TheFinal Fantasyseries began in 1987 in Japan and in 1990 in North America. It is a long-standing RPG series that seemingly will never quit.Final Fantasy 16is right around the corner, so Square Enix presumably thought that it was a good time to re-releaseFinal Fantasy Pixel Remasterfor consoles after its 2022 debut on PC.
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There are six games included inFinal Fantasy Pixel Remasterwith graphics being touched up and features being added to these legendary NES and SNES games. They all hold up as RPGs, but some deserve more love than others. Let’s give them a quick ranking on how players should proceed through this collection.
6Final Fantasy 2
Final Fantasy 2is the black sheep of the family which makes sense since it was also kind of a back-door prototype for another franchise. The bones of this game’s mechanics went on to influencetheSaGaseries. Players were introduced to the odd RPG mechanics ofFinal Fantasy 2viaThe Final Fantasy Legendon Game Boy first.
That’s becauseFinal Fantasy 2would not get released until 2003 via theFinal Fantasy Origincollection on PS1 along withFinal Fantasy 1. For context, it was a 1988 NES game in Japan. So, after a long wait, fans were surprised that characters would not level up normally through experience. Getting hit or using spells would level up stats instead, as two examples. It’s still a good RPG inFinal Fantasy Pixel Remaster, but it’s not one to rush to first.
5Final Fantasy 1
Final Fantasy 1is another game that remains a classic but it’s a bit archaic by today’s standards. The series would not be here without it, so it definitely deserves some praise for that. The mechanics, at least, are simpler to follow thanFinal Fantasy 2and it leaves room for experimentation.
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A good well balanced party should consist of a Warrior, a White Mage, a Black Mage, and a Thief. However, in other playthroughs players could experiment and make the game more difficult by playing as all White Mages, or all Thieves. Without much of a story, the battle system is the reason to check this game out inFinal Fantasy Pixel Remaster.
4Final Fantasy 3
Final Fantasy 3is another game in the franchise that took forever to hit the West. It was a 1990 game on the NES in Japan. It would not hit North America until 2006 when it was remade for the DS. That’s the superior version to play over this one in the collection.
However, there’s something charming about finally being able to experienceFinal Fantasy 3in a form closer to its NES original inFinal Fantasy Pixel Remaster. It’s the first game to freely implement a changeable Job system, giving players even more room to experiment with in playthroughs. The story is still light on content, which is why it is in the lower half.
3Final Fantasy 5
Final Fantasy 5is the first mainline game wherein players could play around with Jobs. It still took a while for Western fans to do this though, but it was quicker thanFinal Fantasy 3. This game was a 1992 SNES release in Japan and it would launch in North America viaFinal Fantasy Anthologyin 1999 along withFinal Fantasy 6.
There is more of a story in this game, focusing on Bartz and his friends who need to help restore power to the crystals. However, it took a backseat to the more dramatic narrative ofFinal Fantasy 4. With fewer characters,Final Fantasy 5had less to work with. Mechanically, it’s a great turn-based RPG though.
2Final Fantasy 4
Instead ofFinal Fantasy 2on NES, players gotFinal Fantasy 4on the SNES in 1991 which was renamedFinal Fantasy 2confusingly. It was the right move to make on Square Enix’s part, Squaresoft at the time, because the evolution between the first game and this was more apparent. It went beyond the graphics as well, but that was certainly part of the appeal.
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Characters followed Job-like structures but they were permanent with some minor exceptions. For example, Rosa was a White Mage and Kain was a Dragoon. Players were not constricted to four party members in battle as this expanded to five. Also, these party members would rotate in and out of the narrative which was also more robust. It’s a huge game in the franchise and its continuation with books and sequels is proof of that.
1Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 4may have sequels, but there is no greater fan favorite from the SNES era thanFinal Fantasy 6. It, likeFinal Fantasy 4, had a large party. There are over a dozen characters to recruit but unlikeFinal Fantasy 4, everyone stayed. No one died or left, except some guest characters. There is also no Job system as characters inhabit a single battle role instead such as Locke being a Thief.
The revolutionary thing about the gameplay was the Espers. These wereFinal Fantasy 6’sversion of Summons which was the central focus of the story. Characters could equip Espers and then unlock spells from gaining experience. It was like a prototype of the Materia system inFinal Fantasy 7. In many ways, this game felt like a prototype ofFinal Fantasy 7while still maintaining its own identity as one of the greatest entries in the series. For those that missed it for decades now,Final Fantasy 6is the first game players should check out inFinal Fantasy Pixel Remaster.
Final Fantasy Pixel Remasterwas re-released for consoles on July 13, 2025, and is available on PS4 and Switch.
