Name: Microsoft Xbox Series X
Brand: Microsoft
Price: 487 USD

The Xbox platform has usually not been the go-to place for JRPGs. As the only American console manufacturer in the industry, Microsoft has often struggled with getting Japanese games on its platform, in part because of Xbox's poor commercial performance in Asian territories. Even when Xbox consoles were at their most popular during the Xbox 360 generation, many of the biggest JRPG series opted to skip the platform. Aside from a few occasional exceptions, games in the Persona, Mana, Kingdom Hearts, Tales, Yakuza, and Dragon Quest franchises, for example, were only available on PlayStation and/or Nintendo consoles at the time.

Even though Xbox's popularity in Japan and other Asian countries hasn't really improved that much, Xbox has received a lot more notable JRPGs in recent years. Many of the biggest franchises in the genre that were once alien to the platform, like Persona, are now readily available on Xbox Series X/S, and some JRPGs are even being released on Xbox Game Pass on day one. There's one major JPRG series, however, that has largely avoided the Xbox platform during this console generation: Final Fantasy. Due to some recent announcements, though, the Xbox Series X/S is now technically the best console to play Final Fantasy on, even more so than the PlayStation 5.

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By Liam Ferguson

Xbox is Now the Only Console that Can Play All Mainline Single-Player Final Fantasy Games

Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Have Just Been Announced for Xbox

Right at the tail-end of the Xbox Games Showcase this week, Square Enix showed up to announce that both Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade would finally be launched on Xbox Series X/S, after years of being exclusive to PlayStation consoles. FF7 Remake's Xbox port is slated to come out sometime in winter 2025, alongside the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 release. FF16, meanwhile, is out on Xbox consoles right now, and it's available at a reduced price of $50. Both FF7 Remake and FF16 support Xbox Play Anywhere, meaning that players can seamlessly play these titles across PC, cloud, and Xbox Series X/S without having to pay extra.

Final Fantasy 16 was originally released on PlayStation 5 in June 2023, and it took the game roughly two years to make its way to Xbox consoles. Thanks to its multi-platform release, though, the Xbox Series X/S is now the only console on the market that can play all single-player mainline Final Fantasy games, from FF1 to FF16. The only numbered Final Fantasy installment that can't be played on modern Xbox consoles, however, is FF11. This game is an MMORPG, similar to FF14, and although it was released on Xbox 360 back in the day, its console versions were discontinued in 2016. Now, FF11 is a PC-exclusive game.

Unlike the Xbox Series X/S, the PlayStation 5 Can't Play the Final Fantasy 13 Trilogy

Even though the PlayStation 5 has gotten preferential treatment from Square Enix with regard to Final Fantasy games this generation, it is still missing one major collection of titles that is currently available on Xbox: the FF13 trilogy. Final Fantasy 13 and its direct sequels, Final Fantasy 13-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13, were released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the early 2010s, but they were never ported to modern consoles. In spite of this, the FF13 trilogy is playable on Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility, a feature that the PS5 does not have for PS3 games.

Some Noteworthy Final Fantasy Games are Still Not on Xbox

While the Xbox Series X/S does have all the mainline single-player Final Fantasy games, it's worth noting that there are some significant FF titles that aren't available on the console. The PS5-exclusive Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, for instance, has still not been released on Xbox, and certain spin-off entries like Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered, and Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy! Have oddly skipped the platform. Although most of these titles will likely never come to Xbox (despite being available on PlayStation and/or Nintendo consoles for several years), the Xbox Series X/S is still the king of the console space for mainline Final Fantasy games.