Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles Review

Hearing the opening chimes of the title theme of Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles instantly took me back to 1999, when I first got to explore the world of Ivalice with the Greatest Hits release of the original PlayStation title. This new remaster perfectly blends what made the game so beloved with modern updates, delivering one of my favorite Square Enix re-releases in recent memory. Both returning players and those who have yet to hear the Zodiac Brave Story are in for an absolute treat.

Final Fantasy Tactics tells the story of Ramza Beoulve, a young knight and noble who was branded a heretic and all-but-forgotten. Unknown to history, however, Ramza turned the tide of what became known as the War of the Lions. As Ramza, you will see his journey from a young squire up through the events that would brand him a heretic and his battles against the monstrous Lucavi demons, gaining allies, losing friends, and struggling to do what is right. Nothing about the narrative has been changed in this remaster, so everything that people fell in love with previous versions remains just as memorable and impactful as ever. Perhaps even more so today, due to themes being more topical in the chaotic state our world is in.

Using a brand new, updated script, The Ivalice Chronicles marks the first time that the Final Fantasy Tactics story has been told with fully voiced scenes. While the idea of voiced lines may seem minor to some, its addition adds a shocking amount of gravitas to the events portrayed, thanks in no small part to the masterful cast that Square Enix brought on board to portray these complex characters. Joe Pitts, as Ramza, manages to convey the sincerity behind the character’s actions and words, and Gregg Lowe, as Delita, captures that cold detachment and shift in character after the end of Chapter 1 beautifully. I also have to give Ben Allen props for managing to make me hate the asshole Argath even more.

Alongside the voice work, Ivalice Chronicles features a revamped interface and a handful of new mechanical elements that make it more appealing to modern tastes. Little things like being able to view the map when selecting units is a big improvement, where earlier editions had you blindly placing them against a grey backdrop. There is also a bar on the side of the screen that clearly shows turn order. These don’t impact how the game functions at its core, but conveying important information to players is never a bad thing, and helps remove barriers that people have had issues with since the original release. 

Other handy features like the ability to speed up battles and cutscenes, save equipment and ability loadouts for characters, and a pure top-down view are also available in this new remaster. Still, their implementation is not without a couple of minor issues. I would love it if, in a future patch, the speed-up feature could be set to a toggle, as currently you have to press and hold to have it work, sometimes requiring you to re-press and hold during a cutscene, as the feature will sometimes just stop partway through. Along the same lines, could we get a “skip cutscene” option, too? 

As mentioned in my PAX West preview for Ivalice Chronicles, my critique of the overhead view concerns the inability to issue commands from that view. Unlike the similar feature in Tactics Ogre Reborn, Square’s 2022 remaster of Let Us Cling Together, the obstruction-free view prevents you from moving your units around the battlefield. It’s incredibly handy as the 3D terrain continues to regularly block your view, but the fact that you then have to return to the traditional view to actually move your units or select the tiles they wish to interact with is slightly disappointing. 

What I foresee folks' biggest issue with this latest release is with the adjustments made to the visuals, an issue that many of Square Enix’s, and frankly, most pixel art-based remasters, contend with. The character sprites used in Ivalice Chronicles appear as though the original pixels have been subdivided, in an attempt to make them appear more detailed. This approach isn't the worst I have seen. Unlike some other games, it thankfully doesn't quite look like everything is covered in Vaseline. But it is also unfortunate that they couldn't simply use the original sprites.

What was more of a turn-off for me than the subdivided appearance is that everything (the entire image) has a textured pattern overlaid on top, making it appear paper-like. And I know for a fact that a filter is applied since when you converse with your units in the army screen, it disappears. Is it too much to ask that filters be made so they can be toggled on and off, please? At least those who want an experience closer to the original version of Final Fantasy Tactics can play a classic mode selectable from the main menu, but, unfortunately, you have to globally choose between two different modes rather than having more options overall.

From a challenge standpoint, I played through on the “Knight” difficulty, which feels very similar to the vanilla Tactics experience. All those rage-inducing fights (like the infamous Wiegraf duel) are still here, and they are just as challenging as you remember. Thankfully, you are no longer locked into those multi-stage encounters, risking having to restart your game if you aren’t prepared, as at any time you can either retry a stage or quit back out to the world map. You will need to restart the whole gauntlet in those cases, and you won’t retain any levels or items you earned, but those are small prices to pay to avoid soft-locks. I took advantage of the “retry” option quite liberally, as it allowed me to test new ideas or party compositions quickly and experiment with different strategies.

The ability to go back to the world map at any time, paired with the ability to trigger (or run) from any random encounter while on the map, has also made grinding and completing quests easier and faster than ever. And worry not: you can still grind by smacking your own allies, though the enemy AI has seemingly been changed to have them attack even when low on health rather than purely keep away, a behavior that allowed for endless grinding in the original version.

For folks who are looking for more of a challenge or just enjoy the story without the struggle, the “Tactician” and “Squire” difficulty options will provide what you are looking for. I dabbled a little with both, just to see what would change, and in addition to dealing/taking more or less damage, the enemy AI will also be impacted. I shudder to think of some fights on the challenging Tactician setting, so min-maxers and folks who revel in utilizing every system you can to your advantage have something to look forward to.

Content-wise, The Ivalice Chronicles contains only that which was found in the PlayStation 1 release. Unfortunately, the extra content found in the PSP War of the Lions release - such as Balthier (Final Fantasy XII) and Luso (Final Fantasy Tactics A2), the multiplayer modes, and the Onion Knight job have been omitted. It’s a bummer that with all its improvements, the Ivalice Chronicles can’t be considered a definitive edition, but as a consolation, we do get the Sound Novels, marking this as the first time they have been localized!

If all of the enhancements and additions aren’t appealing or you really want to see those beautiful crispy pixels, this collection still will be worthwhile thanks to Square Enix including the original version as well (with the caveat of it using the War of the Lions script rather than the original PS1 localization). I didn’t spend much time in this mode, but its inclusion is wonderful all the same. From a game preservation standpoint, including original versions of classic games, especially those that are no longer easily purchasable or played, should become a common occurrence going forward. It would have been nice if saves from the Ivalice Chronicles could be used in the original mode, and vice versa, but the folks who would take advantage of that, I’d imagine, would be slim and not worth the time investment to get working. One thing of note, however, for those trophy/achievement hunters out there, be aware that you cannot earn them playing the original mode.

Replaying Final Fantasy Tactics has reaffirmed and strengthened my belief that this is one of the best strategy RPGs ever created. Its complex and engrossing story, multi-faceted characters, and flexible gameplay remain a masterclass that has rarely been surpassed in the nearly 30 years since we took our first steps into Ivalice and the boots of Ramza Beoulve. The Ivalice Chronicles, with its enhancements, has managed to make a version that is a vastly more approachable and understandable product, while not detracting in the slightest from what longtime players remember and expect. The inclusion of the original title is just the cherry on top. While there are a few subtle tweaks or settings I would love to see added, I can’t imagine ever playing Final Fantasy Tactics again without using the Ivalice Chronicles version. Final Fantasy Tactics and the Zodiac Brave Story remain one of the best titles in Square Enix’s vast library of classics.