Final Fantasy 14’s Yoshi-P shoots down speculation he’s remaking FF9 - and that he’d morph the turn-based JRPG into an action game, thank you very much

That’s enough of that

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

No, Naoki Yoshida and the Final Fantasy 14 gang aren’t working on the long-rumored Final Fantasy 9 remake, and even if he was, he wouldn’t change the turn-based battle system.

The long-gestating rumors of an alleged Final Fantasy 9 remake have been doing the rounds once again over the past few days. In the latest Letter From the Producer live showcase, just below, Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida has addressed the rumors of the Final Fantasy 9 remake head-on, flatly denying that he’s involved with the project, or any knowledge of the remake at all.

So no, this isn’t confirmation that Final Fantasy 9’s long-rumored remake is actually in development. Yoshida’s statement wasn’t unprompted - the director says he’s been seeing people arguing about a potential Final Fantasy 9 remake and saying that they wouldn’t want him to personally develop the project since they believed he would take the classicSquare Enixgame and turn it into a real-time action game.

Yoshida says he isn’t working on the project, and even if he was, he wouldn’t change the combat to real-time action. “If we were remaking FF9 people would complain we’d turn it into an action game! But I’d make it turn-based,” Yoshida says in the testing stages of the Letter From the Producer Live broadcast just above.

The Final Fantasy 9 director adds that he reckons he knows where the speculation has originated from. Earlier this month, it was reported that while on the Dawntrail media tour, Yoshida told an outlet thatSquare Enix was working on multiple unannounced games, including two that would be revealed “soon.” Yoshida thinks people have assumed one of these games to be the Final Fantasy 9 remake - that, andseveral links between the MMO’s next expansion, Dawntrail, and Final Fantasy 9.

Recent comments from the publisher’s CEO have saidSquare Enix will “shift from quantity to quality” and pursue a new “multi-platform strategy.“If there is a Final Fantasy 9 remake in development, maybe it won’t be a PS5 exclusive likeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

Read up on ournew games 2024guide for a look at all the games that Square Enix definitely does have planned to launch in the coming months.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

After “personal attack” of Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail English VA, MMO boss Yoshi-P says if you have “any sort of criticism, bring it to me, I’m the one approving this material”

OG Final Fantasy 7 speedrunners discover “biggest skip yet” after 27 years, shaving 2 hours off the JRPG for the low, low cost of making Aerith watch her own death

“At least one” Game of Thrones movie is reportedly in early development at Warner Bros.