Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles Director Kazutoyo Maehiro discusses how voice acting led to adding and refining the story, State of the Realm, and more
In an interview with the PlayStation Blog, Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles Director Kazutoyo Maehiro goes into how the team approached rebuilding the game for modern platforms, how the team added to and refinded the story thanks to the addition of voice acting, and much more.
This interview, which you can read in full here, also goes over how Kazutoyo Maehiro revisited the game a few years ago and how that replay led to the realization that while it was still impressive, it was inaccessible on modern platforms within the console landscape. I've quoted some highlights from the full interview below:
On how adding voice acting led to the story being added to and refined:
"One of the biggest reasons we decided to add to and refine the story was because this game features voiceovers. If we simply added voiceover without adjustments it would have sounded unnatural. So we adjusted the lines so they could flow as a conversation, greatly enhancing their immersion, while the additions clarify the characters’ thoughts, goals, and backgrounds. Once the characters’ voices played on-screen, I felt that the actors had truly brought them to life with their powerful performances. I may have felt this way because I worked on the original game, but I’m sure that both fans and newcomers alike will be able to relate to this feeling.”
On how State of the Realm was added in a similar manner to how it was in Final Fantasy XVI:
“We wanted to give a way for players to appreciate the story further, however we made it so this information can be viewed chronologically according to the protagonist’s actions. So if you want to check the broader flow of the story, you can through the State of the Realm, whereas if you want to learn even more details, you can through rumors in the taverns or from the other features.”
On game difficulty:
“Some of you may have avoided the game because it is a tactical RPG, but the enhanced version lets you adjust the difficulty to make the game more accessible. We hope you take this opportunity to experience the rich world of Ivalice.”
Once again, you can read the full interview here going over Errands, how the Classic version served as the base which was updated for the Enhanced version, and more.
If you've not kept up with the game since its announcement, what scripts are used in which versions of Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles, the Switch 2 version being a digital-only release in the West with a free upgrade from the Switch version, how it does not include the The War of the Lions content, and more for the game here.
Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles launches on September 30 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).