Oh look, more Square Enix news from E3 2019, what a surprise. Seriously though, this is a bit of a strange announcement. Final Fantasy fans mostly packed the seats this year for news about remasters of the mainline RPGs, but Square Enix packed in a little tease of another remaster of one of the more popular niche offshoot titles.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered is a mobile port of the 2003 GameCube game that was a pretty experimental take on the franchise. The troubled development of the Nintendo title is a very interesting insight into the way exclusivity deals can often impact development, as Square formed a shell company to actually develop this title for the GameCube without messing with the popularity of Sony’s Playstation brand.
The ARPG was a Final Fantasy game in spirit, but the change in platform and the innovation in terms of a new aesthetic and gameplay changes pushed some purists away. Despite this, creative use of music, graphics, and gameplay elements brought praise from critics and gamers alike for the title. The story felt a bit shallow according to some, which would be considered the game’s major failing.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered is currently in the works for PS4, Switch, iOS and Android. The remake is set to release towards the end of 2019.
E3 2019 has been an amazing year for Square Enix. We got some awesome footage of the Final Fantasy 7 remake, and a new HD remaster of Final Fantasy 8 was finally confirmed. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There was also a new gameplay trailer showing off Marvel’s Avengers.
