The excitement around the much-anticipated Final Fantasy 9 remake has been reignited following Square Enix's launch of an official Final Fantasy 9 25th Anniversary website. This Japanese-language website commemorates the game's initial release on July 7, 2000, and its upcoming 25th anniversary in 2025. The site teases fans with a message stating, "We are preparing various projects, including merchandise and collaborations to commemorate the 25th anniversary, so please look forward to it!" This seemingly simple announcement, coupled with the existence of the anniversary website, has fueled speculation that Square Enix might finally unveil the long-awaited Final Fantasy 9 remake.
The timing of the website's launch has not gone unnoticed by fans, especially with Nintendo's planned Switch 2-focused Direct scheduled for April 2. Many are hopeful that Square Enix could use this event to announce the Final Fantasy 9 remake for the new console. However, it's worth noting that the website only mentions merchandise and collaborations, yet the phrase "various projects" has stirred considerable excitement and speculation.
Last year, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy 14, discussed the potential for a Final Fantasy 9 remake. He highlighted the game's extensive content, suggesting that remaking it might not be feasible as 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 remarked. "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 the remake could follow the model of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is being released as a trilogy.
Earlier in 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 from Final Fantasy 9 as a mount in Final Fantasy 14, and a wind-up Princess Garnet minion. Pre-orders of Dawntrail also came with a wind-up Zidane minion. During PAX East, Yoshi-P playfully hinted at the significance of these Final Fantasy 9 references, saying, "You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here, but the reason is a secret,” before 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. Nvidia confirmed the leak's authenticity, though the list might be outdated. It included 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 announced. Just months before the Nvidia leak, in June 2021, reports surfaced about a Final Fantasy 9 animated series in development, though no further updates have been provided since then.
