Square Enix has kept itself busy in recent years by breathing new life into the Final Fantasy franchise through the remastering of its classic installments. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is the latest in that string of re-releases. Incidentally, the title is also the last in the franchise that originally arrived for the PlayStation 2 console.
Speaking with International Business Times, game director Takashi Katano suggested that remastering some of the classic Final Fantasy installments from the first PlayStation console would be an injustice. Doing so would mean sacrificing quality standards that the studio holds very dear. If Square Enix does decide to re-release a Final Fantasy title from that era, it would certainly be a complete remake and not a remaster.
“You look at the other titles in the series and technologically anything before the PS2 era is going to be difficult to do a modern remaster of to a suitable level of quality…that means a [future game] is more likely to be a remake,” he said.
It seems that the reception from the Final Fantasy VII Remake announcement at E3 2015 has forced Square Enix to rethink its approach. The sixth, eighth, and ninth installments in the franchise are all strong contenders for a remake.
Highlighting how Square Enix is interested in doing remakes for only games that were released on the first PlayStation console, it only leaves us with two options: Final Fantasy VIII Remake or Final Fantasy IX Remake. The former has a better chance if we go in chronological order since Final Fantasy VII Remake is already in development.
It goes without saying that announcing Final Fantasy VIII Remake would certainly make waves. There is a large following for the classic installments in the franchise. There is also the fact that we are currently celebrating three decades of the Final Fantasy brand. Could we be in for the very announcement at E3 2017 next month?
