Final Fantasy IX Remake Rumors Intensify Amid Anniversary Hype
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy IX and Square Enix has announced some celebration plans for the PS1-era RPG. The publisher said it's 'preparing various projects,' including new figures of the main heroes that slightly alter their appearance. It's enough to have long-time fans once again believing the perrenially rumored Final Fantasy IX remake is real.
'Zidane and Garnet from 'Final Fantasy IX' are now available in FORM-ISM!' the company announced today alongside a new soundtrack vinyl and other merch. 'To commemorate the 25th anniversary, they have been recreated in a three-dimensional form with a reinterpretation of the texture of their costumes.'
Three-dimensional form? Reinterpretation of the texture of their costumes? Is this how both characters might look in an upcoming remake? That's one theory among fans, thanks to ongoing speculation about the possible existence of such a remake that dates back to its appearance in the infamous 2021 Nvidia leak, the one that kept proving to be legit again and again.
Rumors that the game would soon be arriving on modern platforms in some new shape or form were reaffirmed when Final Fantasy IX appeared in an Epic Games Store backend leak just last June. And Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb has repeatedly said the game is real, but will be closer to a Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core remake than a full-blown overhaul.
Final Fantasy IX has a special place in many fans' hearts for several reasons. It's an incredible game for one. It was also the last entry on PS1, and the last before the series moved to a full 3D look and voice acting on the PS2. Most importantly, it was the last produced by creator Hironobu Sakaguchi before he left Square, and harkens back to the franchise's more traditional, medieval roots. Also it features an adorable black mage named Vivi.
In the past, Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida has been coy about the rumors. 'Of course, I do know there are requests for Final Fantasy IX to be made, but when you think about Final Fantasy IX, it's a game with huge volume,' he said last fall, appearing to pour cold water on the rumors. 'When you think about all of that volume, I wonder if it's possible to remake that as a single title. It's a difficult one. It is a tough question.'
July 7 will be exactly 25 years since the game shipped and Square Enix hints that fans should expect to hear more announcements leading up to it. Maybe a sneak peek of the game itself at an upcoming PlayStation or Summer Game Fest showcase will be one of them. I hope the game arrives alongside a revised strategy guide.
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While the 3DS' display was fine at the time, the HD, 16:9 presentation is vastly superior, breathing new life into Bravely Default's folksy world of Luxendarc. Most environments are enhanced by the clearer resolution, which shows off the paint-like texture of the landscapes. Even without the touch screen, this almost feels like the way it was meant to be seen. (Missing entirely is the original game's use of the 3DS' gyroscopic camera. This enabled a handful of AR cutscenes which sounded cool in theory, yet were gimmicky in practice, like the intro CG cutscene.) Beneath Bravely Default's fairy tale appearance (no pun intended) lies a well-crafted tale that combines the motifs of classic Final Fantasy, like crystals and warriors of light, with some plot elements from more modern FF, like the corrupt governments and natural resource wars of Final Fantasy VII. The party consists of Tiz, a young man who's the sole survivor of his simple village; Agnès, sheltered cleric of the Wind Crystal; Edea, a defector from Eternia, the enemy state that seeks to destroy the crystals' hold over society; and Ringabel, an amnesiac who hasn't forgotten his womanizing ways and carries a prophetic journal. Guided by the fairy Airy, they seek to restore the four crystals and thus, the balance of nature while thwarting the forces of Eternia along the way. Bravely Default's writing is still incredibly good by modern standards, even if the voice acting (and a late-game slog) will probably remain as divisive to audiences in 2025 as it did in the twenty-teens. The main characters are charming, as are the minor antagonists in their own way, and the world is easy to invest in. 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This take on job classes is a tried and true system, and I'm glad to see Bravely Default still putting it to good use even if Final Fantasy isn't. It's kept fresh with some original inventions and unique interpretations of classic jobs, each well-earned in battle with the sort of villains you love to hate. If jobs were 'something old' or 'something borrowed,' Bravely Default's 'something new' was the battle system its name stems from. Actions in a fight cost 1 BP, and characters earn 1 BP per turn normally. Outside of the usual conventions of turn-based RPG combat, each participant can 'default' on their turn to guard and store up their BP, or 'brave' to take 2-4 actions at once. This deceptively simple paradigm can have big strategic ramifications. In weaker random battles, characters can go all out with braves and quickly dispatch their foes in one turn—instead of stooping to a 4-turn slugfest. In harder fights, will your opponent default and tank through your biggest assault? Or can you successfully