(Photo : Square Enix / Screenshot taken from official website)
Square Enix just silently dropped several games on Xbox as part of the studio's new multi-platform strategy.
Some of the noteworthy games in the list are two Mana games and the Final Fantasy Pixel remasters. Specifically, Trials of Mana and Legend of Mana are now available across Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Square Enix Games on Xbox
Xbox president Sarah Bond said that their partnership with Square Enix is "stronger than ever." The development makes the two Mana games available on Xbox Game Pass but not the Final Fantasy titles.
This comes as the upcoming Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is also making its way to Xbox but not on Game Pass. The Final Fantasy Pixel remasters feature the first six games in the franchise. They have been remastered to HD standards with fresh musical orchestrations.
Trials of Mana is a 2020 remake of the original 1995 SNES game while Legend of Mana was first released for the PlayStation in 1999. There were rumors that Visions of Mana would come to Game Pass. But Xbox swiftly denied these claims, according to Eurogamer.
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The release of the games comes as Square Enix announced back in May that it was "aggressively pursuing" a new multi-platform strategy. This was all part of efforts to "diversify earnings opportunities."
The company admitted that profits for Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth "did not meet expectations" around the same time. Despite this, there is still no confirmation of whether these games will be coming to Xbox consoles.
Beloved Classics
Other games that arrived on Xbox include We Love Katamari and All You Need is Help. The former arrived in its remastered form. This is We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie, Polygon said.
On the other hand, All You Need is Help is a slapstick co-op puzzle game developed by Q-Games. The studio was also responsible for the PixelJunk franchise. The game features four player-controlled fluffy cubes that try to work together to complete a variety of puzzles.
These include assembling themselves into an arrangement of tetrominoes or trying to get a bunch of soccer balls into a goal. But one of the main additions to Xbox is the Final Fantasy Pixel remasters.
The series features rearranged soundtracks and various quality-of-life improvements. These include multiple font options and the ability to switch back to the old soundtracks if those are what you prefer to hear, according to IGN.
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