It calls back to the melodrama of previous Final Fantasy games, never taking itself too seriously with its sometimes-odd minigames or quests and its self-aware construction as theatre within its own theatre.
It was the last Final Fantasy with static backgrounds, yet with level of visual detail hitherto unprecedented in the series it was the last Final Fantasy without voice acting, yet it expanded the palette of character emotions and narrative tone. The game was far from a passive retrospective, however. This is, no doubt, why it remains a favorite with many of us here.įinal Fantasy IX, as it has been called many times over the years, is a loving homage to the Final Fantasy games of yore in its characterizations, settings, and in fact explicit winks back to its predecessors. It is perhaps fitting that here at CoN "newest" is something of an irony, for Final Fantasy IX itself has always been recognized as a convalescence of old and new, pushing boundaries for the series' future while reaching back to become one of the truest successors to the original feel of a Final Fantasy. In the meantime, looking at the beautiful images coming out of “Final Fantasy IX: Memoria Project” will have to do.Final Fantasy IX moves into the CoN roster as the newest game we cover (in terms of its original release, at least!), bumping out Final Fantasy Tactics from that spot. (Though Final Fantasy XIV, especially Shadowbringers, comes very close!)Īs much as I’d love to see a remake of Final Fantasy IX someday, I have no expectations of that happening. It’s largely a truly flawless game in my opinion, with some of the best writing the series has offered to this day. But ask me on any given day and I’ll tell you that it’s Final Fantasy IX. It’s hard, if not straight-up impossible, to pick the “best” Final Fantasy game. To learn more about the project as it comes, you can subscribe to the newsletter advertised at the bottom of the site. Information on the “about” and “FAQ” pages for “Final Fantasy IX: Memoria Project” is stated to be “coming soon,” as the project is understandably in its early phases. While he creates content for many video game franchises, his love for the Final Fantasy series has made him a widely recognized figure within the community. Notably, among the project’s team members is Alex Moukala, a music producer and composer known for his often viral analysis, reactions, and remixes of iconic video game songs on YouTube and Twitter.
According to the update posted on the project’s website on June 16, as well as another tweet from Eder, the team is currently looking for a 3D character artist, 3D environment artist, and 3D prop artist. You can browse through more screenshots of the project, including several images of Final Fantasy IX characters Garnet Til Alexandros and Vivi, here. This has allowed the team to make steady progress on the project “and move on to the Unreal stage earlier than expected,” leading them to achieve milestones such as this: In the two months since the project was formally announced and its website was formed, the team grew from a small group of three to a development crew of 15 members.
“Final Fantasy IX: Memoria Project” is stated on its website to be “a non-playable passion project led by a team of professional developers and artists in the video game industry that aims to reimagine what the legendary game would look like if it was remade with modern graphical capabilities.” It’s a “non-profit love letter” that is being created as a tribute to the original game, which was released in 2000.
“Working on this passion project with some of the best talents in the industry is truly a privilege, and I can’t wait to show you what else we have in store.” “I’m incredibly excited to share some of the progress we’ve made on FFIX: #MemoriaProject over the past couple of months,” he writes in a tweet.
On June 10, project lead and 3D character artist Dan Eder shared a beautiful screenshot of Vivi in the project’s version of Lindblum on Twitter. There is a group of developers and passionate Final Fantasy IX fans who are recreating the game in a modern capacity for a project known as “Final Fantasy IX: Memoria Project.”