Final Fantasy's 90s Revival: An Epic Lineup of Games Unveiled!

Highlights

The Final Fantasy franchise is currently on a winning streak, enjoying great success with its recent releases and expansions such as Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 14, and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project.

Square Enix has consistently released a stream of AA and AAA games, including regular releases of the popular Final Fantasy titles every six to eight months. The current success of the Final Fantasy franchise echoes its past, when Squaresoft and Enix were separate entities, with a frequent release schedule. Looking ahead, there are even more exciting releases and remakes to come.

The Final Fantasy franchise is currently experiencing a successful period. Final Fantasy 16 recently launched and, despite facing challenges in boosting Square Enix's financial performance, it has achieved impressive sales as a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Additionally, Final Fantasy 14, the massively multiplayer online game, continues to thrive with its well-received expansions. Furthermore, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project has released Ever Crisis as part of its preparations for FF7 Rebirth. Even spin-offs of the franchise are performing well, including Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin concluding its DLC, the arrival of Pixel Remasters on consoles, and Chocobo GP addressing concerns by removing microtransactions in 2023.

Square Enix has maintained a consistent output of games, both of the AA and AAA variety, over the past few years. A closer look at the releases within the Final Fantasy series alone reveals a significant number of highly anticipated titles spread across each fiscal year. Both leaks and official announcements suggest that there are even more exciting releases on the horizon. The momentum of Final Fantasy is reminiscent of the period prior to the merger of Squaresoft and Enix, and there are no indications of it slowing down.

Final Fantasy Is Entering Another Year Of Stacked Releases

Currently, there are only two confirmed release dates for future Final Fantasy projects. The first is the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on the PS5 in February 2024, and the second is the release of the FF14 Dawntrail expansion in the summer of 2024. Final Fantasy has maintained a consistent release schedule of major titles every six to eight months since the launch of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion in December 2022. While the third and final installment of the FF7 Remake is still far off, Final Fantasy 16 will be released on PC and will also receive two paid DLC episodes in the meantime. The amount of Final Fantasy content in the works is already substantial, and there is even more that fans are aware of. In recent years, a leak from Nvidia GeForce Now revealed plans for a Final Fantasy 9 remake and a Final Fantasy Tactics remaster. The validity of this leak has been confirmed multiple times, and there have been numerous reports and discussions among insiders that suggest these projects have already been announced. Given the recent remaster of Tactics Ogre, it is likely that an HD remaster of FF Tactics will follow soon. Additionally, there have been hints about a potential animated show based on Final Fantasy 9. With the addition of a rumored Final Fantasy 10 project, it appears that there will be even more Final Fantasy remakes released before the completion of the FF7 Remake trilogy.

There Hasn't Been This Much Final Fantasy In Two Decades

The amount of Final Fantasy games currently in development may seem unreasonable, especially considering that games nowadays often take several years to create. However, Square Enix has managed to find a way to support its biggest global brand while also paying homage to its past. The last games released under Squaresoft before the merge with Enix in 2003 were Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy 10-2, marking the end of a fifteen-year period during which a major Final Fantasy title was released almost every year. While it is unlikely that the modern Final Fantasy series can maintain this same pace, it is currently surpassing its previous achievements in some aspects. Between 1987 and 2003, there were only five years in which a new and complete Final Fantasy game did not come out. Even during those years, there were other notable games such as the first SaGa title, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Parasite Eve. Reflecting on the progression from FF1 to FF11 over the course of fifteen years is quite remarkable, particularly considering that this was accomplished by a smaller company at the time. It is encouraging to witness Final Fantasy reclaiming some of that consistent release schedule in the present day, and hopefully the current lineup of games will bring the same level of satisfaction to fans as their predecessors did during the franchise's heyday.