I’ve spoken before about my passion for Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series and how my preferred gaming platform is the PC. However, I have continued again and again to be baffled by Square Enix’s decisions when it comes to which games are ported to the platform with big franchises excluded, spin-offs prioritised over main entries and classics remaining unreleased. Taking all of this into account, I thought it might be interesting to look at some Square Enix games that I’d love to see released on PC.
While many of the main entries of Final Fantasy have now seen a release on PC, the elephant in the room remains the conspicuous absence of the first Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II. While neither game tends to rank high amongst Final Fantasy fans, they are still very important entries in the franchise with many recurring elements established in both games and I’d love to see Square Enix release these games on PC.
The logos for the first two Final Fantasy games.
Moving onto Square Enix’s second most popular series, Dragon Quest has seen several games ported to PC. However, with the exception of Dragon Quest XI, the games that have been ported have all been spin-offs such as the Dragon Quest Heroes games or Dragon Quest Builders 2. Back when Dragon Quest XI was ported to PC, series creator Yuji Horii stated that he was interest in bringing the older games to the platform. Since that interview over two years ago, we have only seen Dragon Quest Builders 2 released on PC with an upcoming rerelease of Dragon Quest XI coming to the platform.
Perhaps the most glaringly obvious absence of a Square Enix franchise on PC is the Kingdom Hearts series. Despite multiple rereleases of the older Kingdom Hearts games via the 1.5 and 2.5 remixes across PS3, PS4 and Xbox One, we have yet to see any of these hit the PC platform. Even Kingdom Hearts III, built on the PC compatible Unreal Engine 4, has yet to be ported.
While we saw a PC port of Chrono Trigger (which was lambasted by fans initially but fixed over the course of months), its sequel Chrono Cross has yet to see a rerelease (excluding a release on the PlayStation store for PS3 and PSP). While not quite as popular as its predecessor, Chrono Cross was critically acclaimed upon its initial release and I would love to get the opportunity to play this Square Enix classic on PC.
Finally, another game I’d love to be able to play would be Vagrant Story. Originally released for the PlayStation in 2000, Vagrant Story is an atypical JRPG with no shops, interactions with NPCs or party members, instead focusing on crafting and exploration. Just like Chrono Cross, this game received critical acclaim upon its release but has only seen a rerelease on the PlayStation store. A PC port (as well as console ports) would allow more people, like me, to experience this gaming classic.
Irrespective of your thoughts on the modern practises of Square Enix, there is no doubt that they have created some of the greatest video games of all time. Sadly, too many of their releases are restricted to too few platforms and restrict how many people can play these games. Let me know your thoughts on Square Enix PC ports, the games I’ve selected, what other games you’d like to see ported and any additional information you’d like to share.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.