There are few scenes more iconic in the Final Fantasy series — nay, all of video gaming — than the Opera in Final Fantasy VI, a musical masterpiece of lyrical memorization, octopal shenanigans, and theater drama. And Square Enix appears to be letting loose a bit with the sequence in this month’s Pixel Remaster release — the Opera sequence is now rendered with 3D backgrounds to complement the pixel art, and with vocals in a whopping seven different languages.
When the curtains rise on Final Fantasy VI pixel remaster you’ll be able to experience the iconic opera scene with vocals in 7 languages including English, French, Italian, German & Spanish.
There’s still time to join the audience; pre-purchase now: https://t.co/MOlhSpOOwb pic.twitter.com/5MIL7Gxz0O
— FINAL FANTASY (@FinalFantasy) February 21, 2022
This news comes on the heels of a lot of hubbub about the so-called “HD-2D” style that Square has recently been utilizing more. Pioneered in 2018’s Octopath Traveler, the gorgeously rendered pixel art styling is also being utilized in next month’s Triangle Strategy and July’s remake of Live A Live — and apparently Square Enix’s president has ordered more games in the HD-2D style going forward.
Live A Live was actually selected from a long list of games the company considered remaking in the style, with the second choice being ActRaiser (which got a different, honestly less interesting style in its own remake). Live A Live was chosen for a multitude of reasons, including its previously Japan-only release, and the news invites a lot of possibilities for future games to be remade in the style. Dragon Quest III already has one in development.
The Opera scene in FFVI Pixel Remaster isn’t “fully” HD-2D (it lacks a lot of the specific lighting effects), but it’s a step in that direction. Will we see a full on HD-2D remake of the entire game some day? I and many others would love that, though it’s ultimately up to Square whether they want to commit money to that endeavor — or other games in their catalog (Chrono Trigger? Romancing SaGa? Tactics Ogre? It’s all possible, Squeenix: make it happen).
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
