10 Reasons Final Fantasy IX Needs a Full Remake

Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise is one of the JRPG heavyweights, with 16 mainline entries, a ton of spin-offs, remakes, and even some feature-length films to its name. With Final Fantasy VII in the middle of its complete and total reimagining, many fans are asking about what comes next for the franchise.

Technically, Final Fantasy VIII is next in line for a remake, but Final Fantasy IX is a beloved entry in the franchise that arguably deserves one just that little bit more. From its iconic setting, deep and touching story, and memorable cast of characters, Final Fantasy IX is a unique experience that brought the series back to its roots, and it absolutely deserves the star treatment.

10 The Soundtrack Slaps Hard

Classic Tunes On Modern Hardware

Final Fantasy IX's original soundtrack is a genuine masterpiece, filled with memorable songs that still slap hard even today. Tracks like Melodies of Life and Not Alone are prominent features in fan videos, orchestrations, and lyrical adaptations across a wide range of fan spaces. FFIX is simply filled with bangers in that regard — Not Alone is one of my all-time favorite video-game tracks.

A modern remake could feature a fully orchestrated score, complete with vocals where appropriate, bringing these classic melodies to a modern audience in a way that preserves and enhances rather than replaces them. A good score enhances any game, and FFIX has a fantastic foundation that could be even better with modern systems.

9 Voice Acting

Dramatic Moments with Theatrical Oomph

Voice acting in remakes can be a contentious issue, since many fans have particular ideas about what their favorite characters sound like. If it's done, it's got to be done right, which is admittedly more difficult than it seems. There's a lot of room for error.

But FFIX's deep, emotional storytelling and character moments could benefit hugely from a great cast of voice actors. This is a game that's theatrical in its approach, with characters and scenes rooted in big emotional moments. Think of the depth some stellar voice acting could add to Vivi's story, or Garnet and Zidane's love story. The writing is great, but modern voice acting could firmly place the characters into the dramatic space they were designed for.

8 Character Models are Showing Their Age

Updated Visuals with Fresh Details and Expressive Charm

The stylized character designs in FFIX have aged really well, especially compared with FFVII's blocky approach or FFVIII's attempt at realism. FFIX strikes the right balance between thematic style and verisimilitude. The remastered FFIX gives a great sense of character and design thanks to its updated models. I find these designs really charming, but they're still fundamentally lacking in detail compared with modern design approaches.

A full Final Fantasy IX remake has the opportunity to use modern animation techniques, motion capture, and advanced technology to deliver expressive, fluid characters who can really sell the theatrical and dramatic story beats and character moments present throughout Final Fantasy IX.

7 Battle Speed & Dated Features

Smoother Experiences, Classic Charm, and Modern Accessibility

The battle system in FFIX is widely agreed by fans as being mostly fine, if a little plain and boring. I don't think it needs a massive overhaul — we don't need a FFVII Remake-style action system. The turn-based approach might feel a little dated, but smash-hits like Baldur's Gate 3 or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 prove you can still create a fantastic turn-based RPG today.

But most fans agree that the battle speed is painfully slow, and many would prefer that Trance be less random and more predictable. There's a lot of scope for overhauling the FFIX battle system to meet modern sensibilities without stripping it of what makes it charming.

6 Awesome Cinematic Moments

Iconic Moments Redesigned for Modern Hardware

Final Fantasy IX has numerous awe-inspiring cinematic moments that would just absolutely kill it on modern systems with modern graphics. Scenes like Bahamut attacking Alexandria and fighting with Alexander, Odin destroying Cleyra, or Atomos's destruction of Lindblum are already some of the more spectacular sequences in the franchise — think of what they could look like on modern hardware.

Final Fantasy XVI gave us a great taste of the kind of cinematics we could see in an overhauled FFIX, and FFVII's remake series shows us just how atmospheric these reimagined sequences could be. Final Fantasy IX has so many iconic moments that deserve — and demand — that treatment.

5 It's an Opportunity to Expand

Meaningful Expansions to Enrich and Enhance, Not Replace

A lot of fans criticize pointless expansions and changes to established lore — just look at fan discussions about FFVII: Remake and Rebirth — but a full remake for FFIX has the opportunity to meaningfully expand some sequences and character arcs without fundamentally changing the story or character.

Despite its ambition for the time, Final Fantasy IX was constrained by the PS1's hardware and disc limitations. A modern remake could ignore all that and devote a little more time to key characters like Freya, or spend more time exploring fan-favorite locations such as Cleyra, Bran Bal, and other locations outside the Mist Continent. Gaia is a rich setting filled with interesting stories and places, and a remake would have some scope to explore them more fully without fundamentally changing what made FFIX so special.

4 The Fantasy Setting

The Vibe is Just Right

By the time Final Fantasy IX was released, the series was feeling a bit fatigued after a series of high modern science fantasy settings. In that way, Final Fantasy IX was a return to the franchise's roots, with castles, kingdoms, airships, and magical landscapes.

The setting just feels refreshing. I'm biased here, because Final Fantasy IX is probably my favorite Final Fantasy game of all time (although the iconic FFX is a close second), but Gaia feels like a breath of fresh air. After a massive-scale return to Final Fantasy VII's Planet, the series could benefit from a diversion to Gaia once again. Just a step back to revel in the fantastical settings, rich mythology, and dramatic theatrical fantasy world rendered in full modern glory.

3 The Timeless Story

A Story That Deserves to be Told Again

Final Fantasy IX has a fantastic story that's been beloved by fans for more than two decades. Its themes of life, death, belonging, and identity are infinitely relatable and span time and place, delivering a timeless story that resonates as strongly today as it did in 2000.

The dramatic, theatrical approach of FFIX makes the story feel like a sweeping saga, but the themes and narrative — despite being clothed in some very high-fantasy concepts — are rooted in deeply human emotions and experiences. FFIX is a story that deserves to be told again and enjoyed in full by a whole new generation without the barrier of outdated PS1-era graphics, hardware constraints, and design compromises.

2 The Pre-rendered Backgrounds Have Enormous 3D Potential

Expressive Visual Design That Needs to be Rendered in 3D

The original artists really put in the work for Final Fantasy IX's original pre-rendered backgrounds, delivering some of the richest and most beautiful environments in a JRPG. The problem is that the technical limitations prevented players from experiencing them in their full glory.

These designs are rich, evocative, and thematic, and they deserve to be seen again and again in full 3D. Players could finally walk through a realized Alexandria, or scale the ancient tree at Cleyra, and stumble through the absolute surreality of Memoria with designs unshackled by the PS1 hardware. Fans fondly remember many of FFIX's unique locations to this day, and a remake would give them the chance to shine in a whole new way.

1 Enduring Demand

We Won't Stop Asking Until It Drops

Final Fantasy IX might be a slightly more niche fanbase compared to some of the other popular Final Fantasy titles — FFVII has a truly dedicated fanbase that's really put the years in — but there is a massive demand for a Final Fantasy IX remake within the community.

Whenever there's any hint of FFIX news, fan communities across the Internet wait in endlessly optimistic hope that it's finally an announcement for a remake. There are repeated calls for a remake, and the fans yearn for more playable content. That has happened yet, but the near-infinite enthusiasm shows that FFIX fans are still right here, willing to turn out. A full remake could channel all that energy and reward fans who've been waiting for more than two decades to return to Gaia.