The excitement surrounding the long-awaited Final Fantasy 9 remake has been reignited with the launch of Square Enix's official Final Fantasy 9 25th Anniversary website. Marking the game's original release on July 7, 2000, the site celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and hints at upcoming projects.
The Japanese website states, "We are preparing various projects, including merchandise and collaborations to commemorate the 25th anniversary, so please look forward to it!" This seemingly innocuous message, coupled with the website's launch, has fueled speculation that Square Enix might finally unveil the much-anticipated Final Fantasy 9 remake.
The timing of the website's launch has not gone unnoticed, particularly with Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2-focused Direct scheduled for April 2. Many fans are hopeful that Square Enix could announce the Final Fantasy 9 remake for the Switch 2 at this event. While the website mentions merchandise and collaborations, the phrase "various projects" has certainly stirred excitement and speculation.
Last year, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy 14, discussed the potential challenges of remaking Final Fantasy 9. He noted the game's substantial content, suggesting that a remake might not fit into a single title. "Of course, I do know there are requests for Final Fantasy 9 to be made, but when you think about Final Fantasy 9, it’s a game with huge volume," Yoshi-P said. "When you think about all of that volume, I wonder if it’s possible to remake that as a single title. It’s a difficult one. It is a tough question." He hinted that a Final Fantasy 9 remake could follow the multi-part approach seen with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is currently planned as a trilogy.
In early 2024, Yoshi-P announced Final Fantasy 9-themed bonuses for the Collector’s Edition and Digital Collector’s Edition of the Final Fantasy 14 expansion, Dawntrail. These include the Ark summon as a mount and a wind-up Princess Garnet minion, with pre-orders receiving a wind-up Zidane minion. During PAX East, Yoshi-P teased the presence of Final Fantasy 9 references, saying, "You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here, but the reason is a secret,” before playfully zipping his mouth shut.
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Rumors of a Final Fantasy 9 remake have been circulating since a 2021 Nvidia leak, which included a list of unannounced games. Although Nvidia confirmed the list's legitimacy, it might be outdated. The list features several Square Enix titles that have since been announced or released, such as the Chrono Cross remaster, Kingdom Hearts 4, and the Final Fantasy 7 remake for PC. However, the Final Fantasy 9 remake and Final Fantasy Tactics, also mentioned in the leak, have yet to be officially confirmed. Additionally, a Final Fantasy 9 animated series was reported to be in development in June 2021, but there have been no updates since.
