Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster Nintendo Switch Review - Is It Worth It? 

Being able to turn off random encounters is a genius feature! There are times where you just want to get somewhere without being bogged down by a random battle.

FFV is easily my favorite in the series. The job system was perfected in that game and the simple story helps make it feel more laid back compared to other high stake RPG narratives even to this day.

Final Fantasy V has the most replay value for me. The job system makes it easier to revisit, no long drawn on stories, pretty fast-paced progression.

As someone who has never once played any of the FF pixel games I decided to pick up FF VI and give it a try, I have truly found myself enjoying this game way more than I ever imagined. I’m only 15 hours into the game and I’m barely even scratching the surface, I find so many cool looking locations and items as I explore the world and take in the visual beauty that is the pixel remaster. This game really shines on the Switch OLED model too. The story has made me laugh, cry and get excited as it unfolds right in the palm of my hand. I truly recommend it to anyone who is curious about what all the hype is about, once you enter this world you will be amazed by how much life and personality each character possess. I personally give my experience with the game a 10/10. I look forward to play the rest of the entries in the near future.

FFV might have a overall simplistic story, but Galuf mission to rescue your party from Exdeath by himself and the touch Faris and Syldra relationship are really enjoyble moments. The job system is the peak.

FFV is a great game and it deserves more respect. It *does* have a story-- I would even say it has a *good* story. It's full of charm, adventure, drama, humour, and even moral lessons. The main characters, secondary characters, and villains are all really great, in my opinion. Please do not sleep on FFV!

FFV has the best gameplay and systems in the collection. Not quite the best game, but gets too heavily overlooked simply because it didn’t originally release in the US.

It’s strange, I’ve never been too crazy about bonus/‘deluxe’ content like super-bosses and super-dungeons-all for having them included/available; just not the sort of thing I usually end up devoting time to myself-but I really enjoyed that bonus ‘Dragons’ Den’ dungeon added in VI Advance/Mobile versions. It was another one of those multi-team challenges VI was famous for on steroids-really forced you to use every party member available to you, even if the strategy basically boiled down to standard level-grinding and making sure everybody knew the strongest healing, buff, and offensive spells available. Its exclusion isn’t a deal-breaker by any means…but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it and similar content from the other games as future DLC somewhere down the line.

FfV definitely has the more casual story but I also think it's got some of the best and funniest character interactions, I loved the job system customization too. I am sad the music remasters don't hit as hard because it has some of the best music too especially with battle on the big bridge Edit: I'll say the music isn't as big and impactful as the vi pixel remaster but I'm loving the music so far and really looking forward to Gilgamesh

Why FFV gets no respect is crazy. One of the best.

The quality of life improvements in this version make me enjoy FF6 even more than I already did.

love the diagonal walking, sooo much easier to just hold a direction instead of moving right down right down right down in a dungeon, also having classic font is great

Walking in the woods in the early 90's finding my friends Eddie's motor home and him playing his NES , and SNES . He showed me how to play these amazing games and it's some of the best memories of my life . So many amazing games played in that motor home hidden in those creepy woods .. Amazing!!!

FFV is actually the game I'm most excited to play in this remaster. I love FF6 of course but I've played it too many times. I'll get to that one after beating FFV

I actually remember the 5th game as the best of all of them. Think it got some really cool moments as the revival of the main villain still looks pretty cool even today.

great vid! thanks for sharing :) i love this innovation of having one person review the game and one person in charge of making it into a video format. really allows both aspects to shine

Just started playing FFI. Excited to get to FFIV, FFV and FFVI. I have never completed FFV so I'm curious to see how the final boss is. FFVI will be the beautiful finale, that is one of my favorite SNES era JRPGs next to Chrono Trigger, Mario RPG, EarthBound and Seiken Densetsu III (called Trials of Mana nowadays).

I quite enjoyed the attribute/skill lvl but especially the skill lvl in FF2, specifically seeing magic lvl up to the point it changed, I really loved seeing the skill animation change etc. At least even if I say I don't like it, I don't like the sphere system the most in X haha, but blitzball is a great mini game, fun and simple

FF6 (or 3 on the SNES) has always been one of my favorite of all time since I played it as a Kid back in the 90s. Cant wait to replay it!

Of this collection I'd have to say that Final fantasy IV and VI (or as I played them way back on the SNES final fantasy II and III) are the two must have of the six games.

