Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Review
RPG fans had their pick of the litter on the PS1, which hosted such classics as Chrono Cross, Xenogears, and Final Fantasy 7. Square Enix in particular was pumping out instant hits during this time, firing on all creative cylinders and taking major risks. It was an era defined by experimentation and novelty, and it was against this backdrop that the original Final Fantasy Tactics was released.
A tough-as-nails, dyed-in-the-wool tactical RPG, Final Fantasy Tactics has been renowned the world over for its stunning high fantasy narrative, innovative jobs system, and compelling turn-based gameplay. The original game’s impact can be felt in today’s RPG scene, its DNA woven into the likes of Metaphor: Refantazio and Triangle Strategy, and this is part of what makes Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles so interesting. It is at once a clear precursor to the modern tactics genre and a unique experience on its own, its gameplay and story refreshing despite being almost three decades old. But how much one enjoys Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles depends on so many different factors that it’s hard to recommend it wholesale.
Indeed, Final Fantasy Tactics, even in this spruced-up and polished form, is far from a crowd-pleaser like Clair Obscur or even the original Final Fantasy 7. With The Ivalice Chronicles, Square Enix has done an astonishingly good job of keeping the original’s soul intact while implementing meaningful changes. This project is far closer to a remaster than a remake, which is great for preservationists and retro fans, and for gaming history, but it also means that it plays like a PS1 game, for better and for worse. Thankfully, Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the console’s most masterfully-crafted gems.
Final Fantasy: The Ivalice Chronicles Is a Contender for the Title of 'Perfect Remaster'
How well a remaster goes over with audiences depends on a few major factors, chief among them being how “necessary” one thinks the re-release actually is. If you played the original Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day and don’t think that it needs a remaster, you may want to take a harder look at your memories and reconsider, as Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is a massive improvement over its progenitor in just about every way.
The Ivalice Chronicles is actually a double-feature: it includes the remaster, but also the original version (based on the 2007 War of the Lions re-release), and switching between the two reveals just how much the former has done to enhance the experience. While the core gameplay of The Ivalice Chronicles is fundamentally unchanged, it implements a slew of much-needed quality-of-life features, the most significant of which include:
- Autosaves during battles
- A “Tactical View” mode that allows you to see the battlefield from a birds-eye view
- The ability to fast-forward during both cutscenes and gameplay
- A completely revamped, cleaner, more informative UI
It’s hard to overstate how transformative these changes are. Playing the original Final Fantasy Tactics now feels like a complete slog, since you can’t fast-forward or skip any dialog—of which the game has an abundance—nor can you speed up the more passive moments of a battle. This is especially frustrating when you die, since you then have to start the battle over from the very start. Both of these issues are addressed in The Ivalice Chronicles, allowing you to fast-forward at any time with the press of a button, making enemy turns go by at a clip. The mid-battle autosaving might seem a bit cheap, but the game can only save three turns at once, meaning that you can’t go back to any point in the fight you like. Admittedly, this can encourage save-scumming, especially before launching a low-hit-chance attack, but it’s worth it. No longer will you have to replay long, tedious battles because of a slip of the finger or a minor miscalculation.
The Ivalice Chronicle‘s user interface is also vastly superior to that of the original. The Tactical View feature is a godsend, making navigation and strategizing immeasurably less frustrating. Action menus no longer take up most of the screen, making it easier to make decisions on the fly, and the attack order of all characters is displayed on the side of the screen, which opens a new dimension of strategy without altering the original game’s genetic code too much.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles just looks better overall. It retains the same charming 2D sprites and 3D battlefields as the original, though at a higher resolution and with greater detail. The result is a game that looks crisper while remaining true to its original visual identity. The Ivalice Chronicles also adds full voice acting, which is very well done and elevates the already epic narrative. I can confidently say that fans of the original Final Fantasy Tactics will probably love The Ivalice Chronicles. It’s the newcomers who might want to be wary.
Final Fantasy Tactics Has Aged Well, but Not Perfectly
With The Ivalice Chronicles being a faithful remaster, it’s important to note that it hasn’t had all its rough edges smoothed out. It’s clear that Square Enix wanted to keep the original Final Fantasy Tactics‘ spirit intact as much as possible, and this means that this new version has some elements that not everyone is going to love. For one thing, it’s rather grind-heavy, as was typical of JRPGs of the 90s, but gamers accustomed to more streamlined, efficient RPGs may find this repetition hard to swallow. Similarly, it still has a wickedly steep learning curve, and it doesn’t always explain its mechanics very well. Surely, Final Fantasy Tactics purists would have it no other way, but other demographics should keep this in mind before heading into The Ivalice Chronicles.
Final Fantasy Tactics has an intriguing, Shakespearean narrative, penned with a sophistication and maturity that is rarely seen in today’s modern gaming landscape. It’s a surprisingly nuanced and sober tale as well, touching on themes like classism, birthright, and misogyny in a way that you don’t often see in big, AAA releases. It can certainly get a bit long in the tooth at times, though, and if you have a low tolerance for dialogue, then the aforementioned fast-forward button will likely be your best friend.
Fans of the original Final Fantasy Tactics will probably love The Ivalice Chronicles. It’s the newcomers that might want to be wary.
Then there’s the gameplay and RPG progression, both of which are fantastic as well. Coming up with a plan on the battlefield and executing it effectively evokes a sense of low-grade euphoria, and experimenting with different jobs, ability combinations, and gear sets is a blast. The only caveat here is that Final Fantasy Tactics‘ gameplay is a bit quaint in comparison to the more modern games that it’s inspired, such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Fire Emblem: The Three Houses, but this might actually make it a nice change of pace for some.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is a prime example of how to do a remaster right. With a deft hand, it enhances the 1998 original to make it prettier, more immersive, and less annoying, without changing its most essential aspects. How such aspects measure up against contemporary turn-based RPGs will almost certainly be a subject of heated discussion in the coming weeks and months, but fans of the original game should enjoy them. And first-time players will probably find a lot to love as well, provided they keep an open mind and take the good with the bad.
