A recent interview has added fuel to the rumors regarding a Final Fantasy Tactics remaster, and by extension hinting that the Final Fantasy IX Remake is real. This could lead to a massive year of announcements from Square Enix, as these are remasters and remakes of two of the most popular entries in the series.
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In a recent interview with Final Fantasy World, producer Ichirô Hazama was discussing the upcoming Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, and he was asked about the possible inclusion of Final Fantasy Tactics characters. Hazama mentioned that the Final Fantasy Tactics team was busy working on a different project, likely a remaster of that game on modern platforms.
The rumors regarding a Final Fantasy Tactics remaster and Final Fantasy IX Remake date back to the GeForce Now leak in 2021, which featured a list of unannounced games from different publishers. As time went on, most of the Square Enix games in the leak were revealed, including Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, Kingdom Hearts 4, and Tactics Ogre Reborn. Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy IX Remake are the last Square Enix holdouts on the list. So, if the Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is legit, it all but confirms that Final Fantasy IX Remake is also on the way, or perhaps was at least planned to be coming when the leak occurred.
Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the best Final Fantasy spin-off games, and fans have been asking for a modern remaster for years, which shouldn’t be too hard, considering there are updated versions of the game on mobile devices and the PlayStation Portable to work from. By contrast, no one would have guessed that a Final Fantasy IX Remake was in development were it not for the GeForce Now leak, and should it turn out to be true and the game is finally announced, it will have some of the excitement taken away.
