All Articles: Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster

The last time Square Enix discussed the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, it was to delay the compilation’s release and to cryptically shove the Vita version to the side. Well good news, the Vita version is alive and well! And it’s no longer two separate games. And it will be released side-by-side with the PS3 version on March 18.

Previously, the publisher planned to release Final Fantasy X HD and Final Fantasy X-2 HD as two separate cartridges on the Vita. Now, like the PS3 version, the two PS2 classics will be bundled together in a single package. However, only Final Fantasy X HD will be included in the box. To obtain Final Fantasy X-2 HD, you’ll need to download it from the PlayStation Store with the enclosed voucher.

Finally, the PS3 version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will also be release in a special Collector’s Edition, available exclusively through the Square Enix Online Store. Priced at $79.99, the Collector’s Edition will include:

• Full-Size Artbook Packaging, featuring 40 pages of imagery from the beautiful world of Spira.
• Visual Soundtrack – Over six hours of music set to the game’s most memorable moments on a Blu-ray disc.
• Five Lithographs of iconic artwork and characters.

Square Enix is finally ready to announce a North American release date for Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster. The two-game package will be available for the PS3 on March 18, 2014. As you may have noticed, that’s quite a bit beyond the remake’s originally projected “Fall 2013” release. In fact, when it’s finally released, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will have spent more time in development (916 days from the initial announcement) than the original Final Fantasy X (686 days).

In honor of the release date announcement, Square Enix has uploaded a brand new trailer, which you can view above. They’ve also confirmed that gamers who pre-order Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will be upgraded to a Limited Edition that comes with an exclusive artbook.

But bad news for Vita owners, the handheld version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (which was to be released separately as Final Fantasy X HD Remaster and Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster) appears to be canceled. The Vita version was not part of today’s announcement and all mention of Sony’s handheld has been stripped from the remake’s official website.

Square Enix has released a nifty new trailer comparing the graphical fidelity of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster with the standard definition PS2 original.

The publisher has also announced that eager consumers can now pre-order the PS3 compilation. Every pre-order will be upgraded to a special Limited Edition that includes an artbook and custom packaging. While Square Enix is happy to take your money now, they have yet to announce a release date for the collection.

The high definition remake will also be available on the Vita as two separate games: Final Fantasy X HD Remaster and Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster.

Square Enix announced that they’re bringing a high definition remake of Final Fantasy X to the PlayStation 3 and the Vita all the way back in 2011. The publisher has been surprisingly tight-lipped about it since, but it appears they had a good reason… Final Fantasy X for the PS3/Vita is being turned into an HD compilation that also includes Final Fantasy X-2!

The news comes from the latest issue of Jump magazine (via Gematsu), which also confirms that Square Enix plans to release the collection in Japan this year.

While Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 will be packaged together for the PS3, the Vita version of each game will be sold separately. And, for Japan at least, the remakes will include the “International” bonus content.

It’s currently unknown if these director’s cuts will be used for the US release of Final Fantasy X HD (or if Final Fantasy X-2 HD will even make it across the Pacific). But we can sure hope so.

It’s not much to go on, but Square Enix Europe has taken to Twitter to reassure Final Fantasy fans that an update on Final Fantasy X HD is coming soon:

@dannymason1986 The world will get answers soon, we promise.

— SQUARE ENIX EUROPE (@SQUARE_ENIX_EU) January 10, 2013

Final Fantasy X HD was announced for the PS3 and Vita during the 2011 Tokyo Game Show and we’ve heard nary a peep about the project since then. So any acknowledgement of the game, even the vague promises of more information coming “soon,” is something to celebrate.