Final Fantasy XIII Might be Most Ambitious Xbox One Backward Compatibility Game to Date

Xbox One is now the best place to play FFXIII.

News by Matt Kim, News Editor

14 November 2018

Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII trilogy is now available on Xbox One and Xbox One X, but the enhancements go way beyond just a graphical update according to Xbox.

At X018 in Mexico City Microsoft announced that the three Final Fantasy XIII games, which include Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII, would be available on Xbox One this week as part of backwards compatibility. If players have an Xbox One X the trilogy will also get Xbox One X enhancements.

Jason Ronald of Xbox revealed something else: Square Enix gave Microsoft's backwards compatibility team the original cutscene assets from Final Fantasy XIII but at a much higher visual quality than what was shipped on the Xbox 360 version.

Not only is FINAL FANTASY XIII enhanced for Xbox One X, through close partnership with our friends at Square Enix, the back compat team was able to acquire and include all of the original cutscene assets at a much higher visual quality than previously available on Xbox 360. http://go.redirectingat.com?id=87431X1573192&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FMuwH2vjLT8
— Jason Ronald (@jronald) November 14, 2018

This essentially makes Final Fantasy XIII a remaster as the new game is mixed in with higher quality visuals. Not too shabby for a game that's almost nine years old by this point. The Xbox One X enhancements are one thing, but to see visuals for Final Fantasy XIII as they were originally developed is another.

Final Fantasy XIII made a big splash on the Xbox 360 when it was revealed at the Microsoft Press Conference, and it's good to see that history continue with the backwards compatibility rollout for the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy on Xbox One and Xbox One X.

For more news from Microsoft's X018 event check out our complete recap here. Also check out our complete 30th anniversary recap of the Final Fantasy series.

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Matt Kim

News Editor

Matt Kim is a former freelance writer who's covered video games and digital media. He likes video games as spectacle and is easily distracted by bright lights or clever bits of dialogue. He also once wrote about personal finance, but that's neither here nor there.