20 Years To Remake? Square Enix Grapples With Final Fantasy 6's Epic Scope

Yoshinori Kitase, the director of Final Fantasy 6, has mentioned that a remake of the game, similar to Final Fantasy 7's, could potentially take around 20 years to complete.

In a translated interview shared by Twitter user Genki, Kitase, currently a vice president at Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd SQNXF, acknowledged the desire for a Final Fantasy 6 remake but expressed doubts about its feasibility.

He emphasized the game's depth, with extensive content and numerous characters, stating that it would require twice the development time of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, IGN reported. 

Despite the interest within Square Enix to work on a Final Fantasy 6 remake, Kitase deferred consideration until Final Fantasy 7 Remake Trilogy concludes. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second entry in the Remake Trilogy, is set to release on Feb. 29, 2024, continuing the journey of Cloud and his companions beyond Midgar.

Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, elaborated on the difficulty of remaking Final Fantasy 6 due to its original pixel art and 2D format, requiring a complete overhaul of the story and graphics.

Notably, Sakaguchi himself expressed eagerness for the remake, asking, "Won't you release it a little sooner?"

The challenges mentioned for Final Fantasy 6's remake, such as changes to the story, world, and graphics, are reminiscent of those faced by the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The latter game introduces new locations, characters, and features, showcasing Square Enix's willingness to adapt and modernize the original content.

Kitase says a Final Fantasy VI Remake like FF7R would take around 20 years to make! #FF6

He says he gets a lot of requests for it from fans, media & from people in the company so he is sad that he can't confirm it. He said there would be too much content and characters. pic.twitter.com/ivTbXoILiE

— Genki (@Genki_JPN) January 29, 2024

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Image credits: Matthieu Tuffet on Shutterstock.