Plans for an anime take on Final Fantasy 9 were first made public in June of last year, with the project set to be a co-production between Square Enix and French animation house Cyber Group Studios. Released in 2000, FF9 unfolds on the planet of Gaia in a world mostly adorned by a medieval or mid-renaissance steampunk aesthetic more similar to older games, rather than the more modern anime influence of FF7 or FF8, which is partly why it became so iconic for the franchise.
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Getting such a unique look right will definitely be one of the things to look out for when the Final Fantasy anime is finally revealed this week during The Licensing Expo taking place in Las Vegas, between May 24 to 26. According to statements gathered by IGN, Cyber Group Studios’ Vice President of International Licensing and Marketing said the event will be an occasion to showcase their “most recently developed shows — Digital Girl, The McFire Family, Press Start! and Final Fantasy IX — [which] will be presented for the first time”, although no specific day was given for FF9 or any of the other productions.
While very little is known about the FF9 adaptation, such as how many episodes or how long each chapter will be, Cyber Group Studios’ main field of expertise tends to focus on productions geared towards younger audiences like their Netflix series The Last Kids on Earth or Les Chroniques de Zorro, thus fueling rumors the FF9 series would also be aimed at an 8-13 age demographic. Licensing Expo will be live streamed online, meaning Final Fantasy fans won’t have to wait too long to find out.
This is not the only Square Enix property currently being used for an animated production as the studio also confirmed a Nier Automata anime is in development through a teaser back in February. Final Fantasy 9 was the last game in the franchise to lean heavily into the themes of flying airships that were integral to the games in the Super Nintendo era, which is partly why so many fans want Square to develop an FF9 Remake next.
Even if FF9 is far from the hardest or longest Final Fantasy game, its exploration of existentialist themes through a main character like Vivi alone makes it worth playing, so maybe a new anime is exactly what the game needs to fuel interest in a classic that was underserved by it untimely release near the end of the PSX’s lifespan.
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Source: IGN
