In 1998 the NA release of Final Fantasy Tactics immediately captivated me. A strategy RPG in the Final Fantasy universe, featuring a medieval setting and mature themes, featuring an impressive cast, engaging gameplay and customization, a captivating soundtrack, and an incredible story, left me longing for more even after the end credits rolled. 28 years later, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles takes a master class of a classic Final Fantasy title and breathes new life into it with its quality-of-life features adding in some excellent voice acting, newly rewritten dialogue, more streamlined gameplay and much more.
The story for The Ivalice Chronicles takes place in the medieval-inspired kingdom of Ivalice, which is entangled in the Lion War following the death of its king and the ascension of an infant heir. Two powerful dukes, Prince Goltana (the Black Lion) and Prince Larg (the White Lion), vie for regency, descending the land into civil war. Amidst this political turmoil, the story follows Ramza Beoulve, a highborn cadet, and his childhood friend Delita Hyral, a commoner. As they navigate the war, they uncover a deeper conspiracy that reshapes the fate of Ivalice.
The Ivalice Chronicles uses a sort of hybrid of War of the Lions WoL script from the original PlayStation Portable release, a collaborative effort by Tom Slatterie, Joseph Reeder, Philip Bright, and Michael Christopher Koji Fox, which served as the foundation for the game's dialogue. The original script got a glow-up to make it easier on the ears. Square Enix has tweaked some lines for better flow, added extra context and emotion to the story, and even changed a few character names for clarity. Ivalice Chronicles diverges from recent titles by presenting a story with dark and chaotic themes, which is a nice change of pace from some of the more light hearted Final Fantasy titles.
The voice acting and updated dialogue were a great touch, really bringing out the story's emotions. Ben Starr's performance as Dycedarg Beolve, Ramza's older brother, was particularly impressive – their scenes together were just amazing to watch. The voice acting wasn't always perfect. Some character voices just didn't quite fit, which was a little off-putting in certain scenes. While it might be a matter of taste for some, I personally didn't have much of an issue with it. Overall, I think most of the voice actors did a good job and really brought the story to life. A noteworthy feature is the ability to entirely mute the voice acting, allowing players to depend solely on written dialogue. This, whether by design or not, is a definite plus. Additionally, the game offers the choice of playing with Japanese voiceovers, which could compel people to play through the game again.
While the compelling narrative of The Ivalice Chronicles is a significant draw, the game truly excels with its incredibly engaging strategy gameplay. Players navigate individual characters across a grid map, requiring careful tactical planning to avoid defeat. The improved display of character turn order on the left side of the screen significantly enhances strategic planning and the R1 button now functions as a fast forward button for speeding up battles making it useful for grinding and all while running at a very smooth and stable framerate with only some minor slowdowns that would happen during big abilities or spells, but did not ruin my experience. Additionally the ability to retreat or leave random battles is a nice touch and players will appreciate a significant improvement: the previous issue of multi-part battles leading to corrupted save files has been entirely resolved, transforming the player experience.
Another great feature is the addition to now cancel movements, removing the previous commitment, and the ability to preview damage calculations fundamentally alters battle dynamics, adding a deeper layer of strategy. This is further enhanced by new difficulty settings—Squire, Knight, and Tactician—with the highest difficulty rivaling the challenging "Lunatic" modes found in Fire Emblem. This offers a welcome challenge for veteran players while still allowing casual players to enjoy the story and gameplay. The lowest difficulty could even facilitate fun speedrun playthroughs.
It wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy game without extensive character customization through its classic and unlockable special jobs. Players can set a wide variety of abilities and support abilities, further enhancing their strategic options which added even more charm to the personalization of the game. This fostered an exceptional experience, making the characters genuinely vivid during the in-game battles. Additionally, each character features a selection of voices Though the random nature of the gacha system was present, as a gacha enthusiast, I greatly enjoyed revisiting the warriors' guild, where I was on a quest for my perfect recruit. This involved finding characters with the ideal voice, preferred stats (faith and bravery), and the crucial combination of stat levels and zodiac sign, which is essential for advanced gameplay.
The Ivalice Chronicles is overflowing with significant improvements, most notably in its enhanced visuals and a redesigned UI that introduces a wealth of quality-of-life changes. These enhancements make the game more manageable and enjoyable. Character menus have been streamlined for effortless navigation. New features include a dedicated special job progression display and a convenient loadout menu, enabling quick job switching during gameplay. A comprehensive story synopsis menu keeps players updated, and a helpful guide provides both basic tutorials and advanced tips for those aiming to min-max characters and achieve 100% completion and an extensive list of in-game achievements. I had the most enjoyment during the start of my playthrough just recruiting multiple characters and grinding them on the starting level trying to unlock as many classes even though some of the weapons for them weren’t actually available until later in the game.
More replayability is added to the table with a complete version of the original PlayStation classic version for players seeking to enjoy it in its entirety. However, it’s worth noting there are no new features available and while I’d have loved to see an option to toggle between modern or classic visuals and even adding the ability to speed up battles would have been nice, but it’s clear what the enhanced edition is for with its more enriched experience.Players looking for a super long gaming session will love that there are separate save files for both the enhanced and classic versions of the game. It's a welcome feature that lets you play each version differently. This ensures you don't mess up your progress no matter which one you're into. If you're an old-school gamer wanting a nostalgic trip or a newbie curious about the original, the classic version is a sweet bonus. Anyone craving a retro vibe will totally enjoy it, understanding the origins of the classic game.
The Deep Dungeon returns as a challenging post-game experience, featuring ten dark, minimap-less maps that disorient players. Navigation through this gauntlet relies on character light and glowing crystals to locate random exit tiles. While frustrating without a guide, the dungeon rewards players with powerful items such as the Masamune and Chaos Blade. The ultimate test culminates in a battle against Elidibs, who teaches the ultimate Zodiac spell. This dungeon serves as a brutal final challenge for dedicated players, exemplifying Tactics' strategic depth and difficulty, and adding significant replay value to the post-game for those seeking an extra challenge.
A significant drawback of Ivalice Chronicles is the complete omission of content from Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. The absence of additional characters like Luso and Balthier, Jobs such as Dark and Onion Knight, and cooperative and player-versus-player modes feels like a missed opportunity. This decision prevents Ivalice Chronicles from being the definitive version of the game,compelling players to revisit War of the Lions on the PlayStation Portable who want to experience all of the game in its entirety. Despite these content cuts, the game still offers substantial replayability through its extensive job and character customization options. Perhaps if enough people heed Ben Starr's humorous advice to purchase the game on every available console, the developers might be inclined to surprise us with some DLC.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles stands out as a strong addition to the growing collection of beautifully remastered Final Fantasy games available today. I thoroughly enjoyed my 60+ hours with the game and while I had a few minor disappointments with the game I still find it difficult to put down the controller, eager to do a perfect playthrough and experiment with different job combinations. It's refreshing to see Square Enix revisiting older titles, injecting new life into them, and introducing them to new audiences. For fans of deep strategy and the classic Final Fantasy experience, this game is an absolute must-play.
Review Score: 9.0
Review copy courtesty of Square Enix