Final Fantasy 9 25th Anniversary Sparks Rumors of Switch 2 Remake Reveal

The excitement surrounding the long-rumored Final Fantasy 9 remake has been reignited with the launch of an official 25th Anniversary website by Square Enix. The site, presented in Japanese, commemorates the original game's release on July 7, 2000, and highlights the upcoming 25th anniversary celebrations. The website teases, "We are preparing various projects, including merchandise and collaborations to commemorate the 25th anniversary, so please look forward to it!" This seemingly innocuous statement, coupled with the creation of the anniversary website, has fueled speculation that Square Enix might soon unveil the much-anticipated Final Fantasy 9 remake.

The timing of the website's launch has not gone unnoticed by fans, especially with Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2-focused Direct scheduled for April 2. This has led to speculation that Square Enix could announce the Final Fantasy 9 remake for the Switch 2 during the Direct. While the website mentions merchandise and collaborations, the mention of "various projects" has certainly set the rumor mill into overdrive.

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 extensive content and questioned whether it could be condensed 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 suggested that the remake might follow the model of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is being released as a planned 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 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 included a wind-up Zidane minion. During PAX East, Yoshi-P 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 playfully zipping his mouth shut.

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Rumors about a Final Fantasy 9 remake have been circulating since a 2021 Nvidia leak, which included a list of unannounced games. This list, confirmed as legitimate by Nvidia but possibly outdated, featured 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 listed, 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.