Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Final Fantasy: Collection brings together three of the most celebrated entries in the franchise—Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI—each showcasing its own unique battle system and progression mechanics. In Final Fantasy IV, the Active Time Battle (ATB) system introduced a real-time element to turn-based combat, keeping encounters dynamic and tense. Final Fantasy V refines that concept further with its versatile Job System, allowing players to mix and match abilities across dozens of classes, fostering creativity in party composition. Final Fantasy VI rounds out the set with an expanded roster of characters and Espers, encouraging strategic experimentation as you equip magic and skills to tailor your party’s strengths and weaknesses.

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All three titles in this Japanese collection benefit from modern quality-of-life enhancements without sacrificing their classic feel. You can enjoy adjustable text speed and screen brightness settings, making lengthy dialogue sequences and dungeon exploration more comfortable on modern displays. Additionally, a selectable FAST MODE speeds up both battles and character movement—a welcome feature for veteran players revisiting these adventures or newcomers eager to dive into the heart of the story without needless downtime.

The pacing across the three games varies in satisfying ways: Final Fantasy IV’s episodic chapters deliver strong narrative peaks, while V’s open-world structure lets you tackle optional dungeons and side quests at your own tempo. Final Fantasy VI balances the two approaches, weaving sprawling exploration with a world-shattering plot twist that propels you toward the final act. Whether you prefer guided storytelling or sandbox exploration, each chapter feels thoughtfully calibrated for long-term engagement.

Graphics

Visually, this collection stays true to the stunning 16-bit pixel art that defined the SNES era, with lovingly restored character sprites, environmental tilesets, and battle backdrops. The designs retain their original charm—Chocobos still scurry in bright dungeons, airships soar across vivid skies, and character animations convey emotion in every slash or spell cast. Though the core graphics remain faithful, a subtle upscaling ensures that edges look crisp on high-definition screens.

The standout addition is the suite of new pre-rendered CGI intros accompanying each game, crafted specifically for this collection. These sequences elevate the opening moments to modern cinematic standards, seamlessly blending classic motifs (Crono’s sword draw, Terra’s emergence, and Bartz’s exploration) with lush animation and orchestral scores. They set the tone beautifully, reminding players why these stories have endured for decades.

Beyond the intros, the UI has received a light polish: menu screens are clearer, font readability is enhanced, and ability icons pop with better contrast. Inventory management in Final Fantasy V’s Job System, for instance, feels more intuitive thanks to reorganized item lists and color-coded equipment slots. These graphical refinements may seem small, but they collectively improve clarity and reduce eye strain during extended play sessions.

Story

Final Fantasy IV invites players into a world of political intrigue and personal redemption, following Cecil Harvey’s transformation from dark knight to benevolent hero. This narrative arc set a new benchmark for character-driven storytelling in the genre, exploring themes of duty, love, and sacrifice across vivid locales. The collection preserves every heartfelt moment, ensuring that old fans will recall the emotional beats just as they experienced them decades ago.

By contrast, Final Fantasy V takes a lighter, more episodic approach, centering on a core group of heroes bound by fate to save the elemental crystals. Its story is classic high fantasy—grand in scope and playful in execution—allowing for moments of humor alongside epic boss battles. The Job System weaves seamlessly into the narrative, empowering characters to grow in ways that feel narratively justified and mechanically rewarding.

Final Fantasy VI delivers perhaps the darkest and most mature tale of the trio, depicting the fall of an empire and the rise of a ragtag resistance. Each of its fourteen protagonists enjoys a well-defined backstory, and the sprawling ensemble cast offers countless personal stakes to invest in. The pre-rendered opening heightens the impact of the world’s descent into war, making every subsequent reunion and rebellion all the more poignant.

Overall Experience

As a single purchase, Final Fantasy: Collection represents outstanding value, bundling over 100 hours of classic JRPG content with thoughtful modern enhancements. Whether you’re discovering these titles for the first time or reliving childhood favorites, the seamless menu integration and shared launcher make swapping between IV, V, and VI effortless. It’s a one-stop portal into some of the most influential storytelling and gameplay systems in video game history.

The inclusion of FAST MODE and adjustable display options caters to diverse play styles: newcomers can breeze through grind-heavy sections, while purists can dial back to the original pacing. Multiplayer is absent, but the robust single-player campaigns more than compensate with depth, variety, and secrets to uncover. Side quests, hidden dungeons, and optional bosses still await completionists hungry for extra challenge.

In sum, Final Fantasy: Collection is a lovingly assembled tribute to the golden age of JRPGs. Its core mechanics remain as compelling now as they were in the 1990s, and the fresh CGI intros underscore the enduring magic of these worlds. For any fan of turn-based epics or newcomer intrigued by genre-defining adventures, this compilation offers an essential, immersive journey through fantasy’s most ambitious landscapes.

Retro Replay Score

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