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.

Comments

Square milks the cash cow again

[Pluvius]

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

Re:Square milks the cash cow again

[JabberWokky]

What is the difference between doing this and a traditional book publisher doing reprints? Some reprints even come with a new author's foreward or a couple of extra maps. Often they are cheap paperbacks or nicely bound collector's editions. That's pretty much the same as the $10-$15 "classic reissue" video games or the special anniversary editions. Of course they are going to republish. That's what publishers do - publish a work as long as there is interest. Bantam is going to publish the new Song of Ice and Fire novel, "A Feast for Crows" this year. It's the fourth in the series, but the first novel, is still being reprinted. There have been 44 different covers, I have no idea how many editions. Or maybe you are saying that Lord of the Rings shouldn't be published because there are "new, interesting" novels out, and it's an "old product". What about Hamlet? That's public domain, and it's still being actively printed. Horrible. The fact is, there are people who want this, who want it for GBA, and the publisher is working to satisfy that demand and make a living doing it. Nothing wrong with either side of that equation as far as I can see.

Re:Square milks the cash cow again

[Pluvius]

It costs money to republish a book; most people aren't going to read a book off of a computer screen, or waste time and money printing it themselves. A game, on the other hand, is simple to re-release; just provide it for download with an emulator (they could even use P2P if they want to minimize server costs). Playing a game on a PC is not very different from playing a game on a console, especially if you get a PC gamepad or controller converter. There are emulators for consoles too, if you're really adamant about it, and flashcarts for the GBA. The bottom line is that I'm not sure how Square can justify charging $20 or more for a 15-year-old game.

Oh, and one other thing; the book hasn't made any leaps in technology since the invention of the printing press. Video games make leaps every year. Hamlet is not obsolete; FF1, in its current form, is.

Rob

Re:Square milks the cash cow again

[JabberWokky]

Uhm... I'm still looking forward to Final Fantasy Eight. I'm also waiting for PS2 prices to drop so I can get one (game machine and games).

A good game from ten years ago is still a good game.

As for the emulator issue, book publishers could release their books as text files (then your computer emulates a book, basically). Baen is doing this as an experiment. That might happen eventually, but that's not how it works right now. It would be nifty if we had a space elevator and a nanotech assembler commerce society, but right now, authors make money from publishers who make money by publishing. That's the way it works if you want to make a living writing either books or video games.

I'm not sure how Square can justify charging $20 or more for a 15-year-old game. [...] Hamlet is not obsolete; FF1, in its current form, is.

If it is obselete, nobody will buy it. I would; I was watching the Wonder Swan with interest. FFI is a fun game. Hell... I drop a quarter into just about every Ms. PacMan machine I see because it's a fun game.

"Obselete" is not defined as "Pluvius is not interested in it". More to the point, a story (even one as simple as the Light Warriors against Chaos) or a game (even one as simple as the original FF battle engine), never becomes obselete. Aesop's Fables are simple stories, and checkers is a simple game, but they aren't obselete after thousands of years... and are still published.

--
Evan

Are you as confused as I am?

[gklinger]

I saw this news posted elsewhere and was instantly confused by which versions were being released because the Japanese and North American numbering schemes are different. I had heard that what was released as Final Fantasy II in North America was called Final Fantasy IV in Japan and Final Fantasy III in North America was Final Fantasy VI in Japan. I did some web searching and came across an interesting site about the History of Final Fantasy that cleared up all my confusion. I highly recommend checking it out.

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.

Addendum

[May Kasahara]

(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)

Re:Addendum

[shadowcabbit]

[...]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[.]

All things considered, it still might. Assuming S/E decides to bring this over (and let's be totally honest here, they'd be insane not to), it's very likely that any hopes for a US localization of FF3 will hinge on sales of FF1&2.

I bought Origins when it came out, played through it sporadically for a while until I finished FF1, and then sold it because I had no intentions of going through FF2 on my PS2. The games' repetitive nature (read: combat every fifteen seconds) makes them very well-suited to the GBA, and once the cart is released here, I'll be starting FF2. Personally, I'm surprised this wasn't S/E's first title on the Game Boy.

I haven't read the article yet-- will do so when I get home-- but the idea of using the MP system just feels so alien to me. Sure, I played through FF1 on Easy Mode, but it was far more challenging than some other RPGs I've played because you actually had to think about your magic use rather than use the time-honored tradition (snicker) of "use Ultima on all enemies, chug Ether, repeat until final boss is crispy".

AFAIK...

[Ayanami Rei]

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?

Re:port/remakes show a complete lack of originalit

[dyefade]

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.

Re:port/remakes show a complete lack of originalit

[Anonymous Coward]

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.)

Re:port/remakes show a complete lack of originalit

[Anonymous Coward]

"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.

Re:Why?

[CashCarSTAR]

Because the FF1 magic system kind of suckd.

Ok, it really sucked.

Some levels would be left without any good spells to use, especially with White magic, and there would not be enough points with the 9 max to use cure spells for white. It really limited the options you could use.

The Easy mode on FF Orgins fixed it a bit, breaking the 9 a level limit, making White mages a lot more valuable, and the game a lot more enjoyable. An optional MP based system would be a nice thing to try as well.

No

[MMaestro]

Are you as confused as I am?

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.