Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles revives a tactical classic

During the PlayStation State of Play presentation, Square Enix announced an enhanced remaster of its 1997 turn-based tactics spin-off of its beloved Final Fantasy RPG series, Final Fantasy Tactics. This remaster, called Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, includes all the content from both the original and its 2007 PSP remaster, War of the Lions, as well as an updated user interace, full voice acting, additional story elements and more.

The original Final Fantasy Tactics was set in the realm of Ivalice, a setting which has since been revisited in different incarnations in future mainline and spin-off Final Fantasy games. The game was particularly reknown for its deep job system, enhancing the system of mixing different classes and abilities introduced in Final Fantasy V with further customisation options and myriad ways of building your party.

Players of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles can choose between classic or enhanced versions of the game. The classic version preserves the user interface of the PlayStation original, combined with the more poetic translation introduced in the PSP port. The enhanced version will include an updated interface, as well as fully voiced dialogue, “extensive additions and adjustments to the story” and more. Some of the other new features listed on Square Enix’s blog include new difficulty settings, a tactical view feature to get a better view of the battlefield and the ability to increase the speed of battles.

Final Fantasy Tactics has been an important part of Final Fantasy’s history. For fans of the franchise, and turn-based tactical games in general, it’s great to see this game make a comeback. While Triangle Strategy, with its political themes and turn-based gameplay, can be seen as something as a spiritual successor, nothing has quite matched the feeling of the original. These quality of life improvements sound like just what the game needs to be fit for a modern audience.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is set to release on the 30th of September 2025 for PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.