Octopath Traveler and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake producer Masaaki Hayasaka expressed his desire to see Final Fantasy VI remade in HD-2D style during an interview with Inverse.
Final Fantasy VI, or what was originally known as Final Fantasy III in North America, was the last major Final Fantasy game to use pixel art.
Hayasaka responded with the following when asked about the games he would like to see in HD-2D:
“Not that we have specific plans for this, but personally I’d say Final Fantasy VI. Octopath Traveler—the first HD-2D title—was developed with reference to FFVI, as it featured the highest quality pixel art. I’d love to see what the game we mentioned would look like with the HD-2D art style.”
“Since this art style itself was created by referencing such titles, it is very compatible with games that were originally made using pixel art. This compatibility is probably why people feel this style is a match made in heaven with these types of reworkings.”
However, doing it with style is no easy task, as he would later explain when asked about the challenges he faced while updating Dragon Quest III in HD-2D style:
“The quickest way to explain it is by comparing the first teaser we released three years ago with the latest trailer. I’m sure everything will be different for you, from the size of the map to the proportions of the characters’ bodies. We get asked why it’s taken so long since the first announcement, but the fact that it’s taken us this long speaks to how deeply involved the process of bringing HD-2D graphics to Dragon Quest 3 truly was.”
“Some say it should be easier to produce because HD-2D is pixel-based and this game is a remake, but that’s far from the truth! In my opinion, this style requires a higher level of artistic sensibility, and a remake faces more project-level limitations compared to a brand new title, making the difficulty extremely high. After all, the expectations of fans of the original game are a big hurdle that we have to work hard to meet.”
Other highlights in the interview include Hayasaka mentioning that expanding the player base was one of their goals with the Dragon Quest Erdrick trilogy remake, that the team didn’t “cut a lot” from the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and a quick message for fans looking forward to the rest of the remakes trilogy:
“I still can’t share any information about Dragon Quest I & II, but we are hard at work on the remake[s]therefore rejoice.”
