Final Fantasy X turns 25, and Switch 2 owners will need to buy the remaster again

[NeutrinoX56]

Square Enix released a trailer celebrating the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy X, the game that first launched on PS2 on July 19, 2001, and became the first mainline Final Fantasy title built with fully polygonal environments rather than 3D characters over pre-rendered backgrounds. It was successful enough to become the first Final Fantasy to ever receive a direct sequel, with Final Fantasy X-2 following in March 2003

Both games are getting yet another platform added to their long running HD Remaster, which has already shipped on PS3 and Vita in 2013, PS4 in 2015, PC in 2016, and Switch and Xbox One in 2019. The Switch 2 version arrives July 23 with fully remade character, monster and background graphics in HD, remastered and arranged music, additional content pulled from the original International Version releases, and quality of life additions like a high speed mode and an option to turn off random encounters entirely

The catch is that anyone who already owns the Switch version won't get any kind of discounted or free upgrade path to the Switch 2 release, meaning fans wanting the improved version on Nintendo's new hardware will likely have to buy the $49.99 remaster a second time

Final Fantasy X gets a 25th anniversary trailer ahead of X/X-2 HD Remaster coming to Switch 2 this week | VGCwww.videogameschronicle.com

[Slay40]

No discount or upgrade path for people who already bought the Switch version is such a frustrating but increasingly common pattern with these enhanced re-releases across the industry

[Grover26]

This being the sixth platform to get this exact remaster since 2013 shows just how much continued commercial life a beloved game like this can have if the publisher keeps porting it forward

[WorldClassHart13]

Being the first Final Fantasy to get fully polygonal environments back in 2001 is easy to forget now, but that was a genuinely big technical leap at the time compared to the pre-rendered backgrounds before it

[TheGame]

Turning off random encounters entirely as an option is such a welcome modern quality of life addition, that mechanic hasn't aged particularly gracefully for a lot of newer players coming to the game fresh

[Ruby_50]

25 years and it's still getting active anniversary marketing and new platform releases says a lot about how enduring this specific entry's fanbase has remained compared to some other games from that era