One of Square Enix’s most dazzling worlds has been used in many of the company’s best games, including Final Fantasy XII, Vagrant Story, and, of course, the game that started it all: Final Fantasy Tactics. In my mind, Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the most interesting chronicles in the legendary series that is Final Fantasy. It marked a stark contrast to the traditional turn-based games that dominated the series from its inception, offering a refreshing take on a new genre. 

To this day, you can certainly make the argument that no tactical RPG has ever come close to replicating the sheer magnificence of the gameplay systems found in Final Fantasy Tactics. Not only that, but the game had a story that is still revered as one of the best in the series. So naturally, it’s surprising that before now, there was no way to play Tactics on any modern system. It feels like fans have been begging for even just a port of Tactics for the last decade, and those cries have been finally answered by Square Enix’s Creative Studio III and members of the original development team. 

Despite losing the source code for the original game, Square Enix assembled a team led by Kazutoyo Maehiro, Hiroshi Minagawa, and Yasumi Matsuno to recreate the beloved classic, even resorting to visiting fan sites to search for archived code. The result of said endeavor was revealed this June in the form of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles. After spending over 50 hours with the game, it’s safe to say that the definitive Tactics experience has at last arrived. And man, it’s great to be back in Ivalice. 

A Legacy Renewed

Final Fantasy Tactics immediately distances itself from many of the mainline games thanks to its narrative. Tactics begins following the end of the Fifty Years War, a battle between the kingdom’s two nations. The Ivalice King has passed, and two Princes are both aiming to claim the throne, leading to a battle known as the War of the Lions. What unfolds is an incredibly compelling and mature story that explores corruption in a way that feels like a massive political drama.

At the heart of this story sits Ramza, who experiences firsthand the exploitation of those without power, in addition to the political corruption and greed of those in power. He’s someone who aims to do what is right, refusing to bend the knee to wrongdoings. Alongside him, you’ll encounter many other characters, such as Delita, a childhood friend of Ramza, who shape the narrative as it unfolds.

If you’ve never experienced Final Fantasy Tactics before, you’re in for a wild ride that many still consider one of Square Enix’s best stories. Yasumi Matsuno’s writing is timeless, with the thematic messaging of the game still as relevant today as it was almost three decades ago. Good stories make you think, and Final Fantasy Tactics will leave you thinking about its implications and characters long after the credits roll. 

Let’s Get Tactical

Final Fantasy Tactics was already a best-in-class tactical experience, and The Ivalice Chronicles has brought numerous new updates and changes to the beloved game that bring it to modern standards. Before we get to those, though, the core gameplay systems are well worth exploring. At its heart, Tactics is a grid-based tactical RPG. Battles occur on an isometric map that has you shuffling units across a grid and strategically placing them. If that sounds similar to other tactical RPG games like Fire Emblem, that’s because it is.

The star of the show is easily the job system, which boasts 20 different jobs to discover, experiment with, and master. Each character starts in a job, earning Job Points with each battle. Over time, these can be redeemed for abilities, while leveling up rewards you with more advanced jobs. The best part of all of this is that you can mix around abilities to different jobs, essentially making room for you to create absolutely broken builds. This way, you are never locked down in one job, and instead are encouraged to experiment as you please. 

I have always found this gameplay system to be almost infinitely compelling, as you can spend dozens of hours just retooling and messing around with different combinations and jobs. The game wants you to learn from your mishaps, so do not be afraid to mess up and make a build that doesn’t work out. This is where new features of The Ivalice Chronicles really start to set in, as you can now withdraw from a fight and retry with ease.

Small features like this have made an already great gameplay experience even better, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. You now have three difficulty options available to choose from in the form of Squire, Knight, and Tactician, and these can be swapped freely at any point. Additionally, auto-save now allows you to quickly reload if necessary before or after a battle. Tactics is widely considered to be a challenging game, so it’s great to have these options for players who might be jumping into their first tactical RPG.

Beyond these features, you can now adjust the speed of battles to be faster if you wish, making for quicker run-throughs and grinding with new party compositions. Additionally, you can now enter Tactical View on the map, which might be the most underrated feature of this version. This puts you in a straight-down camera from above the map to oversee the battlefield as a whole.

Overall, the new updates to the gameplay systems of Final Fantasy Tactics are welcomed, making for a more enjoyable experience. If you are a returning fan, you should feel right at home with this definitive version of the combat system. Newcomers are taken care of, too, with a clear and engaging system that packs in accessibility where needed.

