Square Enix recently set the date of January 31 as the day they will kick off celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series. With such a massive and widespread franchise spanning three decades now, the sky is the limit for what kinds of surprises and announcements they have in store for fans. That being said, we think we’ve got a few good guesses at what some of the upcoming reveals might entail.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Avid fans may recognize January 31 – the day of this anniversary event – to mark the 20-year anniversary of Final Fantasy VII’s original release in Japan. We haven’t seen any new footage of the Remake since 2015’s PlayStation Experience over a year ago, so this feels like the perfect time to drop a brand new trailer, perhaps showing off more characters like Tifa, Aerith, and President Shinra. We may even get a launch window for part 1, but since director Tetsuya Nomura recently stated that Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Hearts III are both still a way off yet, we’re not holding our breath.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Just last week at the Taipei Game Show, Square Enix showed off a new trailer for their upcoming remaster, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which we haven’t had much of an update on since the initial announcement before E3 last year. Additionally, the PS4 trophy list for the game just surfaced a couple days ago. When the trophies pop up in the same week we see a new trailer, it’s safe to assume a proper release date isn’t far away.
Dissidia Final Fantasy
Before the arcade version of Dissidia Final Fantasy hit Japanese arcades in November 2015, it was revealed that the game was being developed with the core technology of the PlayStation 4. It was also later teased that due to the focus on arcade play, the game would not be making its way to home consoles… until it had been out in arcades for a year. It has now been 14 months since the arcade version launched, and it still receives regular updates to bring new fighters and stages to the fold. It is entirely possibly, then, that Square Enix will take this opportunity to announce Dissidia Final Fantasy, coming to PS4 later in 2017. As a side note, the original Dissidia for PSP was developed in commemoration of the series’ 20th anniversary. You know, for what that’s worth.
Mobius Final Fantasy
Another recent announcement from Square Enix was that the free-to-play mobile game Mobius Final Fantasy would be coming to Steam on February 6. Not only that, but it will launch on the new platform with a Final Fantasy VII Remake crossover event featuring Cloud. They may have already announced all they intended to announce about this new/old game launch, but with this event happening one week before Mobius’ Steam debut, it’s highly likely they’ll take a minute or two to hype it up.
Final Fantasy XV
After waiting so many years, we’ve finally had Final Fantasy XV available to us since late November. The game is far from over, however, what with character episode DLC still to come for Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto, as well as several other updates to the game including a monster encyclopedia, a patch to flesh out the controversial chapter 13, making side characters like Cor and Iris playable, and probably more events like the recent Moogle Chocobo Festival. The problem is, none of this stuff is dated. Since the base game has been out for nearly two months now, it’s about time they starting talking release dates for some of these patches and episodes.
Final Fantasy VIII & IX
Following a positive reception to Final Fantasy VII’s upgraded Steam release in 2013, which featured polished character models, achievements, cloud saving, and other new features, Square Enix opted to give Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX the same treatment. Since then FFVII has also enjoyed renewed life on the PS4, while its successors have yet to make the upgraded jump to the modern-day Sony console. Square Enix is known for bringing forth many rereleases during anniversary years, so it’s not unreasonable to think there will be more than just Final Fantasy XII getting new life this year.
Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy
Late last year a juicy rumor spread like wildfire regarding Square Enix’s plans for Final Fantasy’s 30th anniversary, and one of those rumors was that a Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy pack would be coming to current-gen consoles in 2017. Seeing as how Final Fantasy X|X-2 Remaster came out for both the PS3 and PS4, it seems like a Final Fantasy XIII 3-pack is only a matter of time. If they’re making such a big deal about the 30th anniversary as to hold this large event full of announcements, this would be a perfect time to show off the new FFXIII collection for PS4.
Final Fantasy Box Set
Another prominent rumor alongside the FFXIII Trilogy is that of several new collections for PS4 and PS Vita that contain many numbered Final Fantasy games all together. One pack is said to have Final Fantasies I through IX all on a single PS4 disc, which would lend credence to FFVIII and FFIX receiving individual PS4 ports this year as well. Another, much larger set would allegedly include FF I through IX, X|X-2 Remastered, FFXII: The Zodiac Age, the FFXIII Trilogy, FFXV (plus all DLC), a 3-month subscription to FFXIV: A Realm Reborn (plus all expansions), and special items for the currently unreleased FFXI Mobile. This kind of collection also isn’t unheard of, as Square Enix released a mighty impressive set in 2012 for the 25th anniversary, so this (or something similar) is very probably coming our way this year.
Crossovers
Square Enix is no stranger to using their flagship franchise in crossovers, as is evidenced by games like Theatrhythm, Dissidia, Kingdom Hearts, and World of Final Fantasy. One of those series in particular is also celebrating an anniversary this year, as Kingdom Hearts turns 15, and fans are eager for any new updates they can get regarding the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III. Series director Tetsuya Nomura has already stated that 2017 will be a year of non-stop news as far as Kingdom Hearts is concerned, so a nice way to ride the coattails of KH2.8’s recent release while also celebrating Final Fantasy’s 30th anniversary would be to show off some of our favorite FF characters who might be returning to the series in KHIII like Leon (Squall) and Yuffie, as well as introduce more characters to Sora and company. Who else wants to see Prompto taking selfies with Sora? Anyone? Just me? Moving on.
New Announcements
Everything we’ve outlined so far talks about games we already know. Remakes. Remasters. Re-releases. New content for current games. But what about all the unknown projects Square Enix has surely been toiling away at in secret, waiting for the right time to be announced? Maybe the 2012 Final Fantasy tech demo Agni’s Philosophy has been secret fleshed out into a full title over the past four and a half years. Perhaps now that Final Fantasy XV has made its way into the world they’re ready to announce Final Fantasy XVI. What about collaborations with other studios? We’ve seen Zelda, Dragon Quest, and soon Fire Emblem Warriors/Musou games; maybe soon we’ll see Final Fantasy Warriors. Whatever they’ve been cooking up, you know they’re bound to serve up a few nice surprises.
What do you think Square Enix has in store for us at the Final Fantasy 30th anniversary event? Leave your best guesses and predictions in the comments below, and tune in on January 31 to find out if you’re right.