Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster

The Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster is a remastered compilation of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It was announced at the Sony Press Conference in Japan on September 14th, 2011 as part of a 10th anniversary special, and was released on December 26th, 2013 in Japan and March 2014 elsewhere. The compilation is based on the International version of both games. It was initially announced that Square Enix's 1st Production Department would develop the port, but later it has been announced that the remaster was done by.

The two games are available together on a single Blu-Ray disc for the PlayStation 3 version. The Vita versions are not sold individually as originally stated; instead, only Final Fantasy X has a physical release, but includes a download code for Final Fantasy X-2. Those who pick up both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 on PlayStation Vita will be able to take advantage of swapping saves between systems allowing fans to transfer data between the standalone Vita version and the PlayStation 3 counterpart.

Differences from the Original Versions
The games contain improved maps and character models and textures as well as improved lighting, shadowing and enhanced pre-rendered movies with better quality in high definition. Trophies for both games are added and all controllable and other major characters have new character models with monsters and minor characters having rearranged textures to improve quality. The game now plays at 16:9 widescreen and some scenes have been adjusted with different camera angles to accommodate for it. Despite all the new improvements, Final Fantasy X still doesn't have an option to skip cutscenes. The FMV scenes are not re-rendered and merely cropped from the original 4:3 aspect ratio to fit the widescreen perspective. The games still possess the graphical errors like hands going through the sleeves, ribbons not folding properly, or hair going through the back when a character is moving his head and the hair should have physics as to not look odd and unnatural.

As the HD remasters are of the games' International versions, they have some new additions for North American and PAL region players. The Final Fantasy X International was never released in North America and includes a new Sphere Grid option, new optional bosses and new abilities. Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission was a Japan exclusive release, and adds new dresspheres, a Creature Creator system, a Fiend Arena, and a new dungeon: Iutycyr Tower.

Both games have improved voice audio and have around 60 tracks remastered.

Kazushige Nojima also wrote Final Fantasy X -Will-, a "new episode" for the HD remaster that is a 30-minute audio drama at the end credits featuring a new cast and new character voices.

Content
There are five options in the PlayStation 3 version:
 * Final Fantasy X
 * Final Fantasy X: Eternal Calm
 * Final Fantasy X-2
 * Final Fantasy X-2: Last Mission
 * Credits & Bonus Audio

All the content can be accessed from the main menu.

Development
The idea for the remastering came about when Square Enix met with some of the voice actors during the making of Final Fantasy Type-0 and realized they hadn't met since the making of Final Fantasy X, and how it would be fun to do something for the game's tenth anniversary. Yoshinori Kitase has cited his son as a motivation for the remake, as his son was at the age where he was too young to have played the original games when they were released, and only knew Tidus and Yuna through Dissidia Final Fantasy. Wanting his son to play one of his creations motivated Kitase to push to have the games available for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.

Character designer Tetsuya Nomura negotiated with various people and got shown green light for the project, but as staff were still devoted to the Final Fantasy XIII project, the remake wasn't possible right away. The remastering wasn't completed in time for the game's tenth anniversary, but Yoshinori Kitase has joked they lucked out in making it for the Final Fantasy X-2 anniversary instead.

During the Square Enix Presents livestream at E3 2013, Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama mentioned the reason they wanted to remaster Final Fantasy X and, in turn, Final Fantasy X-2, was because earlier Final Fantasy games are playable on current generation consoles via PlayStation Network and various remakes, but as Final Fantasy X was a PlayStation 2 game, and only the first generation of PlayStation 3s had backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2, Final Fantasy X was seen as an ideal candidate for a remastering. During the livestream interview, it was mentioned that, learning from the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster project, Square Enix has realized they need to keep good backups of game data in case they want to remaster it in the future. Back when Final Fantasy X was first developed, development was open and the planner could develop whatever he wanted, but in modern game development a lot of the process is tool-based and polish-focused, and the planner is not be able to put his own flavor into the game. Square Enix hopes they can merge the old ways with using the new tools.

