Final Fantasy 9’s Remake Should Follow the Genius of Oblivion Remastered
Since it was leaked in the great Nvidia GeForce data breach of 2021 that Final Fantasy 9, perhaps the greatest game in the Final Fantasy franchise, and yes, I will fight you, may be getting a remake, Final Fantasy super nerds have been positively rabid for any titbit of news or speculation over what that might look like.
The Final Fantasy force has been stirring over the 25th anniversary of the game, and a recent post over on Square’s social media has been particularly teasing. But there has been some thought that, with the leak and the amount of time that anticipation over a remake of the beloved installment has been allowed to grow already, Final Fantasy 9 should follow in Oblivion Remastered’s skillful marketing footsteps.
The Beauty of a Shadow Drop Release
Oblivion Remastered almost had a Christmas present approach to the way they released their game. Instead of lengthy marketing campaigns and promises sure to make fans hungry to the point of anger for their product, Bethesda simply announced the game on 22nd April 2025 and then made it available across multiple gaming platforms the same day, like a parent revealing a brightly wrapped parcel to an over-zealous youngster.
The unconventional strategy turned out to be a huge success. The hyped up surprise of the release rolled over to excitement over all the new things to discover in the much-loved Elder Scrolls installment. Final Fantasy 9 could benefit from the same treatment. Speculation has been allowed to fester for so long since the data breach that fans really don’t need to be hyped up anymore. Any little whisper of an update receives a plethora of YouTube analyst videos, and honestly, a longer bombardment of unnecessary advertisements and teaser trailers could only serve to dampen enthusiasm for the remake, which we do not want. This remake must happen, you guys. At all costs!
Overall, Square has been surprisingly mum on the subject so far, aside from the occasional tiny nod to the project such as the recent social media post on X depicting the iconic words ‘my memories will be a part of the sky’ along with a caption saying: ‘if you know, you know’, so could a shadow drop approach like the one for Oblivion Remastered really be in the cards?
What to Expect?
If they did go through with something like a same-day release for a game as huge as Final Fantasy 9 Remake, what exactly would the fans be holding their breath to see? What would make them foam at the mouth and then faint from delight like that one guy in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Firstly, it’s been hinted that Final Fantasy 9’s classic turn-based battle system would remain largely intact. After the critical acclaim of the high-fidelity RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this is looking to be an excellent design choice. Final Fantasy 9 was originally a return to roots game when it was made in 2000, a focus on the Medieval-core setting with the more traditional class depictions and the easier to access battle and weapons systems, so keeping to that classic turn-based system would remain true to that original intent.
The story of Final Fantasy 9 was one of the most tightly complete stories of the series, with the party eventually facing off against Zidane’s brother Kuja as the villain came to terms with his own mortality, then facing the God-like being Necron to conclude the narrative thematically. If our wonderful Squeenix devs are going to shift things there, it might be worth opening up Beatrix’s storyline. The Alexandrian general was an unexpectedly popular character, and though her motives were marvellously explored in the original, there was the matter of her budding relationship with Steiner that might benefit from some closure and a lot of curiosity about the past that led her to Queen Brahne’s side as the story begins.
And of course, as with any Square Enix remake, the game will benefit from a gorgeous visual overhaul. Settings that were immersive in that PS1 pixel art will become absolutely breathtaking. CGI cut scenes will turn into cinematic masterpieces, and the script should come to life with the inclusion of new voice acting talents. It will be fun to see who they pull in to cover the various character roles and how they plan to breathe new life into a project so fiercely loved.
Part of The Sky
However Square chooses to finally release Final Fantasy 9, the best game of their ground-breaking franchise, everyone knows that the fans will eat it up. If these were the days of old, there would be queues outside of game stores, tents pitched, and deck chairs out as people waited for the limited edition disk releases or stared forlornly at their fellow gamers as they got to walk out of the store with the coveted treasure in hand.
As it is, with there being no concrete information as of yet, we can only dream of something as exciting as an Oblivion Remastered shadow drop. You never know, with the surge in RPGs following Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the success of the Oblivion Remaster, perhaps Christmas will come early and we can wake up to a brightly wrapped notification telling us that our dreams have finally come true and Final Fantasy 9 is ready to go.
