Square Enix rebrands the mobile versions of Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV

Square Enix has updated the titles of Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV on both the iOS App Store and Google Play. Both storefronts now list the games as 'Final Fantasy III (3D Remake)' and 'Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake)'.

The timing of this seemingly random rebranding is clearly an interesting one: less than a week before proper E3 events begin to kick-off, notably including a Square Enix live stream this weekend. Broadly, it seems like Square Enix is now starting to make a clear distinction between the 3D versions of these games from their original classic incarnations. There are several avenues of speculation that can follow from this, which all stems from the question - why would Square Enix update these titles, and why now?

One option is that perhaps Square Enix is readying some new port of the original Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV for mobile and perhaps other devices. A 2D version of Final Fantasy IV is currently not playable on any modern device. More interestingly, the original 2D version of Final Fantasy III has never been available in English before. Having some way to play classic versions of these two titles would certainly be appreciated. (Perhaps in related circumstances, the 3D versions Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV received seemingly random updates on mobile and Steam in 2020, which may indicate a desire from Square Enix to keep their legacy titles in good condition, both 2D and 3D varieties.)

Another option for this rebranding is that perhaps Square Enix is readying more 3D remakes of classic titles in a similar vein, such as Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI, although that is pure speculation at the moment. Some have also been clamoring for HD-2D versions of classic Final Fantasy titles similar to the recently announced Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.

However, one particular rumor that has surfaced in recent weeks comes to mind with this latest development. Rumors of some sort of Final Fantasy Classics Collection have begun to circulate on message boards like Resetera, with members who have shared prior non-public insights giving mention. What this might entail exactly is uncertain, but rumors seem to indicate a collection of the sprite-based Final Fantasy games (1-6) in some form. Square Enix is certainly no stranger to releasing classic collections of their legacy titles, with Dragon Quest, Mana, and SaGa all receiving such in recent years, so it seems possible that the publisher might decide to offer something similar for their flagship franchise.

Of course, Square Enix might have just decided to specify that these games are 3D versions, coincidentally lining up with timing and rumors.

In any case, Square Enix's E3 event is less than a week away, so maybe we'll soon see what's to come of all of this.