Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally in people's hands and by all accounts is living up to its promise. Fans are over the moon with the updated graphics, new take on combat, and faithful interpretation of the story's Midgar chapter.
The sheer attention to detail is astonishing and making many players dream about other classic RPGs that deserve a similar treatment. Little do some people know, a handful of them already got remade a while ago, as shown by the list below. Some of these are more renowned than others, and the liberties taken with the source material vary with each.
10 Final Fantasy I And II
Before the two-dimensional Final Fantasy titles made their way to Steam and mobile phones with a new, polarizing art style, the first two games received a remake for the PSP to celebrate the franchise's twentieth anniversary.
The main stories are identical, with the major change being the graphics. The sprites never looked so beautiful, and the games comes with a bestiary and several extra dungeons. While the story is quaint by today's standards, the premier title possesses a unique, inexplicable charm that holds up today. The second game, however, is mostly there for avid fans who want to play every game in the series.
9 Adventures Of Mana (Final Fantasy Adventures)
Originally released as Final Fantasy Adventure in the west, this Game Boy title's gameplay more closely resembles the original Legend of Zelda, mostly because it is not truly a Final Fantasy game, but the first entry in the storied Mana series.
Upon it being remade in 2016, the west received it as Adventures of Mana. The presentation received criticism for not taking full advantage of modern hardware and for a lackluster PS Vita port.
8 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
This Atlus game didn't meet sales expectations when it released on the DS in 2010, despite a stellar critical reception. Instead of abandoning it, they added on some beefy content and re-released it as Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux on the 3DS in 2018.
They went above and beyond the typical re-release, however, improving the graphics and adding voice acting as well as some significant gameplay changes.
7 Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain Of Memories
The second game in the Kingdom Hearts franchise was initially a Game Boy Advance exclusive. Fortunately, those not dedicated to handheld consoles got the chance to play it when the game was remade with three-dimensional graphics for the PS2 in 2008.
The gameplay remains mostly intact, though voice acting was added and some new cinematics flesh out the story. Like most of the series, it has been re-released numerous times on modern consoles.
6 Fable Anniversary
It is difficult to say where the Fable Series will head in the future. For those looking to explore its past, however, they can do so in style with Fable Anniversary, a remake of the original Xbox game released in 2014 for the Xbox 360. The gameplay is retained to a fault, including some of the original bugs. It is also playable on Xbox One through backward compatibility.
5 Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition
While Final Fantasy XV is relatively young (released originally in 2016), it already received a remake; an atypical reimagining called Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition.
This version, originally made for phones, goes through the game's main story beats featuring a more cartoonish art style. The open-world aspects are removed for a more streamlined experience. For a mobile version of an epic adventure, it received a surprisingly warm critical reception.
4 UFO: Enemy Unknown
UFO: Enemy Unknown is the first game in the long-running strategy series, XCOM. The game finally got a remake in 2012 with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
It retells the story about mankind's first run-in with an alien invasion, taking many liberties with the source material and gameplay. The turn-based strategy game is not for the faint of heart, but one can always save after every turn if they hate the idea of permanently losing squad members.
3 Wasteland
Wasteland: Remastered updates the 1988 game's graphics while retaining the same gameplay. Open-world RPGs from the '80s were brutally unforgiving, and the remake does not make the journey any softer.
Arguably to its detriment, the game does little to help players along this perilous journey, forcing them to learn through trial and error, assuming they don't give up beforehand.
2 Secret Of Mana
Secret of Mana was notable upon its release on the SNES for featuring cooperative gameplay. It was a rarity at the time, and seeing it in an RPG was especially surprising.
Even though such a feature is now commonplace, seeing the game come back for a full 3D remake in 2018 was still a treat. Unlike other Japanese RPGs, the combat occurs in real-time, keeping the player engaged at all times.
1 Phantasy Star
The first four Phantasy Star games on the Sega Master System and Genesis were highly influential in the evolution of the console RPG. They all received remakes on the PS2, but unfortunately these are only available in Japan.
They were also budget titles, retaining the two-dimensional view, though additional art spices up some cinematics. Given their pedigree, perhaps a more refined update is in their future. Phantasy Star IV is especially beloved by fans of old JRPGs.