All signs point towards aFinal Fantasy 9remake coming soon - all that’s left is for Square Enix to officially announce it. Among the historically significant and largely excellentFinal Fantasyseries,FF9is an outlier. It’s probably the simplest iteration of its characteristic Active Time Battle combat, and features a pretty traditional medieval fantasy story - a departure from the series' more science fantasy slant in the PS1 era. It has an all-timer of a story, and an excellent cast of characters - it’s no surprise fans have been clamoring for a remake, or at least a port.
FF9remake rumors have been circulatingfor the better part of a decade, butnothing has ever been officially confirmed. Despite constant reports of leaks, subtle nods, and new information, none of it has really led anywhere - in other words,if there is anFF9remake, Square Enix has kept real quiet about it. However, I suspect that’s subject to change soon. I believe anFF9remake could be announced as soon as next year, and all the evidence in Square’s current and recently upcoming work seems to agree with me, even though nothing’s official yet.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Releases In 2025
Square Is In The Habit Of Remastering Old FFs
As you likely already know,Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chroniclesis Square Enix’s next big remake(or maybe remaster - the lines are a little blurred). This will be the first time the game has been available on a current-generation platform since the 2007 release of its PSP port. While fans have already pointed outnumerous issues with the upcoming remake, it’s coming this September, whether we like it or not.
FF Tactics, likeFF9, has been high on many fans' remake wishlistsfor a while now. Simply put, it’s a good game that’sas relevant today as when it first came out, but it’s hard to get access to these days. A modern port would fix that, allowing old fans to play it again without having to dig up their old, half-forgotten consoles, and potentially bringing it to a new generation ofFinal Fantasyfans. In choosing to remake it now, Square has clearly demonstrated that it’s in touch with player interests, at least as far as which remakes they want next.
After FF Tactics, Final Fantasy 9 Remake Is Probably Next In-Line
At Least I Hope It Is
And really,there’s no other gameFinal Fantasyfans want remastered (or remade) more thanFF9- well, okay, maybeFF6, but that one just got a remaster. It’s clear Square is just playing the hits when it comes to remakes:Chrono Trigger,FF7,FF Tactics- why notFF9next? If Ben Starr is right andthere’s no hope of anFF8remake, Square might as well skip straight ahead toFF9.
Back in 2021,an alleged leak at NVIDIAshowcased what appeared to be several games in production long before they were announced, many of which were Square Enix titles. Although NVIDIA disavowed the rumor that any of these games were real,many of them - at least, most of the Square Enix ones - have since been either announced or released.FF16, theTomb Raiderremasters,Kingdom Hearts 4, theChrono Crossremaster, and, most recently,FF Tactics- those are all very much real.
Other correct predictions by the NVIDIA leak includeGTAremasters,Dragon’s Dogma 2, andHelldivers 2.
But the sole outlier on the list istheFinal Fantasy 9remake, which hasn’t materialized yet in any form. Still, all the evidence suggests there might’ve been some truth to the NVIDIA leaks, which makes me hopeful that anFF9remake still exists somewhere at Square Enix. Based on all its recent remakes and its previous leaks, it almost seems inevitable.
Why FF9 Remake Should Be The Next Final Fantasy Remake
What Makes FF9 So Great
But all rumors aside,FF9needs a remake (or at least a remaster) simply becauseit’s one of the best games in the series. UnlikeFF Tactics, you can playFF9on modern platforms, but it’s hardly in its ideal form. It’s barely been changed: still in its original 4:3 aspect ratio, with black bars on either side of the screen, is no way to experience the epic drama ofFF9.
And anyway, asfans clamor for theFinal Fantasyseries to return to its roots, there’s no better way to respond to that than an intactFF9remake. After the flaws ofFF15and16and the open-world bloat ofFF7 Rebirth, fans have called for a return to classic, turn-based, exploration-centricFinal Fantasy. While a brand-new game in that style may be a long time coming, if it ever arrives, anFF9remake would be a great way to satiate those demands.
FF9was the original back-to-basicsFinal Fantasygame, with its medieval fantasy settingand massively simplified progression system.It could easily serve that role for the franchise again, demonstrating how much Square Enix values its roots and how innovative the originalFFgames were in their day.
That said,I don’t want too expansive a remake forFF9. I’d prefer to keep its core gameplay and aesthetics intact, maybe with a few adjustments to make it look like a modern triple-A release. A little voice acting and an orchestrated soundtrack never hurt anyone (unless you played throughFFXwith its remastered OST). But when it comes to the fullFF7 Remaketreatment, I’d rather leave well enough alone. It needs to be released as a single, complete game, without too much additional content to distract from the brilliant source material that’s already there.
Still, absolutely nothing has been confirmed by Square Enix. While anFF9remake seems likely, we’re basically at the developer’s whims here - it could be announced next week, or it could never come true. That said, given everything we know about the possibility, aFinal Fantasy 9remake could very well be coming soon.