On May 29th, 2013, Famitsu revealed that remastering of Final Fantasy X was estimated at 80% completion, while remastering of Final Fantasy X-2 was at 65% completion. In the July 3 issue of Jump magazine, it was revealed that Kazushige Nojima would be writing a post-credit 30-minute story with new voice cast and characters. For a long time Square Enix was unsure of whether or not to include Last Mission since they considered it a separate game from Final Fantasy X-2. On October 9th, 2013, it was confirmed that both the Final Fantasy X-2 prologue, Final Fantasy X: Eternal Calm, and Final Fantasy X-2: Last Mission would be included.

When asked about the International versions having the option of using Japanese voices with English subtitles, Yoshinori Kitase said that is not possible due to PlayStation Vita not having the capacity for it, and they aim for the two versions to be as identical as can be.

Graphics and Gameplay
For both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, many of the character models are remade from the ground up, including all the controllable characters. The other characters and monsters are having their textures rearranged to improve quality. For the 16:9 support, the camera has been adjusted to have the visuals work in 3D scenes, but the pre-rendered background scenes required a lot of redrawing and adding on to get them to look correct. With the cut scenes, if the view was simply extended to 16:9, things like people on the sides waiting for their 'cue' to enter, would become visible.

Recreating the original gameplay was surprisingly tough. The gameplay had to be adjusted to match with the improved visuals, but care was taken to ensure the player's impression would remain the same. Not all of the data from the original development project remains, and Square Enix worked with an external development studio (Virtuos Games in Shanghai, China. ) and an internal staff for the project with the internal programmers handling data salvage and repair. Yoshinori Kitase has said that in some ways, it'd been easier to rebuild some of the assets from scratch.

Music
The original composers of Final Fantasy X's soundtrack were brought back to remaster it. The aim was to build on the experience of the original music and craft something that would be both different but welcoming for returning players. Because the PlayStation 2 version used a built-in tone generator with limited memory capacity, music director Keiji Kawamori wanted to fully re-master the soundtrack using current technology to match the re-mastered graphics. The initial plans included providing an option to switch between the old and new background music, but technical issues prevented this feature from making it into the final game.

Most tracks have had conservative changes by being "cleaned-up", but some tracks, like the "Battle Theme" and "Thunder Plains" have been redone. With songs like "Battle Theme", veteran Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu — who worked on the original and supervised parts of the remastered soundtrack — has said the idea was to create a tonal change as powerful as the upgrade being done to the game itself. The Final Fantasy X remastered soundtrack also remixes several tracks with more piano. The "Via Purifico" theme is replaced entirely by the Piano Collections: Final Fantasy X version. The upgraded album release features three tracks not used in the original game — one of them being "Wakka's Theme." The game's main theme, "Zanarkand," remains the same as the original composition.

Audio Drama
Kazushige Nojima wrote an audio drama for the remaster set one year after the events in Final Fantasy X-2 titled Final Fantasy X -Will-. The drama is not meant to clearly depict a particular event, but to hint at the characters' lives after the events of Final Fantasy X-2. The developers didn't want a particular image to be set in stone by presenting clear visuals, and that's why audio-only was chosen, to leave room for the fans' imaginations. Final Fantasy X -Will- and Nojima's spin-off novella Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daishou~, leave open new plot threads, but Shinji Hashimoto has denied the inclusion of Final Fantasy X -Will- with the HD Remaster was made with a sequel in mind.

Release
Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita was released in North America on March 18 and will be released March 21 in Europe. The PS Vita versions are released separately, while the PlayStation 3 version bundles both games together. Those who pre-ordered the PlayStation 3 version get a limited-edition artbook.

Japanese Release
The PlayStation 3 version includes both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 and retails for 7,140 yen for physical copy, and 6,400 yen for download. It includes: Final Fantasy X HD Remaster, Final Fantasy X: The Eternal Calm, Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster, Final Fantasy X-2: Last Mission and credits and bonus audio.

