Wark Digest #240 - Reanimation
Welcome back to the Wark Digest, your weekly newsletter of new developments and historical insights from the Final Fantasy universe. I’m Chris, aka Hoogathy, and this week we discuss an animated revival and the generational scope of remakes.
This week’s newsletter is 1468 words, a 6-minute read.
Final Fantasy IX Reanimated
There was one point of potential good news for Final Fantasy IX fans to kick off the year, as rumours of the animated sequel’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
What’s going on:
As you may recall, the animated FFIX series from French animation studio Cyber Group Studios seemed to be cancelled last year, when the studio shuttered due to bankruptcy
The show seemed to be in limbo forever, but would have focused on Vivi’s descendants years after the game, targeting a young audience
Now, French entertainment magazine Écran Total has updated a listing for the series, reporting that the project is now in the hands of Euro Visual, still co-produced by La Chouette Compagnie
The listing also names a writer and director, Charles Lefebvre, who was previously named as a character designer; and a graphic artist, Sylvain Dos Santos
The given plot summary aligns with the information leaked about Cyber Group Studios’ version: Vivi’s children Mel, Kolm, Luciola, Théa, Fala, and Doc are the last remaining Black Mages, living happily in Alexandria… until Mel is found frozen like a statue, threatening that their father’s “tragic legacy” may be catching up with them too
The show is still aimed at kids 13 and under, with 13 22-minute episodes, and aiming for release in 2028
What we thought:
First of all, I’m glad the project is not entirely scrapped, as the leaked details sounded pretty interesting
That being said… this is yet another odd choice for an animation studio
Euro Visual has an even narrower production history, mostly two shows: The Bellflower Bunnies (2001-2008), and Atout 5 (2007-2008)
Chouette has a bigger track record, with a roster that seems more promising artistically than either Euro or Cyber, but not much recognizable outside of the French-speaking world—except perhaps for contributing to a Miraculous special, and Disney’s Dragon Striker
With the abundance of animation studios right in their own backyard, it’s a little surprising that Square Enix seems so intent on having a French studio produce this sequel series
News of Cyber Group’s closure came last May, and it would’ve been good timing to move the project to a Japanese studio and fulfill one of their big corporate goals of minimizing development outside Japan
That being said, that likely would have led to Lefebvre’s designs and anything that had been developed from 2021-2025 being thrown out… thereby wasting all that investment of time and money
Once again, the news on this isn’t coming from Square Enix itself; reports continue to arrive via animation industry listings, and though SE is supposed to be supervising to maintain the brand’s consistency, they’ve been virtually silent about it all
What’s next? 2028 is a long way off, so for now, we’ll just have to hope that the rest of the series’ production goes smoothly. The question is, which long-awaited FFIX property will come first: the kids’ show, or some kind of remake/remaster/revival?
Thundaga Round Interlude!
Square Enix announced recently that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles has surpassed a million units sold since it launched September 30. In a statement issued last week, director Kazutoyo Maehiro thanked fans for their support, and added that all the enthusiasm for the game has the team considering “future updates to make the game even more enjoyable and accessible to an even wider audience.”
“Future updates” could mean anything from additional bug fixes or rebalancing to full-blown additions, so who knows exactly what they’re considering… but if you’d like to find out, do as many in our community do and keep spreading that good word about Ivalice!
Lightning Strikes The Youth
In an interview with Malaysian outlet GamerBraves, Final Fantasy VII Remake director Naoki Hamaguchi mused further on the state of the trilogy, and the ramifications of taking on such large remakes.
What they’re saying:
Again, Hamaguchi restated that development of Remake part 3 is continuing well and he hopes to share more info Soon™
The original Final Fantasy VII had plenty of minigames, and they do hope to continue that spirit, giving players many side attractions in this installment as well
Nomura and Kitase wanted the remake to be able to accommodate the Compilation’s additions to the lore, and the way they expanded FFVII—yet they also grappled with deciding how much to show based upon that content, knowing the core game was far more universally-played than the spin-offs
When it comes to presenting the world map in parts 2 and 3: “We decided, let’s not scale down, but let’s scale up, let’s make it a more immersive experience [and] get the players to be even more absorbed into the FFVII world view from the original”
Though he previously said he’d love to remake Final Fantasy VI, and fans continue to ask him about it, after working on FFVIIR for about 10 years “from beginning to end” he’d be happier to be a support figure on such project and let someone else take the lead on remaking it, in whatever form it would take
Such a long project requires “a measure of resolve as well as obviously resources so it’s very difficult to even propose a project of this scale”, and seemed to suggest it’s not something Square Enix would do again lightly
Though, he believes his childhood love of FFVI shows through in FFVIIR, even as they keep to the FFVII story
Hamaguchi added that where you’d once hear new Square Enix employees saying FFVI was their childhood favourite, nowadays he hears new employees saying Final Fantasy XIII was their favourite as kids, showing the generational cycle
What we thought:
This was a very grounded interview, even for Hamaguchi, who has been pretty down-to-earth since he stepped into the spotlight with this trilogy
Beneath the talk of scale and deeper immersion, I get a real sense that he and the team are more aware of the project’s boundaries now, after testing them so hard in Rebirth—like part 3 will round out the world after Rebirth presented the vast majority of it
You can also hear it in the way he speaks about a FFVI remake: he doesn’t want another massive decade-long project, and maybe he’d be happier letting someone else rework a deeply beloved entry in the series, even if it’s near and dear to his heart
And by extension, it seems Square Enix wouldn’t rush to give the same treatment to another game of FFVII’s caliber… though we won’t bet against it, just in case
The point about FFXIII and the new generation of game studio employees is pretty poignant, and somewhat universal for long-running franchises like FF
The second generation of creators was raised on the first generation of games, the third gen was raised on the second, and so on
For some of us, we were the young kids who found this series once (through FFVI, or VII, or IX), and maybe as we got older some of the new things (like FFXIII) didn’t have the same appeal… but at the same time, those new things were reaching young kids, and inspiring the same sort of “wow” moments that once got through to us…
It goes to show, it’s easy to get caught up in negativity over new media sometimes, but there’s a fresh set of eyes somewhere who’s getting inspired by the same media, and one day they’ll want to be involved just as we did
What’s next? While FFVII Remake hits Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox next Thursday, the 29th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII is up at the end of the month… is that Soon™ enough to hear anything concrete about part 3?
Around the Union
The road map for Final Fantasy in 2026, as we discussed last issue, is an odd and barren one, especially compared to recent years… or at least, as it looks right now. This week Darryl discussed “The Harsh Reality for Final Fantasy In 2026,” and the unusual state of flux fans find themselves in.
Now you’re up to speed! From the whole team at Final Fantasy Union, thank you for subscribing. Please let us know what you think of our coverage, and what you’d like to see covered in our weekly installments. As ever, if you’ve enjoyed our work, please share it with your friends!
Join the discussion on our Discord!
Or, find Final Fantasy Union on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky |
Until next time, kupo!
Great comments about passing the torch to the next generation, or at least acknowledging that the FF audience is always changing. It reminds me of Star Wars fans and all the divisiveness surrounding both the prequel and sequel trilogies - for many people, these were their first exposures to Star Wars and they have fond memories of these movies while many others can't help but compare them to memories of the original trilogy.
That note about newer developers naming Final Fantasy XIII as their childhood favorite really stood out to me. It’s a good reminder that “the classic” keeps shifting as generations change.