Mohamed Hassan 
Final Fantasy 9 is getting a lot of love in the collector’s edition of the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail expansion, and this has reignited both fan discussion and leakers’ chatter surrounding a remake.
During a livestreamed presentation from PAX East 2024, director Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida unveiled the Collector’s Edition of Dawntrail and showed off a number of collectibles. Pre-order bonuses in particular had many Final Fantasy 9 references, including the Ark Summon from the game as an in-game mount and miniature minion versions of Princess Garnet and Zidane.
Yoshi-P also gave a cryptic tease on stage about the obvious abundance of Final Fantasy 9 references. “You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here,” Yoshi-P said and concluded with this line, “but the reason is a secret”. This sparked fan speculation and kicked long-turning rumor mill of a Final Fantasy 9 remake into a higher gear. Here’s everything fans need to know about the game.
Will there be a Final Fantasy 9 remake?
A Final Fantasy 9 remake hasn’t been officially confirmed, but numerous outlets have reported on it as existing.
The infamous 2021 Nivida leak, which revealed multiple Square Enix games that were later announced and released including Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition and the PC port of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, included the Final Fantasy 9. Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb letter stressed that the remake is “real and happening.” Leakers including ImAHeroToo and Silknigth, who have scooped official announcements regarding Square Enix and PlayStation respectively, have also indicated that a FF9 remake is coming. Silknigth also reported when Ghost of Tsushima’s PC port would be released as well as the four Xbox games that were planned to get PS5 and Nintendo Switch ports.
Of course, Yoshi-P’s comment may just be referring to something smaller in scope, like a raid in Final Fantasy 14. It could also be in reference to the Final Fantasy 9 animated adaptation that was announced by Cyber Group Studios in 2021. Either way, there’s plenty of reason for fans of Zidane and company to be excited.
Will the Final Fantasy 9 remake be faithful to the original?
It’s expected that Final Fantasy 9 Remake will stay true to the original and not be a complete makeover like Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
A Final Fantasy 7 Remake-style approach to most other Final Fantasy games is likely untenable in multiple ways. Yoshinori Kitase speculated in an interview that a Final Fantasy 6 remake in the style of 7 would take at least 20 years to come to be completed. Alongside this, FF9 simply wasn’t as popular or commercially successful as FF7 was, so Square Enix likely wouldn’t be as willing to commit to a massive remake of that size and scope for the game.
It’s still generally vague what a Final Fantasy 9 remake might look like, however. Something smaller in scope and “true to the original” could look like the remaster of Final Fantasy 8 or Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. Alternatively, Square Enix could branch out further and do something like the full graphical facelift coming to Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater or something similar to the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch.
Square Enix has not officially announced any kind of remake or rerelease for Final Fantasy 9. There’s still quite a bit of smoke for there to be no fire, however.