I'm waiting for the physical copy to arrive. I didn't play them as a kid, but I did play FF1 a bit on PSP, which they did a really good job on. I look forward to trying them out and seeing them with mostly fresh eyes.

I’ve played all the pixel remasters on steam (except 5, I haven’t gotten around to it’s pixel remaster even though I adore 5) and I love them. I can’t wait to play them again on my switch. My favorite is 6, but 1 and 2 are not far behind. Lovely games

What a Great review!! this is literally what you want to hear/watch on a review if you are considering buying the game, but also works if you just want to take a look and see just how the game is

We don't tolerate FFV slander in this house

I think it’s worth it. Having all six games available so easily is awesome. Yeah there are some changes but nothing that bothers me too much. I absolutely love the music. I’m playing through final fantasy now and it’s so good. I’d say it’s a must for anyone who is into any of the later games but hasn’t played the earlier ones, or old school veterans who just want easy access to these games.

Can I still suplex a train?

FF6 is by far the best of the bunch! I hadn’t played it in ages but I’m surprised at how much it stuck in my brain. The Zozo theme slaps hard remastered too, gotta check it out

I'm glad to hear others like 4 as much as I do. Usually it gets over looked. I love six and it is great. Both are top tier to me.

It makes me glad to see so many positive comments on FFV in the comments! Out of the 6, V had always been on my mind after all these years, since it was the game I had got stuck on while playing the Japanese version back on its initial release... I was a teenager and my Japanese was not so great, but I loved the gameplay a lot! IV was the first I beat out of the 6, and VI was definitely my favourite that I had been waiting on for a remaster! I loved grinding on skills in II back then, but I lost my save file and never finished... may give it another go.

Grew up playing FF VI on a loop. Even named the characters Edward and Sabin after my brother and I. That game alone made me follow FF for years after. Purchased the bundle just to play through some of the classics with ease and enjoyment.

I recently played FF1 PR on PC before the Switch version came out. I enjoyed it a lot; but saw the QoL changes the console version was going to bring and asked myself if it was worth it. I was able to compare both, and my thoughts are: 1. The fonts on PC are not that bad, really, I don't play on a 32" monitor, but on a 34" ultrawide monitor which is wider, but not taller than a 32" and the font is just fine. 2. In the topic of ultrawide, yes, I can play at full 21:9, it adds just two slim golden bars on each side. I thought the maps were being cropped to fit the new aspect ratio, but the game does actually render the full map within this resolution, so to me that looks absolutely fantastic. 3. The boost menu in the Switch is alright; but on PC even though it does not exist, there is nothing stopping me from using a trainer and crank up some multipliers in the same way (or even higher if I wanted to). Same with stopping random encounters. 4. On PC I can mod the hell out of this game, so now I am re-playing it with the Dawn of Souls soundtrack and graphics because I like it like this. If I wanted I could mod it to have the original NES music, change the fonts, change the sprites, re-add the peninsula of fire, change the difficulty to the good-old super hard version the NES was (I played that one and it was super hard). You can play this game and very probably any other PR on PC just the way you want by using mods. I don't need to play on the go because I have a full-time job and most often than not, I am playing on my PC when I have time. With this said, I think the PS4 and Switch versions are fantastic for those who need portability or would rather play on console than on PC. I love FFV, it was the first one I played on PS1. I bought the bundle on Steam and now that I was able to test both versions, I have no regrets. Awesome games!

Speaking of “BGM Type” in Configuration menu, I’d like for them to add three more options for Final Fantasy I & II: “Old Arrangement” (used in the PSOne and PSP versions), “GBA” (used in the Dawn of Souls GBA version), WSC” (used in the Japan only Wonderswan Color version), and MSX (used in the Japan only MSX Version). Speaking of “Font Style”, I’d like a third option “Serif”, the font used in the advertisement.

FF6 is probably my favorite overall game of these 6, but FF5 is probably the one I have the most with every time I play it. The Job/skill system of 5 might be my single favorite mechanic in any Final Fantasy game.

