FINAL FANTASY IX released on PC

Square Enix have released Final Fantasy IX on PC today. This is the first time that the game - one of the most critically-acclaimed in the series - has been made available on the platform: it was first released on the original PlayStation sixteen years ago. The PC version is a port of the mobile version, but with localisation improvements for mouse and keyboard controls and some higher-res backgrounds and animated cut scenes.

Square Enix recently brought Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns to PC, along with new versions of Final Fantasy VII and VIII (previously released on the platform in the late 1990s). According to information in the Steam database, they are also working on PC ports of Final Fantasy X and X-II for release in the next year or two, and it is heavily rumoured that Final Fantasy XV, due for release on PS4 and X-Box One this autumn, will be released on PC as well. Fans are clamouring for other games to be brought to the platform, most notably the much-loved Final Fantasy Tactics, but this does not appear to be on the horizon at the moment.

FINAL FANTASY IX announced for PC

No, you're not reading that wrong. Square Enix have confirmed that Final Fantasy IX will be released on PC, smartphones and tablets early in 2016.

Originally released in 2000 on the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX initially had a muted reception. However, as time passed and the game was reappraised it found a new level of popularity for its story, setting and characters. In modern "Best of the Series" lists, Final Fantasy IX regularly swaps places with VI and VII as the best-regarded game in the entire series.

The new version of the game will feature somewhat sharper graphics and a revamped control interface. No release date has been set, given that Square don't usually announce these things too far in advance I'd be surprised if it was any later than the spring.

ETA: NeoGaf has a thread here showcasing some of the original concept art for FFIX and some of the original high-resolution renders of the backgrounds before they were downgraded for the PS1 version of the game. Well worth a look.