2015 isn’t quite over yet as far as video game announcements are concerned. Slipping in just under the wire, Square Enix has announced that its popular role-playing game Final Fantasy IX will be releasing for PC and smartphones, meaning players will once again be able to return to the stories of Zidane, Garnet, Vivi and more.
Released in 2000 for the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX marked the series’ final excursion on the console before moving to the PlayStation 2. It follows the adventures of Zidane and Garnet after the former attempts to kidnap the latter and unintentionally sets off a series of world-changing events. One of the main themes of the game is identity, and it’s explored from various characters’ viewpoints.
Details on the port aren’t available quite yet, but it’s reasonable to think that it will be along the same lines as the similar PC ports of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII — with newly-added achievements, for one, and the ability to turn off random encounters. There’s no real added content with these ports beyond some slight tuning to make them look the best they can on whatever new system, so don’t expect to find new quests peppering the countryside.
As far as system requirements go, there’s no listing for PC, but it does suggest iOS 7.0 or later for Apple devices and Android 4.1 or later. The list of specifically-supported Apple devices include pretty much everything later than the iPhone 5s, so anyone with an iPhone 4 is out of luck. The Final Fantasy IX PC and smartphone port has no scheduled release date beyond a “coming soon” notice on the Japanese website, but speculation puts the release in early 2016.
