Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is getting some NES nostalgia for RPG fans. 1990 was 36 years ago, so many Xbox Game Pass subscribers probably weren’t around to play the game in question at its launch. And considering it was a Japanese exclusive until 2021, it’s safe to assume most Xbox Game Pass subscribers didn’t play this back in the 1990s unless they were in Japan or manually imported the game. That said, the game in question is a landmark RPG from Square, years before it merged with Enix and became known as Square Enix.
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More specifically, on March 3, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Xbox Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass subscribers will be able to enjoy Square Enix’s Final Fantasy III, which came to Xbox consoles for the first time in 2024 via the Pixel Remaster, and is now coming to Xbox Game Pass for the first time. How long it will be available via the Microsoft subscription service, we do not know for certain, but Square Enix games are typically added in 12-month or 24-month blocks. Whatever the case, there will be plenty of time to beat the 15 to 20-hour RPG.
1990 NES Exclusive Game
It’s important to note this is not the 1990 original version of the game, but the Pixel Remaster version, which comes with new graphics and audio. There is also “improved” gameplay, modernized UI, an auto-battle option, and other modernization features. That said, it’s still the same story and gameplay designs of the original.
When Final Fantasy III was released for the NES — or the Family Computer, as it was called in Japan — the series was not yet mainstream, nor was it as fine-tuned or critically acclaimed. However, it was still received well and was a hit in Japan, selling more than 1.2 million units in Japan alone.
In the game, there are four chosen adventurers who must save the world, which is under threat of being eclipsed by the power of darkness. If this sounds very much like an early 1990s RPG story premise, it is because it is very much one of these kinds of games.
Final Fantasy III being added to Xbox Game Pass is set to save Ultimate, Premium, and PC subscribers from a $17.99 purchase. Meanwhile, it joins Final Fantasy II, which was recently added to the subscription service earlier this year. Right now, this is the only Final Fantasy game available via Xbox Game Pass.
All of that said, make sure to drop a comment letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.
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