The lengthy awaited Pixel Remasters of Last Fantasy I by way of VI lastly arrived on Swap and PlayStation 4 on April 19. Sadly for longtime followers, the bodily editions of the gathering offered out instantly on Sq. Enix’s web site and present no indicators of coming again in inventory. Scalpers are actually attempting to flip them for a whole bunch on eBay.
The Last Fantasy Pixel Remasters got here to Steam a pair years in the past, however the console ports embrace some new options and enhancements like a brand new font that’s not good however nonetheless a marked enchancment over the trendy look of in-game textual content on PC. Most significantly for collectors, there are bodily variations this time round. The $75 commonplace version simply has the video games—Last Fantasy I, II, III, IV, V, and VI–-and an Anniversary version contains vinyl soundtracks, artbooks, figures and extra for $250.
Whereas pre-orders had been obtainable beginning final December, the discharge date for the PS4 and Swap variations was solely revealed earlier this month. By launch day, Sq. Enix’s web site, one of many solely locations to order bodily copies, was already offered out of the Commonplace version. The Anniversary editions are at the moment waitlisted, that means new orders will solely change into obtainable if present ones are canceled.
Anybody who’s late to the celebration and nonetheless needs to select up the most recent model of some all-time classics is now on the mercy of resellers. “That is insane,” wrote consumer tuhbreezy696 in a put up on a recreation gathering subreddit alongside a screenshot of outrageous listings on eBay of the remasters for as a lot as $400.
Scalpers taking to the ecommerce platform with ridiculous listings has change into commonplace, however a fast search exhibits dozens and dozens of PS4 and Swap copies of the sport all going for double the sticker value or extra. The bottom value on the time of writing was $175 with 17 individuals watching it.
The pull of nostalgia is powerful, particularly for a beloved franchise whose tales and artwork helped outline the NES and SNES console generations for tens of millions of gamers. It does nonetheless appear attainable to order bodily copies through Asian retailers like Play Asia, although with transport the worth nonetheless comes near roughly $100. The earliest supply some followers are reporting for these copies is June, and that seems to be predicated on further shipments from Sq. Enix.
There may be one little bit of solace for longtime Last Fantasy followers: the Pixel Remasters aren’t actually the definitive variations. There are debatable benefits to the earlier ports on PSP and Recreation Boy Advance, and gamers can after all entry the brand new variations digitally. Nonetheless, as we noticed from the Metroid Prime Remaster bodily copies promoting out, having a field and a cartridge goes a protracted solution to rekindling what felt so particular about these video games within the first place.