For many, the 90s were the golden age for the Final Fantasy franchise – not that saying this would come as any surprise. The decade was when the franchise was finding its stride and releasing many of the titles that have become exemplars of good RPG design to this day, most notably, Final Fantasy VII. However, within that decade, several side projects merged that overrode the traditional turn-based infrastructure the series had become known for, one such title being the cult classic Final Fantasy Tactics. While it never received those regular re-releases that other mainline titles did, its setting was borrowed and expanded upon in Final Fantasy XII. It also received an enhanced PlayStation Portable exclusive port, ‘The War of the Lions’, in 2007. But, giving the game the love it deserves, Square Enix has chosen 2025 as the year to provide a fully-fledged remaster in the form of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, bringing the classic game to new (and returning) audiences on the latest hardware offerings. But is this a game and a port worth the development time invested in them? Read on to find out!
Set as a chronicle recounted by a future historian, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles tells the tale of Ramza Beoulve and Delita Heiral against the War of the Lions. This civil conflict serves as the foundation for the game. The narrative cuts through noble propaganda and Church machinations to expose how history is authored and weaponised. It is a grounded political tragedy that then bends towards some of the magical and supernatural elements the franchise has been known for, although compared to other games of its time (and even future releases in the Tactics series), the lore is quite complex and does feel like you could use a novelised version of it. However, it remains a more than serviceable narrative experience that never loses sight of themes surrounding class struggle, duty, and personal cost.
There is a revised script that reads cleanly from start to finish, and another pass across key themes makes key moments and relationships more straightforward to grasp without losing the overall gist. A handful of characters still drift once they join the party, but added battle banter restores texture. The pacing remains tight, sometimes almost too much so; yet, the story’s clarity, moral bite, and modern relevance survive intact. It is the first of a key theme in this review: while strong, it can feel like a deviation from what some modern storytelling approaches are like, so you can’t find yourself rushing through a cutscene with no consequence for understanding the plot later on.
On the visual front, neither the Enhanced nor Classic mode of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles has seen every element of the game designed from scratch. However, the enhanced presentation adopts a faithful approach to upscaling, making the game appear more vibrant on modern televisions. This involves softening sprites and lightly beveling edges, paired with an optional soft focus that lends battles a miniature diorama feel. In motion, it reads cleanly, but some may think that the experience is a smidgeon overprocessed. Summons and specific effects also lose some of their impact compared to the original crunchy versions. There is no way to combine the classic pixels with the modern quality of life suite, so if you want untouched art, you will need to use Classic mode and accept the older interface. Even with those caveats, the new user interface is nice, and if you are a newcomer, then you will likely find nothing out of place with the enhanced version.
Musically, this release sticks to the original score. It still does the heavy lifting, but there is no arranged or orchestral option, which has become a hallmark of the series’ modern re-releases. That said, with Final Fantasy Tactics not being a game that Square Enix lines up to re-release every few years… this is much less of a problem. The bigger change is the voice acting. Scenes are now fully voiced, and even generic units have quick barks in battle. Performances from Joe Pitts as Ramza, Gregg Lowe as Delita, Ben Starr as Dycedarg, and Emily Carey as Alma carry charm, and overall, the voice cast comprises a well-ensconced group that isn’t the same voices you’d find in every mainstream video game release.
As alluded to above, you make the first substantial decision in how your game progresses almost the moment you load Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles. Two versions ship in the package. Enhanced carries the revised and fully voiced script, a modern interface, and a long list of quality-of-life features, including fast forward, autosave, quick retry, escape to the world map, an overhead tactical view, the turn order bar, loadout sets, difficulty selection, and a clean lore recap.
Classic preserves the PS1 look and UI, using the enhanced War of the Lions script rather than the original PS1 English localisation. It features no voice acting or new conveniences, and saves are kept separate. Trophies and achievements usually do not track in Classic. For most players, Enhanced is the better option, while Classic suits purists who prefer the original presentation. What you decide to go with is purely based on personal preference, but having played through both, newcomers would very likely find the Enhanced version more fitting.
Combat is generally similar to what anyone who has played any tactical RPG in the past would expect. Battles take place on an isometric battlefield and are built around your character’s position, height, and facing to foes – aka taking advantage of the map. From there, you strategically use movement, attacks and a suite of skills to dwindle your opponent’s HP down to zero. The job lattice is the hook. More than twenty jobs feed action, reaction, support and movement slots, and once learnt, skills can move with you across roles. It invites buildcraft: Ninja and Monk mobility on one body, mages that set up their own big turns, Knights that carry thief tricks, and other off-class synergies.
There are three difficulty settings, and you can switch between them outside combat. Squire is forgiving, Knight tracks the original feel, and Tactician is a proper step up thanks to sharper damage numbers and more decisive AI. The notorious spikes are still present, but even the lowest difficulty setting can offer a proper challenge if you go into a battle sloppily. Permadeath also exists across all settings, so caution and a willingness to hit retry are still part of the loop.
The quality of life amendments in Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles do improve the gaming experience, although they do not significantly impact the overall depth of the game. Fast forward trims downtime, autosaves, and instant retry keep failure cheap, plus the option to flee stages back to the world map makes things just that little bit less frustrating when you hit a dead end in a fight. You can toggle random encounters while travelling, place units directly on the actual map, and undo movement before you act. Loadout sets, clearer shop previews and contextual tips reduce busywork. The result is more testing and less menu churn, so you spend your time solving the board, not fighting the interface.
In terms of side-content, Midlight’s Deep is still the mean endgame pit for the truly committed, with many stages designed to challenge you and your party. Outside of that, errands and tavern jobs are easier to manage, late chapter sidequests are marked, and you can trigger or skip random fights to suit your goals. With fast forward and optional encounters, levelling and job point hunting feel brisk, while tutorials, job guides and the State of the Realm help you keep track of things and progress your way through key components of the game.
The other question players may have is… how does this version compare to other releases? I think the sad thing is that there is arguably no definitive edition of Final Fantasy Tactics out there, as this release opted to forgo many of the extra additions on the PSP release of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, such as the Dark Knight, Onion Knight, Balthier, Luso, additional cinematics or a multiplayer mode. Whether any of that is worth stripping such a title as ‘definitive’ away from a game may be in the eyes of the beholder, but what you do get in return is full voice acting, a more approachable user interface and the first official English localisation of the Sound Novels.
While the quiet achiever in the golden age of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles treats its legacy with care, and does a decent job in balancing the original experience with meeting the expectations of modern-day audiences. The political tale still cuts deep; the cleaner script and strong voice work sharpen its edges, and the enhanced presentation adds a helpful UI without overshadowing the art. Choosing between Enhanced and Classic is straightforward: most players should opt for the modern comforts, while purists can appreciate the classic look. On the field, it is the same brilliant lattice of jobs and map play, now faster and fairer to manage, thanks to fast forward, autosaves, retries, and clearer information, while higher difficulties still bite. Is it a perfect game? Not really, especially when you factor in modern game design; it can feel too slow. However, it is both authentic and fresh, and that is more important. At the very least, Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles is the most approachable and enjoyable way to play this classic today.
Final Score for Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
This review of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles was conducted on a digital PlayStation 5 copy of the game, with playtesting conducted on a PlayStation 5 Pro retail unit. A review code was provided by Australian distributor, Bandai Namco Entertainment Australia, to facilitate this review.
Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles is now available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S.