1. Simple but very endearing in it's simplicity, not a "must play" but a fun ride especially for those curious of gaming history. 2. I can appreciate them trying something different but the skill system really doesn't jive with me at all, of the collection this is the easy skip for me. 3. Also quite simple but charming, the job system is great and there is something there that really endears me to the world, particularly love the OST (Eternal Wind FTW). 4. The personal favorite of mine, great characters, story, music - while 6 is probably the better game in many ways I do like the character focus 4 has more. 5. This feels like a direct sequel to 3 mechanically with it's robost job system, and sits as a more light hearted story between 4 and 6, not a bad buy but if pressed for time and/or money it wouldn't be my priority. 6. What can you say about 6 that hasn't already been said? This is one of the seminal games that any JRPG fan owes it to themselves to play, amazing how cinematic it is in all it's pixel glory. Overall, 4 and 6 are the top dogs that I fully recommend to those picking and choosing, I really recommend 3 as well despite it's simple story (and if you play FF14 you'll probably appreciate 3 more for all the inspiration 14 takes from it specifically). 1 and 5 for the hardcore gaming historians out there. With 2 being the eh, you can probably leave it of the bunch (in my opinion, of course).

Having Uemstsu oversee these new orchestrated soundtracks has made a world of difference. I enjoyed the DS remake of 4 (not so much 3), but my biggest problem with both of them was the rearranged soundtrack. I thought they were very weak and often didn't capture the emotions evoked by the original 8/16-bit songs. But the pixel remasters show us Uematsu's true vision for the songs unchained by hardware limitations. All 6 are phenomenal.

FFVI No Esper is fun. You can still learn magic through equipment limiting the spells available and rewarding those that use the weapons and armor. Natural magic is similar, but I like learning spells through swords and shields and while still retaining characters original stats.

I picked up FFVI on steam when it released and was planning to get the rest on steam when there was a sale. But this review almost single-handedly convinced me to get the whole bundle on switch. Just can't beat that portability for when I want to level grind...fun fun obviously..

If you love the Final Fantasy series you will love this remaster. So far completed 1-3 and loving it. Worth every penny. Love listening to my favorite sound track"Battle on the Big Bridge " from FFV.

Omg, I can't wait to play ff. It's one of my all-time favorite. I remembered my cousin and I spent countless hrs on it on the nes. We even recorded the music on tape. Memories

I'm just getting IV and VI. And they are magnificent on the OLED.

FFVI is my all time favorite of the bunch, but I really loved IV and V as well. FFVI easily beats out even FFVII and beyond. I think V's job system is superb and really wish FF games would have explored that system in more of their games. I really love having the entire collection available on my switch. I now can take FF 1 - 12 (minus 11 of course) with me anywhere I go on my switch and I've been waiting patiently for that.

FFV for me is the best in this collection of games. It has one of the best stories for an old 8-16bit JRPG l..OK sure it starts off light hearted and quite funny especially the reactions the sprites have early on when a truth is learned about one character, bit it does get serious as you progress. Also gotta love the introduction to Gilgamesh

I bought all 6. No regrets. This is probably the era of Final Fantasy I love the most, and I didn't even grow up with them.

I pre-ordered the physical edition on Play Asia! So excited!

i come back almost every year and replay these classic jrpgs along with ff 9

Same... I grew up with these.. i regret not taking care of my older cartridges, consoles and my final fantasy merch, memerobilia.. For now this is my best bet in getting a collection altogether and playing them again. I don't have the ability to go purist and collect copies of all those that I lost. Thanks Lowell, Zion. I'm glad with this video, I'm more informed and I am looking forward to getting my copy

That was a great written review. Props to your writers!

I grew up with these games. Well, the three that came to the U.S. when I was a kid, anyway. I picked up all the GBA ones when that was an option, but I was also dealing with the first real onslaught of adulting at that point, so I barely touched them. I have absolutely no regrets getting this entire collection. Obviously I haven't finished them yet, but it's clear how much work and love went into these. The redesigned menus are much better than the classic ones and I agree that the 2x bump to experience and gil is the perfect amount to cut back on tedious grinding (of which this era's RPGs had no shortage) without feeling like you're pulling the game's teeth. I'm also really glad they gave us a proper video gamey font. The other one looked so out of place when I first saw these games on Steam. Overall, I think these are a big win and I'm looking forward to this whole journey. Now if only we could convince them to bring Chrono Trigger to Switch. Pixel remaster, HD-2D remake, however they want to do it. It seems weird that we haven't seen that yet.

