The buzz around a potential Final Fantasy 9 remake has reignited following Square Enix's launch of an official Final Fantasy 9 25th Anniversary website. The site, which is in Japanese, commemorates the game's original release on July 7, 2000, and highlights that it is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The message on the site reads, "We are preparing various projects, including merchandise and collaborations to commemorate the 25th anniversary, so please look forward to it!" This seemingly innocuous statement, combined with the website's existence, has fueled speculation that Square Enix might soon 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 Switch 2-focused Direct scheduled for April 2. Many are speculating whether Square Enix could announce the Final Fantasy 9 remake for the Switch 2 during this event. While the website mentions merchandise and collaborations, the phrase "various projects" has sparked significant excitement and discussion among the fanbase.
Last year, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy 14, discussed what a Final Fantasy 9 remake might entail, suggesting that its extensive content might not fit into a single game. Yoshi-P remarked, "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. 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 remake could follow a structure similar to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is part of a planned trilogy.
Earlier in 2024, Yoshi-P announced Final Fantasy 9-themed extras 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 and a wind-up Princess Garnet minion. Garnet, also known as Dagger, is a main character in Final Fantasy 9. Pre-orders of Dawntrail also included a wind-up Zidane minion, with Zidane being the protagonist of Final Fantasy 9. During PAX East, Yoshi-P teased, "You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here, but the reason is a secret,” before zipping his mouth shut, further fueling speculation.
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Rumors of a Final Fantasy 9 remake have been circulating since a 2021 Nvidia leak, which included a list of upcoming titles. This list, verified by Nvidia but possibly outdated, mentioned several Square Enix games 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, both listed in the leak, have yet to see the light of day. 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.
