Square Enix casts remaster! An HD version of ‘Final Fantasy X’ will be joined by ‘FF X-2’

By Anthony John Agnello March 19, 2013

Final Fantasy X HD — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Square-Enix’s Japanese development teams are not known for their speedy work. Final Fantasy XIII was first shown to the public in 2006 but the divisive role-playing game wasn’t ultimately released until 2010. At the very same time in 2006, Square showed off a trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which still hasn’t been shown as a playable game seven years later. Even when it’s just re-releasing an already finished game it drags its feet. An HD remaster of Final Fantasy X was announced for PS Vita and PlayStation 3 back in September of 2011, but Square only got around to showing footage of it in February 2013. What’s the hold up? One explanation is that Square is remastering not just Final Fantasy X but also its direct sequel Final Fantasy X-2.

What started as a rumor in the Japanese forum 2chan and at the Final Fantasy fan website FF-Reunion was later confirmed by magazine Jump, Gematsu, and Square-Enix itself: Both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are getting the HD treatment this year.

Producer Yoshinori Kitase, whose history in the Final Fantasy stretches back to its halcyon days on the Super Nintendo and PlayStation, is working directly on Final Fantasy X HD to ensure its quality. Both games will be delivered on a single Blu-ray disc for PlayStation 3.

PS Vita owners, however, won’t be so lucky. The games will be sold separately on Sony’s handheld in what’s becoming a common trend amongst third-party publishers on the platform. While Sony is encouraging its PS3 owners to buy a PS Vita by offering games for both devices at a single price—the Cross Buy feature on games like Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, for instance—publishers like Square and Konami are splitting up their releases. The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on consoles includes Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on a single disc, but the PS Vita edition only includes the first two titles on its cartridge.

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Anthony John Agnello

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…

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Cait Sith dances in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Some say it's the Lifestream that makes the world go round in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, but we all know the real answer is Gil. Cloud may be on a quest to save the world from Sephiroth, but he's still a merc who wants to get paid for his efforts. Plus, there are a ton of expensive items to gather up on your journey, such as Materia, Accessories, Armor, and Queen's Blood cards. You'll need some very deep pockets if you want to buy everything that catches your eye, but Gil isn't the easiest thing to come by. We've done all the odd jobs and activities around Gaia to give you the best ways to grind for Gil in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
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Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth introduces a ton of new activities, minigames, and quests that didn't exist in Remake. That means there are a lot more ways to earn Gil than ever before, but also a lot that are a waste of time compared to others.
Get your steps in

Even when you get yourself a Chocobo to ride around on, there's no getting around how much running you will be doing. Whether it's in one of the dungeons or towns where you can't take your mount, part of a quest that keeps you on foot, or if you just like exploring the old-fashioned way, Cloud will be getting more than his fair share of steps in. So why not get paid for your efforts? The Pedometer Pin is an accessory that automatically pays you 1 Gil for every 100 steps taken. Now, that doesn't sound like a lot, but that number will build up fast when running around. Plus, it's free money you'd otherwise be leaving on the table. The best part is you don't need to sacrifice a valuable accessory slot on Cloud, or even anyone in your active party, to get the benefits. So long as the person who has it equipped is available to be in your party, not necessarily currently in it, you reap the rewards.
Sword for hire
Sidequests pay well in Rebirth for the most part. There aren't a ton of them compared to most open world games, so they all tend to be worth your while in one way or another. Visit every new town's notice board and snag all the requests whenever possible. You won't know exactly what reward you're going to get until it's said and done, but you should expect at least a couple thousand Gil for your efforts in most cases.
Get crafty

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Queen's Blood

After Fort Condor arrived in Final Fantasy 7: Remake Intergrade, you may not have expected an entirely new minigame to be introduced in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. However, after the opening hours, when you're let loose in Kalm, you will automatically be given your very first deck of Queen's Blood cards. While this minigame is entirely optional after you play your first game to learn the basics, you would be missing out on a ton of content and secrets, let alone fun, by ignoring it. Still, we understand if you feel you didn't sign up for a strange new card game in your Final Fantasy adventure. Plus, there is a lot more depth to the game than is properly explained. If you want to rise up the ranks and be a Queen's Blood champion, but are unsure how to start, we'll show you the ropes.
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I get the desire to do it all, I really do. In the critically acclaimed sequel, we're finally let loose outside of Midgar. Square Enix has laid a huge, lush set of biomes to stretch our legs in after being stuck in the cramped hallways and tunnels of the drab city. Despite most of the world activities in Rebirth being standard open-world fare (activating towers, scanning points of interest, and hunting down specific monsters), there's an undeniable novelty to doing it with Cloud and the rest of Avalanche. What I wish I had known before starting was just how easy it was to burn out on that feeling.