Square Enix could potentially churn out more Final Fantasy remakes from the PlayStation One era following the release of the upcoming PS4 remaster of Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age later this year.
Speaking during an interview with IBTimes UK, FF12 HD’s director, Takashi Katano, suggested that additional projects would likely take the form of a remake rather than a remaster, due to hardware the original titles were released on. This opens up the possibility of a Final Fantasy 6, 8 or 9 remaster at some point down the line.
"[Final Fantasy 12] is a PS2 title, and you look at the other titles in the series and technologically anything before the PS2 era is going to be quite difficult to do a modern remaster of to a suitable level of quality," Katano-san commented. "That means [a future game] is far more likely to be a remake."
Square Enix is no stranger to remastering its Final Fantasy back catalogue, with Final Fantasy X and X-2 also receiving a fresh lick of paint on the PS3, PS Vita, and PS4. The Japanese software giant also applied the same process to Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, which arrived on Sony’s flagship home console earlier this year.
In addition to the above, Square has also re-released the earlier Final Fantasy titles for various platforms over the years, including a full 3D remake of Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo 3DS. The first two games were also remastered and launched on the PlayStation Portable in 2007, and have appeared on numerous other devices such as PC and mobiles to boot.
Of course, the studio is currently working on a full-fledged Final Fantasy 7 Remake for the PS4, which will be split into multiple releases in order to fully realise the iconic JRPG for a modern audience. While the game will adhere to the original 1997 game’s core story, there will be a number of improvements made to the remake, including a more action-oriented combat system and brand new areas.
Stay tuned for more on potential Final Fantasy remakes at PSU as we get it.