it's nice they added a new font, looks better, I never played ff 1-6, but the package is too expensive for me :(

I'm currently playing through these on the Switch, and I think in some ways, this review was a little hard on them. Granted, it's a great score and review, but there were a few things that were just kind of ridden on unnecessarily. That being said, I'm so happy these came out. I finally got to replay 1 all the way through again, play 2 and 3 for the very first time, and retry 4 as I never got to play it enough to get a good feel about it. I've never played 5 so that is coming next, but I can't wait to give 6 another go because that one is my favorite of the OG 6. So far, the tracks from 2 are my favorites. The Pandemonium Dungeon theme and then final boss theme kick ass! I can't wait to see what else comes from these remasters.

I really want the switch version but having trophies might be nice or I might get obsessed and not enjoy the actual game as much. Are they a big deal ?

I really suggest to give a swirl to FF2, probably the underdog of the bundle - it has a progression system rather unique and ambitious for the era and still today sometime. It’s an absolute chillmachine if you are looking for a classic jrpg relaxing session.

I’m enjoying the way that Final Fantasy VI is presented a lot. I really appreciate that you can switch back and forth between the original and new soundtracks, which helps keep the battle music from getting too repetitive. My only main criticism is that the CRT filter looks awful. I wish it looked like the filter that PS1 games on PS4/5 have.

I played FF1 and FF6 as a kid and played every other game except FF3 later on, although I never beat FF4. I just beat the FF1 Pixel Remaster. I love the new music and the option to use the old music as well. The ability to turn off random encounters is great, as well as the option to increase Gil and XP. They really went all out on this game, hopefully that holds true for the rest.

My major complaint with 1-4 was the absurdly increased XP. I have to halve the XP to give myself even a comparable challenge to the original in those games, and with quicksave and reduced item cost, the games are absurdly easy in comparison. Mind you I think things like the reduced item costs in FF1 are super welcome, but I think any veteran should be aware they need to crank settings *down* to have an enjoyable experience. I kinda wish they had 1/4th XP gains on top of the 1/2, but I'm super thankful for any of it. In FF1 I actually turned XP *off* despite running through every dungeon in the most efficient routes because my characters were becoming way too strong, way too fast. I get that, in the OG, the item prices were so high that we'd need to grind cash to afford things, so I guess they tried to adjust the level curve to match that we don't need to do that anymore? But idk if they hit the mark. That said, the setting updates + QoL improvements solidify that these games are definitely worth it to me.

I think Cecil is one of those names that can be pronounced two ways. I’ve always pronounced it how the game says it in the DS remake. Mainly because there was a player for the Detroit Tigers named “Cecil Fielder” and his name was pronounced the same way.

My first console growing up was the PS1. Thus, my first FF experience was 7. This review definitely convinced me to buy the bundle and experience 1-6.

First thing my hubby bought me after we got married in April 2023 was this game bundle. I was so happy, and currently playing them in order. 💙

FF6. My favorite game of all time.

I got IV and haven’t played any of them before. I’m a few hours in and I’m already in love with the series. It’s crazy how seamlessly it melds it’s story into gameplay

FFIV is the game that turned me on to JRPGs as a kid. FFVI is the game that solidified my love for the genre and I’ve never looked back.

Does this version of VI have the CGI videos from the Anthology ps1 version?

I'm excited to play this whenever I get my physical copy from Play Asia. I've never played 5 or 6 so I'm going to start there. I gotta say though, although my opinion might change when I'm playing it myself, I think I do prefer the PSP style over the pixel remaster style just at a glance.

Where can you get the bundle?

I have it on steam and just got a pysical copy of this for switch so happy.

My favorite Final Fantasy to date it doesn't matter if it's a remaster or not or a modern one or not is Final Fantasy 6 which was known as Final Fantasy 3 here in America. Kefka it's one of my favorite video game villains outside of sephiroth. And I really truly believe that it had one of the strongest storylines... I will say that the overall gameplay and certain mechanics of Final Fantasy for the one that you liked does go better than this but I still believe that six pack high and I had a little bit of a deeper storyline and that's what I'm into with video games the most it's got to have a great storyline to keep me engaged or no matter how great anything else is I won't play it

I beat the first 3 games last week fo the first time ever and I'm really loving the pixel remaster! I'm starting IV today!

