The excitement surrounding the much-discussed Final Fantasy 9 remake has been reignited with the launch of the official Final Fantasy 9 25th Anniversary website by Square Enix. The website, presented in Japanese, commemorates the game's release on July 7, 2000, and its milestone 25th anniversary this year.
The site teases fans with the message, "We are preparing various projects, including merchandise and collaborations to commemorate the 25th anniversary, so please look forward to it!" This statement, along with the creation of the anniversary website, 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, especially with Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2-focused Direct scheduled for April 2. Some fans are hopeful that 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 a buzz about potential announcements.
Last year, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy 14, discussed the challenges of remaking Final Fantasy 9. He noted the game's substantial content and questioned whether it could be remade as a single title, suggesting a multi-part approach similar to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is being released as a trilogy.
In early 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 iconic Ark summon as a mount and a wind-up Princess Garnet minion, with pre-orders of Dawntrail offering a wind-up Zidane minion. During PAX East, Yoshi-P playfully hinted at the abundance 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 zipping his lips.
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Rumors of a Final Fantasy 9 remake have been circulating since the game appeared in a 2021 Nvidia leak of unannounced titles. Although Nvidia confirmed the leak's authenticity, the list may be outdated. Several games from the list, such as the Chrono Cross remaster, Kingdom Hearts 4, and the Final Fantasy 7 remake for PC, have been either announced or released by Square Enix. However, both the Final Fantasy 9 remake and Final Fantasy Tactics, also mentioned in the leak, have yet to see the light of day. Additionally, a Final Fantasy 9 animated series was reported to be in development in June 2021, but there have been no updates since.
