Final Fantasy IX is easily one of the most beloved entries by fans of Square Enixs long-running series. Therefore, many hope it will return one day with a remake. As new clues emerge that seem to confirm the existence of this project, Naoki Yoshida has debunked an important rumor.
The first time we heard about the supposed new version of the JRPG was in 2021 thanks to Nvidia’s massive leak, which revealed many games early that turned out to be real. Since then, multiple insiders have said the project is real and that its debut is relatively close.
However, Square Enix has yet to make an official announcement, and it remains unclear if the retro RPG will return with a remake. Now, an important creative from the company has spoken about the topic and debunked a rumor circulating online.
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Naoki Yoshida confirms he is not working on Final Fantasy IX Remake
In early June, Naoki Yoshida, director of Final Fantasy XIV Online and producer of the divisive Final Fantasy XVI, commented in an interview about the imminent release of the Dawntrail expansion that Square Enix is working on several unannounced games, including 2 titles that would be revealed soon.
The community thinks one of those secret projects is the rumored Final Fantasy IX remake and even theorizes that Yoshi-P and his team at Creative Studio 3 are responsible for this new version. However, the creative debunked the rumors and denied his participation.
During the most recent episode of the Letter from the Producer show, Naoki Yoshida shared new information about the upcoming updates to the MMORPG. At one point, he took the opportunity to end the speculation and confirm that he is not working on the supposed 2000 JRPG relaunch.
“Yoshida is not working on any kind of Final Fantasy IX remake. It’s a wonderful title, and many of us are fans of the original Final Fantasy IX. But it’s a pretty heavy game; I think it has more volume than Final Fantasy VII, so its scale is very different. I think we would have to be very careful and very aware if we were to handle Final Fantasy IX,” commented the translator on behalf of Yoshi-P.
Naoki Yoshida then joked that people speculated he would turn the new version into an action game, as happened with the controversial Final Fantasy XVI; however, he emphasized that if he were responsible for the remake, he would keep the turn-based combat.
While Yoshi-P denied that he and his team are working on the remake, that does not mean the project is not real. It is likely that another Square Enix studio is in charge of the new version, though we will have to wait to find out. Recently, a leak on the Epic Games Store revealed a game that appears to be related to the classic JRPG.
But tell us, do you think the remake is real? Which game in the saga do you think deserves to come back? Let us read your thoughts in the comments.