What’s the name of the song that plays at the beginning of the video? I swear I’ve heard it in the anime Bleach before

Never played any of these older ones. I'll have to check them out with the xp multipliers.

Does anyone have feedback at how Sabin's Blitz fighting in IV translate for the Pro Controller? He is one of my favorite character, but the D pads as of late from buying third parties and trying to play VI on emulations have been very underwhelming, as well on many other retro games. I will get VI if he is able to pull off the Blitz properly.

May i know if the game has game booster?

I wonder if they fixed the Evade/Mevade glitch from the original ff6. I bought this whole bundle but I won't find out for a while because I'm going to go through them in order from 1-6.

Do they have the cinematic cutscenes?

Absolutely love all of these games. Nice to be able to play them again. It is a shame that they left out the secret dungeons though.

As someone who grew up playing the SNES games, my only gripe is the cost of admission ($99.99 CAD; $112 + shipping & import fees off Play Asia). Will likely wait for an e-sale...Otherwise, looking forward to checking this out eventually!

5:02 I'm glad you mentioned it Nobody seems to notice it and crap, I can't go back to the OG FF1 after that haha

I used to play 1 and 2 gba version all the time as a kid. I never beat it but I did enjoy playing em. I'm so glad classic advance games are getting remade and remastered that's awesome! But the price for the pixel remaster is actually insane. 75 dollars for the whole collection is ridiculous. I've gotten a couple on steam and they do look very good. But I think that it should at least be $40 or something then it could be worth it but that's my opinion

Excellent and fun review. Thank you!!

I'm so glad they let you swap back to the original soundtracks. They're vastly superior! I already have these on Steam, but now I'm considering getting them on the Switch, as well. The only drawback seems to be the strange lighting change in FF6. I could get rid of it on PC with a mod, but that's not an option on the Switch, of course.

Is the physical copy limited run?

Are the CG scenes included in the ffvi pixel remaster?!

I really like what they did with the font. My biggest problem with remasters is they update the font to some shitty Arial font right out of your outlook inbox and it looks terrible and doesn’t match. Love how they kept it the same style but just cleaned it up a little to make it more easily readable. It would have been nice if they added an option to increase font size tho, we ain’t kids anymore!

So FFI & II are still best on the GBA? Or is the extra content not that much of a change?

An example of my previous comment being about then and now would be in Final fantasy VI. In the original (1994) and this may be a spoiler (you are warned) but at the half way point the world you play in is dramatically changed (I won't say how or why). Back in 1994 on the SNES where I played it as Final Fantasy III after the world changes you continue the story and gameplay. But if Final Fantasy VI were released as a new game today in 2023 (probably only on Steam, Playstation 5 and Xbox series whatever) you would pay $70 and play until the point where the world changes, the see a black screen then the credits. Then six months from now you would pay another $70 to continue the game in the changed world till the final boss.

Still have the PlayStation versions (except 3, which never got a release). That was how I first experienced these games after getting sucked into 7, 8, and 9.

Thanks for this review!

I’m already about 10 hours into FF1. LOVE IT!

Finally I can play 1-5. They’re the only ones I haven’t played yet; I couldn’t get into the mobile remasters. So excited to play 4 for the first time.

These are the same remasters that are on steam right?

Still waiting for my physical edition unfortunately. But glad to see a great review like this.

I picked up 4 first, i played it on the gba but never beat it, and im having a blast! Never beat 5 or 6 either, i got softlocked on the gba version of 6, but ill definitely be picking up 6 after i go through 5. Not sure if ill pick up 1-3, i dont have any nostalgia for them and i prefer more in depth character development and story that i feel 1-3 lacks. Should I pick up 1-3 anyway or is it fine to skip over them?

I think i'll pick up 4 and 6. Got a few games to play already but i've heard how good those two games are

I can't wait for my copy to arrive.

Now, let's see them in HD-2D!

I wish I had bought the FF VI for GBA. I didn't know it would become so rare and expensive. I do have the SNES version and I can emulate it , but I'd like the physical game. I did order this collection for the Switch so I won't regret missing this.

I'm so glad these have those little accessibility features so i can finally play Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IV without wasting hours grinding

Can you toggle between the new and old graphics? That’s important to me.

Definitely can't wait for my copy to come in

do these games have new translations i assume?

Is this available in the U.S. yet?