With Final Fantasy 7 Revelation now on the horizon with a launch window slated for Spring 2027, Square Enix Final Fantasy 7 Remake the trilogy is coming to an end, leaving the future wide open for what it might do next. Although it will undoubtedly be good when a brand new Final Fantasy game is coming, what we do know now is that Square Enix mentioned at a recent owners meeting that it's willing to do more traditional turn-based remakes of the series' older games if that's what fans want. Well, in that case, the next big remake for the developer to tackle seems patently obvious.
Of course, opinions will remain opinions, and there will always be one Final Fantasy game other than the “obvious” choice that fans will say deserves the remake treatment first. A classic though Final Fantasy game remake has been on the wish lists of many fans for quite some time now, not to mention the fact that rumors of a potential remake of the title have been circulating for almost 5 years now. That game is anything but Final Fantasy 9the beloved 2000 PS1 RPG that many still consider one of the purest expressions of what Final Fantasy should be.
A Final Fantasy 9 remake is the obvious next step for Square Enix
If we talk about Final Fantasy game that deserves a traditional turn-based remake, that is Final Fantasy 9 is the obvious choice for one important reason: it was already designed as a throwback to the classic Final Fantasy. After FF6, Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 8 took a more sci-fi and modern approach to the series' iconic formula, effectively pulling it away from what the series had defined as “fantasy” up to that point. However, Square Enix then came along Final Fantasy 9which it explicitly referred to as a “return to the roots” of the franchise even in 2000 and was considered the perfect way to end the series' single-digit era.
Place the brackets in the correct order.
Start
In other words, Final Fantasy 9 is already in the perfect place for a traditional turn-based remake because its legacy was originally defined by tradition. Given that direction Square Enix chose to go with the remake Final Fantasy 7despite its success, returning to the post that originally came to the scene with the intention of bringing Final Fantasy back to its roots would undoubtedly please those who feel that Final Fantasy 7 Remake the trilogy lost a bit of itself by being modernized a bit too much. A faithful remake of FF9 would therefore give Square Enix a way to modernize one of the franchise's most beloved classics without asking longtime fans to sacrifice the very qualities that made it such a favorite in the first place.
Plus, Final Fantasy 9 already sitting in that sweet spot between Final Fantasys past and its present, after it had passed through its more traditional origins and earlier Final Fantasy 10 came into the picture and completely changed the standards and expectations of the series. Final Fantasy 6 absolutely deserves a remake as well, but deciding whether to go full 3D, HD-2D, or something else is a much bigger philosophical question. Final Fantasy 8 would require Square Enix to rethink divisive systems like Junction and level scaling, so they don't cause further controversy in a remake that essentially doubles down on them. And Final Fantasy 10 still holds up better visually and structurally than most pre-HD entries, so it and everything after that really doesn't need redoing.
Rumors of Final Fantasy 9 Remake have been circulating for years
Then there is Final Fantasy 9 innovative rumors that have been circulating for, at the time of writing, almost 5 years. A September 13, 2021 Nvidia GeForce Now database leak listed Final Fantasy 9 Remake among several unannounced projects and since then fans have been fighting for Square Enix to come out and say for sure about the beloved Final Fantasy The game was being redone. But given that Square Enix just said it would be open to more traditional turn-based remakes when the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy ends, it feels like those rumors are even less likely now.
At the same time, this is exactly why Final Fantasy 9 remains the most obvious choice for Square Enix's next remake project. The rumor mill has already been spinning for years, and that would be the ultimate win for Final Fantasy developers to come out and confirm these rumors with an official announcement. More importantly, it would allow Square Enix to answer nearly five years of speculation with the kind of remake many fans have wanted all along, rather than another modern reinterpretation that risks reigniting the same debates sparked by Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.
If not FF9, then Final Fantasy 6—But Nothing Post FF10
Final Fantasy 6 is really the only other classic entry to complicate the remake debate, and that's simply because many fans still consider it the best Final Fantasy game ever made. In fact, there are many who would put it above Final Fantasy 7 completely, which makes it at least a little wild there FF7 is the one that Square Enix chose to remake first on such a large scale. Of course, that decision still makes sense, as Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most recognizable RPGs ever made and arguably the most marketable game in the franchise, but FF6 has still always sat there as the other obvious giant Square Enix has yet to be properly revisited.
Final Fantasy 9 is already in the perfect place for a traditional turn-based remake because its legacy was originally defined by tradition.
The problem is that a Final Fantasy 6 remake would come with a much messier creative issue than Final Fantasy 9. Taking one of the most beloved 2D RPGs ever made and deciding whether to remake it in full 3D, redo it in HD-2D, or preserve more of its original presentation would immediately divide fans before the game even had a real chance to prove itself. FF6 definitely deserves the remake treatment at some point, especially considering how highly many fans still rate it, but FF9 feels like the cleaner next step right now because its PS1-era presentation gives Square Enix more obvious room to modernize it without having to completely change how the game should look.
In comparison, everything from Final Fantasy 10 forwards really don't need the same treatment yet, although remasters are still fair game. Final Fantasy 10 was the game that propelled the series to full voice acting, more cinematic storytelling, and a presentation style that still feels close enough to modern Final Fantasy that a full remake would be hard to justify right now. Unless Square Enix waits another console generation or two, remake something from FF10 going forward it would just feel like we're revisiting games that are still new enough to stand on their own with the right remaster.
So sure Square Enix has more than one strong option for once Final Fantasy 7 Revelation gives Remake the trilogy to the end, but Final Fantasy 9 still feels like the path of least resistance in the best possible way. Final Fantasy 6 deserves its day, and it would be absurd to pretend otherwise, but FF9 is the remake candidate that already has years of buzz, built-in fan demand, and a legacy rooted in preserving what Final Fantasy used to be. If Square Enix is really willing to give fans a more traditional remake after FF7s massive innovation, then Final Fantasy 9 is the choice that makes the most sense, by far.
- Released
-
2027
- Prequel(s)
-
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