The games are being released separately for PS Vita. Both retail for 3,990 yen with the download version costing 3,600 yen. The Final Fantasy X HD Remaster includes the game, The Eternal Calm bonus video, and credits and bonus audio. The Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster includes the game, Final Fantasy X-2: Last Mission and credits and bonus audio.

The PS Vita games are also being released in a single pack, known as Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster Twin Pack that retails for 7,140 yen or 6,400 yen for the download version, including everything from the single-version games.

The Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster Resolution Box for PS Vita retails for 25,788 yen and includes a PS Vita (PCH-2000 series) WiFi model, both games, a USB cable, an AC adapter, a power cord and printed matter.

Square Enix also has an assortment of goodies for the Square Enix e-Store, including original soundtracks, Ultimanias, newly released Final Fantasy Play Arts Action Figures of Tidus and Yuna, and a Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daishou~ book.

North American Release
The games arrived to PlayStation 3 and PS Vita on March 18th and support cross save functionality. The games retail for $39.99. The combo pack is available as a download on PlayStation Network. One can also buy Final Fantasy X at retail that includes a voucher to download Final Fantasy X-2 from the PlayStation Store.

A Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster Collector's Edition for PlayStation 3 is available exclusively at the Square Enix Online Store for $79.99. The set includes a 40-page hardcover art book filled with concept sketches, environment art, and character artworks for both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. The Collector's Edition includes a Final Fantasy X HD Remaster original soundtrack (blu-ray music disc) that is over six hours of music set to images from the game, and five lithographs of art.

Square Enix has an art exhibit for the games at Gallery Nucleus at March 15 to 26. Proceeds from artwork sold will be donated to charity relief to aid the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Yoshinori Kitase and Yusuke Naora were at the opening to greet fans and sign games. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster went on sale three days early at the event, and the first 200 people that purchased the game could get their copy signed.

European Release
The first print of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster contains a Yuna garb, the Spira's Summoner, for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. This DLC outfit is included in both standard and limited edition versions.

Europe also received a Limited Edition, which includes a 40-page hardcover art book filled with concept sketches, environment art, and character artworks for both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, as well as the game and special boxing.

Sales and Reception
The game sold a total of 339,902 units across both the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita platforms in Japan. The initial breakdown shows 182,638 units sold on PS3 with a combined 159,102 units of the PS Vita Twin Pack and Final Fantasy X versions purchased from December 23rd through the 29th. In its first week, the PlayStation 3 and Vita versions sold through 80.93% and 87.24% of their respective shipments. By the second week, the PlayStation 3 version had sold through 89.76% of its shipment, with total sales at 225,448, and the the Vita version had sold through through 95.52% of its shipment, with total sales at 182,170 copies. Thus by the second week both versions were effectively sold out, with Square Enix needing to supply more copies for the demand.

25,443 people bought Final Fantasy X HD as a standalone game on the Vita upon release; a 90.57% sell-through. By the second week the game had sold 31,775 copies, selling through 97.26% of all copies. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy X-2 HD was less popular with only 5,357 people buying the game in its week of release, amounting to a mere 46.64% sell-through of shipped copies. By the second week total sales of Final Fantasy X-2 HD were 16,355, at 84.12% of its shipment.

The HD Remaster was met positively in Japan. Yoshinori Kitase has reflected on the HD Remake process, by saying he is happy as the project was a big challenge. He said the remaster had to be more than a simple HD remake, because memories of the players of the original version had had ten years to be gilded, remembering it as better than it really was. The team set out to make adjustments to match up with that "sweeter version" in players' memories, in fear the original games wouldn't give out the same impression any more.

The HD Remaster scored 85 out of 100 Metascore for the PlayStation 3 version. This is the highest score of the four Final Fantasy games on PlayStation 3. IGN rated the game at 9.3 out of 10, described it as "AMAZING", "Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster is the best way to play one of the best JRPGs ever".