Final Fantasy 9 references in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail are "secret", says director

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"You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here…"

Characters from FF14 Dawntrail Image credit: Square Enix

Yes, there are a lot of references to Final Fantasy 9 in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail's collector's edition… and no, that's not a coincidence.

"You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here… And the reason is a secret," producer/director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida said via translator during his PAX East panel. He then mimed zipping his mouth closed, and steadfastly refused to reveal anything more. The tease.

Cover image for YouTube video
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail trailer.

It's not totally a secret, of course. Some of you may remember that rumours of a remake began when Final Fantasy 9 was one of several unannounced games leaked by the GeForce Now database leak a couple of years back, which also included the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Kingdom Hearts 4, and the Chrono Cross remaster.

With Yoshida refusing to say anymore, all we can do is chalk this up as a rumour for now. However, Yoshida did confirm that once again there will not be a physical disc released for Dawntrail, and the "complicated" editions – there are four in all; standard, digital collector's edition, collector's box, and collector's edition – will be detailed on the official website to help you decide which one you want to buy.

Final Fantasy 14's Dawntrail will release in full on 2nd July, 2024 – the early access will drop one week prior on 28th June – so both you and the Dawntrail development team has "one week" to get through Elden Ring's eagerly anticipated DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree.

Talking at PAX East this weekend, producer/director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida teased that the team had hoped to open in early access a week earlier but then… "Elden Ring DLC…"

Dawntrail will follow Endwalker, which was so popular on release the game was taken down from sale. The new expansion features a whole host of returning characters and a tropical, sea-faring setting seemingly inspired by South America.

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