Recently, you might have heard a lot of talk about Final Fantasy IX. While it’s not the most popular game in the franchise, it is a fan-favorite, and there was a lot of chatter over the last year or so that a remake might have been in the works at Square Enix. That got a lot of people excited, especially as a key anniversary for the title came around. Sadly, nothing came of it, and many were left saddened. However, there is one person who recently admitted just how popular the game is to a certain group of fans: the game’s composer.
In a chat with Automaton Media, series composer Nobuo Uematsu admitted that when it came to the game, it was a lot more popular outside of Japan than within:
“Whenever I travel abroad, I get the impression that there are many FF9 fans over there. Compared to Japanese people, I feel like overseas people bring up FF9 as their favorite title more often.”
That’s a curious thing, to be sure, however, you also have to think about it in the sense that every game is different, and you never know what will “click” with someone until they play it. That’s how many popular franchises have been born, or continued.
Another interesting element here is that while Uematsu isn’t always one to listen back to tracks he’s made due to his “process,” he was happy to admit that the soundtrack to Final Fantasy IX remains one of his favorites throughout the franchise:
“I was really happy to find out that I’ll be able to go back to something more medieval-ish with FF9. After all, I am a medieval otaku (laughs).”
See? You never know what’s going to happen until you go and get something done. Go figure.
Arguably, the most surprising thing about the RPG franchise right now is that its future is very cloudy. Being honest, Square Enix isn’t in the best position right now, and there are rumblings that a “takeover” from a certain investor group could happen in the future.
We do know that the final part of the “Remake Saga” starring Cloud Strife will come out soon enough, and that some are very excited about that, but the second part of the trilogy didn’t have the best sales. Furthermore, there hasn’t been confirmation of a 17th mainline entry yet, likely due to the sluggish sales of the 16th entry. We’ll see what happens next.