brave when their guard is down and tear them to shreds instead? It's a simple tweak on the usual turn-based format which lends the game a very unique feel. All of the gameplay holds up just as well today as it did at Bravely Default's western debut. Thankfully, the 3DS original's connectivity features remain intact as well. Friends with the game can be added into your file, allowing you to 'link' your character with theirs—so if your friend has a maxed out Monk Edea, you can use the Abililink system to give your Edea some of those advanced, level 9 abilities. As well, the ability to call upon other players has been salvaged from the 3DS. In a similar fashion, players can 'record' their best moves in battle and save them to their profile, so that other players can summon them. (The game also provides fake, computerized 'ally' profiles periodically to avoid leaving behind those with smaller friend lists.) 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Netflix just got this fantasy action movie with Vin Diesel and Elijah Wood — and it's not even in the 'so bad it's good' category
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Netflix's latest addition is a dark fantasy action movie starring Vin Diesel that, on paper, sounds like it'll be a riot. As of today (June 16), Breck Eisner's "The Last Witch Hunter" is now available on the streaming service. This 2015 action flick pits Diesel's sword-swinging supernatural hunter against nefarious sorcerers. Sounds like a recipe for campy fun, right? Unfortunately.... It's anything but Even as a big fantasy guy myself, this is one new-to-Netflix watch I'd urge you to find something else to stream — and it turns out I'm not alone on that front, either. If you were waiting to stream "The Last Witch Hunter" on Netflix, you can find a little more info about the movie, and why I (and plenty of other viewers) would suggest you steer clear. "The Last Witch Hunter" introduces us to Kaulder (Vin Diesel), a powerful warrior cursed with immortality moments before he slayed the all-powerful Witch Queen hundreds of years ago. Working with "The Axes and Cross," Kaulder has kept humanity safe from supernatural forces, hunting down rogue witches who violate the fragile peace between the witches and the human race and keeping their powers in check. When a modern coven hatches a deadly plan to resurrect their queen, Kaulder and a few close allies look to be humanity's only chance at survival. In addition to Vin Diesel, "The Last Witch Hunter" also stars Michael Caine, Elijah Wood and Rose Leslie. Put simply, "The Last Witch Hunter" is a dreary watch. I'm no stranger to going against the grain when it comes to the fantasy genre — I went to bat for the "Warcraft" movie when it came to Netflix — but I don't think the movie that made it to our screens is worth shouting about. A lot of the problem is simply that I just don't buy Vin Diesel in the lead role; "The Last Witch Hunter" does not feel like his kind of movie. While the visual effects aren't bad (compared to some of today's watches), and the fights might occasionally thrill, it's just not very entertaining stuff. A lot of the problem is simply that I just don't buy Vin Diesel in the lead role; "The Last Witch Hunter" does not feel like his kind of movie. I can't even really see it landing as a guilty pleasure; "The Last Witch Hunter" does not veer into "so bad its good" territory. It's a self-serious, "edgy" mishmash of fantasy tropes and action, and a poorly written, plodding one at that. It's the kind of movie that wants you to think it is cool... but doesn't come off that way whatsoever. In other words, it's the movie equivalent of that dodgy "Shadow the Hedgehog" PS2 game. As I mentioned above, this isn't exactly a unique stance on the film, either. At the time of writing, "The Last Witch Hunter" holds a measly 18% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This isn't a situation where critics and viewers differ wildly, either; that 44% score on the Popcornmeter is indicative of a mixed reception, at best. As a sample of what people have to say about "The Last Witch Hunter," take Guy Lodge's review at Variety, who summed the movie up as a "limp, lame-brained occult thriller" and said it was "too drab to succeed even as defiantly unvirtuous trash." The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the movie a one-star rating, calling it "dismal and dull" and positing Diesel and co.'s witch-hunting flick measures up unfavorably to Paramount's shlocky fairytale effort, "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters". And, reviewing at Entertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson described the movie as "an unfortunately heavy-handed, humorless, self-serious" affair, adding: "It should be crazy fun on paper — Vin Diesel murders witches with a flaming sword! — but the only thing The Last Witch Hunter will successfully eradicate is insomnia." Unless you're desperate for some swords-and-sorcery fun (and you've already watched the far superior "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"), I'd suggest you avoid streaming "The Last Witch Hunter" on Netflix. If that means you're now in need of some new streaming suggestions for your next movie night, check out our round-up of the best movies on Netflix for tons of top recommendations. 7 new to Netflix shows and movies to stream this week Netflix's new mind-bending mystery thriller gets first trailer Netflix is losing this swoonworthy romantic drama very soon
