Highlights
- Final Fantasy 9 remake is rumored to be in development, gaining traction after the release of Final Fantasy 16, making it a potential candidate for Square Enix's next remake project.
- Final Fantasy 9 deserves the remake treatment due to its iconic visuals, potential technical upgrades, and its status as one of the most "Final Fantasy"-feeling games in the series.
- A remake of Final Fantasy 9 could be a nostalgic and satisfying return to form for fans, offering a modernized version of a fan-favorite game that first released 23 years ago on the PS1.
Fans who had been patiently awaiting confirmation of a release date for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth were rewarded at the September PlayStation State of Play with the announcement of the game's arrival on February 29, 2024. Now that the release of Rebirth is just a few short months away, the big question surrounding the franchise is "what's next?", as it will likely be several years between the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. With the next release under the Final Fantasy banner anyone's best guess, the rumor mill is starting to churn again regarding other potential remake projects.
Square Enix itself has been open about several of its key developers wishing to comb the company's impressive back catalog for potential game remakes, and the most recent of these to join the conversation is the budding rumor of Final Fantasy 10 being considered. Truthfully, though, Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD is a great showcase for how well both games still hold up in a modern context, meaning there are other, more likely candidates for the remake treatment. In terms of which Final Fantasy game Square Enix should focus on releasing next, that honor goes to the long-rumored remake of Final Fantasy 9.
The History of the Final Fantasy 9 Remake Rumor
The first mention fans got of a potential Final Fantasy 9 remake came from the notorious Nvidia GeForce Now leak, which mistakenly revealed the existence of several as-yet unannounced titles currently in development. Although Nvidia itself came out and claimed that the leak contained several false titles, several of these have since been confirmed or even released, highlighting the very real possibility that fans might see the Final Fantasy 9 remake come to fruition. The existence of the remake was also supported by the reveal of a Final Fantasy 9 animated series that was supposedly in development, with the assumption being that the remade version of the game would accompany the airing of the first season.
The rumor of the Final Fantasy 9 remake began to gain more traction earlier this year following the release of Final Fantasy 16, with known industry insiders confirming the title's existence but claiming ignorance regarding what form the remake would take. Whether the Final Fantasy 9 remake will be a smaller-scale project similar to the remake of Crisis Core or a full-fledged re-imagining along the lines of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy is still unknown. Considering the length of time that a Final Fantasy 9 remake has been rumored, it gives some credence to the idea that fans will see it sooner than the potential remakes of Final Fantasy Tactics or Final Fantasy 10.
Why Final Fantasy 9 Deserves the Remake Treatment Before Other Games
Regardless of the likelihood that Final Fantasy 9's remake will release before Square Enix tackles another entry from its back catalog, there's the argument that it deserves a remake more than the other rumored projects. Final Fantasy Tactics' use of beautifully designed pixel art sprites over 3D backgrounds has aged better than most PS1-era games, and Final Fantasy 10 still holds up as one of the best looking and playing RPGs from the sixth hardware generation. Final Fantasy 9 is by no means a slouch in the visual department, but imagining what this fan-favorite game in the series might look like with modern visuals is a tempting prospect.
Outside its potential technical upgrades and modern visual polish, Final Fantasy 9 is one of the most "Final Fantasy"-feeling games in the entire series. Considering the polarizing fan response to Final Fantasy 16 and many fans lamenting the loss of the staples that came to define the series over its long history, a remake of Final Fantasy 9 seems like the perfect type of "return to form" fan service that the original was on the PS1 23 years ago. Final Fantasy 9 was a breath of fresh air then, and the remake has every potential to be the same now.
The Final Fantasy 9 remake is rumored to be in development.