The medieval setting was a concern during development given the stark contrast to the then-current direction of the series. After the success of VII and VIII-games set in what one might consider depictions of a not-too-distant, slightly dystopian, future ( VII rooted in exploitative industry, VIII in some variation of college academia)- IX is firmly medieval. What is strange about Final Fantasy IX is that if you view it from a distance, it comfortably fits in the series’ 35-year timeline, but if you zoom in, it feels out of place. RELATED: New Look at 'Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade' Reveals Yuffie & Sonon's Synergy

To date, IX has only received a standard remaster, which almost every game in the world gets at some point. Square Enix recently announced the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster that provides the series’ first six games with 2D remasters Final Fantasy VII has the remake, and Final Fantasy VIII got a full reskin back in 2019. The volume of games in the Final Fantasy series leaves plenty of remake options, but looking through it game by game, Final Fantasy IX does seem to have been ignored a little more than its siblings. Thankful, devoted, but nonetheless greedy fans like myself now have running lists of every game they wish to see announced for a trip through the reimagination machine.

Square Enix had to have known the sort of Pandora’s Box they were opening with Final Fantasy VII: Remake.