Of all the Pixel Remasters, FFIV was probably the one I was most reluctant to play. For most of my life I've called it my favorite game; it hit me at the perfect time in both my personal and gaming life back in the 90s. The stories and memories I have from FFIV (II back then for the SNES) both in-game and in real life where my friends ​and I would talk about the game for weeks/years, I will hold with me for the rest of my gaming life.

So naturally I was hesitant to ruin those memories by playing an adaptation, flawed as the SNES version was, and I never bothered revisiting the game through all its releases since then. But as soon as I booted up the Pixel Remaster and heard that re-orchestrated Red Wings theme, I knew it was the right choice to play it again, nearly 30 years later.

As against the redesigned sprites as I was, everything just fit so well together with this release. The colors were more vibrant, the backgrounds more elaborate, and the spell and other effects were taken to the next level with modern, FFRK-ish reinterpretations. And the music, man the music. I've owned and listened to all the official FFIV soundtracks and arrangements (yes even Celtic Moon), but this re-orchestration was a feast for my ears.

I relived my childhood through the vivid aural assault of this soundtrack, from the marching beat of the opening Red Wings sequence, to the techno futurism of the Giant of Babel, to all the emotional strings pulled and played by the final battle and the epilogue. Hell, even acquiring Excalibur had an amazing theme playing on Cecil's/the Red Wings leitmotif. The soundtrack isn't the only reason to play this version, but I will say that it's 5000% the best one.

On a personal note, getting 100% on this game is one of my most important and treasured achievements, since I finally got to find every secret and fulfill every activity I never got to in the original, from acquiring Yang's wife's knife to trading in the Pink Tail. It's also extra sweet since I finally get to beat it with my adult grinding powers on a "Hard Type" version of the game.

I'm thinking of skipping FFV because it's one of my least favorite FFs, but holy airship did this make me excited for FFVI and what the new pixel art and music has in store, plus it's another game I haven't revisited since the 90s. If The Final Battle was already this good, imagine Dancing Mad...

Final Fantasy IV is and always will be my favorite game.