Square Enix has a long history of classic JRPGs, going far beyond the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises we continue to play today. In recent years, the publisher has been experimenting with HD-2D titles like Octopath Traveller and Triangle Strategy. Soon, we should see more remakes and remasters from Square Enix using this art style.
The HD-2D concept first debuted with Octopath Traveller, including a mix of HD, 3D backgrounds and pixel-art characters. As reported by Famitsu, Square Enix is looking to remake classic SNES RPGs in this style.
During a Square Enix Radio Show, producer, Tomoya Asano, explained that Square Enix president, Yosuka Matsuda, expressed interest in more HD-2D games, so the team “lined up possible titles” from the SNES area that would work best, and even came up with a list of titles that would not work well in this art style. Live A Live ended up being the number one option, with ActRaiser being deemed the second most suitable game for this kind of remake.
Currently, Square Enix has a few HD-2D games coming up, including a remake of “Live A Live” and Dragon Quest 3. We are unlikely to see a new HD-2D version of ActRaiser though, as that game already received a modern remaster for the Nintendo Switch in 2021.
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KitGuru Says: I loved the HD-2D look of Octopath Traveller and I've got high hopes for Triangle Strategy this year too. What classic Square Enix JRPGs would you like to see remastered in HD-2D form?