A Modern Package of Old and New

For whatever reason, something about the visual style of The Ivalice Chronicles never sat right with me through each trailer. The sprites looked weirdly smooth in each trailer, and I questioned whether or not that would land in the full release. Thankfully, after playing the game hands-on, I’m happy to share that I greatly enjoyed the updated visuals. I’m not sure if the video quality or compression was simply poor on the materials I looked at over the last few months, but the visuals really popped on my OLED TV. I still sort of do wish the team had gone for an HD-2D style or similar, but I’m satisfied with what we got. 

The new UI is undoubtedly an improvement, however. It immediately makes all the necessary information clear, leaving behind the sometimes confusing navigation of the original. The left side of the screen has a display of the turn order, which is an outstanding addition. If I had to sum up my thoughts on the UI, it’s just easy to figure out where things are now. I do feel some players might find it cluttered, but I had no issue navigating between the menus and commanding my characters in battle. Admittedly, I am curious to see how legible the UI is on Nintendo Switch 2, though.

Another key change you’re likely to notice right away is the addition of voice acting. You can choose between English and Japanese voiceover, depending on your preference. I found the English cast to be excellent, with my overall takeaway that this voiceover elevates the original game. It’s hard to even begin to describe how quality voice acting can immerse one into a world, and the cast did a fantastic job bringing me into Ivalice.   

It’s worth noting that Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles does not feature all of the content featured in the War of the Lions release. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007, featuring brand-new party members, jobs, a plethora of gameplay tweaks, and an entirely new localization. Of all these additions, Square Enix only brought forth the localization, which has been controversial for some fans. Kazutoyo Maehiro cited the team’s wish to offer “an experience as close to the original as we could”, and I am completely okay with this decision. The extra jobs, side content, and multiplayer mode would have been interesting to see, but those additions aren’t needed to enjoy Final Fantasy Tactics at its fullest. 

However, an omission I do have disappointment in is the lack of an orchestrated soundtrack. Square Enix has done a tremendous job over the last few years in bringing in remade and orchestrated soundtracks for remasters and remakes. Tactics Ogre: Reborn received a completely rerecorded orchestrated soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto, with new pieces even included as part of the release. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles only offers the original soundtrack. It’s hard to write this and act like that’s a bad thing, considering just how incredible Sakimoto’s score is, but I was expecting an orchestrated soundtrack here. It is quite puzzling based on the company’s history with remasters and remakes, and I seriously wish we had it to go along with the amazing voice acting. Still, the soundtrack is just as good as you remember — it’s hard to believe that was composed in the late ’90s.

If you’re someone who just wants to play the original game, Square Enix went above and beyond in offering the original game as part of this release. I find it too often that we see a remake or remaster of a game release with no way to play the original game. Sometimes I have no desire to go back to the original when a remaster succeeds it in every way, but it should be an option, regardless. Konami’s recent approach with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the way to do it right: the original game is purchasable across all platforms, and there’s a remake available, too. 

Immediately upon loading into the game, you’ll have the option to choose between Final Fantasy Tactics or Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles. While it is great that the original is here, there are some caveats with it you should be aware of. For one, almost all of the new gameplay updates and features besides the War of the Lions translation are not present in this ‘Classic’ version. There is the addition of auto-save, but these saves are completely separate from The Ivalice Chronicles and cannot be transferred over. Additionally, trophies will not pop in the Classic mode. 

Considering that this version is aimed at recreating the original experience as closely as possible, I feel that these are acceptable drawbacks. I spent 99% of my time with the game in the Enhanced release, but through my testing, the Classic version is a great effort by Creative Studio III that I respect quite a lot. If you’re not a fan of the new version and want the 1997 game as you remember it, the original will always be here.

The Definitive Final Fantasy Tactics Experience

Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles is a heartfelt and commendable effort that brings forth one of Square Enix’s most beloved games to modern platforms. Special attention to recreating the original experience has paid off, as this is the best way to experience Final Fantasy Tactics. Each of the new features is carefully inserted to elevate the original game, not take away from it or twist it into something new. It’s wild to think that this release was pieced together without the original source code.

While playing through this release, I thought a lot about just how crazy it is that this game released in the same four-year stretch as Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX. It’s almost impossible to comprehend how this was done, and I do not know if we will ever see such a stretch again from any developer. However, after almost three decades, I’m so happy to finally have these games playable on one system once again.

Director Kazutoyo Maehiro has said recently that this release could pave a pathway for releases of “Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or A2, or maybe even sequels and new titles.” I have wanted nothing more than to see Square Enix return to Ivalice with new adventures, and we finally have a chance to make that happen. Regardless of what awaits in the future, Final Fantasy Tactics is back for good — and that’s enough for now.

Disclaimer: Square Enix provided a PlayStation 5 copy of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles for review purposes.