January 29th, 2000 - To the shock of many, Square has revealed the details for what lies ahead for the Final Fantasy series at their Square Millennium Conference in Japan. Take a deep breath as we show you what the future holds for Final Fantasy:

As rumours had suggested, Square officially confirmed that Final Fantasy IX will be on appearing on the PlayStation 1 platform, with a projected summer release for Japan (we imagine that the western release will follow sometime close to this Christmas).

At the conference, Final Fantasy IX FMV clips were shown to reveal a medieval tone and a cartoony feel; the characters appeared to be much smaller in size compared to more recent Final Fantasies, with a maximum of 4 in your party at any one time.

Only two characters could be made out during the brief showcase - one appeared to have a 'cheetah tail', while the other two were a dragon and a Black Mage. Airships seem to play an even important part in Final Fantasy IX's world, with many seen in the background.

The battle system has returned back to the roots of Final Fantasy tradition with battle gauges for HP, MP and Time, and a maximum of 4 characters in your party (not seen since Final Fantasy VI).

If these reports are true, and they most likely are, Final Fantasy IX could prove to be a welcome breath of fresh air after the technological feel of Final Fantasy VII and VIII; although extremely successful, many Final Fantasy fans felt that the series was loosing its original appeal and, above all, loosing its tradition.

Final Fantasy X was announced to be in development for Sony's new beast, the PlayStation 2 and should be out in Japan in early 2001. Described graphically as the 'Shenmue of the PlayStation 2', Square will be once again be pushing new boundaries with the sheer power of the PlayStation 2 at their creative mercy.

Although its still in the very early stages of development, Square announced that it will include its own online network software in the game called Play Online. Although the player will be able to play the standard single-player quest, a new feature will open Final Fantasy to the online world and allow online gaming. Quite how this will work is unknown, but you can rely on Square coming up with the goods...

Final Fantasy XI, also a PlayStation 2 release, is projected at a late 2001 release in Japan. Pushing the slogan 'Online Another World' at the conference, it seems Square have opted to make this an online-only Final Fantasy.

Details are very sketchy, but you will be able to 'choose to be any sort of player' and Square presented several sketches of the monsters, ogres, humans and other creatures you will be able to role-play. The logo shown was that of a oceanic world, symbolic of Square's aim to create a world of united Final Fantasy players.