortchanged by short-lived console platforms and the tactics developers use to capitalize on it."
Short-changed, maybe, but that's only because they are willing to buy the newer revisions. It must be restated: Nobody is forcing anybody to buy anything.
"Even us fans of classic games don't have enough floor space to keep our old NES and Atari machines around after upgrading to XBoxes and Playstations."
I sympathize, because it's a problem I have to deal with too. I moved my Master System, Genesis, and PSOne to another room to make room for my GameCube, Dreamcast, and PS2. (But I left my NES, SNES, and TurboDuo right where they are!)
Anyway, this is only a problem because we make it a problem. Regarding the topic at hand, I would say that a GBA or GBA SP with a GBA cart-sized version of Final Fantasy 1&2 takes up less space than even a PSOne, an LCD screen, a controller, a power brick, and the Final Fantasy Origins CD. I am going to use this fact to my advantage, and I won't have to be stuck playing in my house to do so.
"Think how ridiculous it would be to buy a Windows '98 game a second time because you upgraded your system to XP."
Think how ridiculous it would be to buy a VHS movie a second time because you upgraded your home theater system to DVD!
"'Portability' is not a feature of a game itself, it's a fabricated 'feature' created by preventing you from playing your legally purchased games on newer platforms."
Well, that's your opinion, but I don't think the same way. One could use that line of thinking to complain about anything, such as why the GameCube doesn't have N64, SNES, and NES cart slots somewhere on it. After all, what is the problem we are trying to solve here, that some people are complaining about? Not being able to play two classic NES/Famicom games on the GBA for free, assuming we already owned them? Or perhaps, someone wanted to be able to play the Sony Playstation version of FFO on their handheld Nintendo GBA? Well, these two problems have existed since the the first day that the second console ever was created (whatever that system was). Re-released games are a solution to both problems, not a problem themselves.