Midori has shared her latest batch of stunning new rumors on the Japanese video game industry, this time about Square Enix.
As revealed in this thread on Twitter, she actually shares several tidbits on upcoming projects. But we’ll focus on the headline first. Rumors have been going on about this for some time, but Midori just confirmed that Square Enix is currently working on a remake of Final Fantasy IX.
Originally released in 2000 for the PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX is the franchise’s final salvo on the platform, their third game on it after their breakout success with Final Fantasy VII.
Truthfully, both Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX fall hard under Final Fantasy VII ‘s shadow, but that doesn’t mean that the two games don’t have their merits. For Final Fantasy IX, Square Enix demonstrated a willingness to experiment, creating a fantasy world to contrast with the futurism of its predecessors, but paired with a surprisingly darker narrative than the other PlayStation games.
Final Fantasy IX received a modern day remake in 2016, that eventually got ported to multiple platforms. A modern remake is not without merit, as this original certainly still works within the limits of the PlayStation.
Unfortunately, Midori also confirmed that Square Enix is not making a Final Fantasy X, but perhaps that’s more a case of not making one for now. Square has certainly seen success in these remakes, but they do have to pace and budget themselves to make the most out of that success.
As we know, the Final Fantasy VII remakes have not paid off for the company, because of how much they spent on production, and the limited sales potential for being a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Of course, Square Enix must also know the fans will also be looking for a Final Fantasy X-2 remake to come alongside it too (and maybe even a Final Fantasy X-3.)
But we shouldn’t ignore the first item Midori shared. Team Asano is supposedly working on their first extended reality game. While we have seen the limited potential market and viability of extended reality, we certainly hope Team Asano finds some success in this endeavor.
For those who need a refresher, Team Asano was the studio in Square Enix that gave us games like Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light, Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, and Triangle Strategy. In a way, they are bringing back the original mold of Final Fantasy games in a way that these Pixel Remasters and Remakes aren’t able to do. These 2D gameplay style games definitely feel like the way Square Enix’s NES games would have evolved, if they kept making 2D RPGs through the 5th generation of game consoles and beyond.
So that’s what we have to look forward to from Square Enix in the near future. Hopefully the company can find their footing in the coming years.
