Square Enix to Launch Updated Final Fantasy IX for PC, iOS, Android

If you're a big Final Fantasy fan, then Square Enix just made your day: The popular FInal Fantasy IX game is going to be released on the PC, iOS, and Android at some point in 2016. While Square Enix didn't specifically say that the game is being launched in North America, it stands to reason that it'll arrive there at some point as well. We're most happy about the game's official website having an English translation, which certainly looks like a little bit of a tease for a wider release of the game.

That said, we don't know exactly when Square Enix will launch the game in Japan, nor what the time delay will be (if any) between that launch and the North American / European launch. We also don't know all of the changes coming to the game with its remake, but we do know a few: Square Enix is going to be updating the game's graphics and adding in a few more modern conveniences, like autosave and high-speed modes.

It'll also come with achievements, for those who like showing off everything they do in a game, and various other "game boosting features," reports PC Gamer.

If you're looking for more clues from the remake's first trailer, good luck: It's mostly cutscenes, with a slight highlight of visual differences for the game's combat system—nothing major is changing to the raw mechanics as far as we can tell, but it does look a bit better.

Interestingly enough, Square Enix has seemingly decided to skip any kind of remake for FInal Fantasy VIII at the moment—having last announced the much-anticipated update to Final Fantasy VII in June of 2015.

We're not sure why Square Enix decided to overlook the title (especially since this writer particularly enjoys it), and we haven't heard any rumors that the developer might go back and revisit this one at some point, but it's certainly possible.

The Final Fantasy IX remake will require iOS 7.0 or Android 4.1 at minimum—and Square Enix warns that the game might not run on certain Android devices. (It neglected to specify, which is fair given just how many Android devices there are.) You'll need at least an iPhone 5s, fourth-generation iPad, iPad Mini 2, or sixth-generation iPod Touch to play on iOS.