A surprisingly detailed rumor has emerged about a Final Fantasy IX Remake, which has yet to be announced, but has been heard for years in connection with a GeForce Now leak.
According to the person posting on Reddit, his friend works at a major US newspaper as an assistant editor. A colleague told us details that came from an insider, and he doesn't know how accurate they are, and it's also possible that his colleague or the leaker lied about them…
Final Fantasy IX Remake is reportedly coming to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. Originally, it was slated for a 2025 release to celebrate its 25th anniversary, but it may have been pushed back to 2026. Xbox hasn’t been mentioned yet, but perhaps due to Square’s improving relationship with Microsoft, it could show up here as well. A PlayStation 4 release has also been suggested, but it’s unknown if that has been canceled or not. It’s being developed by a third party; there are a few developers working closely under Square’s direction, and I’m not entirely sure who the developers are, but it’s likely Tose (Final Fantasy universe, Crisis Core Reunion). It won’t be split into parts. There won’t be much change to the story, just expanding the character development. The art style will be very colorful and Pixar-like in order to maintain the distorted look of the original game’s characters, while not being so cartoonish that it distracts from the serious tone of the story.
The world will be open, but individual towns and dungeons will be independent areas like in the original and classic Final Fantasy titles. Turn-based gameplay is back. It will be more flashy (than recent Persona/SMT titles) as multiple commands can be executed in a single round if certain conditions are met. ATB will be faster, maybe like Final Fantasy X-2. Lots of new mechanics have been added to keep it fresh and interesting. Trance mechanics have been improved. Players have the option to choose an automatic trance like in the original game or activate it manually. There is also the option of getting rid of orgasm. In Trance, the character is stronger and has access to exclusive Trance abilities, however, his ATB is much slower, hence the De-Trance option. This can also be improved through levels that provide new abilities. There are also normal abilities that can only be obtained by leveling up in a trance state.
It's all unofficial, but it sounds exciting…
source: Reddit
