The PS1 took the concepts and made their own unique spins on the graphics. They transformed them rather than simply update them. Case in point, compare the Fighter (FF1 Remake) to the FF1 and FF1HDPR Versions.
View attachment 268948 to
to
View attachment 268950
Bar the change in hair color - the overall armor shape, armor detailing, the sprite coloring, etc, all fit more with the original FF1. The FF1 Remake (middle) adds white (and black in some poses) to the pauldrons for example, removes the eyebrows, etc. While you can still identify them as "Fighter", it does not look like the original "Fighter" design, wherein the FF1HDPR version looks like the original FF1 Fighter to the detail, except the change in hair (due to no longer being limited by 8-Bit limitations).
While some may prefer the PS1 versions, they are ultimately Remakes and not true Remasters.
See, the problem with the original games was they were designed with scan lines and CRT TVs in mind (and on a seperate point - limits in the graphics as to how much color depth it could provide), like I said. Let's use an example I found on reddit courtesy of
https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFanta...lockes_sprite_snes_vs_pixel_remaster/h1pn5lh/:
You can also find in that topic a comparison of old and new Locke:
These additional black lines/details lead to sprites looking VERY differently. And hence the original sprites were designed with the CRTs in mind.
Thus, the sprites we see are as close to the
ideal that Square envisioned these sprites to look like, were the CRT lines non-existent. They also, thanks to the evolution in graphics, can afford to do detailing (IE: Narshe in the cutscene overlooking the village/town) and color changes they couldn't due to either graphical chip limits or the limits of 16-bit of the time.
In short: The hair changes are how they were
always intended to look, but wouldn't work due to graphical limitations. This is why Fighter's hair has been Brunette ever since - he was always meant to be brunette but they couldn't work it in due to graphical limitations.
Compare if you will Terra's original sprite portrait, to her new hair:
View attachment 268958View attachment 268960
If anything, excluding the light shinng off the top of her hair,
the two tones are almost exactly the same. Seeing as the left is how she was meant to look according to official game art, the match is almost uncanny now.
Now, let's compare Locke as I showed earlier to his sprite portrait.
View attachment 268963View attachment 268962View attachment 268964
You can see the lighter bits of Locke's hair in the portrait do match up with the actual darker parts of his new sprite. I even included his original sprite as reference. Muddy and Dark, mostly again to work with the CRT and be less checkered and confusing.
These Remasters are ultimately about redesigning to bring about the ideal forms of the sprites and world as they were intended to look, were CRT not ultimately restricting them.
Remake, not Remaster. So yes, maybe you prefer the Remake graphics of 1-2-3, but the Remasters are generally just superior in most respects (except maybe Locke's shirt but admittably doesn't look like he has a beer belly covered in Beer stains). For being true-to-the-resource remasters of the original games though I think these look absolutely stellar.
But then it would be the "Remake Remaster", not the "Remaster". These are
not supposed to use the Remakes in any form or fashion as a basis.
Source
